Fallen Star
The Madden NFL games rate each athlete on a 100-point scale in up to sixteen different categories depending on position. Johnson was a respectable presence in the middle of the Bears defensive line, with an overall player rating of 78 in last year's game. Jones, on the other hand, was one of the most spectacular players in 07. He had an overall rating of 82, and after a real-life season that included three punts returned for touchdowns and a league-leading 12.9 yards-per-return average, his rating would have inevitably risen in 08.
Neither player's absence carries ramifactions as severe for gamers as Vick's removal from 08. Vick's overall rating of 90 makes him the eighth-highest rated quarterback in the game, but Vick was the only player in Madden history whose style of play transcended his rating. His 97 Throw Power rating and 94 Speed rating made him almost equally capable of throwing for a 40 yard touchdown pass or scrambling for the same score.
Will he run or will he pass? Either way, a big play is inevitable.
Vick was essentially two players in one. His character dominated early versions of the game because neither the defensive AI nor opposing players were prepared for a quarterback who was as fast and evasive as any of the game's running backs. As the series has evolved, Madden's defensive playbooks have integrated more and more "QB Contain" and "QB Spy" plays, most in direct response to Vick.
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