ESPN Ratings

[jppaul]

ESPN does annual scouting reports on the players, grades them and ranks them:

Here is the key:

100-90: Elite Player
Player demonstrates rare abilities and can create mismatches that have an obvious impact on the game ... Premier NFL player who has all the skills to consistently play at a championship level ... Rates as one of the top players in the league at his position.

89-80: Outstanding Player
Player has abilities to create mismatches versus most opponents in the NFL ... A feature player who has an impact on the outcome of the game ... Cannot be shut down by a single player and plays on a consistent level week-in and week-out.

79-70: Good Starter
Solid starter who is close to being an outstanding player ... Has few weaknesses and will usually win his individual matchup but does not dominate in every game, especially when matched up against the top players in the league.

69-60: Average Starter
A valuable roster player but is not dominant against the better players he faces on a week-to-week basis... Gives great effort and you are glad that he is on your team, but he may or may not go to the next level.

59- 50: Good Backup
A player who is on the bubble and starts only because of a deficiency at the position ... He lacks complete overall skills, and although he will battle he will hinder his team's ability to play at a championship level if he is forced to be in the starting lineup consistently over a 16-game season ... A player you don't mind having on your team but someone you are always looking to upgrade.

Offense

QB: Schaub is ranked 17th best QB in the league, with a rating of 73 behind Joe Flacco and Matt Hasselbeck.

RB: Slaton is Ranked as the 23rd best RB, with a rating of 73 behind such luminaries as Clifton Smith (WTF? 2008 - 8 carries 40 yards), and Darren McFadden.

WR:

AJ (Tied for the 3rd best player in the league with Peyton Manning and 5 others): Johnson is ranked first tied with Reggie Wayne, and Randy Moss with a 93, making him the best player on our team. No problem he clearly is that, but Reggie Wayne is better than Fitzgerald, I don't know about that.

KW: 64 or the 60th best reciever in the NFL. I think he is one of the best #2 in the league personally.

TE: 8th best TE in the league with a 76 bracketed by Cooley and Olsen.

O-Line:

Eric Winston 77 - 13th best bracketed by Jake Long and Bryant McKinnie

Chester Pitts 75 - They don't have the guards ranked properly some kind of glitch.

Duane Brown 72 - Bracketed by D'Brickashaw Ferguson and Flozell Adams

FB:

Vonta Leach 61 - 10th ranked FB bracketed by Peyton Hillis and Lawrence Vickers

Defense

CB:

Dunta Robinson 78 - 15 ranked CB bracketed by Antoine Winfield and Cortland Finnegan

Fred Bennett 64 - 70th ranked CB Bracketed by Fred Smoot and Jacques Reeves

DE:

Mario Williams 91 (tied for the 18th best player in the league) - Tied for first w/Peppers right in front of Jared Allen

Antonio Smith 72 - 27th ranked DE bracketed by Ogunleye and Chris Kelsay

DT:

Okoye 74 - 27th ranked DT, bracketed by and Jovan Haye and Mike Patterson

TJ: 67 - 37th ranked DT, bracketed by Ryan Pickett and Grady Jackson. They used such words as explosive off the snap, excellent athlete and penetrator.

LB:

DRyans 81 - 13 ranked LB bracketed by Urlacher and Ray Lewis

S:

Eugene Wilson 66 - 47th ranked S bracketed by Jim Leonhard and Dwan Landry

K:

Kris Brown 15th ranked K.

[m5kwatts]

So which genius at ESPN made these rankings? Matthew Berry the fantasy guy? Or that disgusting troll Eric Karabell?

[DocBar]

That's what happens when you're not an East coast team. ESPiN sux balls.

[LonerATO]

Originally Posted by DocBar

That's what happens when you're not an East coast team. ESPiN sux balls.

No thats what happens when you don't ride Mort's nutsack and you also have people who cant look passed the Titans/Colts players. I swear if it wasn't for baseball tonight I would never watch ESPN ever.

[m5kwatts]

Originally Posted by lonerato

no thats what happens when you don't ride mort's nutsack and you also have people who cant look passed the titans/colts players. I swear if it wasn't for monopolies on national sports coverage i would never watch espn ever.

fify

[Showtime100]

Damn, I was hoping this would be about ESPN's ratings going down.

[barrett]

I think it's terribly accurate. I hate ESPN as much as some of you guys do. But the simple fact is, we don't have 13 superstar players on this team we have 2. 2 We have many "up-and-comings". Guys like Demeco sandwiched between Brian Urlacher and Ray Lewis!!!!?????!!!! Both of those guys were considered the best in the NFL in the last 5 years. And Ryans is simply sandwiched between them after a stellar freshman year as well as an injury plagued year last year. Oh, and by the way, he's been the star on an AWFUL defense since his induction into the league. That takes alot. It's pretty accurate.

I'd bet we have more "above average players than many teams do. It's that combination of "above average" and "team" that makes us a very difficult opponent. It makes us a "darling" of this season. We are "up-and-coming".

Next year, or the year after that, you can expect those rankings to improve.

[Brisco_County]

National sports media --especially ESPN-- never gets it right when it comes to the Texans. Their lazy analysis reminds me of a homework assignment that was done the night before and turned in late.

Steve Slaton as an "average" back... He was in the top five for total yards, and had the most yards of any rookie, including Matt Forte and Chris Johnson. Sounds average to me!

Kevin Walter. He had over 800 yards and as many touchdowns as Andre Johnson. I guess he's average too.

Matter of fact, let's just assume that mediocrity will get you into the Pro Bowl. Apparently ESPN thinks so.

I'm going to stop there, before I could go down the entire list. What's going to happen is the Texans are going to light it up this year, achieve at least #2 in the league on offense, and the talking heads at ESPN will pretend that they predicted this the whole time.

[barrett]

where are the saints players ranked?

And these stats mean what exactly? It is BSPN ya know.

[Thorn]

Yall need to get over ESPN and just quit watching the damn channel. My TV is NEVER tuned to ESPN unless there is an actual live football game going on. I don't listen to their crappy news or pay any attention to what they have to say. I get about 90% of all my football news from this place, the last 10% is from NFLN. Although there is nothing on NFLN that I haven't heard here first, I just get a different perspective on it. ESPN is just a bunch of *&$*^# brainless blowhards sucking up to successful teams.

I dare say, when the Texans start kicking everyones ass and win a super bowl or two, there'll be a lot of changed minds about ESPN's coverage around here. LOL

[OzzO]

At least Madden's ratings have a video game with it.

[Goatcheese]

As far as their Texans rankings I only take serious issue with KW, and SS.

I don't think there are 32 receivers better than K-Dub, and certainly not twice that many.

Slaton is easily top 10. I don't know what they were smoking.

I was surprised to see Brown in the same region as D'brick. IMO he can't hold Ferguson's jock strap at this point in their respective careers.

[False Start]

Slaton's is the most puzzling....

I never watch ESPN unless the NASCAR race is on.

[hobie]

Hey, let me ask you something.... Why does it matter what "ranking" they are ? Does it really matter who thinks what of whom, really? So what, they are one mans opinion, you have yours too.. So what ESPN or whatever media says, as at the end of the day, it really doesn't matter. Wins and losses are the only thing that does matter..A players "ranking" does not..

[Mike Kerns]

I call BS on 14 Kickers better than Kris Brown.

[Vinny]

Originally Posted by False Start

Slaton's is the most puzzling....

I never watch ESPN unless the NASCAR race is on.

Okoye ranked with the same grade as Pitts is idiotic also. Okoye is the most overrated player on this team. He gets pushed around like a lawnmower. Chester was a pro bowl alternate last season.

[HOU-TEX]

Originally Posted by Vinny

Okoye ranked with the same grade as Pitts is idiotic also. Okoye is the most overrated player on this team. He gets pushed around like a lawnmower. Chester was a pro bowl alternate last season.

Yeah, no doubt. Antonio Smith should even be ranked higher than Okoye.

[Specnatz]

This is why I watch NFLN, as long as it is not Deon or Marshal Faulk the coverage is as close to fair and blanced as there is. Faulk is very biased for what ever reason. That and I personally think he is a dumbass.

[Texecutioner]

Originally Posted by barrett

I think it's terribly accurate. I hate ESPN as much as some of you guys do. But the simple fact is, we don't have 13 superstar players on this team we have 2. 2 We have many "up-and-comings". Guys like Demeco sandwiched between Brian Urlacher and Ray Lewis!!!!?????!!!! Both of those guys were considered the best in the NFL in the last 5 years. And Ryans is simply sandwiched between them after a stellar freshman year as well as an injury plagued year last year. Oh, and by the way, he's been the star on an AWFUL defense since his induction into the league. That takes alot. It's pretty accurate.

I'd bet we have more "above average players than many teams do. It's that combination of "above average" and "team" that makes us a very difficult opponent. It makes us a "darling" of this season. We are "up-and-coming".

Next year, or the year after that, you can expect those rankings to improve.

I agree with most of what you're saying here, but one thing I want to point out is that I was looking at Demeco's numbers last season, and they were a lot better than what I had remembered. A lot of people act like he didn't have that great of a season because it wasn't as good as his rookie year, but he still had a pretty damn good season and especially for a guy who was hurt and plays on a team with hardly any pass rush at all other than Mario.