I was having a discussion the other day with a pal of mine as to who was the better middle linebacker for the San Francisco 49ers: Patrick Willis or NaVorro Bowman? (The Bowman argument takes a bit of a hit because of his injury in the NFC Championship Game, but there was a strong case made for him last year as he really started to come into his own.)
Once the argument had reached its fever pitch, I finally had the resolution: "We'll let the Madden ratings decide the outcome." Which was acceptable to all parties involved.
So the ratings were recently released for the middle linebackers and it appears the EA Sports team is trolling us. Why? Because Willis and Bowman have identical 96 OVR ratings.
Thanks for nothing. Explain yourself, ratings czar Donny Moore.
"We have both 49ers starting MLBs tied for the best in 'Madden NFL 15.' Bowman's not quite as physically talented as Willis, but he might be the better technician with 98 PUR, 95 BLK SHD (best among all MLBs), 83 Power Moves and 99 TAK (tied with Luke Kuechly for best in NFL at MLB). Willis ranks second in SPD (90), first in STR (88), first in AWR (94), third in TAK (95), first in Hit Power (97), second in BLK SHD (89), fourth in PUR (97), and first in MAN COV (74) among middle linebackers. What can't he do?"
Oh, I don't know. How about jar a bar loose while his leg is bent like a pretzel and still not drop the freaking ball!? I don't know how you get a Madden rating for that, but it would seem like that would push Bowman over the top!
So this argument won't be settled today. But we can safely say the 49ers have the best pair of middle linebackers in the game. That is of little dispute. The rest of the ratings include 2013 Defensive Player of the Year Luke Kuechly (94 OVR), Derrick Johnson (91 OVR) and Jerod Mayo (91 OVR).
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