Attribute spotlight - Injury (INJ) attribute in Madden 12

    Some might be surprised that I have decided to analyze the injury (INJ) attribute in Madden 12.  It wasn't my intention to do injury.  The idea came to me after watching the MaddenBible Game of the Week (GOTW)  http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/19438338 and seeing Aaron Rodgers get knocked out of the game early.  This forced ZFarls to play most of the game with backup Matt Flynn.  I can think of several times that my wide receiver or line backer has been knocked out of the game.  On many occasions it's the same players over and over again.  I don't mind having a player knocked out of a game, especially if he has a history of injuries.  That said, I don't like having players consistently knocked out of a game who have very little to no injury history.  I have no idea how many times Rodgers gets knocked out in Madden 12, but the GOTW got me thinking so I decided to take a look.  

    When I first started to look at the INJ attribute, I looked at all players regardless of position.  Looking at all positions at once, shows several inconsistencies.  I thought, maybe looking at the INJ attribute by position would paint a better picture.  By looking at the INJ attribute on a position level, it did show some consistencies.  Overall, I would still consider the INJ attribute in Madden 12 to be inconsistent.  I had a very long list to start with, I had to cut it down to prevent information overload.  It's still a lot of information, but I believe it's needed to show the consistency within the inconsistency.  

    I decides to look at the last three years for the players included in the spreadsheet.  I know some of these players have had injuries prior to 2009, but I believe three years is enough time to show a trend on the players behalf.  I fully understand if some folks believe the entire career should be looked at when rating a players injury attribute.  That is a valid argument.  If looking at the entire career is the way EA is rating the injury attribute, the table still show inconsistency with the younger players and some older players.  I believe a player should have the opportunity to shed the "injury prone" label, or can receive the "injury prone" label.   I would love to hear what you think in the comments section.  

INJ = Current Madden 12 injury attribute rating as of Week 16 update.
GMSD = Games missed

QB's	Injury	2011	2010	2009
Name	INJ	GMSD	GMSD	GMSD
E. Manning	98	0	0	0	118 Consecutive gms
Cutler	95	5	1	0
P. Manning	87	15	0	0
Romo	87	0	10	0
A Rodgers	84	0	1	0
Stafford	65	0	13	6
RB's	Injury	2011	2010	2009
Name	INJ	GMSD	GMSD	GMSD
Leshoure	94	15	College	College
Hightower	94	10	0	0
Fred Jackson	92	5	0	0
Moreno	88	8	3	0
APeterson	85	3	2	0
McFadden (Oak)	74	8	2	3
Reggie Bush	73	0	8	2
Tate	72	1	16	College
McCluster	65	0	5	College
Ryan Matthews	65	1	4	College
TE's	Injury	2011	2010	2009
Name	INJ	GMSD	GMSD	GMSD
Finley	85	0	11	3
R. Gronkowski	84	0	0	College	Missed senior yr
J. Gresham (CIN)	60	2	1	College	Missed senior yr
WR's	Injury	2011	2010	2009
Name	INJ	GMSD	GMSD	GMSD
R. Wayne	95	0	0	0	144 Consecutive gms
Hankerson	94	12	College	College
Andre Johnson	86	9	3	0
Julio Jones	85	3	College	College
Harvin	78	0	2	1
Olineman	Injury	2011	2010	2009
Name	INJ	GMSD	GMSD	GMSD
Gross	97	1	0	7
Michael Roos	96	0	0	0	111 Consecutive gms
VasQuez (SD)	95	2	6	2
Light	94	1	0	5
Jake Scott	93	0	0	0	119 Consecutive gms
Backus	92	0	0	0	175 Consecutive gms
B. Moore	90	0	0	0	120 Consecutive gms
Weigmann	72	0	0	0	174 Consecutive gms
Sitton (GB)	47	2	0	0	Missed 5 in 08'
Dlineman	Injury	2011	2010	2009
Name	INJ	GMSD	GMSD	GMSD
Kyle Williams	96	10	0	2
Justin Smith	96	0	0	0	170 Consecutive gms
LBs	Injury	2011	2010	2009
Name	INJ	GMSD	GMSD	GMSD
Flecther	99	0	0	0	178 Consecutive gms
Harrison (PIT)	97	5	0	0	1 to suspension in 11'
Ryans	97	0	10	0
Beason	95	14	0	0
Woodley	93	5	0	0
Lewis	85	4	0	0	0 games fr 08' - 10'.
DB's	Injury	2011	2010	2009
Name	INJ	GMSD	GMSD	GMSD
Sheldon Brown	99	0	0	0	Never missed a gm
Major Wright	95	4	5	College
R. Barber	95	0	0	0	198 Consecutive gms
Atogwe	94	3	0	4
Chung	93	8	2	0
K Rhodes	93	8	0	0
B. Harris (HOU)	92	9	College	College
Bullitt	91	13	12	2
Berry	88	14	0	College
Collins (GB)	87	13	0	0
Reed	85	1	6	4

Statistics collected from NFL.com
Consecutive games information collected from NFL.com and   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Most_consecutive_starts_(NFL)#cite_note-Jake_Scott_-_Profile-38 

    You will notice that I included some notes on a few players.   I did verify the consecutive game streaks at NFL.com.  I also did my best to confirm that players missed these games due to injury.  If anyone does find an error please let me know and I will correct it ASAP.  I do not want to put out incorrect information.

    For the most part, EA has giving credit to top 10 players with the longest active consecutive streaks.  I have noted the length of those streaks next to the players name.  One player, Casey Weigmann of the Kansas City Chief has slipped through the cracks.  He has a 72 INJ attribute while having started 174 consecutive games.

    Only one player (London Fletcher) who is in the top 10 of active streaks has received a 99 INJ from EA.  I would suggest that a 99 INJ should be reserved and giving to these exact type of players.  All 10 of these players have earned a 99 INJ attribute at this point.  What else would a player have to do to receive a 99?

    Looking over these attributes and games missed, you should see inconsistencies within positions and as a whole.

Final thoughts:

1.  How in the world does Justin Smith and Kyle Williams have the same INJ when Smith has proven to be an Ironman and Williams has missed 12 games over the last three years?

2.  Should Jay Cutler and Tony Romo really have a better INJ than Aaron Rodgers.  Rodgers has only missed one game since becoming a starter in 2008.

3.  When does Matthew Stafford get out of the INJ doghouse (65 INJ).  If he starts on Sunday, he will have played every game this season.  Should he have to prove it one more season before getting a bump?

4.  If you want inconsistency, just look at the RBs.

5.  Should Gronkowski and Finley be that closely rated in INJ?  Is Gresham really that bad?

6.  Gross, Vaquez, and Light, should not have a higher INJ attribute than Backus, Weigmann, Moore, and Scott.

7.  Linebackers are the second most inconsistent when it comes to the INJ attribute.

8.  Defensive backs don't seem to take as much of a hit in INJ than other positions.  BTW - Why in the (blank) does Melvin Bullitt have a 91 INJ?

    I know some people won't think the INJ is a very important attribute, I believe it's very important especially for the online gameplay experience.  A gamer can change an attribute when playing offline to correct these inconsistencies, but they can't be corrected for online ranked play.  Losing a player during a game is one thing, but the frequency of losing that player should be based on reality.  Have a great New Year and I will keep reminding all of you "DON'T DRINK AND DRIVE."