Step one: Forget about attributes that don't matter

First, for each type of player, I disregard attributes which are either the same for each player or not used by the game to determine performance. Yes, for whatever reason (the programmers forgot, ran out of time, etc.), Accuracy of Passing for QBs, and Quickness for defensive players have no effect on actual performance.

Below are the attributes that are either the same for every player at the position or not used. Note that I put RBs, WRs, and TEs into one group, since every player can play each of the other two positions.

If you want to learn more about attributes and how they affect player performance, I highly recommend this guide.

QB

Running Speed: 25
Rushing Power: 69
Hitting Power: 13
Accuracy of Passing: not used

RB/WR/TE

Rushing Power: 69 (Even Okoye, who has a listed Rushing Power of 75)

Kick Returners

Receptions: not used

Punt Returners

Ball Control: 44
Receptions: not used

OL

Running Speed: 25
Rushing Power: 69

DL/LB/C/S

Quickness: not used

K

Running Speed: 56
Rushing Power: 81
Maximum Speed: 81
Hitting Power: 31
Avoid Kick Block: not used

Due to a programming glitch, if the blocked-kick cutscene is triggered, the game uses the worst Avoid Kick Block value rather than the kicker's actual rating.

P

Running Speed: 25
Rushing Power: 56
Maximum Speed: 44
Hitting Power: 31
Avoid Kick Block: not used because punts cannot be blocked

Step two: Calculate a score for attributes that do matter

Next, for most attributes that remain, I assign a score based on the highest value for a player at that position.

For example, the highest Maximum Speed for a QB is 56, which belongs to QB Eagles. So he scores 100% on that attribute. The highest Pass Control is 81, shared by both Montana and QB Bills, who again both get 100%. Since QB Eagles has Pass Control of 69, he receives an 85% (69/81 * 100) for that attribute.

Step three: Weight each attribute to determine a total score

Once each attribute score is calculated, they are averaged to give a final score. However, rather than treating all scores as equal, I weight each score based on its importance for determining the performance of the player at that position.

For instance, Maximum Speed is the largest part of both rusher and receiver ratings, while Receptions still has a major role for receivers.

Below are the weightings of attributes for players at each position.

QB

Maximum Speed: 25%
Passing Speed: 20%
Pass Control: 50%
Avoid Pass Block: 5%

Rushers (all RB, WR, TE receive a rusher rating)

Running Speed: 10%
Maximum Speed: 70%
Hitting Power: 10%
Ball Control: 5%
Receptions: 5%

Receivers (all RB, WR, TE receive a receiver rating)

Running Speed: 10%
Maximum Speed: 45%
Hitting Power: 5%
Ball Control: 5%
Receptions: 35%

Kick Returners (all RB, WR, TE receive a kick returner rating)

Running Speed: 20%
Maximum Speed: 60%
Hitting Power: 10%
Ball Control: 10%

Punt Returners (all RB, WR, TE receive a punt returner rating)

Running Speed: 20%
Maximum Speed: 70%
Hitting Power: 10%

A note about hitting power for RBs, WRs and TEs

Hitting Power uses score bands for rusher, receiver and returner ratings: 75 = 5%, 81 = 25%, 88 = 60%, and 94 = 100%. Values below 75 receive no Hitting Power weight.

Rankings still use higher raw hitting power as the tiebreak when two offensive players have the same displayed rating.

OL

Maximum Speed: 20%
Hitting Power: 80%

OL Hitting Power uses score bands: 31 = 0%, 38 = 15%, 44 = 30%, 50 = 45%, 56 = 55%, 63 = 65%, 69 = 80%, 75 = 90%, and 81 = 100%.

DL

Running Speed: 10%
Rushing Power: 35%
Maximum Speed: 10%
Hitting Power: 40%
Pass Interceptions: 5%

LB

Running Speed: 10%
Rushing Power: 35%
Maximum Speed: 10%
Hitting Power: 30%
Pass Interceptions: 15%

CB/S

Running Speed: 10%
Rushing Power: 35%
Maximum Speed: 10%
Hitting Power: 5%
Pass Interceptions: 40%

Defensive Hitting Power uses score bands for DL, LB and CB/S ratings: 19 = 0%, 25 = 7%, 31 = 16%, 38 = 23%, 44 = 30%, 50 = 36%, 56 = 45%, 63 = 59%, 69 = 78%, and 75 = 100%.

K

Kicking Ability: 100%

P

Kicking Ability: 100%

Example: ratings for Jerry Rice and Bo Jackson

Let's take a closer look at how this scoring system works for two players: Jerry Rice and Bo Jackson.

First, here are the attributes and scores for each player.

(Reminder: most scores compare the player value to the highest player value in that group. Hitting Power uses the score bands listed above.)

Rice:
Running Speed: 44 (69.84%)
Maximum Speed: 69 (92.00%)
Hitting Power: 13 (0%)
Ball Control: 81 (100.00%)
Receptions: 81 (100.00%)

Jackson:
Running Speed: 38 (60.32%)
Maximum Speed: 75 (100.00%)
Hitting Power: 31 (0%)
Ball Control: 81 (100.00%)
Receptions: 19 (23.46%)

For RB, WR and TE ratings, Hitting Power below 75 receives no Hitting Power score.

Here are the ratings for each player as a receiver:

Rice: 88.38% ((10 * (69.84 / 100)) + (45 * (92 / 100)) + (5 * (0 / 100)) + (5 * (100 / 100)) + (35 * (100 / 100)))

Jackson: 64.24% ((10 * (60.32 / 100)) + (45 * (100 / 100)) + (5 * (0 / 100)) + (5 * (100 / 100)) + (35 * (23.46 / 100)))

No surprises here, as Jerry Rice is the best receiver in the game. While Bo Jackson's speed counts for a lot, his poor Receptions hurts him as a receiver.

Now here are their rusher ratings:

Rice: 81.38% ((10 * (69.84 / 100)) + (70 * (92 / 100)) + (10 * (0 / 100)) + (5 * (100 / 100)) + (5 * (100 / 100)))

Jackson: 82.20% ((10 * (60.32 / 100)) + (70 * (100 / 100)) + (10 * (0 / 100)) + (5 * (100 / 100)) + (5 * (23.46 / 100)))

Jackson is the best rusher in the game, with Rice a close second.

Step four: Use rating to assign a ranking

For each player, I show their rating as well as ranking. The rating shows their actual performance at that position compared to every other player, and ranking shows how many players are above or below them once those ratings are ordered. For RB, WR, TE, OL and defensive players, ties in the displayed rating are broken by higher Hitting Power.

The rating system isn't perfect, but it's a useful tool for ranking players against each other and getting a relative sense of their ability.

What team ratings measure

Team ratings start with the player ratings, which are then rolled up into offensive, defensive, and overall team ratings. The goal is to model the strongest possible lineup for a given team.

The Team Ratings page shows the final overall score, including offensive and defensive sub-ratings.

Offensive rating

Offensive ratings combine four sub-ratings: quarterbacks, the best skill-player lineup, the offensive line, and kick and punk returners.

• The QB value is the weighted average of the best quarterback at 80% and the backup at 20%.
• The offensive line is the average of the five starters: C, LG, RG, LT, and RT.
• The return game uses the best kick and punt returners from the RB/WR/TE pool.
• The skill positions are treated as one shared pool, and the model searches for the best five-man lineup for each offensive style.

That last part is the key difference between team and player ratings. Instead of grading one player in isolation, the offensive rating is the best combination of backs, wideouts, and tight ends for how a team would actually want to play.

Why there are three offensive sub-ratings

When you expand offense on the team table, you'll see three different offense scores because a roster can be strong in different ways.

• Run emphasizes the best run-oriented lineup, with the biggest weight on the top two rushing slots.
• Pass emphasizes the strongest pass-catching lineup and gives quarterback play much more influence.
• Balanced is a mixed offense, but it is intentionally pass-biased because passing is generally the stronger offensive mode in Tecmo.

The final offensive rating leans most heavily on that balanced score, so teams with flexible, pass-friendly lineups usually grade better than teams that are one-dimensional.

Defensive rating

Defense is simpler. It uses the fixed 11 starters only, then breaks them into three units: defensive line, linebackers, and secondary.

• The defensive line is the average of RE, NT, and LE.
• The linebacker score is the average of ROLB, RILB, LILB, and LOLB.
• The secondary score is the average of RCB, LCB, FS, and SS.

Those three unit scores are then combined by starter count, so the four-man linebacker group and four-man secondary group matter slightly more than the three-man defensive line.

Overall rating

The overall team rating is just a 50/50 average between the offensive and defensive rating.

The team ratings intentionally leave out a few things:

• Kickers and punters are not part of the team rating.
• The model does not simulate injuries, fatigue, or player substitutions.
• It does not take into account the default playbooks for each team.