After having one player decrease and one player increase following a bye week of all things, the San Francisco 49ers see a ton of increases in the Week 9 roster and ratings update for Madden NFL 12. The update is set to go live on Friday for Xbox 360 and PS3 users, and in-all, the 49ers have nine players increases and none going down this week. For a team that is 6-1, this should come as no surprise.
For one, NaVorro Bowman continues his increasing ways, steadily moving up from 83 to 84 overall. It's significant because Bowman started the year out on Madden rated as a "C" potential and he's arguably one of the best inside linebackers in the league this year, but there's no word on if he's an "A" potential yet. Aldon Smith and Chris Culliver keep up their increasing ways, as well. Make the jump for a full list of 49ers changes.
Increases
FB Bruce Miller 64 to 67
WR Michael Crabtree 80 to 81
HB Frank Gore 94 to 95
OL Mike Iupati 87 to 89
CB Chris Culliver 71 to 73
CB Tarell Brown 75 to 77
LB Ahmad Brooks 78 to 79
LB NaVorro Bowman 83 to 84
LB Aldon Smith 81 to 82
Decreases
None
Changes
CB Chris Culliver moved to CB #3 on depth chart
As noted, these increases are definitely warranted. The 49ers are still rated pretty lowly as a unit, despite having the second-best record in the entire NFL. Some folks have said that's because they play the NFC West, and I'd like to remind those folks that there is something wrong with their ability to think, because SF has only played one NFC West opponent thus far.
That being said, Bruce Miller's increase really gets on my nerves. Moran Norris, despite not playing and missing games due to an injury, dropped from 77 to 71 without having to do anything. A six-point drop is huge on Madden, and it happened, presumably, because Miller showed he was better. Then why is Miller still rated in the sixties, hm? It really just doesn't make any sense, and shows how inconsistent EA is. Go here for a full list of changes for all teams.