Athletes are always searching for extra motivation, and for Buffalo Bills cornerback Tre’Davious White, the release of the annual Madden video game ratings has provided extra incentive heading into the 2019 season.
On an appearance Tuesday on NFL Network, White, who said he isn’t much for video games, expressed his frustrations over how Madden’s video-game designers assigned their ratings for the Buffalo Bills.
“I feel like they robbed us on a lot of our guys, man,” White said on NFL Total Access.
Safety Micah Hyde received the highest overall ranking for a Bills player from the popular video game (an 86), followed by White (85). Seeing how poorly Hyde was graded by Madden drew the ire of White, who felt Hyde should have at least received a rating in the 90s.
“He’s one of the best safeties in the game,” White told Syracuse.com. “From the last two years, him and Jordan Poyer, I pretty much think those guys are the best safety duo in the NFL. If you just look at the numbers and the way those guys take the ball away.”
White said Madden was particularly harsh when it came to rating second-year quarterback Josh Allen (a 74), who ranked 28th among quarterbacks and only beat out Joe Flacco, Case Keenum/Dwayne Haskins, Kyler Murray, and Eli Manning among Madden’s ratings for projected starting quarterbacks this year.
Safety Jordan Poyer (80), running back LeSean McCoy (82), and linebacker Lorenzo Alexander (82) were among the other Bills with below-expected ratings in the video game, according to White.
“We got Shady at an 82, which is very disrespectful. Then you got Josh Allen at a 74, man,” White said. “It’s something that those guys are pretty much gonna take it into the season. That’s the extra motivation that we need to get the acknowledgement that we deserve.”
Whatever it takes to inspire and motivate White, Bills fans will take it—even if it comes in the form of virtual rankings on Madden.