Taking a Sneak Peak at Madden 10 Rankings

Come August 13 at 11:45 p.m., you can find hundreds of people lined up outside their local video game store, anxiously waiting for the store manager to open the doors when the clock ticks midnight and Madden NFL 10 is released.

At that point, the lines will quickly diminish and all of the Madden connoisseurs will hurry home to play the new game for the first time. This sensation is known throughout Madden Nation as “Midnight Madness.”

While the release date seems pretty far off right now, us Madden fans have something to hold us off until then: the Madden 10 player ratings. Let’s take a look…

Quarterbacks
The top rated quarterback is Peyton Manning at 99. Behind him comes Tom Brady (98), Drew Brees (97), Kurt Warner (94), and Ben Roethlisberger (93). These ratings seem to be pretty good. The only questionable call here is putting Kurt Warner over Ben Roethlisberger. As surprising a season Warner had last year, it would be very bold to say that the soon-to-be 38 year old will be more successful than the defending Super Bowl champion QB, Big Ben Roethlisberger.

Running Backs
Atop this list is Vikings star Adrian “All Day” Peterson at 97. Atlanta’s Michael Turner comes in second as a 95, one spot ahead of his former teammate, LaDainian Tomlinson (94). Tied with L.T. are Philly’s Brian Westbrook and Carolina’s DeAngelo Williams. Interestingly enough, Turner surpasses his mentor, L.T., after his breakout season of 17 rushing TDs for the Falcons.

Wide Receiver
At wide receiver position, cover man, Larry Fitzgerald tops the charts as a 99. Following Fitz are Andre Johnson (98), Steve Smith (97), and Randy Moss (96). Many people have a problem with Moss being the fourth-best WR, but I have no problem with this. I see Fitzgerald as the most skilled wideout in the NFL and his 99 rating is rightfully earned. Other notables here are Detroit third-year star Calvin Johnson as a 92 and new Buffalo Bill Terrell Owens as a 91.

Tight End
Tight end is a very important position to any Madden gamer and EA Sports seems to have the TE Ratings dead on. The top three are Atlanta Falcon Tony Gonzalez (98), Dallas’s Jason Witten (97), and San Deigo Charger Antonio Gates (95).

Defense
There are four 99 ratings on the defensive side of the ball. These players are Raiders cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha, Redskins tackle Albert Haynesworth, Ravens safety Ed Reed, and Steelers safety Troy Polamalu, also on the cover with Larry Fitzgerald. Each one of these guys are deserving of a 99 rating. Asomugha made sure everyone could pronounce his name by the end of last season by shutting down top wide receivers week in and week out. Haynesworth just signed a contract worth $100 million. I think that says enough. Finally, Reed and Polamalu are ball hawks at their finest.

That’s just a quick overview of the Madden NFL 10 ratings. We will see which players are actually the most effective when the game is released on August 14.