EA Sports thinks that the Patriots are just the eighth-best team in the NFL, tied with the Cincinnati Bengals at 86 overall in Madden 2011. Still, this rating is just three points better than the Atlanta Falcons’ 83, so it’s hard to take the whole thing too seriously.
The video-game giant released their demo of this year’s installment of the Madden franchise on Tuesday, and in doing so made available their team ratings. The league’s best team will be the Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints at 92 overall — not surprising considering Drew Brees is on the cover. The Indianapolis Colts come in second at 91 overall for the game which is due to be released next month.
Two trendy offseason picks, the Baltimore Ravens and New York Jets have skyrocketed to 90 and 89 overall, respectively.
Among contenders, the Chargers, Eagles and Cardinals had the most precipitous declines (four, six and eight points, respectively) due to the loss of star players. The Houston Texans also inexplicably lost four points.
On the other hand, the Redskins proved to be the biggest winners, gaining six points due to the acquisitions of Donovan McNabb among others. Now, they are a mediocre 76.
The St. Louis Rams are last at 66 overall, an improvement from last year’s 65.
It’s hard to say what has caused the Pats’ decline from an 88 to an 86. Other than Adalius Thomas leaving, the roster is nearly identical to last season’s, but aging and a lack of a deep playoff run last season likely inspired the downgrades.
As for what’s new in the ’11 version, everybody’s favorite overexcited announcer, Gus Johnson, will now be joining Chris Collinsworth in the virtual booth, and play-calling has been drastically simplified to lower game times.
The soundtrack will no longer feature songs like “The Anthem” by Good Charlotte, but instead be full of classic-rock anthems like “Thunderstruck.”
The Madden curse did strike Troy Polamolu in 2010, but New Orleans is owed some luck, so let’s hope that Brees is spared in the upcoming season.
Finally, the biggest new addition to the game: Barack Obama. Play the video below to find out what happens when you win it all.
