Madden 10 Colts revealed

The official player ratings for Madden 10 have been revealed over on ESPN.

http://espn.go.com/videogames/features/madden/madden10?teamId=10

We'll go through a couple of the more notable ones; who gets props and who gets snubbed?

For those of you who may not know, this years Madden has been ratings-adjusted, to counteract the "ratings inflation" that has been going on. In years past, a player that might have been an 83 would now be around a 75. A player that might have been a 70 will now be in the 55 range. So keep in mind that, unlike in past years, a rating in the mid-to-high 70s is not necessarily a bad rating. These players won't be elite, but they won't be utterly horrible either.

With that out of the way, lets get into it.

The Studs

1. Peyton Manning - 99 overall, 99 throw accuracy

Pretty hard to argue with this one.

2. Reggie Wayne/Dallas Clark - 95/91 overall, 98/92 catch

All good here, Clark and Wayne are both studs with elite hands.

3. Freeney/Mathis/Brock - 94/92/85 overall

EA gives Mathis the love he deserves, but also surprising to see Brock with such a high rating. Freeney is a beast, as usual.

4. Gary Brackett - 82 overall, 91 tackle

As one of the most underrated players in the league, it's surprising to see Brackett getting his due here. He's completely crucial to the middle of our D.

5. Sanders/Bethea/Hayden/Jackson - 95/88/87/82 overall

Much love for a fierce Colts secondary. They should be one of the top units in the game.

6. Jeff Saturday - 93 overall

Saturday gets his due as well, he should be a force in the running game. The O-line as a whole is pretty solid, all above 80 (except for a certain lineman whose name rhymes with "Hugo").

The Snubs

1. Anthony Gonzalez - 75 overall, 84 catch

Given his raw numbers, a person who has never seen Gonzo's DVOA could be forgiven for thinking he's a middling receiver. EA is going to look very silly in about three months.

2. Joseph Addai - 85 overall, 66 toughness

Wow, sure didn't take Addai long to get the "brittle" label. Still, an 85 ain't peanuts, but if you like Addai it would probably be best to play with injuries off.

3. The Linebackers

Brackett gets props, everyone else gets the shaft. Besides Brackett, no Colts backer rates above a 65. Even with the new system, those are pretty weak numbers.

4. Tony Ugoh - 76 overall

Put it this way: Charlie Johnson is five points higher than him.

5. Melvin Bullitt - 64 overall, 65 tackle

Anyone who watched Bullitt last year could not possible come to the conclusion that the colts were 30 "Madden Points" worse with him in the game for Sanders.

The ???

1. Ed Johnson - not listed

I would hope that EA would be on top of this, it was a fairly early move and it's very important to the Colts as a team. He may be in the game as a free agent (Marv will be, as well, so everyone who wants to see the Colts with 88 this season will need to buy Madden. Rumor has it he's a very respectable 84).

2. Austin Collie - 68 overall/Pierre Garcon - 54 overall

Maybe Collie's college numbers skew this. Either way, the only people who have seen Garcon in real action are the coaches, and they love him.

3. Curtis Painter - 68 overall/Jim Sorgi - 47 overall

We all love to rag on the Clipboard, but the fact is he's thrown 8 TDs and only one pick in his limited action, whereas Curtis Painter has never played a snap, and will be lucky to make the practice squad. Madden has a pretty strong "rookie bias", whereby unproven players are more or less given the benefit of the doubt. That's clearly in play here.

Later today, the official EA site will have the full spreadsheets, as well as some screens of our virtual Colts in action. That can be found here:

http://maddennfl.easports.com/cover.action

That's it for my take. What do you see that you love? What do you see that you hate?