Madden 11 Player Ratings Leaked: Six Cardinals Make The Cut

I know, I know ... I'm late breaking the Madden 11 player ratings news, but nonetheless, I did. The ratings were leaked out yesterday for each of the top players, eight at each position. As you can expect, only six Cardinals made the cut. I know they haven't been the most dominant team, but they've won the division in back to back years and lost to the Super Bowl champs in each playoff appearance. For the division, the Cardinals held the lead with six players, the 49ers had five, the Rams had three, and the Seahawks had none.

The complete table that I worked vigorously on is after the jump. So are some of my thoughts on the ratings.

For the top half of the table:

• Six players with the highest rating (99) is much more then what we've seen in years past. I don't mind it. There are elite players in the league. I'm just wondering why Larry Fitzgerald didn't make it, especially since he was a 99 last year and hasn't changed at all in that span. Maybe they were kissing his butt for him to be on the cover.
• For the quarterbacks, there isn't much to argue about here. I do find it interesting that the Cards played four of those QBs last season, and will play four of them this season, as well.
• The running backs look good to me, although Peterson seems a bit high since he's fumbled so much in his career/last year. At wide receiver, I guess we know who the Madden Developers think is the best wide out in the game. At least give them the same rating.
• From the tight ends through the offensive line, everything looks fair. I was interested to see if Levi would've made the jump since he was a Pro Bowl alternate last year - no luck there. Glad to see Faneca make the list.

From the bottom half of the table:

• My first and biggest gripe is the fact that Ben Graham didn't make the punters list. Seriously?! No respect or love for the Aussie. I can deal with Lechler and Lee ahead of him, but that's it. First the Pro Bowl, now this - what's next?
• My second biggest gripe was that DRC didn't make it in the top eight. Am I the only one surprised by this? I mean, we should never be surprised to see the Cardinals get a lack of respect but DRC needs to be there. I would easily put him ahead of Hall, Samuel, Joseph and Finnegan.
• I also noticed that Antonio Smith, yes Antonio Smith, was in the top eight at defensive end. I then noticed that he was rated 1 point higher than Calais Campbell. Another crime in the making. It was pleasing to see CC get some recognition however.
• I find it amusing that Antrel Rolle, Karlos Dansby, and Anquan Boldin weren't listed. We should show this to all the critics out there. I also love how Kerry Rhodes made the list ... barely.
• It was good to see Dockett and Wilson make the list. If they didn't, there would be hell to pay.

I'll now leave you with the overall team ratings. Of course, the NFC West was ranked the worst. Did you expect anything else?

NFC EAST
Dallas 87
New York Giants 81
Philadelphia 80
Washington 76

NFC NORTH
Minnesota 88
Green Bay 87
Chicago 77
Detroit 68

NFC SOUTH
New Orleans 92
Atlanta 83
Carolina 75
Tampa Bay 69

NFC WEST
Arizona 79
San Francisco 79
Seattle 75
St. Louis 66

AFC EAST
New York Jets 89
New England 86
Miami 78
Buffalo 67

AFC NORTH
Baltimore 90
Cincinnati 86
Pittsburgh 84
Cleveland 70

AFC SOUTH
Indianapolis 91
Houston 78
Tennessee 77
Jacksonville 74

AFC WEST
San Diego 85
Denver 78
Kansas City 71
Oakland 71