Madden 08 Power Rankings (15-11)

The power rankings continue for Madden 08 based on the current NFL team rosters. Below are 15-11, and you can find 32-28 here and 27-22 here and 21-16 here.

15- Detroit Lions

The Lions are one of those teams that will be better in Madden than how well they will do this coming season. They added Tatum Bell and George Foster to the offense which will strengthen the running game, and drafted Calvin Johnson who will be the highest rated and most effective rookie player in the game. Jon Kitna should even have decent ratings after he put up impressive numbers last year. The offense is going to be tough to stop. The defense may struggle, but the offense could do enough to overcome that.

14- Carolina Panthers

Carolina has some interesting pieces and are strong at certain positions but struggle in other areas. The defense should be very good, especially the pass rush will continue to be one of the best in the game. However on offense outside of the explosive Steve Smith it doesn’t look as good. QB will be mediocre whether it is Jake Delhomme or David Carr. The Panthers had a good draft, but how much impact will Jon Beason, Dwayne Jarrett, and Ryan Kalil really have as rookies rated in the high 70’s to low 80s?

13- Atlanta Falcons

The Falcons were generally one of the most powerful Madden teams over the last several years due to two main reasons. The first was how effective Michael Vick could be. The second was how speed trumped all as an attribute. That appears to be changing this year with the introduction of the weapons. Vick will not be nearly as good, and the rest of the team which has been degrading should see a fall off also. They drafted Jamaal Anderson but he will be a downgrade from Patrick Kerney. Joe Horn was a positive pickup, but somewhat offset by the loss of Ashley Lelie.
12- Philadelphia Eagles

The draft isn’t going to do anything at all to help the team in Madden this year. Takeo Spikes is the big addition to the defense, although they also lost a couple solid contributors. On offense Kevin Curtis will look to fill the void of Donte Stallworth. Donovan McNabb will likely be rated just as highly as he was before he was lost for the season. Brian Westbrook can be used creatively.

11- Dallas Cowboys

Dallas comes in as one of the more balanced teams. Tony Romo will be rated relatively high after the job he did last season. Even though Terrell Owens may not have come through for the team last year, he’ll still be a force in Madden (look for spectacular catch weapon but no hands weapon after leading the league in drops). There is the decent RB tandem that offers contrasting styles. The defense will be good in the front seven. The big question is whether or not the safties can be exploited this year, as both Roy Williams and Ken Hamlin struggle in coverage.