Madden Roster Update #17 Details

After a couple weeks away for the holidays the Madden roster updates have returned with #17 set to release on Friday. There is still expected to be another update next week following the divisional round of the playoffs. It’s unknown whether there will be one after the Conference Championships before closing out the year with the final update following the Super Bowl.

Some pretty significant changes this time around. LaDainian Tomlinson finally drops from his 99 rating, though it is only to a 97. Still not enough when compared to someone like DeAngelo Williams who did get a nice bump to 89, but there is little justification that can be made for being eight points behind LT. Brett Favre takes a five point hit down to an 89 while Matt Cassel moves up four points to 85.

Transactions
TE Jerame Tuman – Released by Cardinals
LB Victor Hobson – Signs with Cardinals
HB Najeh Davenport – Released by Colts
T Michael Toudouze – Signs with Colts
CB Adam Jones – Released by Cowboys
FB Casey Cramer – Released by Dolphins
LB Derek Smith – Signs with Dolphins
LB Rich Scanlon – Signs with Giants
DT J’Vonne Parker – Signs with Panthers
QB Craig Nall – Released by Texans
CB David Pittman – Signs with Texans
TE Mark Breuner – Retires

Ratings Up
HB Matt Forte – Bears – 85 to 87 – Ran hard and showed great promise behind a mediocre offensive line and a seemingly bad passing game.
DE Alex Brown – Bears – 85 to 86 – Made some big plays but consistency is still the biggest problem with him.
CB Leon Hall – Bengals – 80 to 82 – Had a better year after getting abused by offenses in his rookie season.
S Chinedum Ndukwe – Bengals – 80 to 84 – The Bengals best player in the secondary this season. Looks to enter next season entrenched as a starter.
HB Fred Jackson – Bills – 81 to 83 – Backup back to Marshawn Lynch who outplayed him most weeks.
LT Ryan Clady – Broncos – 87 to 90 – Elite LT for the Broncos. Everything you heard about how good he is is true.
WR Brandon Marshall – Broncos – 94 to 96 – Has taken the next step as a dominate #1 WR. The numbers are only going to get better.
WR Eddie Royal – Broncos – 82 to 84 – Undersized receiver who proved most critics wrong about the Broncos drafting him too early.
WR Larry Fitzgerald – Cardinals – 97 to 98 – Made more circus type catches vs. an outmatched Falcons secondary.
DE Antonio Smith – Cardinals – 84 to 85 – Has played big all season for the Cardinals.
LB Karlos Dansby – Cardinals – 88 to 89 – Was showing big hitting ability and in the right place at the right time in the 1st round vs. the Falcons.
CB DRC – Cardinals – 81 to 85 – Matched up with Roddy White and came up big. Made a nice leaping INT in addition to solid man coverage.
HB Darren Sproles – Chargers – 82 to 84 – Could be the start of a huge offseason contract. Looks much better than Tomlinson down the stretch.
CB Terence Newman – Cowboys – 95 to 96 – After shedding off injury concerns locked down opposing receivers the rest of the season.
DT Jay Ratliff – Cowboys – 87 to 88 – Racked up 7.5 sacks in impressive fashion for the Cowboys.
LB Bradie James – Cowboys – 88 to 89 – Played pro bowl caliber this season (just ask him).
CB Andre Goodman – Dolphins – 76 to 79 – Was miserable in Detroit in a Cover 2 scheme, played extremely well in man for the Dolphins.
LT Jake Long – Dolphins – 86 to 89 – Dolphins made a good pick and got a solid LT for the next 10 years.
LB Channing Crowder – Dolphins – 86 to 87 – Played kind of like everyone thought he would at the end of the season. Is up for a new contract.
QB Chad Pennington – Dolphins – 85 to 88 – Didn’t get it done vs. the Ravens, but played near mistake free football all season with free agent caliber WR’s playing a big role.
S Yeremiah Bell – Dolphins – 86 to 87 – Emerged as the best player in the Dolphins secondary after showing promise last year before a knee injury.
QB Donovan McNabb – Eagles – 91 to 92 – Has been rolling since the benching. Continues to play with receivers that can’t beat press coverage.
S Quintin Mikell – Eagles – 86 to 89 – The strength of the defense has been the safeties, big reason is Mikell.
S Brian Dawkins – Eagles – 93 to 94 – Whispers of his demise were exaggerated, has been as good as ever this season.
QB Matt Ryan – Falcons – 87 to 89 – Played a shaky rookie playoff game with some rookie throws, but he will be an elite QB in the future.
LT Sam Baker – Falcons – 83 to 85 – Had back issues this season and was banged up in college, but was a fine pass blocker when healthy.
WR Roddy White – Falcons – 93 to 94 – Looks to keep rolling next season with Matt Ryan.
CB Corey Webster – Giants – 90 to 91 – Has really turned it on this season playing excellent football consistently.
CB Rashean Mathis – Jaguars – 96 to 97 – Was an All-Pro before an injury to his knee ended his season. Likes to take the offenses best WR which can’t be said about all elite CB’s.
S Gerald Sensabaugh – Jaguars – 81 to 83 –
HB Thomas Jones – Jets – 90 to 91 – Looked very spry despite Jet beat writers saying otherwise. Ran very hard and was very elusive in space.
WR Calvin Johnson – Lions – 92 to 94 – Was the best player on the field Week 17 vs. the Packers. A QB and a competent staff could produce something never seen.
HB Kevin Smith – Lions – 79 to 81 – Was 24 yards short of a 1,000 with 8 TD’s on the Lions.
HB DeAngelo Williams – Panthers – 86 to 89 – His last half of the season was silly. Looks to keep rolling vs. the Cardinals.
QB Aaron Rodgers – Packers – 86 to 88 – Played an excellent season showing mobility and a cannon arm (and better than Brett).
FS Nick Collins – Packers – 89 to 91 – Was in the QB’s head for the first time in his career this season. Game is slowing down for him.
CB Charles Woodson – Packers – 94 to 95 – The Packers MVP this season.
RT Jeff Otah – Panthers – 79 to 83 – A beast in the run game.
LB Jerod Mayo – Patriots – 84 to 88 – Defensive rookie of the year. Mayo and Guyton could be special on the inside.
QB Matt Cassell – Patriots – 81 to 85 – Granted his receivers did all the work, but made smart decisions and passes all the way until the end.
CB Chris Johnson – Raiders – 71 to 79 – Paired with Asomugha to dominate opposing WR’s when both active. The other Chris Johnson replaced DeAngelo Hall and was better.
G Robert Gallery – Raiders – 85 to 87 – A bright spot on the Raiders offensive line. His shift to guard has helped out his career.
WR Lance Moore – Saints – 80 to 84 – Closed out the year with a big game and led the Saints in all receiving stats.
CB Ike Taylor – Steelers – 92 to 93 – Wide receivers can’t seem to see him lately. He just bats it down and lets them know.
HB Steve Slaton – Texans – 85 to 87 – My vote for top rookie back (Slaton/Forte/Johnson)
WR Andre Johnson – Texans – 97 to 98 – Dominated Charles Tillman and Al Harris to end the season. Is just better than everyone else.
HB Chris Johnson – Titans – 85 to 86 – Has flourished playing behind an excellent line. We’ll see what he’s got in the playoffs.
WR Justin Gage – Titans – 81 to 83 – Played big in games where the Titans had to pass the ball.
CB Cedric Griffin – Vikings – 83 to 85 – Was bad the first half of the season, but the last half and playoff game was the best corner the Vikings had.
WR Bernard Berrian – Vikings – 85 to 86 – Lead the league in YPC in a bad passing offense.

Ratings Down
CB Charles Tillman – Bears – 92 to 90 – Took a beating by opposing WR’s down the stretch.
LT Levi Jones – Bengals – 85 to 82 – Was pretty bad in pass blocking before ending up on IR.
LT Jason Peters – Bills – 96 to 94 – Made the Pro Bowl. Gave up a league high sacks at the LT position.
CB Dre Bly – Broncos – 89 to 87 – Was awful in Denver this season with no pass rush.
DE Elvis Dumervil – Broncos – 87 to 85 – Offered no pass rush in Denver this year.
HB LaDainian Tomlinson – Chargers – 99 to 97 – Closed out his 8th season with his lowest yards (1,110) and second lowest TD total (11). Averaging 4.4 YPC for his career with 126 TD’s.
WR Marvin Harrison – Colts – 92 to 89 – Is a shadow of his old self. Looks slow and can’t beat press coverage anymore (he still gets deep because corners underestimate him).
HB Joseph Addai – Colts – 91 to 90 – A bad and dinged up season this year for Indy. The health of the offensive line was a big factor.
WR Terrell Owens – Cowboys – 98 to 96 – The party is over. A 35 year old receiver who doesn’t get open anymore won’t be given such leeway.
WR Roy Williams – Cowboys – 92 to 91 – Was not able to get open in Dallas.
FS Reggie Nelson – Jaguars – 92 to 89 – Suffered from Sophomore slump and injuries. Was beaten several times very badly and had few INT’s to show for his gambling and lack of physicality.
QB Brett Favre – Jets – 94 to 89 – Played the Jets out of the playoffs. While guys like Leon Washington were winning the Jets games, Brett was losing them and keeping them out of games.
TE Ben Watson – Patriots – 87 to 84 – Was on the field a ton, but not part of Matt Cassel’s plan.
G Jacob Bell – Rams – 92 to 88 – A big bust acquired by the Rams in the offseason. Didn’t do much.
WR Torry Holt – Rams – 93 to 92 – Looks to be out of St. Louis and its time. No longer an elite #1 WR.
DE Jason Taylor – Redskins – 97 to 96 – Was banged up all season and didn’t do much, although looked better at the end of the season.
DE Andre Carter – Redskins – 88 to 87 – Combined with Jason Taylor to underachieve at the end position.
DE Will Smith – Saints – 90 to 89 – Did nothing except water pills this season in New Orleans.
TE Jeremy Shockey – Saints – 93 to 91 – Is a shell of his former self and not worth the crap that seems to follow him.
CB Marcus Trufant – Seahawks – 93 to 91 – Had an awful year this year after a very good one last season.
C Matt Birk – Vikings – 93 to 90 – No longer an elite Center and likely out of Minnesota.
S Darren Sharper – Vikings – 90 to 88 – Hasn’t been the same and probably will be phased out of Minnesota. Can still start somewhere but isn’t the player he was.