Madden 09, like every other Madden for the past 20 years, has signaled the start of the football season. The yearly release of Madden is the first burst of football energy that fans have been waiting months for. If you haven’t played Madden sometime over its twenty year reign as footballs premiere video game, I have no idea how you managed to visit this website from underneath your rock.

Fans who are excited to see their teams’ rookies in action can get an early glimpse of their skill in video game form. To tease you even more, here are my selections for the Pre-Season All-Madden Rookie Teams...

1st Team Offense


QB: Matt Ryan, QB, Atlanta Falcons, 83 Overall – Although he is below Chris Redman on Madden’s Falcons Depth Chart, Ryan boasts a higher overall.

RB: Darren McFadden, Oakland Raiders, 85 Overall – An amazing overall stat line which includes four 95+s and 8/11 ratings over 90. His speed ratings, 97 Speed, 96 Agility, 99 Acceleration, are only part of his arsenal

FB: Jacob Tamme, Indianapolis Colts, 79 Overall – Good Speed (87) and great Catch (86) means Peyton Manning may have just found another target

WR: Limas Sweed, WR, Pittsburgh Steelers, 80 Overall – This might turn out to be a Pro-Limas Sweed Blog.

WR: Devin Thomas, Washington Redskins, 80 Overall – Beats out fellow rookie and teammate Malcolm Kelly with a higher Speed, Agility, and Accceleration

OL: Jake Long, Miami Dolphins, 85 Overall – No surprise here, Long has great stats in Strength (93), Impact Blocking (90), Run Block Strength (95), and Pass Block Strength (92)

OL: Branden Albert, Kansas City Chiefs, 81 Overall – Has two 90+ ratings in Run Block and Pass Block Strength

TE: Dustin Keller, New York Jets, 80 Overall – Great speed ratings of 89 Speed, 88 Agility, and 90 Acceleration

1st Team Defense

DE: Chris Long, St. Louis Rams, 84 Overall – A very impressive overall with good balance in all attributes

DE: Derrick Harvey, Jacksonville Jaguars, 81 Overall – Speed kills around the edge. Harvey ties fellow rookie and teammate Quentin Groves for highest speed rating amongst rookie D-Ends

DT: Sedrick Ellis, New Orleans Saints, 84 Overall – Solid ratings in strength (93), Acceleration (88), and Power Move (89), Ellis gets the first DT spot on the 1st Team

DT: Glenn Dorsey, Kansas City Chiefs, 84 Overall – The guys over at EA appreciate the big man’s moves and gave him an amazing 85 for Finesse.

OLB: Vernon Gholston, New York Jets, 82 Overall – Originally a Speed DE, the Jets think his 92 Acceleration and 87 Strength better suit him standing as a OLB

MLB: Jerod Mayo, New England Patriots, 82 Overall – Great Acceleration (90), but he will really make his mark with an amazing Pursuit of 93.

LB: Keith Rivers, Cincinnati Bengals, 82 Overall – More speed and agility than Gholston, but lacks the Strength (75) to take his spot

CB: Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, Arizona Cardinals, 82 Overall – Incredible Speed (97) and Acceleration (98) puts Cromartie in position to make his mark as a reliable CB in his rookie season

CB: Mike Jenkins, Dallas Cowboys, 82 Overall – Can cover man-to-man (89) better than any rookie and has impressive speed and acceleration to man up with any receiver

SF: Tyrell Johnson, Minnesota Vikings, 80 Overall – Great Pursuit (90) along with a 94 Speed and 94 Acceleration put Johnson into the 1st Squad

2nd Team Offense

QB: Joe Flacco, Baltimore Ravens, 80 Overall – Tied with Brian Brohm for 2nd amongst QB Overalls, Flacco gets the spot since he will actually touch the ball this century

RB: Felix Jones, Dallas Cowboys, 80 Overall – There are others with higher overalls (J. Stewart 83, Mendenhall 81), but Jones has a solid rating line to accompany his amazing speed ratings (96 Speed, 97 Agility, 99 Acceleration)

FB: Jerome Felton, Detroit Lions, 78 Overall – A great lead blocker with an 84 for Trucking

WR: Malcolm Kelly, Washington Redskins, 80 Overall – Very solid rating line with a 95 Jump leading the way

WR: Donnie Avery, St. Louis Rams, 76 Overall – The speedster of the class, Avery’s speed ratings are impressive at 96 Speed, 97 Agility, and 97 Acceleration

OL: Ryan Clady, Denver Broncos, 79 Overall – Has the solid footwork (83 Run Block Footwork, 82 Pass Block Footwork) to work well in Denver’s Zone Blocking Scheme

OL: Chris Williams, Chicago Bears, 79 Overall – Looks to be a solid pass blocker with his highest rating of 92 in Pass Block Strength

TE: Martellus Bennett, Dallas Cowboys, 80 Overall – Look out for some spectacular catches this season, Bennett has a great 87 for Spectacular Catches

2nd Team Defense

DE: Phillip Merling, Miami Dolphins, 81 Overall – With a solid Power Move and respectable Speed, Merling earns a spot with the 2nd Team

DE: Quentin Groves, Jacksonville Jaguars, 79 Overall – The Jaguars selected two D-Ends with their first two picks, and both earn a spot on the All-Madden Rookie Teams. Groves is another guy with great speed off the edge

DT: Trevor Laws, Philadelphia Eagles, 79 Overall – Laws puts up great ratings in Strength and Power Move

DT: Marcus Harrison, Chicago Bears, 77 Overall – What Harrison lacks in Finesse (70), he makes up for with Strength (90) and Power Move (86)

OLB: Keith Rivers, Cincinnati Bengals, 82 Overall – More speed and agility than Gholston, but lacks the Strength (75) to take his spot

MLB: Curtis Lofton, Atlanta Falcons, 81 Overall – One of the hardest hitting rookies at 90, Lofton lacks the speed and acceleration to make it to the 1st Team

LB: Jordon Dizon, Detroit Lions, 78 Overall – Solid Agility (82), Tackling (83), and Block Shedding (82) gives Dizon the last LB spot on the 2nd team

CB: Leodis McKelvin, Buffalo Bills, 82 Overall – The first CB drafted this year, but his weak Zone Coverage rating (80) drops him to the 2nd Team

CB: Aqib Talib, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 80 Overall – An overall solid rating line was enough to push Talib into the 2nd Team. He hit the 90+ in Speed and Acceleration.

SF: Kenny Phillips, New York Giants, 80 Overall – His power stands out at 86. Phillips also has great Speed (93) and Acceleration (95)

Honorable Mentions: Brian Brohm, QB Green Bay Packers (80 Ovr), Calais Campbell, DE Arizona Cardinals (79 Ovr), Jonathan Stewert (83 Ovr), Rashard Mendenhall (81 Ovr)

Trends:

The highest rated rookie is 85, shared by Jake Long and Darren McFadden.
The Cowboys are the only team to place three rookies on the list.
The Jaguars, Rams, Dolphins, Jets, Lions, Falcons, Bears, and Chiefs all have two.
All Top 10 Picks are on the 1st Team
Gosder Cherilus (79 Ovr), OT of the Detroit Lions, is the highest pick (17th overall) to not make the list which isn’t too surprising with such a deep pool of talent on the O-Line in this draft