It is probably the most controversial time of the year in the Madden 10 universe: the releasing of the team/player ratings. This is a time when diehard fans will praise or chastise the folks at EA for giving their team a certain rating. Some believe certain draft choices deserve more credit, perhaps another Matt Ryan, or that the exiting of a loud mouth super star (ala Terrell Owens) should increase the team's rating despite losing talent. Regardless, the ratings are set and there's nothing fans can do about it but complain about it on forums in the hope that next season EA will change their minds. 

Interestingly enough, after all the NFC division teams had been announced, we noticed one thing that was not there: a 90+ rated team. Perhaps this is EA's way of speaking directly to the parody that seems to plague the NFC these days, but the top team in the NFC goes to the New York Giants, with a team rating of 89. 

Skip ahead to the jump to catch the videos from each division with links to each team's complete rankings (courtesy of Madden online). 

NFC East - The beast of the conference once again is back with all four teams having a rating within 10 pts of each other. This has and will continue to be the premier conference in the NFC as every year it seems someone from the conference gets picked to make it to the Super Bowl. Here's a video preview of this powerhouse conference: 

 Rankings for the NFC East: 

NFC North - The drama conference as I like to call them, seem to be perpetually plagued with Brett Favre rumors every year. Well, for now, Brett is on the sidelines and NOT on an NFL team. Regardless however, the Minnesota Vikings take the top spot in the conference with the best RB unit in the NFL (Adrian Peterson/Chester Taylor) along with the 2nd best Defensive Line in the game. However, they also sport the WORST quarterback duo in the league (something Brett Favre would certainly change). They are not the top team by much however, as Green Bay and Chicago are both within two points of catching team "Love Boat."  Here's their video preview:  

Rankings for the NFC North: 

NFC South - This was certainly the surprise conference from last year, led by the resurgent Atlanta Falcons and their gun slinging quaterback Matt Ryan. The conference itself boasts a handful of quality running backs including Reggie Bush, DeAngelo Williams, Derrick Ward, Jonathan Stwart and Michael Turner (overdrive) and should be a competitive one at that. The Panthers are EA's top pick this season with arguably one of my favorite running duos (Stewart/Williams). The team is top in all the right cateogories including RB's (5th), WR's (8th) and OL (9th). Their worst category is Tight End, which honestly, who throws to a TE anymore? Also, watch out for the New Orleans Saints, with best in accuracy QB Drew Brees, who will likely have to throw for 6,000 yards in order to keep that team headed in the right direction. Here's the NFC South video preview:

Rankings for the NFC South: 

 NFC West - The home of the NFC Champions is certainly not going to make an NFC West Champion repeat difficult. The Cardinals, with cover athlete Larry Fitzgerald and his partner in crime Anquan Boldin back for another season, the Cardinals have the best wide recieving core in football. Not to mention, they still have the ageless wonder Kurt Warner who is tops when it comes to short and mid-range passing. The addtion of Chris "Beanie" Wells will hopefully do something to move the needle on their awful running game (freeing up Boldin and Fitzgerald more). The rest of the division is stuck in mediocrity. The Seahawks are the 2nd best team in the conference, yet went 4-12 last season; the 49ers have Michal Crabtree, but no one to throw to him and the Rams, well, let's just say that when your kicking team is your team's best attribute, that's not a good sign. Here's your NFC West preview video:    

Rankings for the NFC West: 

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