Falcons rise up in Madden NFL 11 too

Count Madden NFL 2011 as among the believers in this year's Atlanta Falcons.

Electronic Arts’ ever-popular video game has often turned its nose up at Atlanta’s NFL squad. But this year’s team, particularly on offense, is among the league’s best. Or at least in the minds of the developers who program every computer-simulated player and team.

The Falcons’ best player is not quarterback Matt Ryan (ranked a ho-hum 86 among his passing peers) or even hard-nosed running back Michael Turner (90), but tight end Tony Gonzalez (98). Wideout Roddy White (93) and fullback Ovie Mughelli (88) are also skilled skill position players, giving the home team an overall score of 86 on offense.

The defense's 83 rating drags the Falcons’ overall team score down to 86, still fourth highest in the NFC, and second in the NFC South. It's a jump from the 2009 version, where Atlanta only rated an 81, sixth best in the NFC.

The Saints (92), Vikings (88) -- programmed with the perpetually retiring Brett Favre at QB -- Packers (87) and Cowboys (87) are the only NFC teams to score higher in the 2010 version.

The team defense needs shoring up, as everyone knows. Defensive end John Abraham (89) creates substantial chaos, but he’s going to need help. Now would be a fine time for underachieving DE Jamaal Anderson to begin playing better than his 70 rating.

Cornerback Dunta Robinson (85) has what it takes, but the other corner is manned by Brent Grimes, who sports a Charles Dimry-like rating of 75.

Rookie first-round pick Sean Weatherspoon starts at outside linebacker with a 75 rating.

A few other Falcons had their wings clipped. Are wideouts Michael Jenkins (78) and Harry Douglas (66) really that bad?

A quick tour of the league shows former Georgia QB Matthew Stafford (80), now with the Lions,  to be a much better player than former Florida foe Tim Tebow (70), now with the Broncos.

And former Falcon Mike Vick has truly fallen on hard times. He now ranks a pedestrian 73.

Playing the game, the Falcons are fairly unstoppable. The running game can be devastating with Mughelli throwing monster blocks and Turner bulldozing his way downfield.

Toss in a few Ryan play-action passes to Gonzalez or White and the Falcons look like a contender.

A bend-don’t-break philosophy on defense is workable, and Abraham is fun to chase the quarterback with.

The Falcons are good, but what about the game itself?

This year’s Madden has been tweaked to appeal to the “casual gamer.” Games now take about 30 minutes on the default settings, half as long as last year. The game shows fewer cinematic sequences between plays, greatly speeding up the action.

The other obvious change is play-calling. Now, the player has the option of letting the computer pick the play, a system EA calls “GameFlow.”

Other than added audio, where the coach exhorts or informs players through in-helmet directives, it’s not much different than using the old “Ask Madden” feature, which is still available.

Control freaks will be pleased to know there’s one-button access to all 300 or so plays in the typical team playbook.

GameFlow is supposed to pick plays similar to those used by NFL teams, but in a cpu-controlled game, the Falcons’ Mughelli ran the ball five times. In real life, he had four rushes the entire 2009 season, so that feature may be busted. Those with a lot of time on their hands can create their own custom playbook.

What else is new?

** The oft-mashed turbo button has been removed. Speed bursts now happen automatically. That takes some getting used to, but makes the game more realistic.

** The oft-maligned “Fight for the Fumble” mini-game seems quicker. Hit the proper button quickly enough and the ball is yours. Interceptions, as usual, occur seemingly at random. At times, the defense has Lester-Hayes-like sticky fingers, but corners often drop the easiest picks.

** The kicking game now uses a button instead of the thumbstick. Once the timing of the kicking meter is mastered, kicking, once again, feels too easy.

** Smoother player animations and physics, but odd-looking plays still happen. A harried Ben Roethlisberger was able to sprint left and, while running out of bounds, throw a perfect strike all the way across the field.

** The camera angle is much improved for Online Team Play, which allows up to six players, three on each team, to battle it out.

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Here’s how the rest of the NFL stacks up in Madden 11.

AFC EAST

New York Jets 89

New England 86

Miami 79

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

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 86

Carolina 75