Madden09 ratings

Go have some fun checking out the Rams' Madden09 ratings here.

Highlights:
Steven Jackson is ranked the team's best player with a 97, followed by Torry Holt and - Jason Bell (!) at 94. Brandon Williams, who I guess is currently a Ram, is the lowest-ranked returning player at 66. Marc Bulger (89) is apparently not as good a player as Donnie Jones (90).

Claude Wroten is close to the bottom at 69, and is tied with Leonard Little for the team's lowest morale at 65. How'd they come up with Little for that? Next-lowest morales - *Steven Jackson* and Richie Incognito at 70.

Tye Hill (98) is rated the Rams' fastest player, just ahead of rookie Justin King. The slowest? Josh Brown (46) and Trent Green (48). At 55, Bulger is considered no faster than Nick Leckey.

Hill (44) is considered one of the Rams' physically-weakest players, though; he's ahead of only Williams and Josh Brown (25). Orlando Pace's 94 is the Rams' highest strength rating - really? - followed by Adam Carriker and Alex Barron at 92.

Some of Fakhir Brown's ratings are baffling. Morale seems to weigh off-the-field problems heavily; how the hell can a guy one strike away from a year-long league ban be a 95? And how does Fakhir get one of the team's highest "awareness" ratings? You know, the guy who NEVER TURNS HIS HEAD on passes thrown his direction? Madden09 does seem to rate all of the Ram DBs better at man coverage than zone coverage, not that Jim Haslett agrees.

Lastly, because I could probably do this all day, La'Roi Glover - really? - is the team's toughest player (97), followed by Jackson. Jackson's out injured a lot to be the team's second-toughest player. And in stark illustration of the defense's lack of big hitters, the highest hitting power rating on the team is Todd Johnson's (start him!) at 93. Pisa Tinoisamoa is 3rd at 84, beaten out by rookie free agent Vince Hall at 85.

Another reason to root for Hall to make the team.