Philadelphia Sports Blog

by Kevin Collins

“The most accurate football simulation ever.”  This is what the new NFL Madden 09 video game boasts.  I figured, if this is the case, why not preview the entire NFL season simply through Madden.  The skeptic may think, “well Kevin, Brett Favre is on the Packers, not the Jets in Madden 09 amongst other roster flaws, how is this accurate?”  Well let me tell you, at the time simulation, the rosters were downloaded straight from EA Sports most recent update.  They are as accurate as possible.

As seen above, this is the first part in a 3 part series of entries.  Today I will preview the NFC.  One of the great things about Madden is that it calculates MVPs, Pro-Bowlers, etc.  These too will all be listed in this and the upcoming articles.

Before we start, let me just reassure the reader I did absolutely nothing to interfere with the outcomes of games, trades, etc.  I simply pressed the “sim entire season” button.  Here’s how the NFC stacked up…

Z-Home Field  Y- Division X- Playoffs

NFC East

1.  Y-Dallas Cowboys 11-5 There is no real surprise here, Dallas IS the best team in the division – and barring any major injuries should take the top spot.

2.  X- Washington Redskins 11-5 This was a bit of an upset, in my opinion.  I think the Skins are the 4th best team in a great division.  If Clinton Portis can truly put up the 1,447 yards in the real season like he did in Madden, the Skins should easily get a playoff spot.

3.  Philadelphia Eagles 9-7 Even with the most total yards (8,461) and points per game (27.3) the Birds finished 9-7, which isn’t going to get you a playoff spot in this division.  McNabb had a hell of a year with a 96.0 passer rating, 3797 yard, and a 29 to 15 TD to INT ratio…do I smell an MVP down the line…?)

4.  New York Giants 7-9 Though the offense was strong, the defending champs finished with the worst defense in the NFC and missed the playoffs and a .500 season.  Super Bowl Hangover anyone?

NFC North

1.  Y- Minnesota Vikings 9-7 Lacking a solid QB hurts even in Madden.  Although if Adrian Peterson is averaging just shy of the century mark per game at 1557 total rushing yards, the Vikings are going to win this division.

2.  Green Bay Packers 8-7-1 Aaron Rodgers’ 94.9 QB rating, 3500 yards, 19 to 9 TD/INT is enough for the Cheese Heads to forget about number 4.  Too bad the Packers don’t have a run game, or a run stopping D for that matter, finishing last and second to last respectively in the NFC, missing the playoffs.

3.  Detroit Lions 7-9 Blame this one on Kitna – 25 interceptions.  The defense wasn’t great either, finishing well below average in every major team category.  Detroit just isn’t very good.

4.  Chicago Bears 5-10-1 What do you expect when Rex Grossman and Kyle Orton are the only options for QB?

NFC South

1. Y- Tampa Bay Buccaneers 12-4 Defense is what lead the Bucs to the South title.  11 and 10 sacks for Pro Bowl ends Gaines Adams and Marques Douglas.  Offensively – solid seasons were had by Jeff Garcia and Joey Gallaway.

2.  X- New Orleans Saints 10-6 Brees, Duce, and Bush are all the offense needed.  The Saints defense really shined.  Jonathan Vilma lead the team with 100 tackles, Mike Mckenzie in picks and Sean Ellis in sacks.

3.  Carolina Panthers  8-8 Jake Delhomme was putrid.  19 TD’s to 21 picks.  A completion percentage in the low 60s, and an off year for the offensive line means the Panthers are missing the playoffs.  Defensively, Carolina was in the middle of the pack.

4.   Atlanta Falcons 6-10 When an offensively inept team like the Falcons are in a relatively decent division, the D needs to step it up – they didn’t this season, having the worst pass defense in the conference.  The Falcons finished the year with no Pro Bowlers as well…weak.

NFC West

1.  Z- St. Louis Rams 12-4 Mark Bulger – wow.  What a year!  99.7 rating, 3600 yards, 73 completion percentage, and the starting Pro Bowl QB.  Virtual Steven Jackson came back from his holdout and had an okay year, averaging 71.8 yards a game with 8 TDs.  The defense was also above average.  Only time will tell whether or not the Rams will be the best team in the NFC…even though I can tell you right now they sure as hell won’t be.

2.  San Francisco 49ers  9-7 I don’t really know what happened here.  Weak division I guess.  No one player really stands out.  All the team’s offensive stats were near the bottom, and the defense was around the league average.

3.  Seattle Seahawks 7-9 This was a disappointing year for Seattle.  Though virtually they struggled, they really should take the division.  They had the worst defense in the league and were a little above average offensively.  I wouldn’t be shocked if the Seahawks and Rams switched places in the real season.

4. Arizona Cardinals 4-12 Ouch – worst team in the NFC.  Warner and Leinhart split time at QB, neither really standing out.  It must have been a big virtual distraction. Speaking of which, Mr. Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin must really want out of Arizona with the way they performed.

With these standings, here are the wild card playoff games for the NFC.
Saints @ Cowboys
Redskins @ Vikings

Ponder these.  The playoffs will be covered in the third and final section of this three part series.

So there you have it.  The 2008 NFC predictions according to a certain simulation on Madden 09.  Want to know any other stats?  Let me know in the comments section and I’ll dig them up for you.