It is a great day to be a football video game fan, as the single best selling sports video game of all-time will release its newest edition on Tuesday at midnight. Madden 12 promises to be the best football video game to date, with some brand new, in-depth features in franchise mode and improved all-around game play.
As we know, Browns running back Peyton Hillis won a fan vote to grace the cover of the video game, and he is undoubtedly the best player on the Browns' 74 overall roster, which to me is a tad bit low.
Hillis' rating comes in at a 91 overall, and he has 99 toughness and 99 trucking, making him one of the most destructive running backs on the entire game.
You can check out the full list of Cleveland's team ratings by checking out this ESPN feature, but you will notice that some of these players are no longer on the team, specifically guys like Lawrence Vickers and Matt Roth, two of the best players on the team overall (90 and 86 respectively).
One of the Browns' clear strong suits in the new Madden is their offensive line, which features 95 overall Joe Thomas at left tackle and 88 overall Alex Mack at center.
Defensively, young defensive backs Joe Haden and TJ Ward check in at 86 and 85 overall respectively, and will be two of the Browns' top young players to develop in franchise mode.
I expect quarterback Colt McCoy's 77 overall rating to increase as the Madden guys make roster updates throughout the year.
Cornerback Buster Skrine is the team's fastest player with a rating of 96 in that category, but Josh Cribbs is not far behind with a speed rating of 92.
Make sure you pick up your copy of Madden 12 this year, because with the new features in franchise mode, it promises to be one of the most in-depth sports games ever made. Madden has taken plenty out of the book of the NBA2K series and will be adding in-season scouting, as well as realistic team trends, such as Al Davis picking a fast player in the draft over a guy with good hands, or something like that.
I have already pre-ordered my copy, and I'm expecting it in the mail tomorrow so I can hit the sticks!