Madden NFL 11 likes Drew Brees, Andre Johnson and the Ravens

Quickly, name the two best quarterbacks in the NFL.

Peyton Manning(notes) and Tom Brady(notes)? That's probably the conventional wisdom, and the most popular answer out there. There's Manning and Brady, with Drew Brees(notes) either recently having joined that super-elite group, or at the very top of the next tier below.

Madden NFL 11 flips the script, though. They've got Brees and Manning as the best quarterbacks out there, with a significant drop-off to the next tier of guys, which includes Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers(notes) and Philip Rivers(notes).

Some player ratings for this year's edition of the Madden franchise have slipped out, courtesy of the gang at Operation Sports. They've got the top-10 players at every position, and the top-five quarterbacks look like this:

1t. Drew Brees, 99.
1t. Peyton Manning, 99.
3. Tom Brady, 95.
4t. Aaron Rogers, 94.
4t. Philip Rivers, 94.

As far as teams go, last year's Super Bowl competitors top the list, with the New Orleans Saints at a 92 and the Indianapolis Colts at a 91.

Also feeling the Madden love are the Baltimore Ravens, who have the league's third-best rating with a 90. The Dallas Cowboys are an 87, the best team in their division by a full six points. The Jets are the best team in the AFC East, with their 89 rating trumping the Patriots' 86.

At the other end of the spectrum, the Rams are the game's worst team, rated 66 overall. The Bills are a 67, the Lions are a 68, the Bucs a 69, and the Browns a 70.

No team in the NFC West rises above a rating of 79. Welcome to suckville.

After the jump, see the top-10 players at every position, and the overall ratings for every NFL team.

Again, via Operation Sports ...

Top Players
C. Johnson HB - 99
P. Willis MLB - 99
D. Revis CB - 99
J. Allen RE - 99
D. Brees QB - 99
P. Manning QB - 99
R. Clady LT - 98
A. Peterson HB - 98

Quarterbacks
D. Brees - 99
P. Manning - 99
T. Brady - 95
A. Rodgers - 94
P. Rivers - 94
B. Favre - 92
T. Romo - 90
M. Shaub - 89

Running Backs
C. Johnson - 99
A. Peterson - 98
M. Jones-Drew - 96
S. Jackson - 95
F. Gore - 93
D. Williams - 92
R. Rice - 90
M. Turner - 90

Fullbacks
T. Richardson - 94
L. Polite - 91
L. Weaver - 90
L. McLain - 90
L. Vickers - 89
O. Mughelli - 88
M. Hedgecock - 86
M. Karney - 85

Wide Receivers
A. Johnson - 98
L. Fitzgerald - 97
B. Marshall - 96
R. Wayne - 96
R. Moss - 95
R. White - 93
S. Smith - 92
D. Jackson - 91

Tight Ends
Tony Gonzalez(notes) - 98
J. Witten - 97
V. Davis - 96
A. Gates - 96
D. Clark - 96
H. Miller - 90
C. Cooley - 89
K. Winslow - 89

Left Tackles
R. Clardy - 98
J. Long - 96
J. Thomas - 95
M. Roos - 95
J. Gross - 95
D. Ferguson - 91
J. Brown - 91
B. McKinnie - 90

Left Guards
S. Hutchinson - 97
L. Mankins - 95
B. Grubbs - 94
K. Dielman - 93
C. Nicks - 91
E. Steinback - 91
A. Faneca - 91
T. Herremans - 89

Centers
N. Mangold - 97
A. Gurode - 92
J. Saturday - 92
S. O'Hara - 91
M. Birk - 91
R. Kalil - 90
J. Brown - 89
D. Koppen - 88

Right Guards
J. Evans - 98
C. Snee - 96
L. Davis - 89
D. Joseph - 88
B. Moore - 88
B. Williams - 88
H. Dahl - 87
J. Scott - 85

Right Tackles
J. Stinchcomb - 90
D. Stewart - 89
D. Woody - 89
J. Otah - 86
J. Gaither - 86
V. Carey - 86
R. Harris - 85
E. Winston - 85

Left Ends
R. Mathis - 95
J. Tuck - 92
R. Seymour - 92
L. Castillo - 88
A. Smith - 87
C. Campbell - 86
S. Ellis - 86
R. Edwards - 85

Right Ends
J. Allen - 99
D. Freeney - 97
M. Williams - 95
T. Cole - 95
J. Peppers - 95
H. Ngata - 94
D. Dockett - 94
W. Smith - 90

Defensive Tackles
K. Williams - 97
V. Wilfork - 95
J. Ratliff - 94
K. Jenkins - 94
S. Rogers - 93
C. Hampton - 91
A. Franklin - 90
R. Starks - 89

LOLB
L. Woodley - 91
S. Phillips - 91
D. Smith - 89
T. Davis - 87
B. Cushing - 87
J. Peterson - 86
B. Orakpo - 85
R. Maualuga - 85

MLB
P. Willis - 99
J. Beason - 96
R. Lewis - 94
D. Harris - 91
B. Ruud - 91
L. Fletcher - 91
D. Ryans - 90
J. Vilma - 90

ROLB
D. Ware - 97
J. Harrison - 97
E. Dumervil - 93
L. Briggs - 92
T. Suggs - 90
C. Greenway - 88
K. Rivers - 86
C. Matthews - 86

Corners
D. Revis - 99
N. Asomugha - 98
C. Woodson - 97
C. Bailey - 95
A. Samuel - 94
J. Joseph - 93
L. Hall - 92
C. Finnegan -92

FS
E. Reed - 97
A. Bethea - 95
D. Sharper - 94
N. Collins - 93
O. Atogwe - 92
B. Dawkins - 90
T. Jackson - 88
K. Rhodes - 88

SS
T. Polamalu - 97
A. Wilson - 96
B. Sanders - 89
B. Merriweather - 88
L. Landry - 87
T. Branch - 86
J. Leonhard - 85
B. Pollard - 84

Kickers
R. Gould - 95
N. Kaeding - 95
R. Bironas - 93
R. Longwell - 92
S. Gostowski - 91
S. Janikowski - 90
J. Hanson - 89
D. Akers - 89

Punters
S. Lechlar - 98
A. Lee - 94
D. Jones - 94
M. Scifres - 93
M. McBriar - 92
D. Colquitt - 91
B. Moorman - 90
S. Koch - 86

Teams

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 83
Carolina 75
Tampa Bay 69

NFC WEST
Arizona 79
San Francisco 79
Seattle 75
St. Louis 66

AFC EAST
New York Jets 89
New England 86
Miami 78
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

Related: Aaron Rodgers, Philip Rivers, Andre Johnson, Drew Brees, Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Baltimore Ravens, Dallas Cowboys, Indianapolis Colts, New Orleans Saints, New York Giants, New York Jets, Madden/Video Games

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Andre Johnson's unhappiness adds to Texans' drama

It was bad enough for the Houston Texans when they were dealing with Brian Cushing, the ramifications of what he did or did not take, and the resulting four-game suspension that will kick off Cushing's 2010 season. Now, receiver Andre Johnson(notes), the team's best player, is making noise about his contract. He's not happy about an eight-year, $60 million contract extension that he signed in March of 2007 that will pay him a base salary of $5.8 million this season. That base jumps to $6.8 million in 2011 and $7.3 million in 2012, narrows off to $7 million in 2013, and goes back up to $7.3 million in 2014. Add in $15 million in guaranteed money, and it sounds like a lot of scratch ... until you compare Johnson's contract with other recent receiver deals.

Arizona's Larry Fitzgerald(notes) signed a new deal in March of 2008, a four-year, $40 million contract that gave him $30 million guaranteed and $12.1 million in option and roster bonuses alone in 2009. Fitzgerald's base is $6.3 million in 2010 -- just half a million over Johnson's -- but it's the way in which the contract is structured that gives the advantage to Fitzgerald. Three-quarters of Fitzgerald's contract is guaranteed, while Johnson's guaranteed money comprises just one-fourth of his total deal. When Roy Williams signed a six-year, $54 million deal with the Cowboys upon his trade from the Lions in October 2008, he got more than $26 million guaranteed, including a $10 million option bonus in the second year. He has a couple of years in which the deal is voidable -- 2013 and 2014 have base salaries of over $8 million -- but Williams will earn far more than his on-field production has been worth.

And that's where Johnson is in the right. As great as Fitzgerald has been, there's little doubt that Johnson has been the NFL's most productive receiver over the last few years. Last season, Johnson was targeted 172 times to Fitzgerald's 153 and Williams' 86. As Houston's offense has gone extremely pass-heavy, Johnson has been the focus of every defense playing the Texans, and he's still been able to put up ridiculous numbers -- his 1,569 receiving yards led the league by more than 200 yards over New England's Wes Welker(notes). No receiver had more plays of 20 yards or more last season than Johnson's 22. In 2008, Johnson led the league in catches (115) and receiving yards (1,575). And Houston's overall game plan isn't going to change anytime soon, which means that Johnson will continue to be the pointman in that offense.

Johnson is currently absent from the Texans' OTAs, and General Manager Rick Smith has said that the team has a strict policy of refusing to negotiate with players who aren't present. Johnson negotiated that extension with the help of Andre Melton, his uncle and agent, and Melton was quoted as saying last season that he had an "exit strategy" for Johnson if the Texans didn't pony up. Johnson went on the record and disagreed with that notion, but he's got a point when it comes to his compensation. Perhaps step one is to hire a more experienced advisor to help him through the process.

Related: Wes Welker, , Houston Texans

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