Cusp of Immortality

Kyle Cooper: Yes.

Expect the New England Patriots to enter Madden 2009 with an overall rating of 100 with a win on Sunday. The closest any other team has come to this mark is the 1972 Miami Dolphins. The Dolphins finished 17-0 back when the regular season was two games shorter. There has also been a number of teams with one loss, but no one has reached the level of perfection for an entire season like the 2007-08' New England Patriots will have done. So, why should we expect to see the number 100 sitting beside the Pats next season? One word: History.

We've all seen how Madden likes to rate the historic teams in the game. Madden typically likes to glorify the teams from the past. Quite often, an unusually high number of players have a 99 overall rating. Further strengthening the argument for the Patriots coming in at 100 next season is the fact that the 72' Dolphins and the 85' Bears, among other teams, come in with outrageous personal ratings and a 99 overall team rating. Shouldn't a team that was better than them come in even higher?

What may scare many Madden gamers about the thought of the Patriots being the best team ever is the fact that they could possibly return everyone from this year's team next season. If they do that, then it could be the first time that we see a non-classic team rated as a 100 overall. This would mean that all of us would have to deal with the greatest team ever in online play, leagues, and even tournaments. This Sunday could be the beginning of the end for non-Patriot users next season. Beware!

Daniel Grundei: No.

If you want to give the 2007 Patriots a 100 rating in the historic roster, that's fine. But isn't Madden 09 supposed to be predicting the success of each team based on the upcoming season? There is no way the Patriots are going to recapture the magic from the 2007 season in 2008. So why shouldn't the New England Patriots be a 100 overall next season? One word: Age.

Did I mention also that the Patriots don't even have Moss under contract for next year? If he doesn't sign with the Pats, there is no talk about a 100 rating for the Pats. Let's assume the Pats lock him in for another year. Randy Moss has been injury prone throughout his career, and he's aging. He'll be 31 entering next season, and it's reasonable to assume he'll be slightly less productive next season. That's going to make it a bit easier for teams to stop Wes Welker and company on the underneath routes.

The real decline for the Patriots is going to be on the defensive side of the ball. Vrabel will be 33, Bruschi - 35, Seau - 39. Unless these guys are on the Barry Bonds rejuvenation plan, they're on the decline. Bruschi's had a stroke. Seau has had two other teams already give up on him. In addition, star CB Asante Samual likely won't resign with the team. Other key issues could be the injury status of DE Seymour and LB Colvin. Check the depth chart behind these guys you'll see that there's going to be a drop-off when these guys finally pack it up.

There is simply no way the 08 Patriots are going to match what the 07 Patriots have done. They're going to win 12 or 13 games. But is a 13 win team worthy of a 100 overall rating?