Hey look, Madden 12 team ratings for the NFC South pre-free agency. Kinda weird to see RB Jerious Norwood trumpeted as one of the Falcons' bright spots since everybody knew he'd be leaving, but all right. (Plenty more ratings are making themselves public here, FYI.)
The Falcons earn a division-leading 87, followed by the New Orleans Saints (85), Tampa Bay Buccaneers (84) and lowly Carolina Panthers (72). You can quibble about the order of the first three, but it makes sense as long as you remember this is before free agency moves are accounted for. Saints seem pretty low.
Expect the Falcons to move a little bit once DE Ray Edwards is brought aboard and OG Harvey Dahl is removed. Apparently Norwood's exit will hurt Atlanta too somehow. Carolina might improve a little bit from gaining TE Greg Olson, and Tampa Bay will surely soar for its addition of P Michael Koenen. But the Saints might end up the highest-rated team in the South after picking up RB Darren Sproles and DT Aubrayo Franklin. Whatever.
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