Following a three week absence the next Madden 10 roster update is slated to release on Friday. This will be the ninth of the year which puts them about a month behind the pace that they were delivered last year. Madden 09 had 13 roster updates out before Thanksgiving.

There is a lot of significant movement in this update considering there has only been one in the previous five weeks. Included are changes to the team overalls. Jay Cutler surprisingly drops only four points to an 82, Jarius Byrd leaps from a 78 to an 85, JaMarcus Russell has been benched and falls to 65, and Brett Favre is now up to a 91. Chris Johnson has also shot all the way to 96.

Continue on for the full list of changes and leave your thoughts in the comments.

After taking three weeks off from Madden 10 roster updates there should be one arriving on Friday. Given that gap and only one update being released in the last five weeks it should be a very significant one. Keeping up on developments of the last few games are the week eight and week nine articles.

Sidney Rice continues his emergence as a #1 receiver in Minnesota with 201 yards against the Lions. Three of his last four games have included 136 yards, 176 yards, and now 201 which makes his 82 rating look on the low side. Josh Freeman may not have big stats but he has helped the Bucs become competitive. His current 70 rating will probably move up 3-5 points. Similar situation in Tennessee where a 71 rated Vince Young hasn’t been lighting it up but the team is 3-0 with him starting. I’ll bring up Chris Johnson again as he had yet another explosive game with 136 yards rushing and 100 yards receiving.

Jay Cutler may see the biggest decrease in the update. He now leads the league in INTs with 17, passing by and running away from Jake Delhomme in just one game. The 86 he has now certainly can’t be justified and he should probably fall into the high 70s. The only reason he won’t go lower is he still has the potential to turn it around. Joey Porter should see a fairly large decrease also from his 94. Not only was he benched due to off-the-field issues but his play has been sub-par all season and he may not make it back into the starting lineup. As incredible as Adrian Peterson is he will probably lose some from his carry rating after two more fumbles this weekend.

Larry Johnson has joined the Bengals and should be included in the update. The move doesn’t make much sense given the statements that he’ll be 4th on the team’s depth chart. A handful of players have hit the IR including Ellis Hobbs, Roy Williams (Cincy), and Jordan Gross. Also affected by injury is Brian Westbrook who’s status for the remainder of the season is in question after yet another concussion.

Despite EA taking three weeks off from Madden 10 roster updates I wanted to keep this going since it makes it easier to track performances as the weeks go on. Now halfway through the season there are only two undefeated teams though the Colts appear vulnerable due to defensive injuries. On the other end of the spectrum is the Giants who have now lost four straight games and should see that reflected in the ratings when the time comes.

Cedric Benson has now rushed for over 100 yards against the Ravens in both games this year. He is the only RB to rush for 100+ on Baltimore in the last 43 games. He has to be considered one of the best RBs in the league now and deserves a rating in the 90s. Matt Forte is rated an 88, just one point less than Benson, and he has only gone over 100 yards once this year. Clinton Portis is rated a 92 and has only crossed the century mark once as well. Chris Johnson has been unbelievable with 491 yards in just his last three games. He now has the rushing lead ahead of Benson. He should be moving up from his 90 rating.

David Hawthorne has played great in place of Lofa Tatupu and he legitimately could be the best player on the Seahawks defense. In the three games Hawthorne has two sacks, recorded 33 tackles, and has picked off three passes but is only rated a 71. Vince Young hasn’t been great statistically but he has done well enough to help the Titans win their first two games of the season. He’s sure to receive at least a small bump from his 71. Meanwhile Matt Leinart can’t even be trusted in mop-up-duty time and is a 73.

Injury wise from this weekend the next update will include Chris Henry, Thomas Davis, Marlin Jackson, and Bob Sanders hitting the IR. Chris Chambers was released and is now with the Chiefs and Edgerrin James has been released. Larry Johnson has been sent off as well and may be with a new team by the time the next update arrives.

The Pastapadre Online Franchise has now reached the pinnacle of the season. The Super Bowl will see the AFC representative Oakland Raiders face off against the best of the NFC in the Arizona Cardinals. For those of you interested in joining into the franchise for season two please drop your info in this forum thread. Selections will be made in the coming days before the start of the free agency process and draft.

In the AFC Championship the #1 Raiders topped the #3 Ravens with relative ease 41-17. Oakland jumped ahead 17-0 in the first quarter and never looked back. Darren McFadden scored the two TDs on long runs of 71 and 56 yards and he finished the game with 169 yards. They didn’t need much else as Joe Flacco threw four picks and there was no way the Raiders were going to be beat by a team that made any mistakes let alone five total turnovers.

The NFC Championship saw the #1 Cardinals top the #3 Eagles 28-14. The Cards took a 13-0 lead into the fourth quarter where a couple scores were exchanged but the outcome was never in doubt. Donovan McNabb threw for 352 yards while Arizona moved the ball primarily on the ground with both Frank Gore and Beanie Wells going for over 100 yards.

So the Super Bowl matches up the two best teams in the online franchise as everyone would hope for. The 16-2 Cardinals will be the underdog against the 18-0 Raiders. The two teams did not play each other in the regular season.

Mentioned throughout the playoff previews has been the Cardinals ability to score on special teams. Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie led the league in return TDs and he had a 100 yard kick return TD in the NFC Championship. They will likely need to get a score from special teams or with their defense in order to have a chance against the Raiders.

Oakland has proven that they will not beat themselves. They have a good ground game and an efficient though unspectacular passing attack. They limit turnovers and jump on opportunities to bury teams by capitalizing on theirs.

With the exception of acquiring Frank Gore for Anquan Boldin the core of these teams were not changed significantly. That Gore trade though gives the Cardinals a dual-headed rushing attack. If they fall behind early and have to abandon that they may be doomed. It’ll be important that they can keep offensive balance and if they get a lead they are structured to hold a team off by consistently moving the chains.

The Raiders will look to grab that early lead and put the Cardinals away before they can get into a groove. It will take a near perfect effort by Arizona to pull this one off.

Line: Raiders -6

The second patch for Madden 10 is in certification testing with MS and Sony. It is unclear when it started that process but it is reasonable to expect it to arrive by the middle of the month. Some of what is expected in the upcoming patch can be found here.

The patch for NBA 2K10 has been submitted to MS and Sony. If it clears through without any hiccups it should be out within the next two weeks. Details on what is expected from the patch can be found here. (Update: Out as of 11/6)

The first patch for NBA Live 10 that was released last week on the 360 has been approved by Sony and should be out this week (it could come at any time). The patch details can be found here. (Update: Out as of 11/5) A second patch is in the process of being submitted to MS and Sony. That patch will address some issues that were discovered after the release of the first patch. It sounds as though it will be out mid-late this month.

Gamespot has a first look at Madden Ultimate Team which is similar in concept to FIFA Ultimate Team which released last year. This will be a downloadable update which will add the mode to the menu of the regular Madden 10 game. The FIFA version of Ultimate Team cost $10 however in a surprising move Madden Ultimate Team will be free. Check out the full preview here.

after loading it up for the first time…you’ll be given a randomized set of cards, enough to get you up and running right away….Those cards include players, stadiums, playbooks, coaches, injury cards, and contract cards, and the quality of the card will be reflected in its status as either a bronze, silver, or gold card….Playing games with your team, you’ll earn credits that you can then use to buy bronze, silver, or gold packs full of more cards you can use to bolster your team. You’ll also be able to spend real-world cash to buy in-game credits.

Obviously EA is looking to rake in some money off those who will pay for in-game credits but by making MUT free they have also increased the value of Madden 10. With sales showing continued strength this year this new mode could make Madden an even more appealing gift over the holidays.

Madden Ultimate Team does not have a solidified release date though EA Sports is shooting for early January. While that would coincide with the NFL Playoffs the mode is a perfect fit for the offseason. Continue on for the Gamespot video featuring MUT and leave your thoughts in the comments!

EA Sports has now stated that the next roster update for Madden 10 will not be coming until November 20th. That means there will have been a three week gap between updates and just two updates in a five week span.

This is really disappointing news and any frustration is justified. While there will always be arguments as to players being over or underrated the updates this year have provided the best reflection of real life performance in the history of the franchise. This doesn’t just affect quick games and online games as anyone looking to start a franchise or online franchise won’t have the most up-to-date rosters available. Consistency is even more important than happening every single week and now we don’t even have that.

A partially automated system like NBA Live has with the Synergy daily updates would not make sense for Madden. Games are played only once a week and stats are not the driving force behind many positions in football. But if EA can’t do manual roster updates on a consistent basis than maybe some other procedure needs to be considered.

As suggested in the comments a system where roster moves (IR, trades, cuts, signings, depth chart) were done on a weekly basis while the ratings were adjusted bi-weekly or even quarterly would be a reasonable compromise.

Statistically there were only a handful of players who had standout games in week eight however some trends were evident. The Giants should see a drop (at least to the defense) after getting smoked in three straight games. Kurt Warner turned the ball over six times and has been inconsistent this season. Steve Slaton got benched in favor of Ryan Moats who had a big game so some changes may be in store there. Jairus Byrd has seven picks and 16 passes defensed already this season leading the league in both categories and could get pushed up a few more points this week.

For some reason EA is hesitant to drop JaMarcus Russell down more than a point each time they do, I’m guessing this is because they still want the Raiders to be a serviceable team for those who want to use them. Currently he sits as a 67 which, granted, is the lowest starter. However the ratings are supposed to be reflective of how good the players are and those who decide to play with the Raiders would know they’ve got a challenge on their hands. Artificially keeping certain players higher just because they are starters goes against the whole meaning of ratings.

Owen Daniels injury and the release of Chris Chambers should also be reflected in the next update. As always leave your thoughts in the comments on what players deserve a boost or a downgrade based on their performance in this week’s Madden 10 roster update.

The Pastapadre Madden 10 Online Franchise has now reached the Conference Championships. On one side it is the rematch of the real life NFC Championship from last year with the Eagles @ Cardinals. In the AFC it is the undefeated Raiders hosting the Ravens. For those of you who have expressed interest in joining the franchise keep an eye out for a post in the next week or so regarding that as there will be a handful of openings. Continue on for a preview of the two games.

NFC Championship: #3 Eagles (13-5) @ #1 Cardinals (15-2)

It was expected to be a shootout and it was just that. In the highest scoring game of the season the Eagles topped the Saints 73-51 to advance to the championship game. Donovan McNabb threw for five TDs while Drew Brees threw for six. However the difference were in the turnovers. Two fumbles and an INT returned for TD did the Saints in…that and the inability to stop the Eagles offense.

In the other divisional game it was the Cardinals winning easily over the Packers 42-14. Arizona’s defense was stifling as they limited Ryan Grant to 17 yards rushing and Aaron Rodgers to only seven completions on the day. Kurt Warner went 20-26 and hooked up with Larry Fitzgerald for two TDs.

This makes for an interesting NFC Championship game. The Cardinals have been the most consistent team this season in the NFC, while the Eagles were a question mark going into the playoffs. Don’t expect the same result from the Eagles-Saints game as the Cardinals are much more disciplined on defense and have shown the ability to strike on special teams as well.

Line: Cardinals -5

AFC Championship: #3 Ravens (15-3) @ #1 Raiders (17-0)

The undefeated Raiders fought off the Chargers for a third time this year winning 38-24. Oakland got three TDs on the ground (two from Darren McFadden and one from Michael Bush) along with a pick for TD by Nnamdi Asomugha. McFadden ran for 210 yards in the game which eased the pressure off the passing game which was efficient. Reggie Wayne caught three TDs on 159 yards for the Chargers.

The closest game of the weekend was the Ravens topping the Jaguars 31-28. A Brian Westbrook one yard TD run with 33 seconds remaining sent Baltimore to the AFC Championship. The Jags actually held a 16-3 lead with only a few minutes remaining in the third quarter but within the span of 2:08 had two fumbles returned for TDs. The lead switched four times in the fourth quarter showing what a battle this game was. Brian Westbrook rushed for 107 yards for the Ravens while David Garrard threw for 318 and three TDs.

These two teams faced each other in week 17 with the Raiders winning handily 35-10. Joe Flacco struggled completing only eight passes and throwing three picks. JaMarcus Russell wasn’t much better but the Raiders ground game finished with 209 yards and four TDs.

All season long the Raiders have shown that they are the toughest team in the league and it will take the perfect game from an opponent for them to knock them out. They aren’t going to beat themselves. Baltimore needed defensive TDs to top the Jags. They probably won’t have those opportunities in this game.

Line: Raiders -7.5

The eighth roster update for Madden 10 is set to be out later today or tomorrow. After taking a week off this is a significant update in terms of ratings and player movement.

Some notable changes include Matt Schaub boosted to 88, Terrell Owens down to an 85, Cedric Benson gains three and moves to 89, Sidney Rice gets moved up to an 82, Elvis Dumervil all the way to an 89, Brandon Mebane to an 86, and Jarius Byrd up to a 78. Mark Sanchez dropped to a 78 despite his impressive hot dog eating skills while JaMarcus Russell somehow only lost one point and sits at 67.

Once again the changes have been presented in image form. Continue on to check them out and leave your thoughts in the comments.