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For most of this year’s Madden 09 campaign, the Dallas Cowboys were the team of choice. One obvious reason was their massive amount of offensive talent. With Tony Romo’s speed and accuracy, he was a combo threat to either run or throw. Terrell Owens gave gamers a viable counterpart for opponents who used the seemingly unstoppable tandem of Tom Brady and Randy Moss. With the new tackle breaking system implemented in Madden 09, Marion Barber has been the prototypical running back.

In most cases, Madden tournament players roll with the Cowboys and are either high scorers or clock controllers. Tourney gamers who can combine both of these elements have had the most success, scoring at will and slowing the game down to keep their opponent off the field with three nice running backs in Barber, Felix Jones and Tashard Choice.

In Madden 10, the Cowboys will continue to be a clock killer’s dream. Their running attack will be top five in the game for sure. Barber is easily the every down back. With his lethal speed, Jones can be used for pass catching and toss/sweeps. Choice is a very capable backup who can be utilized just in case Barber or Jones are injured. Running a clock-controlling scheme out of fullhouse will most likely be the main offense used by Cowboy gamers.

Defensively in Madden 09, the Cowboys were a tremendous problem early on. When Adam “Pacman” Jones was added to the game, the Cowboys had three speedy corner backs, including Terence Newman and Orlando Scandrick. The Cowboys defensive front seven was a steady wall to run against and they also had a decent pass rush. The raw combination of strength and speed EA gave the Cowboys made it hard for any offense to counter. The only holes for the Cowboy’s defense in Madden 10 will be safety and the down 3 in their 3-4 defense.

Simply put, the Cowboys are and still will be a great Madden team despite the departure of Terrell Owens and Pacman. The main Madden gamers selecting the Cowboys will continue to probably be clock controller and heavy runners. Although it won’t be as high of a rating as it was just a year ago, the Cowboys overall team rating for Madden 10 will start at 82.

While most people associate an offseason with real, live sports like the NFL, MLB and NBA, hardcore Madden gamers tend to experience an offseason of our own around this time of year.

The offseason for Madden usually starts after the franchise’s last official tournament. This year’s last Madden event/tournament was the Players Bowl in Philadelphia.

Madden’s offseason feels like the game is dying. People have no need to play it anymore. Leagues slow down, lobbies are no longer as full, people trade the game in, everyone runs the playbooks/schemes/plays, everyone knows the glitches, and traffic on your Madden site decreases.

There is a universal offseason for almost every sports game and I believe it is around the end of March or early April for Madden. E3—Electronic Entertainment Expo—gets everyone excited for up-and-coming games with long-awaited trailers, release dates, and hands-on demos that drive Madden players insane because the next year’s version always seems better than the present one. E3 usually marks the halfway point between the offseason and the upcoming season.

The offseason is the time when most hardcore Madden players take a break and unwind. Some of you might be wondering how I survive the offseason. This time last year, all I played was Call of Duty 4. My love for Madden was not as strong as it is now, but I am now practicing my video-making skills for Madden 10 to make my site the biggest on the net. Last year, I all but forgot I even had the game. This go round though, there isn’t a game that catches my eye like Madden still does.

For hardcore madden gamers, E3 is a win/lose situation. We win because we finally get a chance to see live gameplay and exclusives. On the other hand though, we lose because we have two more painstaking months of agony and boredom. But, if you are like me, E3 is also a sign that the preseason is almost here. Preseason? You know what I’m talking about—NCAA Football 10.

With the highly anticipated Aug. 14 release date getting closer by the day, it’s causing many fans of the storied franchise to ponder exactly what Madden 10 will be like. To be honest, I don’t have the slightest clue. Take it as gossip or rumor if you please, but I can tell you that I heard from someone who attended E3 that there will be no more rocket catching in the upcoming version of the game. Also, he said that pure user catching has been improved and that the passing style will be tuned more towards how Madden has played on the ps2.

For self-proclaimed, offensive geniuses like myself, Madden has always been seen as a venue used to display a tight gameplan and a professional looking passing game similar to what you would see on any given Sunday. As most of us have already noticed, passing in Madden 09 was fairly easy, not including such faulty animations as the dreaded bionic swat and the defensive backs magically swatting passes down that they somehow saw with the two eyes on the back of their head. From what I’ve hear though, passing in madden 10 will be revamped and more realistic. Sticking with the information I have heard from a source, the new physics engine won’t allow the dreaded rocket catch that plagued this year’s game. Putting it as simple as possible, it’s most likely that Madden gamers will no longer be able to rely on stopping their wide receiver on a dime, turning him around and holding the catch button, only to have the ball go directly into his hands, no matter how many people were covering him. .

User catching is something that has always been used by big-time Madden players to judge skill level. Simply put, it’s looking like Madden 10 will require more than just user catching. Recognizing coverages and timing will also be key to success in the passing game. For the first time in years, maybe ever, You will actually need a real gameplan and precise execution to become an elite player in Madden 10.