Madden 13: Most Underrated Ball-Carriers in This Year's Football Franchise

Elite running backs can make or break an NFL franchise, and that's no different on the virtual gridiron. Madden 13 will be released on August 28, and this year's edition of the iconic football franchise features several excellent running backs.

I'm going to nitpick a bit here and focus on the Top 10 backs in the game.

You can check out ESPN.com reporter Jon Robinson's full report on the top ball-carriers in this year's edition of the game, but here's my take on who are the most underrated running backs in the Top 10 of this year's Madden franchise.

Michael Turner

Turner is the 10th ranked running back in the game, but I would take him over Jamaal Charles or Steven Jackson. 

It all depends on what style of runner you like to use, but I love powerful, bruising backs. They wear down a defense, and they're easier to carve out consistent yardage with. Robinson mentions that "when it comes to toughness, trucking, ball carrier vision and stiff arm", Turner is very well-rated.

That means he will punish defenders in the open field, despite the fact that he probably won't run away from anyone.

Madden's new physics engine, as Robinson mentions, is supposed to create more break-tackle scenarios. That couldn't benefit someone like Turner more.

Add him to the stacked Falcons passing attack, and you should be scoring plenty of points.

Ray Rice

How does the AFC's most versatile back and last year's second-leading rusher only warrant the fifth-best running back rating in the game?

Robinson's report has Rice at a 95 overall. That lands him one point behind LeSean McCoy and Arian Foster, and two points behind Adrian Peterson and Maurice Jones-Drew.

Like I said before I'm nitpicking here, but there's nothing Rice cannot do on the football field. He's an excellent receiver, and can play all three downs because of it. Most Madden players probably aren't going to take Peterson off the field, regardless of his role in real life, but that doesn't change the facts.

Rice will take over games, and you can move him all over the field if you want to. His hands, acceleration and open-field agility set him apart. 

I'd have a very hard time picking any other back over the Ravens' ball-carrier. If you're going to build a franchise, you can't go wrong here.