Madden 12: Patriots, Packers and 5 Passing Attacks That Are Simply Unstoppable

For all those Andy Reid-type Madden play callers, the running back is just a receiver with poor hands that runs shorter routes.

Some gamers just want to take the Brett Favre approach to football and simply sling it on every down.

If you fall into that category then these are definitely the teams for you on this year's version of Madden.

San Diego Chargers

In real football, a quarterback always loves a tall target to throw to. In Madden things work exactly the same way!

As such the Chargers offense with Philip Rivers at the helm will be one of the most difficult passing attacks to stem this year.

Rivers' throw power is underrated at 90 overall but his deep accuracy is a 93. His awareness of 94 should see him hitting Vincent Jackson, Malcom Floyd and Antonio Gates over and over again. Even if he has to drop it off to Ryan Matthews or hit Patrick Crayton over the middle he has the short (96) and medium (95) accuracy to repeatedly find chunks of yardage.

Gates will as always be your No. 1 target with the Chargers as he checks in at 99 overall. His size and speed is what you would expect from an elite pass-catching tight end and future Hall of Famer. With his spectacular catch of 95 and catch in traffic of 96 with route running of the same value, there will be very few plays when you can't throw the ball his way.

The return of Vincent Jackson gives the roster back its number one wide receiver and despite missing most of last season, he still holds an 87 overall rating. Jackson's 91 speed and 89 catching to go along with his 97 jumping will see him in the end zone every week....or for those of you playing an amateur game: every quarter.

Indianapolis Colts

Peyton Manning may be struggling to get on the field in Indianapolis, but in the virtual world of Madden he can be healthy every time you pick up the controller.

At 98 Manning is one of the best players in the game with an outstanding release which is vital for All-Madden gamers. His 99 awareness and 96 throwing accuracy will see him repeatedly cutting up defenses with incredible precision and allow you to sustain drives for as long as you want against any defense.

The return of Dallas Clark will be huge for the Colts and he is once again a huge factor for the team in Madden. Clark at 96 overall and Wayne at 95 overall will once again be your first options on any given play. What will make them so difficult to defend is their ridiculously high-route running abilities.

Clark as a tight end is incredibly given a 98 rating but I can't really argue with it while Wayne is given a 99. With 98 in awareness for Wayne also, it's easy to see why Manning and Wayne will be connecting with each other repeatedly.

What makes the Colts offense even more dangerous through the air however is that the pieces supporting the stars are also pretty good. Jacob Tamme has an 83 overall while Pierre Garcon is a respectable 82. Austin Collie's 79 overall is ludicrously underrated and should be fixed in the first update. Even Joseph Addai coming out of the backfield with an 82 overall rating will see him be a prominent player in the passing game.

New Orleans Saints

The New Orleans Saints passing attack only has one player that would be considered elite with a rating in the 90s but their depth is absolutely incredible.

It helps also that that one elite player is quarterback Drew Brees who checks in at 96 overall. Brees' No. 1 receiver Marques Colston is only an 88 overall, but still has 96 catching and 92 route running with 98 catch in traffic. Colston is the team's best receiver clearly as the next player on the depth chart is Lance Moore who only peaks at 78.

What makes the Saints offense so good however is that the sixth best receiver—including tight ends—is a 76 overall. With Robert Meachem (77), Jimmy Graham (77), Devery Henderson (76) and David Thomas (76) all available, teams will struggle to keep up with the Saints' open man offense.

There may no longer be a Reggie Bush coming out of the backfield in New Orleans but fulback Heath Evans and running backs Mark Ingram and Pierre Thomas all have catch ratings in the low 70s which should allow them to also factor into the passing attack.

Green Bay Packers

The return of Ryan Grant won't make the reigning Super Bowl champs suddenly turn into a hard nosed running team.

So long as Aaron Rodgers has a 98 overall rating, the Packers will have no problem moving the ball through the air. Rodgers has 95 throw power and 92 accuracy. The scary thing about that is he is probably being underrated.

His awareness of 88 could be better but with the talent on the end of his passes it won't matter. Jermichael Finley returns from a torn ACL last season to still land in the elite tier of tight ends at 90 overall.

Greg Jennings as always leads the pack with a 93 overall rating. Jennings is one of the most all-around receivers in the game as most of his attributes are in the 90s. Outside of his strength which is 55 and his catching in traffic which is 88, every other major receiving statistic is at least 91 or higher.

Behind Jennings and Finley you get exactly what you would expect after watching the Packers last year. Donald Driver is an 82 overall while Jordy Nelson is a 79 and James Jones is a 76. The fact that rookie Randall Cobb will struggle to even get on the field for this offense with a 70 overall rating tells you all you need to know about the Packers!

New England Patriots

Having the highest rated quarterback in the game was always going to mean the Patriots had one of the best passing offenses in the league.

Tom Brady of course is a 99 overall and has the weapons to chase down his own touchdown record for a single season. Chad Ochocinco's arrival gives the team more on Madden than it does in real life as he is still held in very high regard with an 85 overall rating and 91 in speed somehow.

However the ability of the two outstanding young tight ends and a somewhat generous 90 overall for Wes Welker is what will make the Patriots' Madden passing attack unstoppable this year. With Brady throwing passes Welker may as well be a 95 while the two tight ends—Rob Gronkowski (84) and Aaron Hernandez (82)—may as well be an elite pairing.

Deion Branch and Brandon Tate round out the receiving corp with solid showings at 77 and 76 overall. The Patriots have the benefit of essentially having another receiver coming out of the backfield in Danny Woodhead whose overall rating is 82, but his route running is 75 and his catching is 80. His elusiveness of 96 will make him almost impossible to handle in the open field for linebackers.