Marshal Yanda is the Best Offensive Lineman in this Year's 'Madden'

EA Sports, the publisher of the wildly popular Madden football video game franchise is slowly releasing ratings for this year's edition of the series. Last week, the Top 5 Offensive Linemen were announced, and Baltimore's own Marshal Yanda was at the top of the list with a rating of 98 overall, and a sub-rating of 99 Run Blocking, which is also tops in the league. Yanda also brings a 90 Pass Blocking and 94 Strength sub-rating.

This should come as no surprise to Ravens faithful, as Yanda has annhilated defensive linemen as part of the typically stellar Baltimore OL for eight years now. Plays like this, where Yanda routinely handles the ruthless Ndamukong Suh have become standard for fans to see on Sundays.

Yanda's rating is justified, because he is arguably the very best in the league at his position. Yanda was the only offensive guard in this year's NFL Top 100 Players, where he was ranked #79. Yanda has ammased four Pro Bowl selections, three All-Pro selections, and multiple other accolades in just seven seasons. These accolades are a testament to his superb all-around game, both in pass and run blocking. He can now add "Best OL in Madden" to his already impressive résumé.

The other top linemen were Josh Sitton of Green Bay (97 OVR), Jason Peters of Philadelphia (96 OVR), Nick Mangold of the New York Jets (OVR 95), and Andrew Whitworth of Cincinnati (OVR 95). Evan Mathis, a Free Agent and Joe Thomas of Cleveland also had overalls of 95.

Us Ravens fans should look forward to playing with our squad in this year's edition of Madden, as Yanda will offer an advantage by opening up lanes for Forsett and buying time for Joe Flacco.

Even though it's virtual football, Yanda's accurate rating certainly adds a dimension of 'realness' to the game. Stay tuned for more Madden ratings, as EA is relasing them over the next few weeks.