If you're stuck at work and haven't been able to boot up your Xbox 360 today, you're missing out on a new update put out by Microsoft. Dubbed the "New Xbox 360 Experience," your console essentially gets a makeover with some new goodies in the form of avatars and Netflix streaming. Celebrating the new feature, the Big M enlisted the help of one of the best NFL running backs this year, the New York Giants' Brandon Jacobs, surprising one lucky family during an Xbox/Netflix "Movie Night" on Tuesday. Jacobs and his wife (pictured above in the white jacket) sat down for some much needed down time, playing with the kids while watching Ratatouille, a movie about rodents with amazing culinary abilities. He'll be continuing the cooking motif this Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals' defense. (We hear the Special of the Day is minced meat.)

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Assistant designer Jonathan Crankshaw lets you in on all the searing Excel spreadsheet action.

Let's get right down to it—who puts the Madden ratings together?
It's me, I have the final say. Before a game comes out, I assemble a group of media experts, around 10 people or so, and a bunch of college athletes, and I show them where I think I'm going as far as ratings go.

How do you make the numerical transition from how athletes perform on the field to how they perform in the game?
I look at a couple of things. First is public perception—everyone knows a certain player can do one thing, so he has to be rated as such. Second is what he did last year and what I think he can do this year. We now do roster updates every two to three weeks, so at home I have several TVs along with my laptop documenting everything players do. Some guys are in better situations for stats than others, so you have to watch that. For example, the Patriots' Laurence Maroney got very few rushing attempts last year because Tom Brady passed all the time. But when Maroney did get attempts, he ran real hard. Same thing with a guy like Steve Smith compared to Terrell Owens. T.O. was in a prolific offense that put up 35 points a game while Smith's team was juggling quarterbacks all season, so it was hard for him to get going. You have to read between the lines sometimes.

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