The Three Madden 11 Cover Candidates

by pastapadre
Posted February 3rd, 2010 at 11:01 pm

With ESPN announcing the names and the website now displaying them, the three players selected by EA Sports to be eligible for the Madden 11 cover vote can now be laid out as well as having a winner named from the contest I ran on Wednesday evening. The hints I provided allowed for narrowing down the possibilities but there were different ways to interpret them and different ways to piece together the three and still meet all those criteria.

Drew Brees is the clear favorite to win the vote being the most well known and in the spotlight for the big game. He led a relatively likable team with an inspiring story to the Super Bowl and put up MVP caliber numbers. Reggie Wayne comes in as a sleeper and the player who is still on the team he was drafted by. He isn’t a flashy option but has put up big numbers for years though many would attribute that more to Peyton Manning. Jared Allen is the defensive player and the one with the questionable past as he has been arrested three times for DUI. That he is one of the options caught me by complete surprise because of that. There were better players with a cleaner history that could have represented the defensive side of the ball.

Only two people out of over 200 guessed the trio before the names were made public. 65South in the comments and bphg619 on Twitter. Actually only one other person even mentioned Reggie Wayne. After a coin flip 65South wins the $50 gift certificate. It was fun to see the names coming in and the reasoning behind them though so thanks for taking a shot!

The voting is now open at this website and will run through March 18th. They have broken the results into 44 individual days and six separate weeks which means if you have a strong feeling you’ll want to vote every day during the time period.

Tags: latest news

Nick

Wait, so it has to be one of those three? What a joke. Why not Charles Woodson, DPOY, over Mullet Man. And Reggie Wayne? That one makes no sense either. If you're going to pick a receiver on the Colts pick Garcon. I'd personally think a guy like Josh Cribbs would be perfect for the cover.
Nick

Charles Woodson also donated a million dollars to a children's hospital and has a great image in Green Bay. Instead you have hick-boy who can't even speak properly as the defensive candidate.

Drew Brees better make the cover or I'll be level 5 pissed.
http://pastapadre.com/ pastapadre

There are a lot of factors that go into cover selections. They have to reach a deal with the players first of all. There could also be a theme we don't know about that these three would somehow represent.

Now I agree though…Woodson, Revis, and others would've been better for a defensive player. Reggie Wayne is probably more to represent the Colts since Manning has always been out of the question (would want way too much money)
http://www.facebook.com/jdiebold Joseph Diebold

Garcon definitely isn't well-known enough among casual NFL fans, and I doubt Cribbs is either. Woodson would have been a good choice, but Revis is probably more marketable (younger, got tons of hype in the playoffs, bigger market) if they were going with a corner. I think Brees wins this fairly easily anyway. Allen is too polarizing, and Wayne is too quiet.
Nick

I guess I forgot the average NFL fan doesn't actually watch the sport intently. Sigh. Last year worked out well because both of the players on the cover were superstars that also had tremendous years and I totally understand why they were picked. Guess you can't expect the same for two years in a row.
Enders

Jared Allen are you kidding me? Pasta said it would be a surprise because of his past but I thought maybe like a Randy Moss having been on a cover before or something like that. How can they justify a guy whos lucky not to have killed someone? Why not just put Leonard Little up for vote too?
thetruth

honestly there shouldnt even be 3. should be brees or manning, its that simple
NICEHANDSLARRY

I find the choices odd… You can really argue that Allen and Wayne aren't even the top 2 most popular players on their own teams.

collin

Dude Allen is tied with Adrian Peterson for second favorite player on the Vikings, as we all know beloved Brett Favre has the number 1 spot, so that said you really need to know what your talking about b4 u say something. get ur facts straight.
collin

Dude Allen is tied with Adrian Peterson for second favorite player on the Vikings, as we all know beloved Brett Favre has the number 1 spot, so that said you really need to know what your talking about b4 u say something. get ur facts straight.

65south

Awesome!
I win
CMart23

respectable choices but Brees will likely win in blowout fashion. surprised Revis isnt on the list though
AJ

wayne doesnt deserve it bcus revis island shut him down
AJ

“That he is one of the options caught me by complete surprise because of that. There were better players with a cleaner history that could have represented the defensive side of the ball.”

yea like Demarcus Ware
Ty

oh thank you Ea….im glad Miles Austin didnt get the chance to get the curse
sroeland

Brees all the way…neither Wayne nor Allen seem at all marketable to me as the Madden cover boy. Sure Wayne puts up big numbers and Allen has an … interesting personality. But only Brees seems to make sense in this type of gig.

Bressalltheway

Yeah Manning does all the work…….Reggie Wayne just happens to be under the ball

DaSharQ

I suppose if you can have a murderer like Ray Lewis on the cover then having Jared Allen would probably be a step up…? Maybe next year we can have multiple athletes again like Vick throwing to Plaxico
cdub326

I think I gotta go with Brees. Wayne and Allen just don't cut it for me. Although Jared Allen would be probably be a fantastic spokesman for the game IMO
http://throwpillowcovers.net/ throw pillow covers

I know this might be off topic but something is bugging me. Is that pic from a game or real life? Just wondering…
sroeland

I'm guessing it's from Madden NFL 10…but it's not real life.
Mykal94

or dante stallworth

larry bob

bitch dontae stallwoth get the hell out of here the player that shoul be on the cover is ap and u kno wat i mean adrain peterson

gomagic

Drew Breeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeees!
fausty

why not just put the best known player from the super bowl winning team
Frogg

If these are the three candidates, the cover will be a bit boring this year no matter who is picked. I was kind of hoping they stuck with the dual player cover for a while.
ap

are u joking its looks nothing like real life looks animated
skihawks

I like the options but I think limiting the choice to three is weak….Personally, I would rather see Madden on the cover…
Keith.

lol…EA cracks me up with their gimmicks.
deepen03

oh give me a break with “players with a cleaner history”.. who the hell cares?? What Allen did in the past has nothing to do with him being on the cover..
http://www.facebook.com/people/Jonathan-Lynch-Liedl/744660343 Jonathan Lynch Liedl

I loved the 2 player cover they had last year, and thought it was a formula worth repeating.

Could've had Drew Brees and Dwight Freeney on there this year. Would've been nice.

Oh well. Brees is (should be) a shoo–in. Please, not Allen.
bezzie

boy miles austin aint shit
ADAM

HOW the hell to you try and navigate that site and find the voting
NoFro904

Reggie Wayne gets my Vote.
A Top WR in the league for years now.

I Dont see how people are on here saying he dosnt deserve it.
He puts up big numbers every year
Quan

Booooooo…
xXTHeEddYXx

Drew Brees will win, Jared Allen will come second, and Reggie Wayne will be far behind.
Jared Allen

ah man I said Brees,Jonson,Allen
Ty

I think Drew's got this locked up already….and pasta…is the Roster update still slated for tomorrow?
cool beans

Any NCAA Football 11 news?
http://www.facebook.com/will.radie Will Radie

Ehh, I dont want to take anything away from Woodson, but Darelle Revis was the true Defensive Player of the Year. And I am a DIE HARD Giants fan. Revis should have been in on the vote.

That being said, I got no real problems with these guys… except that Brees will probably win by a mile and probably deservedly so. I just wish they would have made the choices a little closer for the first ever vote.

With all that said, I still think I am gonna pick Allen.. I only saw a few games (maybe 5) from him this year, but in a few of them he absolutely DICTATED the game (just ask Aaron Rodgers).
http://www.facebook.com/will.radie Will Radie

Also.. Garcon? Really? Come on.. I am a big Garcon fan (even if he screwed me every time I started him in Fantasy this year), but he doesnt have near the credentials/stats/respect/fame that is needed to be on the cover of Madden.

Cribbs would be a good guy but only if he has another big year and can prove he isnt just a better version of Devin Hester/Dante Hall. With all the talk about should the cover go to the Offense or Defense, it would be interesting to see Special Teams steal the show. But again.. just too early for him now.
not

wayne was burning past him all game
http://pastapadre.com/ pastapadre

Haven't heard anything one way or the other. So it should be but I haven't gotten a response back confirming…
http://www.facebook.com/people/Mark-Carnival/1016975708 Mark Carnival

Is this for both the 360 and PS3 cover? I notice the PS3 logo in the background when choosing, but the absence of a 360 logo raises questions.
Ron

wow this is awful. Only Brees deserves to be considered. Reggie Wayne is not even the best WR in the league and Jared Allen is a horrible candidate. There are at least 10 defensive players who deserve it way more than he does. I hope Brees wins and breaks the Madden Curse. The other two guys don’t deserve to grace the cover of the only NFL video game in existence
2KFanboyIGuess

Jared Allen is my selection.
http://www.mathewballard.com mathewballard

I voted for Jared Allen. Personally I don’t care about someone’s past off the field. All I care about is how they play the game. And Jared Allen is one of the most dominate DE in the game. Plus, it has been a while since we have had a defensive player on the cover, we need another one.
lolwat

Pasta, there has been cover boys with questionable pasts before.

Vick and Ray Lewis. Sure, Vick’s troubles happened after he was on the cover.

Jared Allen shouldn’t be too bad.
BIG DOGG

dante hall ya right when was the last time we all heard of him smart one
FBI_beoootch

you notice how all those players got in truble with the laws
u no it

ya i no and iam a DIE HARD PATS fan! he is the true d-mvp
denny harvey

all is i got to say is that i hope that they go back to the superstar mode from 09 cuz with the workouts and drills for superstar it was better then madden 10 superstar
denny harvey

all is i got to say is that i hope that they go back to the superstar mode from 09 cuz with the workouts and drills for superstar it was better then madden 10 superstar
oscar

uh guys arent you forgetting about the madden curse?