This year EA SPORTS decided to take a new approach in choosing the next Madden cover player for this year’s edition. Fans were given a choice to pick a representative from each team set in a bracket format. Some of the heavy favorites like Matt Ryan and Adrian Peterson were battling more obscure players like Ndamukong Suh and Danny Woodhead. Where the Seattle Seahawks had lesser known talent, the 12th Man (which is a representation of the rowdy crowd because only 11 players are on the field for each team at once) was their representative.

Peyton Hillis has won the Madden 12 cover contest put on by EA Sports as to create interest for a game that might not make it onto a real field. By involving fans of both the NFL and Madden, it shows that people care about who is or who is not represented. This is an intuitive way to create interest for this popular series under the brink of actual NFL labor issues. Peyton Hillis comes as a surprise to be voted onto the cover as to his lack of prominence and long term popularity.

Peyton Hillis was drafted by the Denver Broncos as a runningback/fullback type that would touch the ball as well as block. He was the third back in a Arkansas Razorback backfield rotation along with talented stars Felix Jones and Darren McFadden. As a Bronco, Hillis had limited productivity yet displayed talent and competence when given opportunity. He was eventually traded to the Cleveland Browns for over ballyhooed QB Brady Quinn. The Browns walked into this past season without much credibility at RB. Once again when given an opportunity to play, he shined bright enough to help Cleveland upset some premier teams like the Saints and Patriots. For one year, Peyton Hillis gives Browns fans hope for the future and a new overall fan favorite.

Since 2001, the Madden cover features one player that had success during the previous year. Usually, it favors the offensive positions solely between quarterback or runningback; while only one defensive player has been the athlete featured. Each game tries personifying its gameplay by matching it to the player on the cover; like when Donovan Mcnabb’s year focused on passing and Ray Lewis’s gave gamers more defensive options. The only exception is when Madden 10 featured Larry Fitzgerald and Troy Polamalu to share the cover under the guise of “fight for every yard”. This year represents the fans, thus why EA gave the power to the players to choose the next cover player.

Lets just hope we don’t get another EA SPORTS rehash. This year delivers renewed hope. I would think that EA SPORTS is pushing huge efforts in marketing this year’s version. Despite the possibility of no Sunday football, EA will help pacify people’s desire by releasing a quality product. Here are a couple of videos that show what to expect for MADDEN 12. I believe we are going to receive something special.

So, what do you think, n00bs?