This release event was celebrated the same way the Super Bowl XLIV winning city would throw a party, Big Easy style.Cover AthleteDoritos, a sponsor of Madden NFL 11, allowed the fans to vote for the cover athlete. The choices were: Drew BreesReggie WayneJared AllenThe voting was open from February 4 to March 15. The cover athlete was announced the day of the 2010 NFL Draft.Chris Erb, senior director of partnership marking for EA Sports, told ESPN.com "The idea behind the promotion is that throughout the years, no matter who we end up putting on the cover, it's never the right choice. So the idea here is to bring the consumers into the process and have a voice."Cover Athlete AnnouncementThe results are in! The athlete for the cover of Madden NFL 11 was released on Thursday April 22nd on the EA Sports website congratulating Drew Brees as the 2011 cover athlete - who was voted for by Madden NFL fans.Drew Brees responds to being the cover athlete:"The Madden NFL franchise holds a special place in popular culture and the cover is a coveted position for players all over the league." Drew Brees expressed "I'm honored to be the first cover athlete chosen by Madden NFL fans and it's a great way to cap off an amazing year for the Saints and the city of New Orleans."The SportsCenter show special On the Clock will be televised live from Radio City Music Hall in New York City (site of the NFL Draft) showcasing the new Madden cover athlete. The show starts at 4:30pm Eastern, live on ESPN, and will last for three-hours.New FeaturesMadden NFL 11 is integrating a motion engine based on the one used in FIFA 10. This engine is called locomotion and deals with speed, acceleration, and, agility. Player movement will be more responsive and based off of acceleration, momentum, and direction. The Madden NFL development team did a live chat on the new locomotion engine.The Madden NFL development team said,"The big 3 for locomotion are Speed, Accel, and Agility. Agility is the most important rating for changing of directions, followed closely by Acceleration (need to get back up to speed after slowing down to cut or turn at high speed). If I had to rank them I'd put Speed and Accel roughly even with Agility close behind. Last year Accel and Agility weren't on the same planet as speed. :)From early gameplay footage the new Locomotion engine appears to have fixed a few flaws present in older Maddens. Lineman no longer teleport to predetermined locations and no longer get stuck into "suction" blocking. Because of the addition of speed, acceleration, and agility rating linemen seem to actually plant their legs and be forced to move around the pocket that way.Catching has been tuned to fix bugs in previous versions where receivers would run backwards, not recognize the sideline, or make no attempt to stay in bounds on a touchdown catch. The Madden NFL development team did a live chat on the tuning made to catching.The debut trailer was released at midnight on Thursday, April 22, 2010 on Spike TV after the first round of the 2010 NFL Draft. With the mantra, "Simpler, Quicker, Deeper" the video revealed GameFlow, an all-new play-calling system similar to what an NFL quarterback would experience in a real game. GameFlow is intended to keep players in the action for as long as possible, reducing time spent in the playbook and enabling players to complete games quicker. GameFlow is however a very deep system as players can fully customize sets of plays to use during online or offline games. Players can also rate their favorite plays up to 5 stars(think iTunes) to make creating their favorite sets of plays easier. During the game coaches will instruct the player on what play is being run through their headset. The game will not simply state the name of the play like "X,Y,Z Flex" but instead will instruct the player on what to expect. For example "the TE will cut across the middle of the field after 15 yards, try to read the linebacker to see if he is covered".The most drastic change is the removal of the Turbo button; a long standing tradition of the Madden franchise. A player will always attempt to run at top speed when the play dictates it. A players ability to outrun defenders or find the hole is entirely based off of their new ratings instead of the holding down of an arbitrary "accelerator". The Turbo button can be turned back on in the options.Dual Stick Control switches over controls for all juke moves to the right analog stick instead of face buttons; all juke moves are analog and based off of the amount of pressure applied to the right stick. A spin is no longer the same for every player, you can spin less or more based on the movement of the right stick. It is possible for poorly rated players to be unable to achieve certain juke moves resulting in them falling flat on their face.Other new features include:LocomotionCatch TuningDual Stick ControlGame Flow & Game PlanningDemoFor the first time, EA Tiburon let fans vote for the two teams that would be matched up in the demo for Madden NFL 11. The options included:New Orleans Saints vs. Indianapolis Colts (2010 Super Bowl Matchup)New York Jets vs. Indianapolis Colts (2010 AFC Championship Game)Minnesota Vikings vs. New Orleans Saints (2010 NFC Championship Game)On April 22, 2010, EA Sports announced that the demo for Madden NFL 11 will feature the New York Jets versus the Indianapolis Colts when the demo arrives in late July.Team RatingsRankTeamMadden 11Madden 10Change1New Orleans Saints9294-22Indianapolis Colts9193-23Baltimore Ravens908734New York Jets898815Minnesota Vikings8890-26Green Bay Packers8787NA7Dallas Cowboys8788-18New England Patriots8688-29Cincinnati Bengals8686NA10San Diego Chargers8589-411Pittsburgh Steelers8485-112Atlanta Falcons8383NA13New York Giants8181NA14Philadelphia Eagles8086-615Arizona Cardinals7987-816Miami Dolphins7977217San Francisco 49ers7978118Houston Texans7882-419Denver Broncos7880-220Chicago Bears7775221Tennessee Titans7779-222Washington Redskins7670623Carolina Panthers7578-324Seattle Seahawks7572325Jacksonville Jaguars7476-226Oakland Raiders7171NA27Kansas City Chiefs7168328Cleveland Browns7069129Tampa Bay Buccaneers6967230Detroit Lions6866231Buffalo Bills6771-432St. Louis Rams66651Rate the RookiesFor the first time, EA Tiburon allowed fans to have an impact in the ratings for rookie players. During the live broadcast of the 2010 NFL Draft, "Ratings Czar" Donny Moore released his preliminary ratings for the players drafted in the first three rounds on the Madden NFL 11 Draft Experience website and allowed fans to personally adjust them.First Round Draft Picks and Donny's Ratings:1. Sam Bradford – QB, Oklahoma – 802. Ndamukong Suh – DT, Nebraska – 853. Gerald McCoy – DT, Oklahoma – 844. Trent Williams – OT, Oklahoma – 795. Eric Berry – S, Tenn., – 856. Russell Okung – T, Okla. St. – 857. Joe Haden – CB, Fla. – 798. Rolando McClain – MLB, Alabama – 799. CJ Spiller – RB, Clemson – 7910. Tyson Alualu – DT, Cal – 6911. Anothony Davis – OT, Rutgers – 7512. Ryan Matthews – RB, Fresno State – 7713. Brandon Graham – OLB, Michigan – 7814. Earl Thomas – S, Texas – 8115. Jason Pierre-Paul – DE, USF – 7916. Derrick Morgan – DE, Ga. Tech – 7917. Mike Iupati – OL, Idaho – 8418. Maurkice Pouncey – OL, Fla. – 7619. Sean Weatherspoon – LB, Mizzou – 7520. Kareem Jackson – CB, Alabama – 7021. Jermaine Gresham – TE, Okla. – 7822. Demaryius Thomas – WR, Ga. Tech – 7423. Bryan Bulaga – OL, Iowa – 7824. Dez Bryant – WR, Okla St – 8025. Tim Tebow – QB, Fla. – 7026. Dan Williams – DT, Tenn. – 7627. Devin McCourty – CB, Rutgers – 7428. Jared Odrick – DT, Penn State – 7629. Kyle Wilson – CB, Boise State – 7630. Javhid Best – RB, Cal – 7431. Jerry Hughes – DE, TCU – 7432. Patrick Robinson – CB, Florida State – 75Player RatingsPrior to the 2010 NFL Draft, EA Sports revealed the attributes that contribute significantly to a quarterback's overall rating, as well as the overall ratings for the top ten quarterbacks currently playing in the NFL.Top Six Quarterback Attributes in Madden NFL 111. Accuracy (41%)2. Throwing Power (23%)3. Awareness (17%)4. Agility (10%)5. Stamina (5%)6. Toughness (4%)Top Ten Quarterbacks in Madden NFL 111. Peyton Manning - 992. Drew Brees - 993. Tom Brady - 954. Aaron Rodgers - 935. Phillip Rivers - 936. Brett Favre - 927. Ben Roethlisberger - 918. Donovan McNabb - 909. Tony Romo - 8910. Matt Schaub - 89Following MaddenThe Madden development team is on Twitter to give fans the latest updates on Madden.NamePositionTwitter NameAnthony StevensonSr Product Mgr@EAnthonySAri RatnerAsst. Product Mgr@ ari_ratnerNathan StewartMkting Director@ TiburonFBIan CummingsCreative Director@ ian_cummingsPhil FrazierSr. Producer@ fillychezeMike YoungArt Director@ mysportsphotogRyan FerwerdaDev Mgr@ ryan_ferwerdaWill KinslerSr CommunityMgr@ raczillaJohn TaylorTechnical Artist@ johnt_eatiburonRob SemseySr PR Manager@ EA_SPORTS_RobTony LloydWeb Producer@ tony_99Justin DewielCommunity Mgr@ dewielEric GrayLive Producer@ the_eric_grayCarlos NavarroBroadcast Prdcr@ carlos_2310_eaDonny MooreRatings Czar@ donny_mooreMadden NFLGame News@ EAMaddenNFLLinksOfficial Madden SiteSoundtrackThe Madden 11 soundtrack features a variety of songs that are both covers and original recordings. All songs with * next to them is a cover.AC/DC - ThunderstruckQueen - We Will Rock You*Blur - Song 2Archie Eversole - We ReadyZombie Nation - Kemkraft 400*Bush - MachineheadGuns N' Roses - Welcome to the JungleKevin Rudolf ft. Lil' Wayne - Let It RockJoe Satriani - Crowd Chant*Kiss - Rock and Roll All NightOzzy Osbourne - Let Me Hear You ScreamOzzy Osbourne - Crazy TrainThe Hives - Tick Tick BoomTed Rundgren - Bang the DrumYing Yang Twins ft. HomeBwoi - HalftimeThe game also features some team specific songs :Chicago Bears - Bear Down Chicago BearsDetroit Lions - Gridiron HerosGreen Bay Packers - Go Packers GoMiami Dolphins - Miami Dolphins #1Minnesota Vikings - Skol VikingsPhiladelphia Eagles - Fly Eagles FlyWashington Redskins - Hail to the RedskinsMadden on FacebookEA Sports president Peter Moore said:We have to make Madden more accessible. You'll see us on Facebook going forward.Facebook Fan PageiPhone/iPad EditionThe iPhone and iPad edition were released the same day as the console versions, and include the same new feature "Gameflow." However there are game play specific features made only for the iOS4 versions.Slow down time during a play in to give player specific orders such as spinning, juking, passing, swating, etc..Use the touch screen to draw out hot-routes for passing, running, and defense. Ability to save hot-routes as audibles.TDC ("Total Defensive Control") Pausing the action and position defensive players
