While Raidel “Joke” Brito’s nickname might imply otherwise, his strategy for emerging victorious as this year’s Madden Bowl champion is no laughing matter. In fact, it’s downright impressive, albeit a bit of a head-scratcher.
While most NFL analysts would argue that it takes a quarterback to win a championship, Brito did so without ever running a single pass play or fielding a quarterback - at least in the traditional sense.
EA required Madden Bowl competitors to adhere to a salary cap draft structure for building their teams’ rosters. While most players would go after high-priced superstar players and build the rest of the team around them, Brito built up a nightmarish defense along with a bullish offensive line. His quarterback selection? Washington Redskins Punter, Tress Way - not exactly your typical Super Bowl-caliber quarterback.
What’s even wilder about Brito’s strategy is that he ended up walking away with the $65,000 reward touting a 17-0 shutout score against his opponent.
No word yet as to whether EA Sports and the Madden development team will work to prevent such a strategy in future tournaments, but it would probably be a difficult thing to try and regulate anyways. Brito’s out-of-the-box thinking is reminiscent of when former Denver Broncos Head Coach, Mike Shanahan, basically invented the strategy of “icing the kicker,” which involves a timeout being called a split-second before the other team attempts a field goal or extra-point attempt. While definitely not cheating, Shanahan’s move sent waves throughout the league - both against and advocating for the strategy - but its impact still remains in play even in today’s NFL.
Brito could just be a trendsetter for future tournament strategies, though it’s fair to say that executing on such a strategy is far easier said than done, especially if such a strategy becomes the norm. Players will need a combination of solid team dynamics, run-offense technical prowess, and probably a bit of luck to take out the competition.
With Kansas City Chief Quarterback, Patrick Mahomes, gracing the cover of Madden NFL last year, and Baltimore Ravens Quarterback, Lamar Jackson, set to be this year’s cover athlete, the real NFL is undoubtedly a pass-happy, quarterback-driven league. Just don’t tell that to Raidel “Joke” Brito.
