The Madden Curse is Real!!!

[D'BOYZ]

Originally Posted by Riggo44

I think Snyder needs to start putting a No Madden clause in all contracts. Seriously! This Madden curse thing has gotten out of control.

That's funny

[JankySpanky80]

Originally Posted by D'BOYZ

That's funny

Hopefully next year will be another Defensive player along the likes of Roy Williams or Demarcus Ware.

[Big C]

i credit 1/3 of his success last year to his o-line, 1/3 to his easy ass scheduel...cardinals niners and rams 2 times each!!! then the rest to him. hes a good player, but if he was in a different situation he would be a 1100 yard back i think

[LBrown43]

Who are the players that have been stricken by the curse? How far does this date back and is it as serious as the SI curse?

[BrudLee]

Originally Posted by LBrown43

Who are the players that have been stricken by the curse? How far does this date back and is it as serious as the SI curse?

Here goes...

Originally Posted by wikipedia.org

The first NFL player to be on a Madden NFL cover was Barry Sanders in 1999, for Madden 2000. He shared the cover with the then-customary picture of John Madden. However, a week before training camp began in 1999, Sanders abruptly retired - ending his career and leaving the Detroit Lions without their star running back of the previous 10 years. Sanders' part in the curse is debated because he is not pictured alone on the box, and he had willingly retired. Dorsey Levens was also featured on the 2000 cover, but that version of the game is much less common. He was cut by the Green Bay Packers in 2001, and finished his career in 2004.

Eddie George, then of the Tennessee Titans, who graced the 2001 box, was the second 'cursed' player. Although he had the best year of his career, rushing for 1,509 yards, catching 50 passes for 453 yards and scoring 16 total touchdowns, he was cursed by bobbling a pass in the playoffs. The pass was then intercepted by Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis, who returned the ball for a touchdown. George, (up until then) known for his durability, would also get injured the following season. After regularly averaging nearly 4 yards per carry in his first five seasons and rushing for over 1,300 yards in each one, he averaged only 3 yards per carry and rushed for career lows of 939 yards and 5 touchdowns in the 2001 season. For the rest of his career, he never averaged more than 3.5 yards per carry, but did rush for over 1,000 yards twice and scored 14 touchdowns in 2002.

Former Minnesota Vikings star quarterback Daunte Culpepper appeared on the 2002 cover, and the Vikings struggled to a 4-7 record until Culpepper was shelved with a season-ending knee injury.

Running back Marshall Faulk of the St. Louis Rams, who was on the 2003 box, suffered an injury and had a bad season overall. He never broke through the 1,000 yards rushing mark for the rest of his career.

In Madden 2004, Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick was injured during a preseason game, suffering a fractured right fibula. Vick played in only 5 regular season games, finishing with only 585 yards passing and 4 touchdowns. The Atlanta Falcons missed the playoffs, finishing the season with 5 wins and 11 losses, a stark contrast on the team's 9-6-1 record the season prior.

Madden 2005 featured Ray Lewis of the Baltimore Ravens. He had an injury that kept him out of the last game of the regular season. It was also Lewis' first season without a single interception, after posting a career-high 6 the previous year. The Baltimore Ravens also failed to make the playoffs that season (2004), after winning their division the year before. Furthermore, in week 6 the following year, Ray Lewis' season was ended by an injury.

The Philadelphia Eagles' star quarterback Donovan McNabb was on the cover of Madden NFL 06. Prior to the 2005 season, McNabb had a highly-publicized feud with his teammate, wide receiver Terrell Owens (who was, coincidentally, the cover athlete for rival Sega Sports' ESPN NFL 2K5, though no "Curse" had been associated with that series of games and won't be, since EA purchased exclusive rights to the NFLPA, thereby eliminating any NFL-based competition). Also, in the first game of the regular season, McNabb took a hit to the chest from the helmet of Atlanta Falcons defensive tackle Chad Lavalais. After the game, it was revealed that McNabb had a 'sports hernia' [2] that needed surgery. Refusing to have the required season-ending surgery while the Eagles (who had made the Super Bowl the previous season) still had a chance to make the playoffs, McNabb played in discomfort and pain throughout the season. In the tenth game of the season, McNabb re-injured his groin when shoved to the ground by Dallas linebacker Bradie James while McNabb was attempting to tackle Dallas Cowboys defensive back Roy Williams, who was returning an interception for an eventual game-winning touchdown. McNabb did play the next series but was ineffective and then decided to pack it in for the rest of the season. On November 21, 2005, McNabb, on the advice of his doctors, opted to have season-ending surgery for his sports hernia; the Eagles had been eliminated from playoff contention and finished the year with a 6-10 record.

On April 20, 2006, Electronic Arts officials, with the help of ESPN, announced Seattle Seahawks running back Shaun Alexander would be on the cover of the 2007 version of the title. [3] On September 25th, 2006 in a 42-30 win against the New York Giants, it was announced that Alexander would be out indefinitely with a broken foot.

[GTripp0012]

Still a lot of the "victims" were stretches. Like Ray Lewis missing one game. Or Marshall Faulk's team not doing so hot. Or Eddie George's small drop in YPC. Alexanders injury was predictible, not because of the curse, but because he's an NFL RB that had stayed healthy for so long. He racks up near 350 carries a year. I'm shocked he stayed healthy as long as he did.

[BrudLee]

Originally Posted by GTripp0012

Still a lot of the "victims" were stretches. Like Ray Lewis missing one game. Or Marshall Faulk's team not doing so hot. Or Eddie George's small drop in YPC. Alexanders injury was predictible, not because of the curse, but because he's an NFL RB that had stayed healthy for so long. He racks up near 350 carries a year. I'm shocked he stayed healthy as long as he did.

First of all, there's no such thing as a curse.

Secondly, how do two or three exceptions invalidate the curse? Not everyone on the cover of SI implodes. Both Lewis and Faulk showed statistical declines, which would be continuations of the "curse". George is the only clear exception in my eyes.

[hooskins]

.

[hooskins]

Originally Posted by GTripp0012

Still a lot of the "victims" were stretches. Like Ray Lewis missing one game. Or Marshall Faulk's team not doing so hot. Or Eddie George's small drop in YPC. Alexanders injury was predictible, not because of the curse, but because he's an NFL RB that had stayed healthy for so long. He racks up near 350 carries a year. I'm shocked he stayed healthy as long as he did.

McNabb, Faulk, Culpepper and Vick really got screwed after being put on the cover, while Lewis and others had a bad season. So from 2000-2007 all of the cover players have had some sort of negative occurence, and over half of them have really been screwed over. If you are a player, regardless if you believe in curses or not, I would just stay away from the cover.

[That Guy]

Originally Posted by hooskins

McNabb, Faulk, Culpepper and Vick really got screwed after being put on the cover, while Lewis and others had a bad season. So from 2000-2007 all of the cover players have had some sort of negative occurence, and over half of them have really been screwed over. If you are a player, regardless if you believe in curses or not, I would just stay away from the cover.

okay, so what curse kept portis off the field? or steve smith? and what curse cancelled reggie hayward and dom davis's seasons? what curse causes portis to have a bad year in 2004?

seriously, i'm tired of hearing about it. very few players put up back to back stud years (which are required to get on the cover) and very few players stay injury free 2 years in a row. what curse causes manning not to throw for 54 TDs again last year?

[RiggoRules]

Originally Posted by That Guy

okay, so what curse kept portis off the field? or steve smith? and what curse cancelled reggie hayward and dom davis's seasons? what curse causes portis to have a bad year in 2004?

seriously, i'm tired of hearing about it. very few players put up back to back stud years (which are required to get on the cover) and very few players stay injury free 2 years in a row. what curse causes manning not to throw for 54 TDs again last year?

Lighten up, Guy.

No one seriously believes that Madden has sold his soul to the devil, and whoever he puts on the cover suffers serious career distress as a result.

But, there is a trend that is fun for fans.

What we know is that in 6 out of 7 cases (Madden 2K-2K7), the player featured on the cover suffers a significant statistical drop off over his performance the previous year during his cover year. It is hard to argue that 6 out of 7 isn't a trend.

But, I don't think anyone seriously thinks there is any cause and effect -- it is just something fans have fun with. Enjoy it.

[That Guy]

Originally Posted by RiggoRules

But, there is a trend that is fun for fans.

What we know is that in 6 out of 7 cases (Madden 2K-2K7), the player featured on the cover suffers a significant statistical drop off over his performance the previous year during his cover year. It is hard to argue that 6 out of 7 isn't a trend.

But, I don't think anyone seriously thinks there is any cause and effect -- it is just something fans have fun with. Enjoy it.

i'm just saying, peyton threw for 54 TDs one year, and not nearly as many the next, steve smith put up 1k yards then was lost for the year. It happens all the time to all kinds of players, and i'm tired of reading this thread eight times a year and think it's worth mentioning

besides, it turns out shaun may be playing this weekend anyways, so what now?

[Monkeydad]

Originally Posted by That Guy

okay, so what curse kept portis off the field? or steve smith? and what curse cancelled reggie hayward and dom davis's seasons? what curse causes portis to have a bad year in 2004?

seriously, i'm tired of hearing about it. very few players put up back to back stud years (which are required to get on the cover) and very few players stay injury free 2 years in a row. what curse causes manning not to throw for 54 TDs again last year?

Reggie Hayward?!?!?!?! :cheeky-sm

[That Guy]

Originally Posted by Buster

Reggie Hayward?!?!?!?! :cheeky-sm

just pointing out other players that had good years and are currently on IR. JAC DE tore his acl in the first game this year, if you didn't know.

[onlydarksets]

I'm 4th in the waiver wires, so no chance to Morris. Someone offered me Lamont Jordan for Marvin Harrison. No chance, but I need a good #2 back now (since my old #2 is now my #1 ).