The Madden Curse
C'mon, someone had to write about it this year - it's discussed yearly and any credible reporting agency already used up their Madden Curse story last year.
After the dropification of my own justification on the continuation of the Madden situation of last year (word to the -tion's), now would be where I provide the background information (oh!) like a journalist would - except I'm on a blog, I like to curse & making up shit is far more exciting then providing truth when I can't get the truth to be what I want it to be. But at any rate, let's review pre-Madden covers to post over the past 5 years.
Madden 2001 - RB Eddie George, Titans
Before: One of the games budding stars, George had become a fixture in the Pro Bowl by making his 3rd consecutive game. In 5 professional seasons George had ran for 6,874 yards at 3.9 ypc and 42 TD's. The Titans were a seemingly permanent fixture in the playoff picture and represented the AFC in the Super Bowl the year before.
After: George went on to record his first non-1,000 yard season as an NFL RB, and has since in 4 seasons ran for only 3,567 yards on 3.2 ypc and 26 TD's. Not bad by anyone's measure, however prior to the curse, Eddie was widely considered one of if not the elite running back in the NFL at that time.
Madden 2002 - QB Daunte Culpepper, Vikings
Before: Culpepper threw for 3,937 yards and 33 TD's as a rookie (well, 2nd year), led the Vikings to the NFC Championship game and was widely considered as one of the leagues rising stars.
After: Daunte had a bit of a rough 2 years following, injuring his knee in 2001 forcing him to miss 5 games, and then in 2002 he threw a league-high 23 interceptions in dipping his QB rating some 23 points from his first year at the helm. Of course, now he's a stud QB over the last 2 years and showed so even without WR Randy Moss last season - but the curse really has no defined terms, only to alter your career for the worst after appearing on the cover. Course, it says nothing regarding raising your career back up again afterwards.
Madden 2003 - RB Marshall Faulk, Rams
Before: Marshall was changing the game year by year, and at a point was considered the best football player in the NFL. He had successfully completed 4 consecutive years of gaining over 2,000 total yards from scrimmage, scoring 47 times in the last 2 seasons alone. He won a Super Bowl, & the Rams were yearly Super Bowl favorites.
After: Plagued by an ankle injury, Faulk was limited to only 10 games in 2002 and has since been unable to reach the 1,000 yard plateau in rushing. His 3 years prior to the cover were 6,765 total yards & 59 TD's, rushing for over 1,000 in each season. His 3 years after are quite different, gaining 3,382 total yards & 25 TD's. It's saddening to see that his yardage numbers are cut nearly perfectly in half, and in the 2004 NFL Draft the Rams took RB Stephen Jackson out of Oregon State in the first round.
Madden 2004 - QB Michael Vick, Falcons
Before: Basically labeled as a human highlight film by just about everyone under the football watching public eye, Vick dazzled the NFL in 2002 in throwing for 2,936 yards with an 81.6 rating, 16 TD's and his interception numbers being only half of that. Most importantly, Vick rushed for 777 yards and scored 8 TD's himself via his legs, adding a brand new dimension to the NFL that had merely only been talked about in a few other mobile QB's.
After: And I mean after, as the day following the release of Madden 2004, Vick broke his leg in a preseason game. He did manage to return at the end of the season, starting 4 of the 5 games and throwing for 585 yards while rushing for 255. The Falcons went 3-1 under Vick in the final 4 games, but it was too late as the Falcons leader couldn't get them into the promised land in so few games.
FM's coverage > ESPN's
After the dropification of my own justification on the continuation of the Madden situation of last year (word to the -tion's), now would be where I provide the background information (oh!) like a journalist would - except I'm on a blog, I like to curse & making up shit is far more exciting then providing truth when I can't get the truth to be what I want it to be. But at any rate, let's review pre-Madden covers to post over the past 5 years.
Madden 2001 - RB Eddie George, Titans
Before: One of the games budding stars, George had become a fixture in the Pro Bowl by making his 3rd consecutive game. In 5 professional seasons George had ran for 6,874 yards at 3.9 ypc and 42 TD's. The Titans were a seemingly permanent fixture in the playoff picture and represented the AFC in the Super Bowl the year before.After: George went on to record his first non-1,000 yard season as an NFL RB, and has since in 4 seasons ran for only 3,567 yards on 3.2 ypc and 26 TD's. Not bad by anyone's measure, however prior to the curse, Eddie was widely considered one of if not the elite running back in the NFL at that time.
Madden 2002 - QB Daunte Culpepper, Vikings
Before: Culpepper threw for 3,937 yards and 33 TD's as a rookie (well, 2nd year), led the Vikings to the NFC Championship game and was widely considered as one of the leagues rising stars.After: Daunte had a bit of a rough 2 years following, injuring his knee in 2001 forcing him to miss 5 games, and then in 2002 he threw a league-high 23 interceptions in dipping his QB rating some 23 points from his first year at the helm. Of course, now he's a stud QB over the last 2 years and showed so even without WR Randy Moss last season - but the curse really has no defined terms, only to alter your career for the worst after appearing on the cover. Course, it says nothing regarding raising your career back up again afterwards.
Madden 2003 - RB Marshall Faulk, Rams
Before: Marshall was changing the game year by year, and at a point was considered the best football player in the NFL. He had successfully completed 4 consecutive years of gaining over 2,000 total yards from scrimmage, scoring 47 times in the last 2 seasons alone. He won a Super Bowl, & the Rams were yearly Super Bowl favorites.After: Plagued by an ankle injury, Faulk was limited to only 10 games in 2002 and has since been unable to reach the 1,000 yard plateau in rushing. His 3 years prior to the cover were 6,765 total yards & 59 TD's, rushing for over 1,000 in each season. His 3 years after are quite different, gaining 3,382 total yards & 25 TD's. It's saddening to see that his yardage numbers are cut nearly perfectly in half, and in the 2004 NFL Draft the Rams took RB Stephen Jackson out of Oregon State in the first round.
Madden 2004 - QB Michael Vick, Falcons
Before: Basically labeled as a human highlight film by just about everyone under the football watching public eye, Vick dazzled the NFL in 2002 in throwing for 2,936 yards with an 81.6 rating, 16 TD's and his interception numbers being only half of that. Most importantly, Vick rushed for 777 yards and scored 8 TD's himself via his legs, adding a brand new dimension to the NFL that had merely only been talked about in a few other mobile QB's.After: And I mean after, as the day following the release of Madden 2004, Vick broke his leg in a preseason game. He did manage to return at the end of the season, starting 4 of the 5 games and throwing for 585 yards while rushing for 255. The Falcons went 3-1 under Vick in the final 4 games, but it was too late as the Falcons leader couldn't get them into the promised land in so few games.
...and I already went over Ray in 2005 -
So would you volunteer to be on the cover?
posted by bironm at
8:53 AM
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