[Justin7]

Madden Curse:
Will Drew Brees play in at least 17 regular and post-season games in the 2010 season?
Yes +120
No -140

Most players are familiar with the Madden curse. Fans of players have petitioned to "save" their favorite players from being on the cover of annual edition's of Madden Football. Why? Madden Football has a history of putting popular players on the cover, and immediately watch them have a poor or mediocre season. No player on the cover of Madden has played 17 games in a season since Alex Smith did it in 2005-2006.

How have recent players fared when featured on the cover of Madden Football played in 17 regular and post-season games in the featured year?

2009-10: Maurice Jones-Drew had a decent season, but Jacksonville failed to advance to the playoffs
2008-2009: Antonio Bryant played for the 9-7 Buccaneers, which failed to advance to the playoffs.
2007-2008: Willis McGahee played for the Ravens, which started at 4-2 before losing 9 consecutive games and finishing 5-11.
2006-2007: Alex Smith played for the Bucs, which went 4-12.
2005-2006: Alex Smith played 17 games, including one playoff game for the Bucs.



You can bet this here:
http://book.sbrpicks.com/

[ji03]

Nice offering thanks

[Colt]

Jones-Drew, Bryant, McGahee, and Smith were never on Madden covers.

Recent coverboys include McNabb, Vick, Ray Lewis, Shaun Alexander, Vince Young off the top of my head.

[TobiasFunke]

who would want their money tied up for that long?

[Justin7]

Jones-Drew, Bryant, McGahee, and Smith were never on Madden covers.

Recent coverboys include McNabb, Vick, Ray Lewis, Shaun Alexander, Vince Young off the top of my head.

Hmm. I can't even find the old cite I used.

How many of these "passed"?

[Colt]

This is from Wikipedia.

Madden Curse

Prior to 1999, every annual installment of the Madden NFL series primarily featured John Madden on its cover.[21] In 1999, Electronic Arts selected Garrison Hearst to appear on the PAL version's cover, and has since featured one of the league’s top players on every annual installment.[22] Since then, much like the Sports Illustrated Cover Jinx, certain players who appeared on Madden video game box art have experienced a decline in performance, usually due to an injury.

• Daunte Culpepper led the Minnesota Vikings to the playoffs in 2000, but after appearing on the Madden 2002 cover, he threw 23 interceptions as the Vikings slumped to a 5-11 record. He also broke the record for most fumbles in a single season. While his career looked to be back on track in 2004 with a career season, he blew out both knees in 2005 and 2006 and never resembled the player he was at the start of the decade.

• Marshall Faulk appeared on the 2003 cover, and his career (and the success of the St. Louis Rams) severely declined afterwards. He did not register another 1,000 yard rushing season and his yards per carry average dropped from a consistent 5.4 over the previous three years to 4.5 in 2002 and 4.0 in 2003 and 2004. He started 21 out of a possible 32 games from 2002-2003 as knee injuries got the better of him. He underwent reconstructive knee surgery in 2005 and retired that same year.

• After appearing on the cover of Madden NFL 2004, Michael Vick broke his leg in pre-season and missed the first 12 games, with the Atlanta Falcons going 5-11.

• Ray Lewis, 2005 cover athlete and middle linebacker for the Baltimore Ravens, had his season cut short in week 15 with a wrist injury. It was also Lewis' first season without an interception.

• In 2006, Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb tore the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and meniscus in his right knee while jumping out of bounds in a game versus the Tennessee Titans, ending his season. McNabb also suffered a sports hernia in the first game of the season.

• Running back Shaun Alexander, then the league’s reigning Most Valuable Player, was featured on the cover of Madden NFL 2007, and sustained a foot injury that caused him to miss six starts.[23] As a result, Alexander’s rushing statistics were substantially less than those from the previous season, and he never returned to true form.[23] Alexander himself has asked, “Do you want to be hurt and on the cover, or just hurt?"[24]

• Madden NFL 2008's cover featured Vince Young, the starting quarterback of the Tennessee Titans. Young missed 1 game of 2007 season. On September 7, 2008 Vince Young sustained a knee injury which put him out of the game. He was relieved by backup quarterback Kerry Collins[25], who remained the starter for the rest of the season (Young eventually regained the starting job on October 29, 2009).[26] *When Young appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live to officially announce that he would appear on the cover of Madden NFL 2008, he derided allegations of becoming the curse’s next victim, and stated, “I've done prayed about it and we're gonna go home and try to get to the playoffs and try to get to the Super Bowl. We'll see what happens."[27][28]

• Brett Favre appeared on the cover of Madden NFL 2009, and did not miss any games. However, he later admitted to suffering a torn biceps injury, which Favre says may have affected his gameplay during the final five games of his first and last season with the New York Jets, who missed the playoffs at 9-7 after starting the season 8-3.[29] Favre threw 2 touchdowns and 9 interceptions in the last 5 games of the season.

• On September 10, 2009, Strong Safety Troy Polamalu of the Pittsburgh Steelers, who was featured along with Larry Fitzgerald, wide receiver for the Arizona Cardinals, on the cover of Madden NFL 10, sprained his MCL in the first half of the season opener and missed the next four games. After returning, Polamalu played in three more games before injuring his posterior cruciate ligament on November 14, 2009 against Cincinnati, and missed more games as a result. Larry Fitzgerald, on the other hand, started all 16 regular season games for the Cardinals. But later on had missed out in the playoffs due to an injury in his ribs, letting Steve Smith of the New York Giants, to take his spot in the 2010 Pro Bowl. He recorded 97 receptions (third-most of his NFL career), 1,092 yards (fourth-most), and a career-high 13 touchdowns. [30]

In 2007, GameSpot and CNBC reported that a large number of LaDainian Tomlinson's fans, who believed in the Madden Curse, were strongly opposed to EA Sports' initial decision to feature him on the 2008 cover, so much that a fan created SaveLTfromMadden.com to voice their disdain.[31][32][33] Tomlinson eventually declined the offer, but stated it was solely due to contract negotiations.[33]
When asked about the "Madden Curse", Chris Erb, the EA Sports director of marketing, commented, “I don't know that we believe in the curse. The players don't believe in the curse.”[24] Greg Pearson, a writer for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, commented that the string of injuries that Madden cover athletes experience can be attributed to the physical nature of football.[24]

[donkdown]

Yea none of these guys were on cover LOL

[THE PROFIT]

yeah, this is messed up, those guys never on the cover. always a higher profile player. I love when they put Favre then had to change the cover with a viking uniform. I wonder if the few that got out in a packer uniform are worth anything

[Richkas]

who would want their money tied up for that long?

[durito]

Madden Curse:
Will Drew Brees play in at least 17 regular and post-season games in the 2010 season?
Yes +120
No -140

Most players are familiar with the Madden curse. Fans of players have petitioned to "save" their favorite players from being on the cover of annual edition's of Madden Football. Why? Madden Football has a history of putting popular players on the cover, and immediately watch them have a poor or mediocre season. No player on the cover of Madden has played 17 games in a season since Alex Smith did it in 2005-2006.

How have recent players fared when featured on the cover of Madden Football played in 17 regular and post-season games in the featured year?

2009-10: Maurice Jones-Drew had a decent season, but Jacksonville failed to advance to the playoffs
2008-2009: Antonio Bryant played for the 9-7 Buccaneers, which failed to advance to the playoffs.
2007-2008: Willis McGahee played for the Ravens, which started at 4-2 before losing 9 consecutive games and finishing 5-11.
2006-2007: Alex Smith played for the Bucs, which went 4-12.
2005-2006: Alex Smith played 17 games, including one playoff game for the Bucs.



You can bet this here:
http://book.sbrpicks.com/

I know you just bet stats, but come on, none of those players resemble popular. Nor were any on the cover of madden ever.

[iifold]

oh my, how the mighty have fallen.

[ijrod21i]

I think the players he listed are the winners of the Madden Challenge. Maybe Brees won the Madden Challenge too?

[whatsgood5]

who would want their money tied up for that long?

Exactly what I'm thinking. If I had to pick one, I'd go with NO though.

[THE PROFIT]

Its no longer than any other NFL future guys

[rm18]

All those players other than Drew sounded absurd off the top of my head, I thought it was Smith from 9er's then was the Bucs

[1UP]

yeah, this is messed up, those guys never on the cover. always a higher profile player. I love when they put Favre then had to change the cover with a viking uniform. I wonder if the few that got out in a packer uniform are worth anything

EA put up a free, downloadable cover with Favre in a Jets jersey, to print. They didn't actually pull the Packers cover or re-issue the game. They print millions of Madden copies, the loss there would have been astronomical.

[filter15]

Besides the curse
how many games on avg miss a year if it's more than 3-4 I might do it

[rake922]

If Justin really thought Antonio Bryant made the cover of of Madden, then I have lost all respect for him.

[toober89]

What motivated you to post something about the curse of the madden cover, followed up by players who were NEVER even in the running to be on the cover??? HAHAHA!!

[Richkas]

What motivated you to post something about the curse of the madden cover, followed up by players who were NEVER even in the running to be on the cover??? HAHAHA!!

Hey, Justin is sharp. Just ask him.

[Powderguy]

@ none of those names ever being on the cover. Stick to soccer stats.

[Justin7]

When it comes to specific names of random number generators, I am at a huge disadvantage.

When I was consulting for Pinny 6 years ago, I priced props on "Kobe O'Bryant" because I had no clue who he was (or that he wasn't Irish).

[TobiasFunke]

When it comes to specific names of random number generators, I am at a huge disadvantage.

When I was consulting for Pinny 6 years ago, I priced props on "Kobe O'Bryant" because I had no clue who he was (or that he wasn't Irish).

Justin as embarrassing as that is that's a really hilarious story