All Entries in the "MaddenFans.com News" Category
Drew Brees and the Madden Curse
Tomorrow afternoon Ea Sports will announce Drew Brees as the cover athlete for Madden 2011. To commemorate the moment. They will reveal the cover art in Time Square for all to see. Despite the great honor of gracing the cover of one of the most popular game series in the world, there is also a curse believed to plague cover athletes. The curse supposedly causes injuries and player stats to drop significantly after being on the cover of Madden.
The curse began in 2001 when Tennessee Titans star running back Eddie George graced the cover. During that season George had a severe ACL injury side lining him for most of the season. However, because this was the first case it when unnoticed to most. George would be the first of many cover athletes to face injuries after being on the cover of a Madden video game.
In 2002, Minnesota Vikings quarterback Dante Cullpepper was the cover boy for Madden. That season Culpepper missed the last five games of the season due to a knee injury. As a result Minnesota went on to finish with a 5-11 record. Sadly the trail of the Madden curse would continue
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In 2003 St Louis Rams running back Marshall Faulk had the honor of being on the cover. That’s season, because of an ankle injury, Faulk rushed for under 1000 yards. In the previous 4 seasons Faulk had ran for over 1300 yards. As a result the Rams finished 9-7 and missed the playoffs.
In 2004, Atlanta Falcons star quarterback, Michael Vick was chosen to be the cover athlete. That year Vick fractured a fibula, during a preseason game against the Baltimore Ravens. That season Vick only started 5 games. And the Falcons ended the season at 5-11. Madden 2004 coincidentally had been released a few weeks before Vick suffered his severe injury.
In 2005, Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis became the first defensive player to be on the cover. That season, Ray tore a hamstring, and missed the remainder of the season as a result.The Ravens went on to finish 6-10.
In 2006, Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb was selected to grace the cover. In the first game of the 2006-2007 season, McNabb suffered a sports hernia. Which completely altered the Eagles season. And naturally, caused Donovan to miss most of it. That year the Eagles finished in last place in the NFC East with no playoff appearance.
In 2007, the madden curse was starting to be mentioned throughout circles of water cooler talk around the country. However Seattle Seahawks, Star running back Sean Alexander was more than happy to take the risk. That season, Alexander broke his foot in the 3rd game of the season against the New York Giants. This injury caused him to miss half of the season. That year, the Seahawks made it to the playoffs, but lost to the Chicago Bears.
In 2008 Tennessee Titans quarterback Vince Young was the “cover boy”. Young was the first rookie to ever be on the cover of a Madden game. During that year, Young suffered from pain in his quadriceps for most of the season. Young also suffered from mental stress created by the Titans poor play and lack of fan support.
In 2009, for the anniversary edition of Madden, EA gave the cover to Brett Farve, who at the time, played for the Green Bay Packers but was very publicly traded to the New York Jets. That season Farve played all 16 games for the Jets.despite playing every week, we later found out that he’d torn his biceps.
In 2010 EA gave the cover to Super Bowl champion safety Troy Polamalu and Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald. Polamalu had a sprained MCL in the season opener against the Titans.Fitzgerald had calve injuries near the end of the season.
And now Drew Brees will be the next player to join this prestigious yet infamous club. He was chosen by fans over Colts WR Reggie Wayne and Vikings DE Jarrett Allen. However surprisingly Titans runinng back Chris Johnson was not even in the conversation about gracing the cover, despite the fact that last year he became only the 6th player in history to run for over 2000 yards. Clearly EA Sports needs to have him in the conversation for next season. But we at Madden fans say congragulations to Saints qb Drew Brees on being selected and we wish him the best. Hopefully he breaks the curse…….maybe
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McNabb and Marshall’s abrupt departures and its effect on the NFL Draft
In the Last two weeks major movement has occurred in the NFL. The Philadelphia Eagles traded their franchise quarterback Donovan McNabb, who is their all time leader in every statistical category to the Washington Redskins for several picks in the upcoming and next year’s NFL Draft. Most recently the Miami Dolphins acquired Pro Bowl Wide Receiver Brandon Marshall from the Denver Broncos for two second round picks. (1 this year and another next year) These trades completely shake up the possibilities for the NFC East as well as the AFC East. However more notably, they completely alter the destinations of NFL hopefuls awaiting their fates next Thursday.
The McNabb to Washington deal almost completely rules out the possibility that at the #4 pick the Redskins will draft Sam Bradford or Jimmy Clausen at QB. Because of this deal it is likely the Redskins will draft Russell Okung from the University of Oklahoma State at offensive tackle, due to their lack of depth on the O-line. Although experts say to keep a close eye on Dez Bryant as well, because of the Redskins lack of offensive weapons. Some even say to keep an eye out for a dark horse, such as Eric Berry or Trent Williams. The Marshall trade has important draft ramifications as well.
The Brandon Marshall to Miami trade has dual ramifications. From Miami’s point of view, they no longer are likely to draft a Wideout such as Dez Bryant with their first round pick. Miami was one of the possible destinations for Bryant. From the Broncos perspective, with the loss of Brandon Marshall, an all pro Wideout, their now in need of a legitimate #1 receiver. This week they brought in Oklahoma State Wide Receiver Dez Bryant to their facilities and did a number of drills with him. Later during an interview with reporters, Broncos coach Josh McDaniels said they loved hosting Dez Bryant and that he did very well in the drills he performed for his staff. McDaniels also said “He’s (Bryant) definitely on our draft board. This means that if Dez Bryant is still on the board when the Broncos pick, that they are likely to draft him. The Broncos strong interest in Bryant could also mean they could possibly trade up, to get Bryant. Endless possibilities in store for the NFL Draft next Thursday.
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How will new overtime rules affect Coaching Decisions?
During the NFL coaches meeting on Tuesday, a dramatic new change was on the agenda for all 32 NFL teams to vote on. The decision at hand was whether or not to change the overtime rules. Prior to yesterday the NFL employed a sudden death system in which the first team to score wins. This system had been somewhat controversial for many years.
However it gained traction after the NFC championship game last season where Garrett Heartley kicked the game winning field goal for the Saints that defeated the Minnesota Vikings and sent the Saints to the super bowl. This game served as the new “Brady Rule reaction”. Many owners felt like the rules should be tweaked because in that overtime Brett Farve and the Vikings offense never got to touch the ball. (Ironically he threw the pick that sent it to OT) Radicals proposed the NFL adopt the college football overtime system in which both teams play offense and defense. Naturally this brought outcry from football “purists” about the mere thought of changing the traditional sudden death rules.
After much debate the NFL owners voted 28-4 in favor of modernizing the overtime rules. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell’s strong support of the new system helped convert a few owners who were on the fence. The new overtime rules as of now will only apply to the playoffs next year. However they could possibly be applied to the regular season pending Owner approval. The new OT rules will create a pandora’s box of possibilities for how to proceed in overtime pending you win the coin toss. For example teams with better Defenses and weaker offenses like the Jets, Bengals, and Redskins can now elect to kick the ball away and rely on their defenses to get a stop or a field goal and then have a better chance to win the game. Strong offensive teams like the Colts, Saints, and Chargers will now take shots at the end zone on 4th down in OT because field goals cannot win OT games alone. This puts NFL coaches in an awkward position. Now teams will have to decide: go for TD’s in OT to win the game or kick a field goal and kick it back to the other team. Because of this, NFL coaches across the board opposed this new rule.
The new Overtime rules are:
1. If the team that receives the ball first in OT scores a touchdown in overtime the game is over.
2. If the team that receives the ball first kicks a field goal, the opposite team will receive the ball and the same rules listed above apply.
3. If both teams score a field goal in overtime, than the first team will receive the ball.
As a fan of the NFL I’m pretty excited that the NFL has taken some of the power of OT away from kickers. The new rule simply gives teams an incentive for scoring touchdowns in overtime, as opposed to field goals. Which is an automatic win. Essentially this new rule has left kickers as the “odd man out”. This new rule will hopefully create more balance in overtime. I also hope the NFL adopts the same rule for the regular season as well. I understand tradition, but I don’t feel games should be decided by players who in many cases are barely apart of the team as opposed to franchise quarterbacks.
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NFL New Overtime Rule
Personally I think it’s a great rule but I wonder how it will effect madden? I would really like to hear what you guys think. Leave your comments
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NCAA Football Tips and Tricks
EA Sorts released a new article on it’s blog a few days ago that I am just getting around to posting. This article is mainly for new people who may not be familiar with football terminology. They take a look at defense in this article.
In this week’s blog, we will cover some defensive terminology for relative newcomers to the NCAA Football franchise. With NCAA Football 11 seeing the return of Formation Subs, understanding the coverage schemes will help all players learn what type of players to recruit and place into each specific formation. In addition, learning the strengths and weaknesses of each coverage shell will help improve your play-calling on each side of the ball.
Read more about NCAA Football Tips and Tricks
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2010 Mock NFL Draft by JreedVick7
1.) Rams- Sam Bradford
2.) Lions- Gerald McCoy
3.) Buccaneers- Ndumakong Suh
4.) Redskins-Jimmy Clausen
5.) Chiefs-Jon Asamoah
6.) Seahawk- CJ Spiller
7.) Browns- Eric Berry
8.) Raiders- Russell Okung
9.) Bills- Bryan Bulaga
10.) Jaguars-Trent Williams
11.) Broncos- Jason Pierre Paul
12.) Dolphins- Earl Thomas
13.) 49ers- Joe Haden
14.) Seahawks- Derrick Morgan
15.) Giants-Sergio Kindle
16.) Titans- Dan Williams
17.) 49ers- Jared Odrick
18.) Steelers- Sean Witherspoon
19.) Falcons-Rolando McClain
20.) Texans- Kyle Wilson
21.) Bengals-Jermaine Gresham
22.) Patriots- Carlos Dunlap
23.) Packers- Bruce Campbell
24.) Eagles- Everson Griffen
25.) Ravens-Patrick Robinson
26.) Cardinals-Brandon Graham
27.) Cowboys-Maurkice Pouncey
28.) Chargers- Ryan Matthews
29.) Jets-Demaryius Thomas
30.) Vikings-Kareem Jackson
31.) Colts- Jerome Murphy
32.) Saints- Anthony Davis
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Madden live chat rating discussion
The Year in Review: Madden NFL 10 Ratings discussion with Ratings Czar Donny Moore
Date: Thursday March 11, 2010
Time: 4:00PM EST
“Hey Guys, We are setting up a live chat with Donny next week to discuss the general ratings from Madden NFL 10. We will not be diving into specific players, but go ahead and sign up for the chat reminder now. we look forward to hearing from you in a few days. “
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BackBreaker Football!
To me the new BackBreaker game reminds me of the Nintendo 64 NFL Blitz. I remember the Blitz game would let you hit the guy after the play, truly hilarious. They say you will never see the same tackle twice in this game because of the revolutionary euphoria engine.
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NCAA Football 10 Tips – Defensive Planning
EA Sports released some new tips for NCAA Football 10. If you have played NCAA Football 10 most of you know these things. There really isn’t much here but it could benefit the rookie players who are not familiar with this information and what settings to use and when.
The game-planning feature in NCAA Football 10 is a pretty powerful weapon with plenty of risk and reward. While it may be tempting to set all of the settings to ‘Aggressive,’ these items should primarily be used in specific situations and not for long periods of time.
Read more about NCAA Football 10 Tips – Defensive Planning
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