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Playoff-bound teams and impersonators alike were able to pad their records at an astounding rate this season against the likes of Detroit, Kansas City, and St. Louis.
Between Lane Kiffin at Tennessee and openings at Clemson, Washington, Syracuse, Mississippi State and Purdue, there are fertile jobs out there.
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For some very odd reason, "John Madden" has become synonymous with "curse." Now that Shaun Alexander has fallen victim to the announcer's apparent voodoo, the rumors are swirling again. No one really pays attention to the fact that the chipped bone in Alexander's foot will not sideline him for very long. No one pays attention to the fact that approximately 5% of players in the NFL go through a season without an injury. So is it really the Madden curse, or is it the fact that the NFL is a rugged league?
If you look at the NFL Injury Reports, how many people that are currently gracing the cover of Madden 2007 are injured? One and that is it. Out of about 100 or so injuries only one is on the cover of Madden. Randall Gay and Trent Green aren't. Neither is Jerramy Stevens. Basically, all I am saying is that the Madden Curse is a bunch of malarkey. The Madden curse is pure drivel, much like Steve Martin's book. Ever since they decided to change the format of the Madden covers for Madden 2001, supposedly the cover boys have either been injured or had a very lackluster season.
In 2001, Eddie George had one of his worst seasons in Tennessee. He gained less than 1000 yards and the Titans missed the Playoffs. Never mind that other supposed "curse," that states the team that loses the Super Bowl doesn't make the Playoffs the next year. It had to be that John Madden guy's fault.
2002 rolled around and Daunte Culpepper got the cover of Madden. He missed 4 games and his team had their worst record since 1984. Never mind that the Vikings had the second leading offense. The only team with a better offense was Oakland. Even though the defense ranked twenty sixth, it's definitely Madden's fault.
In 2003, Marshall Faulk took Culpepper's place. Everybody seems to forget that Marshall had two more touchdowns than the year before. Anyone that has seen Faulk's career statistics should realize that he slowly began to demise after the 2001 season. He never turned his career around and that has to be because of Madden, right? It definitely isn't because of his age or anything.
Michael Vick took center stage in the Madden universe in 2004. Yes, he was injured for the first 11 games of the season. The fact that he runs around in the pocket like a gerbil doesn't have anything to do with his broken leg does it? Madden had to have some serious voodoo skills to pull that one off.
Ray Lewis wasn't even injured the season that he replaced Vick on the cover. Since he didn't have any interceptions, the blame is automatically placed on Madden. Obviously…
Never mind Terrell Owens, it was Madden's fault that the Eagles stunk it up last year. McNabb had more interceptions last year than ever before. That can't be because of the fact that his go to guy was a rookie from Georgia, after T.O. destroyed the Eagles. McNabb's hernia was definitely due to him being on the cover. After all, that type of thing has never happened in the NFL.
Now, Shaun Alexander is injured. His stats will be down from last year. He won't have nearly as many touchdowns and it is all John Madden's fault. Steve Hutchinson's departure, the arrival of Nate Burleson and Deion Branch, and the emergence of Matt Hasselback as a great passer won't have anything to do with the dip in his stats. He'll likely miss a game or two and it's all because of that Madden fellow.
You know; if it's such a controversy, why not just revert back to the old "Madden on the cover" thing? What can it hurt? At least then we'll have a legitimate claim that the injury WAS Madden's fault.
Any questions, comments or opinions can be sent to me at Kylebwski1@aol.com.
