Last Chance To Vote For Jamaal Charles Madden '12 Cover Tournament

by Joel Thorman on Apr 10, 2011 6:26 PM CDT

I wanted to give everyone a heads up that today is the final day to vote for Kansas City Chiefs RB Jamaal Charles in the Madden '12 cover vote.

Charles is in the elite eight facing Cleveland Browns RB Peyton Hillis. At last check, he was losing big time so if you want him to move on to face the winner of Green Bay Packers QB Aaron Rodgers vs. New England Patriots RB Danny Woodheadthen you need to vote.

Even if Charles doesn't win, then we won't be tempting the Madden Curse so it's not a total loss.

Click here to vote.

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Peyton Hillis over Jamaal is a joke!

by JDChiefsfan on Apr 10, 2011 7:41 PM CDT reply actions 1 recs

I think...

its Chiefs fans voting against him over and over. Why people believe in curses I don’t know. I thought we were in the 21st century.

by I_Bleed_Red. on Apr 10, 2011 8:20 PM CDT up reply actions

Better safe than sorry.

Though I actually did vote for Charles.

by MtHammer on Apr 10, 2011 8:31 PM CDT up reply actions

Funny thing is...

what the Packers fans do the same. I could see them voting against their beloved QB and send Hillis all the way to the finals. Can you imagine if Peyton fucking Hillis made the cover of Madden?

by I_Bleed_Red. on Apr 10, 2011 8:55 PM CDT up reply actions

Peyton Hillis is a beast dude.

I’ve never seen moves like his on a dude that big and powerful. I couldn’t believe it when McDaniels drafted Knowshon in the first and traded Hillis.

And the Madden Curse is clearly a real thing. There’s way more proof for it than against it.

by bamachief5558 on Apr 10, 2011 9:23 PM CDT via mobile up reply actions

Listen...

I’m not saying Hillis sucks, but he is not worthy of being on the Madden cover.

by I_Bleed_Red. on Apr 10, 2011 10:15 PM CDT up reply actions

And the Madden Curse is clearly a real thing. There’s way more proof for it than against it.

Are you kidding me? What proof. Please, show me your so called “proof” of this curse. And don’t list me all the players who had bad years or got injured. Its the NFL, people get injured. Now if everyone who made the Madden cover was murdered in that year, I might raise my eyebrows. But, getting injured or falling off a peak preforming year doesn’t exactly seem that out of place to me. And Fitzgerald had a good year when he and Troy made the cover.

by I_Bleed_Red. on Apr 10, 2011 10:21 PM CDT up reply actions

I'm pretty sure that Larry Fitzgerald and Drew Brees are the only two athletes who went on to have decent years after being on the cover of Madden, thus escaping "the curse."

And Fitzgerald shared his cover with Polamalu, who was injured pretty much all of that year.

- Eddie George rushed for career lows in rushing yards, ypc, and touchdowns after being on the cover. His production never really recovered and that was the beginning of the end of this career.
- Daunte Culpepper was on the cover and went on to throw 23 interceptions while the Vikings went 5-11. He then proceeded to blow out both knees and never really recovered.
- Marshall Faulk pulled an Eddie George. His 02 season was okay, but not great. After that he kept declining until he retired a couple of years later.
- Michael Vick missed 12 games with a broken leg.
- Ray Lewis hurt his wrist and the Ravens missed the playoffs. His next season was pretty terrible, by his standards. He only recorded 38 tackles and 1 sack before going down for the year. The ravens finished 6-10.
- Donovan McNabb tore his ACL and was almost replaced for good after Jeff Garcia led the Eagles to the playoffs.
- Sean Alexander suffered a foot injury and was never even close to being the same player again.
- Vince Young eventually suffered a psychological break and was replaced by Kerry Collins. He is soon to be cut by the Titans.
- Brett Farve started 8-3, but finished 9-7 and missing the playoffs after hurting his arm and leading the league in interceptions with 22. Also, we’ve all now seen his penis.
- Larry Fitzgerald had a pretty good year, but Troy Polamalu missed most of the season with injuries and the Steelers became one of the few Super Bowl Champions not to make the playoffs the following year.
- Drew Brees advanced his team to the playoffs and threw for 4,600 yards. On the other hand, he also threw a career high 22 interceptions and the Saints became the first team to lose in the playoffs to a team with a losing record.

Now let’s be real. In some of these cases the supposed “curse” is a bit of a stretch. Vince Young apparently didn’t even get hit by it until a full year later. And when you’re at the top of your game (which is when you are most likely to be on the cover of Madden) you’re also likely to be due to fall back to earth a bit.

But by the same token, being on the cover wasn’t exactly a boon for any of these guys’ careers. In particular, none of the running backs were ever the same after appearing on the cover. So yeah, of course there almost certainly isn’t a curse. The idea is almost as absurd as it is unprovable. But, then again, if you’re an even remotely superstitious person, why risk it? After all, whether or not there’s a curse, the most surefire way to not to suffer from it is to not be on the cover of Madden.

by MtHammer on Apr 10, 2011 11:55 PM CDT up reply actions

I'm not superstitious

I don’t think being on a cover of a video game sends out some metaphysical wave to fuck up someones season. It just coincidence and not even that remarkable one at that. A lot of those guys are running backs. They decline fast, especially after a 350+ carry season, which allowed them to garner the stats in the first place to make the cover. This happens all the time, cover or not.

A lot of those guys are overrated players like Young, Culpepper, and Vick minus his come back this past season. Ray Lewis and Troy Polomalu are bound to get hurt the physical way they play the game. Troy flings his body all over the field and Ray missed a lot of time in 2002 long before he made the cover. Farve was old, the guy has gotten knicked up every year he has played and didn’t make the playoffs every year of his career last time I looked. So that leaves Drew (pretty good year), Fitzgerald (good year), and McNabb (you got me). Like I said, not that remarkable. If they all died of a rare virus that would be something to talk about, but this is just retarded.

by I_Bleed_Red. on Apr 11, 2011 12:53 AM CDT up reply actions

It's not just that players get injured thr following year though, man...

Vince Young only missed one game due to injury the following season, but it was the only game he missed with an injury in his entire career, all the way back to middle school. And now where is he?

Vick broke his leg the following season.. and then got arrested for dog fighting.

They thought they’d beat it with Brett Favre, the only retired player to ever be put on the cover… and I think we all remember what really happened. It’s still not clear whether the 17 year Packer starter and all-time great will retire a Packer after all that messy stuff went down.

Marshall Faulk, if I’m not mistaken, never rushed for 1000 yards again.

Culpepper broke the record for fumbling in a season.

Brees went from Super Bowl champ to throwing the most INTs of his career and losing to a 7-9 team in the first round of the playoffs.

Ray Lewis failed to record an INT for the first time ever.

It’s not just injuries. Jamaal may still get hurt or be ineffective this year, but if he had made the cover I would guarantee it. The fact remains that there is more proof for than against it. Sorry you’re too smart to believe in anything unexplainable. Shoot me an e-mail with the meaning of life when you get the chance ;)

by bamachief5558 on Apr 11, 2011 1:28 PM CDT via mobile up reply actions

Come on dude...

you can’t honestly believe that being on a cover of a video game causes some rift in the universe to effect ones season. Just think about it for a second.

Vince Young was never that good. He had a decent rookie season and they put him on the cover. Faulk got old, thats it. Happens all of the time. Larry Johnson never made the cover, but he fell off the map. Vick broke his leg because he would run the ball constantly and he doesn’t have a running back body. He got arrested for dog fighting, well because he was fighting dogs long before he ever made the cover. If you want to label it a curse at least be consistent defining what a curse is. I thought a curse was horrible improbable chance events occurring to a person outside of their control. I mean, I guess it is out of the norm for an NFL player to be arrested. He would have gotten arrested anyway!

Culpepper was an overrated QB who made the cover because he had two hall of fame WRs. Brees lost to a 7-9 team? Gee, I guess upsets never happen even in the playoffs. Were the Pats cursed when they lost in their undefeated season? Your just picking and choosing to make this a reality in your head. And its going to cost us the ability to put one of our own on the cover. We might never get this chance again and we blew it because we are retarded.

by I_Bleed_Red. on Apr 11, 2011 4:14 PM CDT up reply actions

First off, I think you might be taking this conversation A LOT more seriously than literally every single other person in this thread.

The Madden cover vote is fun, and people are treating as such. It isn’t a big deal, and a lot of people are voting for all sorts of reasons. You seem to think Chiefs fans are shouting for joy and high-fiving each other because Charles won’t get hit by the curse, when in actuality most are saying it with a wink and a smile.

I wrote in my original comment that the curse was, at best, a tenious pattern of bad luck and old players passing their peak, and you still seem to be treating it like I formally declared that the curse was real. Of course it isn’t, but it’s fun to talk and joke about.

The fact is, Charles lost for several reasons other than Chiefs fans being afraid of the curse. Cleveland fans have been incredibly active in organizing to get Hillis on the cover. Jacksonville fans weren’t happy that Charles beat MJD. Charles was already somewhat on the map this season while Hillis’ breakout performance is a great story.

Plus you’re declaration of, “We might never get this chance again and we blew it because we are retarded,” is incredibly overly dramatic and overly reactionary. Madden isn’t going anywhere, and the Chiefs are finally starting to get good again pretty much for the first time since they started putting players on the cover. Matt Cassel was in consideration for the 2010 cover, I’d be willing to bet that Charles will be in consideration again at some point down the line and, even if he isn’t, the Chiefs will have another great player in the running eventually. But even if a Chief never ever for the entire history of the franchise ends up on the cover of Madden, who cares?

On the list of accomplishments I’m hoping to see Jamaal Charles achieve (including Super Bowl MVP, League MVP, Offensive POY, _ time All-Pro, Walter Payton Man of the Year, and Congressional Medal of Honor recipient) Madden cover athlete is pretty far down the list.

by MtHammer on Apr 11, 2011 4:53 PM CDT up reply actions

Yeah, its the internet so I probably came across as condescending. And its not that big of a deal. I just cringed when he said their was proof. I should have ignored it, but people basing decisions on metaphysics boils my blood more than anything. The Madden cover is insignificant, but I have just seen too much dumb stuff that doesn’t have to happen because people can’t think critically on things that are significant. My apologies, I’m going to go drink now.

by I_Bleed_Red. on Apr 11, 2011 5:50 PM CDT up reply actions

I'm also surprised that Hillis is winning, especially by a lot.

I did vote for Jamaal and I’d like to see him get to the final. But I’m on the fence about him being on the cover. What’s that saying, don’t ruin a good thing?

by Fidelis86 on Apr 10, 2011 9:25 PM CDT reply actions

The great white hope.....

I hate to be that guy…..but when 2 white RBs make the final 8, there is some of that great white hype going on. We arent talking about a John Riggins here, we are talking about an OK back (and him being the Browns choice over Cribbs is a joke) and a little used back on a team loaded with guys.

by bonesjackson on Apr 10, 2011 10:13 PM CDT reply actions

I think you're imagining a racial component to these proceedings that just isn't there.

The fan votes have been all over the place on most of these head to head match-ups, with a lot of fans who believe in the curse voting against their team’s representative, which only makes it harder to sort out exactly what’s been going on.

Who’s to say why Hillis is winning? Maybe Chiefs fans are more likely to be superstitious than Browns fans. Maybe people think Hillis is a better story. Maybe Cleveland fans have mobilized an incredibly effective campaign. Maybe bitter Jacksonville fans are voting en mass for Hillis. Who knows for sure? But it could be (and is) for a lot of reasons other than "white hype.’

Here’s what I do know. Peyton Hillis ran for nearly 1200 yards and 11 TDs last season, and caught for almost 500 and another 2 TDs. That’s impressive no matter what your skin color is. You sound like Jason Whitlock – I still remember him saying that America was uncomfortable with the Saints winning the Super Bowl because a black DB (Tracy Porter) outsmarted a beloved white quarterback (Peyton Manning) to with the game. That kind of talk is just crap 99.99% of the time and unproductive 100% of it. Hillis had a legitimately great season and, as a converted fullback who was traded to the Browns for a busted QB and pile of magic beans, he’s a fantastic story.

And as for Hillis getting the cover nod over Cribbs – Hillis had a breakout year, Cribbs only had an okay year. Cribbs caught 23 passes for 292 yards and 1 TD. He rushed 20 times for 66 yards and no TDs. He completed 2 of 3 passes for 19 yards and no TDs. He also went the entire season without returning a punt or kickoff for a TD. Now compare those numbers to Hillis’ above. Hillis had a much more impressive year. That’s all there is to it.

by MtHammer on Apr 11, 2011 12:18 AM CDT up reply actions

No way in Satans sandbox should Peyton Hillis beat Jamaal Charles...

But I guess people in Cleveland have nothing better to do than vote their rep over and over. I mean, I know Hillis is a good RB and all, I did snag him on the waiver wire in week one last year of fantasy football, but he’s not on Charles’s level. And anyone that believes in that stupid curse is pretty lame. I mean its NFL football people. Players get injured every year, and if you’ve been fortunate enough to make the Madden cover in the past then you better believe people are gonna be coming after you the next year on the field. Its pure coincidence. Please do yourself a favor and throw away your lucky rabbits foot, uncross your fingers and stop knocking on wood, cuz none of those things mean anything either…

by Chiefs08Matt on Apr 10, 2011 10:43 PM CDT via mobile reply actions