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This will not be music to Giants fans’ ears.  According to the fantastic Giants Football Blog, Eli Manning is being considered to be on the cover of Madden 2009. This could have tragic results based on past history of Madden cover athletes. Lets take a look at the last 15 years of Madden covers. (Courtesy Wikipedia)

Garrison Hearst (1999)

Garrison Hearst was the first player to ever be featured solo on a Madden cover, appearing on Madden NFL 99. Hearst’s 1998 season was the best of his career, rushing for 1,570 yards and seven touchdowns. He led the San Francisco 49ers to the playoffs and a wild card win over the Green Bay Packers, but on the first play of the divisional game versus the Atlanta Falcons, he suffered a bad ankle break and his team would go on to lose the game. He did not play again until 2001.

(It is worth noting that there are two versions of the Madden NFL ‘99 cover, one with an image of Hearst–primarily on European market PAL versions–and the more common one in North America with John Madden’s image.)

Dorsey Levens (2000)

Dorsey Levens emerged as one of the best running backs in football in 1997, rushing for over 1,400 yards and getting voted to the Pro Bowl. However, he injured his knee during the 1998 season and was never quite the same. He gained over 1,000 yards for the Green Bay Packers in the 1999 season, but was mostly used in a reserve role for the next two years. Levens was released by the team in 2001, used sparingly in a back-up role with the Philadelphia Eagles and New York Giants after that, and was essentially out of football by the end of 2004.

(Levens was the cover athlete for the European PAL versions of Madden NFL 2000.)

Eddie George (2001)

Eddie George, then of the Tennessee Titans, who graced the Madden NFL 2001 box, is often said to be the first ‘cursed’ player, if only covers of North American releases with solo shots of a player “count”. Running counter to a curse, for the year that he was on the cover, he had career highs in yardage and touchdowns. Curse advocates point to the 2001 season following his appearance on the cover, during which he averaged only 3 yards per carry and rushed for career lows of 939 yards and 5 touchdowns due to a nagging toe injury that bothered him the entire season. For the rest of his career, he never averaged more than 3.4 yards per carry.

George’s curse can be argued to have started the year he was on the cover because in the 2001 AFC Divisional Playoff game George had a costly fumble that lost the game for Tennessee. He also fumbled 8 times during the 2000 regular season, losing a career high 4 fumbles. In a playoff game against the Ravens, Eddie George bobbled a pass that was intercepted by Ray Lewis who ran it back for a touchdown for the eventual winning score.

Daunte Culpepper (2002)

Former Minnesota Vikings star quarterback Daunte Culpepper appeared on the Madden NFL 2002 cover after throwing for nearly 4,000 yards and 33 touchdowns while rushing for 470 yards and 7 more scores in the 2000 season. However, Culpepper struggled with turnovers in the first 11 games of the 2001 season, throwing 13 interceptions and only 14 touchdown passes. A back injury ended his season in the 11th game.

Marshall Faulk (2003)

Running back Marshall Faulk of the St. Louis Rams, who was on the Madden NFL 2003 cover, suffered an ankle injury, missing five games. He did amass nearly 1,600 total yards (953 rushing) and 10 touchdowns in limited time in 2002; however, it was a steep decline from his 2,000 yard and 21 touchdown campaign of 2001. He never broke through the 1,000 yards rushing mark for the rest of his career. 2002 was also a dismal year for the Rams as a team as they finished with a 7-9 record, coming off of a strong 14-2 season that led to a Super Bowl appearance the year before.

 Michael Vick (2004)

Five days after Madden NFL 2004 was released, which featured Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick on the cover, he was injured during a preseason game against the Baltimore Ravens, suffering a fractured right fibula. Vick played in only the last 5 regular season games, finishing with just 585 yards passing and 4 touchdowns. The Atlanta Falcons missed the playoffs and were already out of contention by the time Vick returned from his injury. The Falcons finished the season with a record of 5-11, a drop from their 9-6-1 record the season prior. Thoguh he was hit hard with the cure he had seemed to shake it off with a record breking season in 2006. That very off season he was convicted with animal abuse for dog fighting.

Ray Lewis (2005)

Madden NFL 2005 featured Ray Lewis of the Baltimore Ravens, the first defensive player ever to appear on the cover of a Madden game. It was Lewis’ first season without a single interception, after posting a career-high 6 the previous year, although interceptions are a secondary statistic for linebackers. He recorded 147 tackles in 15 games played, breaking his arm in week 15 and missing week 17. The Baltimore Ravens also failed to make the playoffs that season after winning their division the year before.

Donovan McNabb (2006)

QB Donovan McNabb, who was featured on the cover of Madden NFL 06, led the Philadelphia Eagles to Super Bowl XXXIXNew England Patriots. He ended 2004 throwing just shy of 4,000 yards and throwing for 31 passing touchdowns with only 8 interceptions. He also rushed for an additional 3 TDs. However, during the 2005-2006 season, in which he was on the Madden cover, McNabb suffered a sports hernia, but elected to play until after the November 14th game with the Dallas Cowboys. During this game, McNabb was knocked down after an interception return by Roy Williams, aggravating the injury. The same year after graced the Madden cover he also lost his wide recievers Freddie Mitchell and Terrell Owens. He then elected to have a season-ending surgery that was required to repair the injury. with a 13-3 regular season record to face the

Shaun Alexander (2007)

Seahawks RB Shaun Alexander, who appeared on the cover of Madden NFL 07, had one of the best statistical seasons ever in the 2005-2006 season, as he rushed for 1,880 yards and scored what was a record 28 total touchdowns (27 rushing). Alexander, who had missed one start in his previous 64 contests, fractured the 4th metatarsal in his foot after he was on the cover. He missed six starts and failed to rush for 1,000 yards for the first time since 2000. Additionally, his touchdown record from the previous year was broken by LaDainian Tomlinson, who scored 31 touchdowns in 16 games. More recently, in 2007, Shaun had arguably the worst statistical year of his career, averaging his lowest rushing yards/per carry at 3.5, while averaging only 55.1 yards per game and scoring only 4 touchdowns in 13 games played.

Vince Young (2008)

Tennessee Titans QB Vince Young, who appeared on the cover of Madden 08, threw 2,456 yards with 9 passing touchdowns and 17 interceptions in the season of his cover appearance. Although the Titans managed to make the playoffs for the first time in Young’s career, he left the final game of the season early with a right quadricep muscle injury, reinjuring the same muscle that had caused him to miss a start October 21st against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Titans’ final game was a wild card loss to the San Diego Chargers. In addition to this statistical drop, Vince Young missed the first game of his career due to injury against the Houston Texans. This was not just the first time he missed a game in the NFL, but college and high school as well.

All I have to say is, NO ELI! DO NOT DO IT! Be happy, go to Disney World, and enjoy your crappy watch and Nabisco endorsements.