The Madden Cover Curse

With today's release of Madden 11, I thought it was only fitting to post this SI Vault photo gallery that details the trails and tribulations of Madden's historical cover men. So Drew will you be "the chosen one" to prevail and deviate from the streak?

If you look closely, you can see Sanders in the background. The electric Lions running back started the Madden jinx by announcing his retirement before the 1999 season and never returning to the NFL.

George is an anomaly in this gallery, because he did have a good year in 2000 (1,509 yards and 14 TDs), but his team did fall off a bit. After reaching the Super Bowl in 1999, the Titans fell to the Ravens in the divisional playoffs and George's career slowly unraveled after that year. In 2001, George rushed for less the 1000 yards for the first time in his career and scored just 5 TDs

After a great 2000 season, Culpepper struggled in 2001. He threw 14 touchdowns and 13 interceptions before hurting his knee in Week 13 and sitting out the rest of the season.

Faulk and the Rams offense was dominant in 2001, but a nagging ankle injury slowed the All-Pro back and St. Louis' offense suddenly became less dangerous. Faulk ran for just 953 yards in 14 games and the Rams went from 14-2 in '01 to 7-9 in '02.

Right after Madden '04 became available, Vick broke his leg in a preseason game and didn't return until there were just five games left in the season. The injury spurred a serious debate about the necessity of the preseason and the Madden jinx was suddenly being discussed everywhere.

After a dominant campaign in 2003, Lewis had a so-so season in '04 and the Ravens failed to make the playoffs for the first time in four years. Lewis also got hurt and missed the final game of the year.

McNabb led the Eagles to the Super Bowl in 2004, but 2005 was a complete disaster. He had multiple injuries, including a sports hernia that finally ended his season after nine games. And he had to deal with the incredible distraction of Terrell Owens, who turned on his quarterback and the organization.

Alexander set the NFL record for touchdowns (28 -- since broken) and led the Seahawks to the Super Bowl in 2005. He fractured his foot in 2006 and ran for just 896 yards and seven touchdowns in 10 games.

In his sophomore season, Young had 9 TD passes and 17 interceptions. On the ground, Young rushed for 157 fewer yards in 2007, his Yards Per Carry fell 1.5 yards, and he scored just three rushing touchdowns after having seven his rookie year. In his first postseason game, Young threw for 138 yards with no touchdowns and one interception, while rushing for just 12 yards, in a 17-6 loss to San Diego.

In his final season with Green Bay, Favre threw 28 TD passes and 15 interceptions. Acquired by the Jets in the summer of 2008, Favre started well; in Week 4 he threw a personal best six touchdowns against the Cardinals. By Week 12 the Jets had an 8-3 record, but missed the playoffs after losing four of their final five games, in which Favre threw nine interceptions and only two touchdown passes, bringing his season total to 22 of each. It was later revealed Favre had been playing with a torn biceps tendon late in the season.

Polamalu finished the 2008 season with a career-high seven interceptions and led the Steelers defense to its second Super Bowl victory in four years. Late in the first half of the Steelers-Titans 2009 season opener, Polamalu, who was having an All-Pro first half, suffered a sprained MCL in his left knee after 262-pound Titan Alge Crumpler fell on his leg. Polamalu played in just four more games for the season. Although Fitzgerald posted lower receiving yards (1,092) in 2010 after consecutive 1,400-yard seasons, he managed to score a career-high 13 TDs. It would appear that Polamalu took the brunt of this cover curse.

Pics & History via SI Vault