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| Andrew Perna. 27th December, 2007 - 8:32 pm
 Everyone has heard of the infamous `Madden Jinx'. Some people have dismissed it as an urban legend, something similar to the Loch Ness monster, but others have seen the very real effect it can have on the season of an NFL superstar.
Garrison Hearst was the first-ever player featured on the game's cover, having his mug plastered on the 1999 edition of the virtual juggernaut. Since then every cover athlete has suffered some kind of significant performance drop-off, whether it be due to retirement, poor play or serious injury.
The list of victims reads like a who's who of the last decade: Barry Sanders, Eddie George, Daunte Culpepper, Marshall Faulk, Michael Vick, Ray Lewis, Donovan McNabb and Shaun Alexander.
However, this year's cover model Titans' quarterback Vince Young has done a terrific job of quelling the well-hyped curse.
There was concern heading into Week Seven when Young missed a game with a strained quadriceps that the Madden curse may have gotten to the former Longhorn, but he returned in Week Eight to lead Tennessee to a 13-9 victory over the Oakland Raiders - putting to rest any concern about yet another EA Sports' jinx.
In just his second NFL season, Young has improved slightly, but the bigger story has been his ability to manage a game well enough to allow Tennessee to win more often that not. Heading into the final week of the season, the Titans are a win away from making their first playoff appearance in several years.
After posting an 8-8 record in 2006, a win would allow Tennessee to finish the year 10-6, despite playing in the NFL's most competitive division.
His numbers haven't jumped off the page this season, but Young has improved his completion percentage ten points (from 51.5 to 61.5) in 2007. His quarterback rating has also climbed three points in his sophomore season. The overall number of poor decisions may have decreased for Young this season, but when he's made bad decisions - they've been rather costly.
He has 17 interceptions through fourteen games this season after posting just 13 in fifteen games during his rookie campaign.
Heading into this season's midpoint, a little over ten percent of Young's passes were dropped by his wide receivers. That's one of the more unfavorable numbers for a QB this season, placing some of the blame for his questionable passing numbers on his below-average receiving corps.
His top two receivers Roydell Williams and Justin Gage have combined to grab 97 balls for 1,306 yards and six touchdowns this season. Considering that neither is good enough to be Young's number one receiver, I combined their stats to make up the Titans' top pass catcher. Call him Roydell Gage or Justin Williams, whichever you prefer.
The combined numbers of Williams and Gage still fall behind dozens of wide receivers when you take into account statistics like catches, yards and touchdowns.
There's no telling how much Young would benefit from a more-talented receiver corps, but the combination of increased maturity, better options and more NFL experience might make for a very productive 2008 season for this year's Madden cover model.
Regardless, beating the very-real Madden Jinx is an accomplishment in it of itself.
Do you believe in the Madden Jinx?: Andrew.Perna@RealGM.com |
