A Tamed Jaguar No More?

As I have read on social media, it seems as though a majority of Jaguar fans are on one side of the fence or the other when it comes to the hiring of Doug Marrone.  I love the hiring of Doug Marrone, but I am also a big fan of him.  Now I have never been to a practice, so all I can go on is what I've seen on TV.

I know the biggest gripe about him is his overall record as a Head Coach at Syracuse University and with the Buffalo Bills.  I understand his record is not stellar, but from what those programs were prior to his arrival, his record does show his ability to turn around a football program.

Prior to Doug Marrone, Syracuse had a terrible four seasons, going 10-37.  Marrone went 25-25, including two bowl wins.  Since he has left, Syracuse has gone 18-31.  In the four seasons prior to his arrival, the Buffalo Bills were 22-42.  Marrone went 15-17 and they have gone 15-17 since he has left.

As I said, I understand that his record is "not great", however, in comparison, I find it to be very good.  The Bills have not gotten any better since he has left and Syracuse has gotten worse (although I do believe that Syracuse program is on the rise under Dino Babers). 

Doug Marrone is an old school type coach that will have his team's prepared for gameday.  He is a disciplined coach that will demand a lot from his players and coaches.  He has turned two programs around from bottom dwellers to contenders.  In his last season in Buffalo, he went 9-7 and was on the verge on the playoffs with an offense that was not all that talented.  I am excited to see what he does in Jacksonville as I truly believe he will turn the Jaguars around as he has done with Syracuse and Buffalo.  With Tom Coughlin running the football operations, I see this franchise getting back to playoff contention within the next two or three years.

Will 'Madden 18' Sack The G.O.A.T?

Dolphins, Bills and Jets fans have likely been rejoicing the last couple of days as Tom Brady will be gracing the cover of 'Madden 18'.  I should add in every fan other than Patriot fans to the mix, but with 8 straight and 13 of the last 14 AFC East titles, I'm confident that Dolphins, Bills and Jets fans are rejoicing the most.  Will the 'Madden curse' follow Tom Brady into the 2017 NFL season and give another AFC East team a chance at winning the division, or will Brady debunk this curse.  I did some research today and here's what I found with the players that have been on past 'Madden' covers.


'Madden 1999' - Garrison Hearst - San Francisco 49ers
In 1997, Garrison Hearst ran for 1019 yards and 4 touchdowns.  He also had 21 receptions for 194 yards and 2 touchdowns.  In 1998, after being named to the 'madden' cover, Hearst ran for 1570 yards and 7 touchdowns.  He had 39 receptions for 535 yards and 2 touchdowns.

While statistically speaking, Hearst did have a much better season in 1998 than he did in 1997, however, he was injured in the divisional round against the Atlanta Falcons, having 1 carry for 7 yards.  This is a tough one, but I think I'm going to chalk this up as a win for team 'curse'.  1-0

'Madden 2000', Dorsey Levens, Green Bay Packers
Barry Sanders was initially on the cover for this one, however, he decided to retire and therefore Dorsey Levens got the nod.  In 1998 he only played in 7 games, rushed for 378 yards and 1 TD, along with 27 receptions for 162 yards.  In 1999, he had 1034 yards rushing with 9 TDs, and 71 receptions for 573 yards along with 1 TD.  This one is easy, team no 'curse'. 1-1

'Madden 2001', Eddie George, Tennessee Titans
Eddie George got the nod for the cover due to his solid 1999 season.  He had 1304 rushing yards, 9 touchdowns, 47 receptions for 458 yards and 4 TD's.  In the 'Madden' season, he rushed for 1509 yards, 14 TD's while catching 50 passes for 453 yards and 2 TD's.  A bobbled pass in their playoff game that resulted in an INT could happen to anybody.  2-1 no 'curse'.

'Madden 2002', Daunte Culpepper, Minnesota Vikings
Culpepper had a tremendous 2000 season, throwing for nearly 4,000 yards and 33 TD's.  Culpepper was injured in Week 12 in 2001.  Prior to the injury he had 2612 yards, 14 TD's and 13 INT's while the Vikings were 4-6.  I'll go with the 'Madden curse' on this one.  2-2

'Madden 2003', Marshall Faulk, St. Louis Rams
Faulk rushed for 1382 yards and 12 TD's while adding 765 receiving yards and 9 TD's in 2001.  This was also the season they lost to the Patriots in the Super Bowl.  The 2002 season saw Faulk rush for just 953 yards, the first time he failed to eclipse the 1,000 yard rushing mark as a Ram.  Another easy one for the 'curse', 3-2

'Madden 2004', Michael Vick, Atlanta Falcons
Michael Vick, everybody's favorite 'madden' player.  In 2002, he threw for 2612 yards, 14 touchdown's and 13 interceptions.  It wasn't his arm that won him the honors of the 'madden' cover, it was his legs.  113 carries for 777 yards and 8 TD's.  Vick was injured in the preseason and missed the first 11 games of the season.  He ended up with 585 yards passing, 255 yards and 5 total touchdowns. This one is very easy.  4-2 for the 'curse'.

'Madden 2005', Ray Lewis, Baltimore Ravens
Ray Lewis' 2003 season saw him with 6 interceptions, one of which he returned for a touchdown.  He also recorded 120 tackles.  In 2004, Lewis failed to get an interception, however, he did finish with 100 tackles.  The Ravens did fail to make the playoffs that season.  I cannot consider it a 'curse', as he wasn't the reason they missed the playoffs.  4-3.  Interesting, exactly the defense that Ray Lewis was so dominant in over his career.

'Madden 2006', Donovan McNabb, Philadelphia Eagles
McNabb had a tremendous 2004 season that ended with a loss to the Patriots in the Super Bowl. McNabb threw for 3875 yards, 31 TD's and only 8 interceptions.  The following season he was injured and played in only 9 games, throwing for 2507 yards, 16 TD's and 9 interceptions.  Another easy one, 5-3.

'Madden 2007', Shaun Alexander, Seattle Seahawks
Shaun Alexander had a ridiculous 2005 campaign, which also ended in a Super Bowl loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.  Alexander ran for 1880 yards and 27 touchdowns.  He only played in 10 games in 2006, rushing for 896 yards and 7 TD's.  'Curse' leads 6-3

'Madden 2008', Vince Young, Tennessee Titans
Vince Young's 2006 season was not all that spectacular.  While he rushed for 552 yards and 7 TD's, he only threw for 2199 yards and had more INT's than TD's, 13 to 12.  His 2007 season was better yards wise, throwing for 2546, but had 17 interceptions to just 9 TD's.  I never thought Vince Young was a great quarterback, so I'm going to go with no 'curse' on this one, 6-4.

'Madden 2009, Brett Favre, New York Jets
Favre wore a Packers uniform on the cover, but he played for the Jets in 2008, throwing for 3472 yards, 22 touchdown's but threw for 22 interceptions as well.  That is a far cry from his final season with the Packers when he led them to a 13-3 record.  He threw for 4155 yards and 28 TD's.  This one is really a tossup because he did switch teams.  I'm going to go with no 'curse' and make it close again, 6-5.

'Madden 2010'
Madden 2010 showed Troy Polamalu and Larry Fitzgerald on the cover, however, I do not consider this to be particular player on the cover.  Just two guys that played in the Super Bowl the previous season.

'Madden 2011', Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints
Brees got the nod after the Saints storybook season after Hurricane Katrina, beating the Colts in the Super Bowl.  Brees had an incredible 2009 campaign, throwing for 4388 yards, 34 TD's and only 11 INT's.  He had similar success in 2010, with the only glaring difference being interceptions where he had 22.  He threw for more yards, 4620 and 33 touchdowns.  The Saints went 11-5 in 2010, hardly calling for 'the curse' 6-6.

'Madden 2012', Peyton Hillis, Cleveland Browns
Hillis is probably the least likely player to ever be on the cover of 'Madden', and it is likely the biggest upset in any video game cover.  While he had a solid 2010 season, rushing for 1177 yards and 11 TD's, while compiling 477 yards and 2 TD's receiving, he did not have an overwhelming season that you see from 'madden' cover stars.  Hillis only played in 10 games in 2011, rushing for only 587 yards, while also having some off the field issues as well.  I'm just going to go ahead and blame the 'curse' here.  7-6

'Madden 2013', Calvin Johnson, Detroit Lions
Boy do I miss watching Calvin Johnson play football.  His 2011 season was unreal, going for 1681 yards receiving and 16 TD's, helping send the Lions to the playoffs.  While Johnson did not do so hot in the Touchdown's category, he ended up with more yards, 1964 and more receptions, 122, during the 2012 season, however, the Lions went 4-12.  The Lions record is not enough for me to say he was 'cursed', 7-7.

'Madden 25', Adrian Peterson, Minnesota Vikings
Peterson's 2012 season saw him come 8 yards short of tying Eric Dickerson for the all time single season rushing record as he came away with 2097 yards rushing.  He added 12 touchdown's as well as 217 yards receiving an a touchdown.  The 2012 season saw a significant decline with only 1266 yards rushing as he was dealing with an injury.  He played 14 games that season and only played 1 game in 2014.  Chalk this up as the 'curse', 8-7.

'Madden 15', Richard Sherman, Seattle Seahawks
Richard Sherman had an outstanding 2013 campaign with 8 interceptions, 1 of which he returned for a touchdown, and 18 passes defended.  He also had 2 forced fumbles and 2 fumble recoveries.  Not many thought he could replicate that in 2014 and he didn't, although he still posted 4 interceptions, 11 passes defended and had 52 tackles.  This is still a great season.  8-8

'Madden 16', Odell Beckham Jr, NY Giants
Odell Beckham Jr came on the scene in 2014 in incredible fashion, including his one handed catch.  He had 91 receptions for 1305 yards and 12 touchdowns in just 12 games.  He did even better in 2015, albeit with more games played, but he had 1450 yards receiving and 13 touchdowns.  No curse here and they take the lead 9-8.

'Madden 17', Rob Gronkowski, New England Patriots
The greatest tight end in the game right now and may very well become the best tight end of all time.  He had a terrific season in 2015, 72 catches for 1176 yards and 11 touchdowns.  In 2016 he only played 6 games while dealing with injuries.  The Patriots even went on to win the Super Bowl without him.  'Curse'. 9-9.

'Madden 18', Tom Brady, New England Patriots
We finally come to Tom Brady, the man many call the GOAT.  Five Super Bowl Rings and part of the greatest comeback in Super Bowl history.  It's tied 9-9 with whether the cover is a 'curse', and of course Tom Brady will break that tie.  It's only fitting.  Many of these 'curses' have been due to injury.  While Brady is getting up there in age, I do not see him slowing down at all.  They've acquired Brandin Cooks and Gronk will be back.  Could he get injured?  Of course he could.  However, the Patriots offensive line, for the most part, year after year, has been very good and very rarely allows Brady to get hit.  This past season he was hit quite a bit for his standards, but there isn't anything I don't think Bill Belichick can fix.

Dolphins, Bills and Jets fans, don't expect the 'madden curse' to affect Brady this season.  It looks like you'll just have to beat him in 'Madden', although if you're anything like me, he'll still beat you on there as well.

Way, way, WAY too EARLY 2018 Mock Draft