There Is No Cursing Troy Polamalu, You Hear? Probably Not Fitz Either While We're On The Subject

That is one badass cover.

Don't worry about the haters. Haters only hate.

by steelguy99 on Apr 24, 2009 9:35 AM EDT reply actions

Nice.

Thats pretty tight. i guess if the madden curse is coming for us its also coming for Pittsburgh-West too.

by Black'n'Gold Hokie. on Apr 24, 2009 9:42 AM EDT reply actions

i don't know

if the madden curse can do the unthinkable and finally put brett favre out of the NFL, what is gonna stop it from cursing Polamalu???

Hopefully since Fitz has the ball, it will strike him instead, or since they have never put a reigning Super Bowl Champion on the cover, maybe the curse won’t be able to do anything to troy……but either way I don’t like him on the cover…..it’s too risky.

by Bleed-Black&Gold on Apr 24, 2009 10:11 AM EDT reply actions

Harrison: “All troy wants to do is go to church and play for the Steelers”

You can’t curse a guy like that.

by 40s on Apr 24, 2009 2:07 PM EDT up reply actions

I usually only buy NCAA

But I will have to buy that. SWEET cover.

The Ralphie Report - University of Colorado Athletics

by Jon Woods on Apr 24, 2009 10:11 AM EDT reply actions

Sucks to be the Steelers next season.

This line will remain in my signature until the Colts draft Rashad Jennings in 2009.
Oh and I write words and stuff for Stampede Blue.

by KingRichard on Apr 24, 2009 10:17 AM EDT reply actions

just wait

one day peyton is going to get the cover, it is unavoidable….

by Bleed-Black&Gold on Apr 24, 2009 10:23 AM EDT up reply actions

I don't know...

When Peyton went against the grain and was the coverboy for NFL Fever (I think that was the title) when XBox first came out, I think he pissed all the Madden people off. Perhaps thats why Madden himself drooled all over every good QB in the league except Peyton. He always seemed to show him a little less love than everyone else he talked about, I thought. Maybe I just missed the Manning Madden lovefest.

by NYSteelersFan4 on Apr 24, 2009 11:33 AM EDT up reply actions

yea

next year it’ll be brady and peyton on the cover kissing lol

by tannofsteel84 on Apr 24, 2009 11:23 AM EDT up reply actions

haha

This line will remain in my signature until the Colts draft Rashad Jennings in 2009.
Oh and I write words and stuff for Stampede Blue.

by KingRichard on Apr 24, 2009 2:33 PM EDT up reply actions

Kickass cover

I love the graphics and everything! This will be a collectors item as well as a game!
Madden NFL 10 game trailer

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rp9_YFmYzkU&feature=player_embedded

by Steeltown21 on Apr 24, 2009 10:31 AM EDT reply actions

M. Lombardi said Steelers might move L. Foote during the draft

Guys, check out what Mike Lombardi said on his blog at the National Football Post today:

“The Steelers will be willing to part with their starting inside linebacker, Larry Foote, at some point in the draft.”

We’ve discussed it hear, but this guy knows the pulse of the league better than most and this one move would free up $3M under the cap and get us a draft pick on top of that. Maybe Buffalo and the Steelers might do something after all.

Thoughts?

by datruth4life on Apr 24, 2009 10:45 AM EDT reply actions

definitely thinking Foote is the piece we're most likely to move

Time for K. Fox to step up and be ready to play beside Timmons and Farrior. I’m more than excited about possibility of that move, even if I do think highly of Foote for the most part. Cap hit’s too high at this point for what he brings to the table.

by Michael Bean on Apr 24, 2009 11:07 AM EDT up reply actions

I agree

Just hope we pull a smart trade and not this “cut Foote” malarky that really makes no sense to me.

by BallsofSteel on Apr 24, 2009 6:01 PM EDT up reply actions

No curse

Troy’s picture is not on the cover; that’s an artist’s rendering of some sort. We avoid the curse again.

by CarlWeathersMustache on Apr 24, 2009 10:53 AM EDT reply actions

not true

that IS the cover

by shleeve on Apr 24, 2009 3:34 PM EDT up reply actions

Right

But isn’t that some sort of digital rendering? It doesn’t look like a picture that they are using on the cover.

by CarlWeathersMustache on Apr 24, 2009 9:50 PM EDT up reply actions

the covers are usually pretty mediocre

but this one is nice, would love a poster of it, maybe with the super bowl and score underneath instead of madden

by vherub on Apr 24, 2009 10:55 AM EDT reply actions

Only half a curse!!!

All I got to say is that Ryan Mundy better be ready to play this year.. Cuz TCarter isn’t gonna cut it this year as replacement for TroyP, when the curse takes effect… Hopefully early and not to severe…

GO STEELERS!!

by BigDaddyTat2boy on Apr 24, 2009 11:07 AM EDT reply actions

The curse

I have been made a believer in the curse, i mean the evidence there is undeniable. But I think they may have broken it this year. Two people sharing the cover is completely out of the norm and may be enough to offset the usual curse. Remember the curse is just 1 player on the cover of madden, so this is uncharted waters here. I think the curse is off, well if Troy P. and Larry get hurt this season the curse will prove to be unbreakable, they just need to put pictures of madden back on the game lol

by tannofsteel84 on Apr 24, 2009 11:26 AM EDT reply actions

correlation = causation?

i mean the evidence there is undeniable

The Madden curse reminds me of the correlation between the Redskins and presidential elections. The winner of the Skins’ last home game before the election has been shown to correlate to the winner of the election, but no one thinks that the Redskins affect the election. Correlation does not mean causation. Football is violent, and players get hurt.

Perhaps the only truth to the “curse” is that cover athletes tend to be a high points in their career. (There’s a reason Anthony Smith wasn’t a finalist for the cover.) So when the player’s production dips after his peak, as S. Alexander’s did, we falsely associate it with Madden.

by phxsteeler on Apr 24, 2009 2:30 PM EDT up reply actions

Regardless of what’s causing players to get hurt, if there’s a correlation between Madden covers and injuries/suckiness, I don’t want my star safety anywhere near it.

Maybe the real question is whether it’s a statistically significant correlation or whether it’s just apophenia and selection bias.

charity standing orders

by BadMaafala on Apr 24, 2009 3:30 PM EDT up reply actions

good point

by phxsteeler on Apr 24, 2009 4:02 PM EDT up reply actions

of course

its not the cause, its a curse because of the correlation. Yea there are injuries but give me a break, ever since 99 this thing been going on. It happens everytime. I can understand if it like skips a couple of years. But its everytime. Of course they only put stars up there and they are at or near their peak but at the same time thats what makes it even more crazy, these are players that aren’t one year wonder type of players, Ray Lewis for example here. And just magically it seems when these guys get on the cover, they get hurt or their career is over afterwards. S. Alexander had several good years before his cover year, now well he can’t make a team. Eddie george same thing, Mike Vick…. Brett farve careers over after cover year, Faulk too, D. McNabb got hurt, Vince young? Explain that, he wasn’t near his peak and still isnt. So yea its the correlation that has everyone hype. NO one is saying causation. IMO

by tannofsteel84 on Apr 24, 2009 3:45 PM EDT up reply actions

S.Alexander production didn't dip

It fell off a cliff.

by BallsofSteel on Apr 24, 2009 6:03 PM EDT up reply actions

ILB Spencer Adkins on deck for Foote, Mundy & R. Lewis can hold down safety

Blitz,

If they can trade Foote, then I would expect them to take ILB Spencer Adkins from Miami. He’s only 5’11, 230 lbs, but he ran a 4.48 at his Pro Day and the Steelers had him in for a visit. Also like the 30 bench reps he had at that size on his pro day. He could probably play special teams right away, and in two years, you’ll have a 240-lb 3-down LB with 4.4 speed. He’s also projected as a late round pick.

BigDaddyTat2boy had made the comment that Troy needs to stay healthy because of Tyrone Carter behind him, but they also have Ryan Mundy and Roy Lewis back there as well. I think Lewis will give the team the type of flexibility that Tomlin covets with being able to play CB & Safety.

Anyone think the Steelers will trade up in the 2nd round for a DL or will do much moving around at all in this draft?

I hope they come out of this draft with 2 OL, 2 DL, 1 WR, 2 CB, 1 LB, 1 Tank (RB/FB).

Thoughts?

by datruth4life on Apr 24, 2009 11:37 AM EDT reply actions

i like adkins,

agreed he could head hunt on special teams right away. Do we think that Deebo’s going to be relieved of his special teams duties now that hes a 50+ million dollar man?

by Michael Bean on Apr 24, 2009 11:46 AM EDT up reply actions

yes please, let's get james off of specials...

i love that he was willing to do it, but it’s not worth blowing up our season because somebody else’s 45th guy rolls up on our 3rd… (that’s where i rank deebo in terms of his importance to us, by the way. a debate for another time, perhaps. but for the hell of it, my top five would be 1) ben 2) troy 3) deebo 4) aaron smith 5) santonio)…

by cliff harris is still a punk! on Apr 24, 2009 11:57 AM EDT reply actions

Potential Tomlin comments... Courtesy of Varmint

"We don’t buy into that hocus-pocus theory."

"We are already cursed with not being perfect."

"Every morning when I come to work, I walk past five Lombardis, not five exorcisms."

"I am not a proponent of the Madden curse."

"Not interested. A curse is an excuse for losers losing."

"Talk to me about the curse when there’s two minutes in a football game. Then we shall see if it matters."

"I refuse to acknowledge any curse. We live week-to-week and we’re preparing this week to be at our best… I don’t want our level of preparation or focus to be in response to the cover of a video game."

originally posted by Varmint

by 40s on Apr 24, 2009 1:19 PM EDT reply actions

HAIR

Those are some pretty sweet locks on the cover. This could also dual as the cover for RockBand 2009. I do like how they have players from both Super Bowl teams. Reward for team performance, individual performance, and don’t forget hair length :)

Tony - Stillers Fan in Raleigh

by Tshaff on Apr 24, 2009 1:37 PM EDT reply actions

Any doubts that we need to draft a DB in the first now? Troy doesn’t even need a curse to get injured or have a down season. I think this increases the chance that we’ll draft a safety early, maybe William Moore?

charity standing orders

by BadMaafala on Apr 24, 2009 1:52 PM EDT reply actions

this is not good

I don’t want Troy to be cursed.

I mean look at that cover, his knees and shoulders are already exploding.

However, there is a first for everything. If anyone can break a curse its the Steelers with our anti-wizardry coach. We were the first 6th seed to win a super bowl ya know.

by shleeve on Apr 24, 2009 3:37 PM EDT reply actions

a closer look at curses

hearst- season ending injury…. cursed
sanders- retired…not cursed
george- down year…curse of 370
c-pepper- injured…cursed
faulk- down year…not cursed
vick- injured…cursed
ray lewis- nothing…not curses
mcnabb- season ending injury…cursed
shaun alexander- injury…curse of 370
vince young- nothing…not cursed
favre- nothing/phantom injury?…not cursed

Rather meaningless curse in my opinion.

If you are a runningback, and Madden selects you, you are on the downhill of your playing career. And this makes sense, because running backs have less shelf life, and by the time they get popular enough to be the covers, they’ve strung a few good seasons together already. Last year, LT would have been a good candidate to be on the cover, and he would have been “cursed.”

If you are a QB, qbs do get injured, but is 60% high? Well, I would bet that 60% of teams will have a qb start or come off the bench for them that was different than their day 1 starter. And do the nature of the nfl, with very few teams being consistently good, most hot teams one year retreat to the mean the next.

by vherub on Apr 24, 2009 4:11 PM EDT reply actions

well some corrections

sanders – retired
faulk – down year = cursed
ray lewis – was injured that season – down year, cursed
vince young – injured – cursed
farve – injured/ retired

so either you retire after that season or u get injured or have a down year, thats the point……

by tannofsteel84 on Apr 24, 2009 4:25 PM EDT up reply actions

In addition

Vince Young = Mental Breakdown
Michael Vick = Jail time

by BallsofSteel on Apr 24, 2009 6:05 PM EDT up reply actions

LOL

by Bleed-Black&Gold on Apr 25, 2009 2:14 AM EDT up reply actions

also

don’t forget that sanders retired during his prime (thats a curse, especially to the Lions).
Faulk had one of his worst years.
Lewis did have a down year.
Young was injured and had a poor finish to the season.
And don’t forget that Farve also led the league in INTs as well as his team falling apart down the stretch.

The only possible exception to the curse was George who didn’t have that bad a year. It was slightly down year but nothing bad. If I remember correctly, however, he did have a fumble in a playoff game (or a dropped pass or something) that quite possibly cost them the game.

by shleeve on Apr 24, 2009 10:45 PM EDT up reply actions

also remember that nothing could kick favre out of the league for good, but the madden curse did…it is all powerful, do not question it’s power….

by Bleed-Black&Gold on Apr 25, 2009 2:14 AM EDT up reply actions

my guess

is that Polamalu would say that he considers himself blessed, and nothing will happen to him apart from God’s will.

by acrollet on Apr 24, 2009 5:33 PM EDT reply actions

No one has mentioned the amounts of hours and lives lost by endlessly playing Madden and taking the Steelers to three straight championships! Ok, so maybe that only happens in my house, but drafting players sure gets fun!

by Mikey on Apr 24, 2009 6:00 PM EDT reply actions

Where did you get a 42 inch Vizio for 200 bucks?!? I will give you mad sexual favors (kidding, I might get you a hooker though) if you tell me this.

by Michael Uhlhorn on Apr 25, 2009 2:30 AM EDT reply actions

LOL...LOL...LOL

I was assuming I was going to some like 35 year old dudes house out in the ‘burbs to pick up some Vizio that one of his friends jacked. I didn’t care. But when I got there, it was this 17 year old kid from Thailand with his dad playing solitaire in the same room as I wrote him a check fro 200 bucks for a 42 inch 1080p Vizio in the box. I asked no questions.

by Michael Bean on Apr 25, 2009 7:45 AM EDT up reply actions