Drew Brees to be cover athlete for Madden NFL 11

Super Bowl champion Drew Brees is the new Madden cover athlete. EA Sports revealed earlier today that the Madden 2011 edition will feature the New Orleans Saints QB on the cover after a contest for fans to pick the winner.

For the first time in the history of the best selling video game, the cover athlete was left up to the fans who voted for Brees, Indianapolis Colts receiver Reggie Wayne and Minnesota Vikings defensive end Jared Allen.

Electronic Arts Inc. announced today that New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees has been chosen by fans to be featured on the cover of Madden NFL 11, set to hit retail shelves on Tuesday, August 10. The Madden NFL 11 cover announcement is the result of a first-ever online consumer vote, powered by the Doritos “Change the Game” program, which empowered fans to select the highly-debated cover athlete. The partnership between EA SPORTS(TM) and the Doritos brand represents the first in a series of initiatives this year which allow fans to help shape the future of the franchise.

Doritos “Change the Game” allowed fans to submit their vote online, with Drew Brees winning over Minnesota Vikings defensive end Jared Allen and Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Reggie Wayne.

The biggest challenge now for Brees will be to avoid the “Madden Curse.” He’s already faced one curse as many Saints fans over the years believed the team was cursed. Local legend had the Superdome being built on a graveyard and a curse was cast over the team which resulted in the many decades of losing.

It looks like those gloomy days for the Saints are over thanks to the help of Drew Brees. But, can he win over the “Madden Curse” as well?

Over the years, various athletes who have appeared on the cover of the Madden video game have seen a decline in performance, usually due to an injury.

And Drew Brees knows a little bit about having a bad injury. He came back from a horrible shoulder injury thanks to some great work by surgeon Dr. James Andrews to resurrect his career and lead the Saints to their first ever Super Bowl.

Here’s a look at some of the players and their “Madden Curses” over the years.

2000 – Barry Sanders, who retired abruptly
2002 – Daunte Culpepper suffers a knee injury and misses last 5 games
2004 – Michael Vick breaks his leg in the preseason, missed first 12 games
2005 – Ray Lewis injures his wrist in last part of season
2006 – Donovan McNabb tears his ACL, out for season
2007 – Shaun Alexander has foot injury. Misses games and is never the same.
2008 – Vince Young injures knee. Replace by Kerry Collins and doesn’t win job back until late 2009
2009 – Brett Favre did not miss any games but tore his biceps and continued to play.
2010 – Troy Polamalu of the Pittsburgh Steelers, who was featured along with Larry Fitzgerald, has a knee injury that keeps him out most of the year.

Madden NFL 11 trailer

2010 NFL Mock Draft

2010 NFL Mock Draft

The NFL Draft kicks off Thursday night as the league expands their annual event into prime time television with 3 days of action.  Round 1 will be held Thursday, round 2-3 on Friday, and rounds 4-7 on Saturday on the NFL Network and ESPN as well as cell phones on the Verizon network.

The new, extended format of the draft may change the system.  Teams will now be able to evaluate the first round and then work out trades and deals overnight for the upcoming rounds.

We can hope for the usual amount of drama including some surprise picks and the occasional trade.  For the most part, we here at the Pigskin Doctors feel confident that the first round of picks will unfold in a similar way to our Mock Draft.

1	St. Louis Rams Sam Bradford, QB, Oklahoma The Rams need a lot of help across the board but with the release of vet Marc Bulger, this pick is a lock.
2	Detroit Lions Ndamukong Suh, DT, Nebraska I love the explosiveness of Suh to edge out McCoy for this pick.  He’s strong and fast for a man of his size and will be a huge upgrade to the Lions D-line.
3	Tampa Bay Buccaneers Gerald McCoy, DT, Oklahoma The Bucs need help on their D-line.  OK.  They need help everywhere but this is a glaring hole that can be filled by the huge McCoy.
4	Washington Redskins Russell Okung, OT, Oklahoma State The ‘Skins traded for McNabb which kicks the need for a QB to the later rounds or even next year.  The O-line needs help and with Okung, Bulaga, and Williams in the mix it is a perfect opportunity to grab someone to guard McNabb.  Also look for Williams to be tapped for this pick for a squad that allowed 46 sacks in 2009,.
5	Kansas City Chiefs Eric Berry, S, Tennessee Berry is the best available player here and a stellar defensive talent that you don’t get a chance on too often.  An O-lineman would be a solid choice but Berry’s a future All-Pro who can help nail down that Chief secondary.
6	Seattle Seahawks Bryan Bulaga, OT, Iowa The ‘Hawks need to come out of this draft with a metric ton of linemen for both sides of the ball.  Their O-line is one of the worst in the league and with another pick at #14 they can afford to pick someone like Berry here if he’s available and grab a lineman a few picks later.
7	Cleveland Browns Trent Williams, OT, Oklahoma Mike Holmgren is now in charge and his mantra of picking the best available player might land Williams in Cleveland. Plus, with the lack of a solid QB the Browns will need a lot of help.
8	Oakland Raiders Bruce Campbell, OT, Maryland It’s the Raiders. Who knows what they are going to do….
9	Buffalo Bills Jimmy Clausen, QB, Notre Dame The Bills could use a solid offensive lineman here but the lure of adding a QB might be too hard to overlook.  Clausen is a wild card in this draft. He’s not healthy and there are questions about his leadership. If the Bills or Jags don’t bite on him, look for Clausen to tumble pretty far down the draft board.
10	Jacksonville Jaguars Derrick Morgan, DE, Georgia Tech Look to Morgan as a strong pass rusher who can put some heat on opponents.
11	Denver Broncos Rolando McClain, ILB, Alabama The Broncos lost Brandon Marshall and could go after a WR like Dez Bryant if they wanted to deal with another troubled player.  McClain is one of the best linebackers in the draft and would be a welcome addition to the squad.
12	Miami Dolphins Dan Williams, DT, Tennessee The Dolphins added Brandon Marshall to their receivers squad to fix that issue.  Their next big need is to fill in their D-line.  Jason Taylor signed with the Jets and Williams will add some talent to their aging line.
13	San Francisco 49ers Joe Haden, CB, FLorida The first of 2 picks for SF could help bring some speed to the 49ers secondary.
14	Seattle Seahawks C.J. Spiller, RB, Clemson The D-line could use some help here but Spiller is a huge talent that could open up the offense for the ‘Hawks.
15	New York Giants Everson Griffen, DE, USC Griffen can help bring some depth, speed and power from the outside and add some youth to a D-line that has a habit of getting injured.
16	Tennessee Titans Jerry Hughes, OLB, TCU Hughes has great strength and pass rush ability that will help Keith Bullock who is getting old.
17	San Francisco 49ers Anthony Davis, OT, Rutgers Davis is a huge addition to an O-line that could use the help in pass protection.
18	Pittsburgh Steelers Maurkice Pouncey, C/G, Florida The versatile Pouncey will be an assist to a porous O-line that gave up too many sacks last year.  And with their QB problem (Big Ben suspend 6 games) they will need a little extra protection for their backups.
19	Atlanta Falcons Jason Pierre-Paul, DE, South Florida Pierre-Paul is a huge question mark in the draft.  He’s an unproven talent with great potential but would be a great addition to an aging D-line.
20	Houston Texans Earl Thomas, FS, Texas Size may be an issue with Thomas but he should be able to contribute at CB if the need calls for it.  The Texans could use a strong playmaker in their secondary if they want to make a move to beat the Colts this year.
21	Cincinnati Bengals Dez Bryant, WR, Oklahoma State The Bengals are showing the age at WR with Chad Ochocinco slowing down. Signing Antonio Bryant helps but the addition of Bryant to the Bengals adds an instant deep threat to the team.
22	New England Patriots Brandon Graham, OLB, Michigan Graham adds a great pass rush ability to the Patriots to a linebacking crew that needs to pressure opposing QB’s more.
23	Green Bay Packers Sergio Kindle, OLB, Texas The addition of Kindle on the outside will complement the Pack tremendously.
24	Philadelphia Eagles Taylor Mays, S, USC Brian Dawkins is gone and the Eagles could use a replacement.
25	Baltimore Ravens Jermaine Gresham, TE, Oklahoma Todd Heap has battled injuries through his career and with the addition of Boldin to the WR crew the Ravens could use a solid TE for blocking as well as a Red Zone option.
26	Arizona Cardinals Sean Weatherspoon, LB, Missouri Weatherspoon may end up being taken earlier as his draft stock rises.  The Cards lost a lot of talent in the offseason and could use a solid LB to keep the defense improve.
27	Dallas Cowboys Charles Brown, OT, USC The offense collapsed against Minnesota in the playoffs last year and the Cowboys let Flozell Adams go.  Brown would be a great addition to a squad that needs to improve.
28	San Diego Chargers Ryan Mathews, RB, Fresno State Sproles is the man and LT is out.  Mathews adds some speed and power to take the inside running game and let Sproles do his thing.
29	New York Jets Terrence Cody, DT, Alabama The Jets have added so much talent in the off season that they should stay very competitive this year.  Mount Cody is my sleeper pick this year and he is a huge stopper in the middle and would be a great addition to Rex Ryan’s defense.
30	Minnesota Vikings Kyle Wilson, CB, Boise State Wilson will be a great addition to the Vikings secondary which is getting old.
31	Indianapolis Colts Rodger Saffold, OT, Indiana Saffold is a great addition to Manning’s line which needs to add a little more protection and help with the run game.
32	New Orleans Saints Jared Odrick, DT, Penn State The Saints need a little help on the D-line to take some pressure off the offense.  They’ve added Alex Brown from the Bears and an additional talent like Odrick will help tremendously.

Pittsburgh Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger Suspended for 6 Games

It is official. Punishment for quarterback Ben Roethlisberger for violation of the NFL personal conduct policy from National Football League commissioner Roger Goodell  came today as a six-game suspension that could be reduced to four with good behavior or even extended if conditions warrant. The interesting aspect of the suspension is that Big Ben must have medical professionals evaluate him.

Commissioner Roger Goodell notified Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roetholisberger Wednesday that he 1) must undergo a comprehensive behavioral evaluation by medical professionals and 2) will be suspended without pay for the first six games of the regular season for conduct detrimental to the NFL in violation of the league’s Personal Conduct Policy.

After consultation with Commissioner Goodell, Steelers President Art Rooney and the commissioner informed Roethlisberger by telephone today of the two-step approach that is designed to hold Roethlisberger accountable for his conduct and provide him an opportunity to change his behavior and establish himself as a responsible individual. [via NFL.com]

The Steelers also have been reported to be looking at trading Ben for a top-ten draft pick this year.

Greg Aiello, an NFL spokesman, is reporting that Roethlisberger must “undergo comprehensive behavioral evaluation and is suspended for six games.”

Ben Roethlisberger, the 11th overall pick in the 2004 Draft, and has led the Pittsburgh Steelers to 2 Super Bowl wins. His off-the-field behavior, however, caught up to him in the form of 2 alleged sexual assault cases.

On June 12, 2006, Big Ben was in a nasty motorcycle incident in which he was not wearing his helmet and he did not have a valid Pennsylvania motorcycle license. He was fit to play by the start of the ’06 season.

In June of 2008 Roethlisberger was accused of sexually assaulting a women in his hotel room while he was in Lake Tahoe for a celebrity golf tournament. This case was actually a civil suit as no criminal charges were pressed.

On March 5, 2010, it was revealed that police in Milledgeville, Georgia were investigating Roethlisberger for sexual assault of a 20-year old woman in a restroom of the Capitol City nightclub. The Georgia D.A. later did not press charges.

It is easy to see that Ben Roethlisberger has a hard time thinking clearly during the offseason and Goodell apparently agrees. After meeting with Roethlisberger for a few hours last week in New York City, Goodell took his time to come to a decision.

The Steelers began making plans for the QB position for the suspension this week. They already have third-year quarterback Dennis Dixon and longtime backup Charlie Batch on the roster and on Tuesday the club signed Byron Leftwich after trading a 7th round pick to Tampa Bay.

Leftwich played with the Steelers in 2008 and appeared in 5 games.

2010 NFL Schedule Finally Released

The New Orleans Saints will host to the Minnesota Vikings in a rematch of the NFC Championship Game to kick off the 2010 season on Thursday, Sept. 9. The opening game was announced today by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell but we will have to wait until 7pm tonight for the rest of the NFL Schedule to be fully released.

You can catch the event tonight on TV.

Yep. The NFL is big enough that it will hold its schedule release live on television. Starting at 7 PM EST tonight you can join in the event on the NFL Network and ESPN2 or online at NFL.com to find out when your favorite team is playing.

Online at NFL.com you can find interactive maps showing the different teams and distances your favorite team will travel.

The NFL also announced today that it will schedule division rivalry games more during the last two weeks of the season to increase competition.

“We actually have 28 divisional games in those last three weeks, as opposed to 15 for the 2009 season, and all 16 of the final Week 17 games will be divisional games,” Goodell said on “Mike & Mike in the Morning.”

NFL The NFL schedule will be released Tuesday, but we already know each team’s opponents for the 2010 NFL season. Check them out. Story

“We’ll see what the impact is as we go through the next season, but we think that’s a positive development in keeping the integrity of the game in those late-season games,” Goodell said.

Seattle Sea Gals Auditions Video. You’re Welcome

The NFL Draft is coming up fast and teams are getting ready to pick the best possible talent for their squads. That includes the Seattle Seahawks and their new coach, Pete Carroll. The ‘Hawks have plenty of talent to choose from to help rebuild their team with their 2 first-round picks.

One thing they don’t have to be worried about is their cheerleading. There is no lack of interest in being on the final squad as the always beautiful Seattle Sea Gals held their final auditions to determine the winners as picked by a handful of lucky judges.

It’s a tough job, but somebody’s got to do it.

Jim Moore of the Seattle PI took the assignment of covering the Sea Gals audition serious. Here’s what he had to say.

Fifty-two girls competed for 27 spots. They came out two at a time and danced to Adam Lambert’s “For Your Entertainment.” Each girl also gave an answer to one of five questions. That part of the program should be eliminated — it’s the same kind of stuff you hear on the beauty pageants. If you’re at Qwest Field during a timeout of a Seahawks’ game, you don’t care how Shelly the Sea Gal answered the question, you want to see her gyrate on the sideline.

I get it though — the Sea Gals make community appearances, and they don’t want any Miss Teen South Carolina USAs on their squad, embarrassing the Hawks in public.

Each girl wore a black sport bra top — I guess that’s what you’d call it — and short black shorts. I have never seen so many whitened teeth and tanned bodies in one room at one time in my entire life.

You did a good job, Jim. I’m extremely jealous of your job but at least you were kind enough to provide some video of the event. Let’s roll the tape!

Draft Day Pressure

As draft day draws near we know teams are agonizing over each and every selection. Even teams with an abundance of picks like the Steelers(11) and Cleveland(10) are studying every piece of information they can get their hands on. Teams with fewer picks like the Bears(5) and New Orleans(6) are trying to make the most of their limited ability.

And while draft day is hectic for everyone we know that not all teams face the same challenges and therefore not all of them are under the same amount of pressure. Teams have division competition, payroll constraints, and in some cases, management is drafting for its life. So let’s take a look at the five teams who will have the most pressure on them come Thursday.

5. Tennessee Titans – Jeff Fisher must love Vince Young again. VY saved Jeff Fishers job last year by saving an 0-6 team and taking them back to respectability. Fisher has dealt with average to below average teams in his time there but never a season after an early exit from the playoffs. And especially not when they were the favorite going into the playoffs.

But Vince Young seems to have gotten past the issues in between the ears and shown the kind of excitement that won him the Rose Bowl years before. Still, Fishers team has a lot of the pieces in place to be a contender. They have the running back in Johnson, but they still lack a true number 1 receiver and their secondary got shredded all last year.

Tennessee is simply a piece or two away from competing with the Steelers, Colts, and Patriots for a ring but if they don’t draft it well they could fall into a rebuilding mode and Jeff Fisher could find himself in the unemployment line.

4. Denver Broncos – Has any head coach ever cleaned house in the way Josh McDaniels has since arriving in Denver last season? First he ships out disgruntled Pro Bowl quarterback Jay Cutler to Chicago and then this off season ships out problem WR Brandon Marshall to the Dolphins.

Now last season people thought McDaniels was going to get steamrolled but then taking newly acquired quarterback Kyle Orton then get out to a 6-0 record only to finish up just shy of the playoffs. So now the Broncos go into this season with some uncertainty. They don’t have a ton of confidence in their long term stability at quarterback and they cannot feel that good about where they are at as far as their receiving corps go.

Defense seemed to be a bright spot for them last season but they will need more than defense to win that division. They are still the second best team in the AFC West because they San Diego Chargers are still loaded with talent and have one of the 10 best quarterbacks in the league. Sure, the Chiefs and the Raiders are pretty much train wrecks but you can’t rest your playoff hopes on the fact that weak teams reside in your division.

The Broncos have 7 picks which isn’t about middle of the pack, but what they do have is 3 picks in the top 50. This gives them the ability to make immediate improvements to their roster. McDaniels has made bold moves in his time in Denver, now it’s time for bold results.

3. New England Patriots – It seems silly to say a team that is already outfitted with the best coach and the best quarterback can be under an immense amount of pressure, but New England certainly has their holes.

Moss is well past his prime and probably at the end of the line in New England. Wes Welker is attempting to come back from a very serious injury(torn ACL). Their offensive line has been offensive since being dismantled by the New York Giants in 2007. They have never found themselves a legit running back to shoulder some of the load put on Tom Brady. And their defense is younger, for sure, but they don’t have a legitimate pass rusher.

Compounding the problem is that the rest of the AFC east has gotten better. The New York Jets made it to the AFC Championship game and then decided to go out and get Rogers-Cromarte and Santonio Holmes. The Dolphins just traded for an already brilliant young receiver in Brandon Marshall and the Bills….well, those other two teams have gotten really good.

So the Patriots, known for drafting well, have 12 picks in this years draft including 3 in the second round. And with so many holes to fill, they are gonna need them all.

2. Philadelphia Eagles – In the city of Philadelphia fans believe trading Donovan McNabb to the Redskins was a great idea. The rest of the league? Not so much. Fact of the matter is this: no matter how good Kevin Kolb may have looked in his short stint as the Eagles QB last season, he doesn’t have the game experience that McNabb does. For all the talk of McNabb’s failures in big games, Kolb has virtually no big game experience?

So where does that leave the Eagles in their own division? Hard to say. The Redskins have certainly done what they can by trading to get McNabb and hiring a trio of aged backs to carry the load. But they did make a coaching upgrade getting 2 time Super Bowl winning coach Mike Shannahan to lead this team in a different direction. Dallas will be a tough divisional opponent and the Giants may not contend with the Eagles and Cowboys but they will play spoiler.

So with Andy Reid wanting to show the city that he isn’t one half of the reason why the Eagles are often the bridesmaid and never the bride, Reid will have plenty of ammo to do it with. The Eagles have 5 picks in the first three rounds and will be looking for defensive help, however what will make or break the Eagles this season lies right under center.

1. St. Louis Rams – It would appear that having the first pick in the 2010 NFL draft would be a good thing, right? But Sam Bradford, the assumed number 1, isn’t the sure thing the way Peyton Manning was coming out of Tennessee. He’s got a history of injuries, he appears raw, and no one is sure just how accurate a passer he really is.

There is certainly no doubt that the Rams will need all the help they can get, but the real question is: Is Bradford that good? The Rams know they need a quarterback but know they can’t change it on Clausen or McCoy, two guys who aren’t believed to be as good as even Bradford is.

Here’s what makes it worse: they don’t have much of a choice. Sure Suh and Gerald McCoy are safer bets to draft, they don’t sell tickets, and the first thing the Rams are is a business and getting fans to come out to games and buy merchandise. Suh, even if he lives up to the hype doesn’t make your team that much better and doesn’t sell a ton of jerseys. But if Bradford lives up to the hype either this year or in years to come, the team will be better and that will make the team money.

The Rams have 10 picks in this years NFL draft but it’s really only the first pick that counts.

Join The Pigskin Doctors on Facebook and Twitter

A friendly reminder for all you social networking fans out there.   You can follow the Pigskin Doctors on our Facebook or Twitter accounts.  Both are a great way to keep up with all the football news and action from around the sport of football.

With the NFL Draft coming this week, be sure to jump on our social networks to keep taps as we keep you up to date on the picks, trades, and rumors that will dominate the NFL this week.   Hope to see you there!

Top 15 NFL Players Jerseys by Sales

Texas High School Gets $60 Million Football Stadium

Everything is bigger in Texas. And that includes high school football.

Allen High School, located in a growing suburb of Dallas, has approved the construction of a new stadium to house their football team that will break ground next month. The price tag is a whopping $60,000,000 and comes at a time when most school districts are slashing budgets just to keep their doors open.

So how does a school of 5,000 students justify a new, state-of-the-art stadium that seats 18,000 and a video scoreboard?

It’s because football is big business in Texas. Heck, they have the largest high school band with 800+ people (see video) so you can see that they go all out in Allen, Texas.

Allen High School is one of the largest schools in the state and their football team is one of the best. The Allen Eagles are winners of the Texas 5A state title and finished as the No. 2 team in the RivalsHigh Top 100 football rankings in 2008.

The new stadium will feature:

• Video Scoreboard
• Two level press box with film deck and Observation deck
• Home side reserved seating with seat backs
• 1,5000 additional parking spaces with 4,500 total parking spaces
• 18,000 seat Stadium with upper deck seating including:
  • 5,000 reserved seating,
  • 2,700 General Admission
  • 4,000 Students
  • 5,300 Visitor
  • 1,000 Band

Their old stadium seats around 8,000 and was built 30 years ago. They bring in another 7,000 or so portable seats for fans to max it out.  Many people stand to watch the game and a trip to the bathrooms can take quite awhile.

The facilities are outdated and overrun so having a new stadium constructed is not unexpected. Dropping $60 million is a little outrageous but this is the team that helped fill Texas Stadium with 50,000 last year.

And one way to look at it is that the new stadium is just half of the expenditure.

The stadium was part of a larger $120 million bond package passed in May 2009 that included nearly as much money for a state-of-the-art auditorium for performing arts.

The new Allen Eagles Stadium is set to open in 2012.  You can take a virtual look at the new Stadium by clicking here.

NFL News

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