We at Delta Attack are officially calling Peyton Hillis’ 2011-2012 campaign cursed. With half the season over, Browns RB #40 has just 60 carries for 211 yards and two touchdowns. He has played in four out of the eight games this season and is set to miss today’s game versus the St. Louis Rams.

You may recall Peyton Hillis sat out against the Miami Dolphins with the vile, deadly strep throat virus. Is it a virus? Bacteria? Whatever. Mankind cannot know and scientists only guess for fear their throats would explode were they to come into contact with a sample.

Since then, Hillis has had a number of bad breaks. Contract negotiations were put off after he stated that his agent advised him not to play in the September 25th Dolphins game. The running back then suffered a hamstring injury in the 17-24 loss at Oakland.

Then the worst possible thing that could happen did. Peyton Hillis suffered the worst defeat any man could: marriage.

Teammates questioned his timing of getting married during the season, regardless of the fact that it was an “off” Tuesday, when he could have been rehabilitating to get back into game shape. It wasn’t but a few months ago that it was revealed that he was engaged.  Backup QB Seneca Wallace alluded to bad “influences” that Hillis may have in his life.

Locker room leaders reportedly had a talk with Hillis in an attempt to get his focus back. Regardless of the hamstring injury, Hillis went out to practice with the team after the stern talks.

He promptly aggravated his hamstring injury. That was two weeks ago.

Mary Kay Cabot of the Plain Dealer tweeted the following on Twitter three days ago:

“For anyone wondering how bad #Peyton Hillis’ hamstring is, it’s an angry black-and-blue. Still looks pretty bad. (He’s rule out this week).”

Above: An artist's depiction of Hillis' hamstring via Mary Kay Cabot's description.

Cleveland Browns head coach Pat Shurmer has stated that they have not considered putting Hillis on injured reserve, yet, but with just eight weeks remaining and at least one more game before he can play, it’s safe to say that Peyton Hillis has been stricken by the curse. He would need to average 112.7 yards a game over the last seven games of the season to break 1,000 rushing yards. While possible, Hillis is not on fresh legs and has not looked like the dominant back that dominantly dominated defenses with dominance.

Last week, The Plain Dealer reported that the Cleveland Browns were prepared to let Peyton Hillis’ contract expire. It would likely be a mistake, but if the team feels he’s a cancer, then it may be for the best. ESPN’s Adam Schefter, a more reliable and well-connected source than those of The Plain Dealer, has since verified that “nobody expects” Peyton Hillis to be re-signed.

As a Browns fan, I thought we finally had a missing puzzle piece. Hillis is a young, powerful runner who hasn’t had a good lead blocker this year with the departure of FB Lawrence Vickers. Rookie FB Owen Marecic was a poor investment and is a far cry from Vickers, whose poor hands made him expendable in the West Coast Offense. Plus, the Tennessee Titans are getting way less out of RB Chris Johnson, who they just gave an enormous contract to after holding out prior to the season.

But his personal troubles, perhaps caused by an inflated ego that came with landing the Madden Cover he surely didn’t deserve as much as Aaron Rodgers, Jamaal Charles, or Michael Vick (all players whom he beat out), are not necessarily the Madden Curse at work. There are a number of reasons Peyton Hillis has failed this season. How many can be traced to Madden NFL 12?

Not how you should look on gameday, sir.

Peyton Hillis, whom you may or may not know as the Madden NFL 12 cover athlete, may already be suffering the effects of the dreaded Madden curse. After two games, Peyton Hillis has 44 rushing attempts for 151 rushing yards. This is a whopping 3.43 yards per attempt, a far cry from last year’s 4.36 yards per attempt. I was really hoping it would happen to Marshall Faulk, instead.

On Friday, Hillis was sent home from practice with backup Montario Hardesty taking all the first team snaps. Browns’ coach, Pat Shurmer, had the following to say. “He just wasn’t feeling well. It just happens this time of year, so we felt the best course of action was just to send him home. We’ll see how he’s doing, but whatever it is, we don’t feel like it’s going to affect him on Sunday. My thoughts are that he’ll be there.”

It has since been revealed via NFL sources on Twitter that Hillis has the deadly strep throat. All those jokes I’ve made in the past about Hillis getting his legs broken are nothing compared to the strep. I mean, a fever AND a really, really sore throat? Hell, he might even have trouble swallowing.

Say a prayer for Peyton Hillis. Or make a sacrifice, if that’s your sort of thing.

It’s that time of year again. The last days of summer means many things: back-to-school clothes shopping, desperate attempts to hook up with a vacationing summer girl, and another glorified roster update to a mostly uncontested NFL gaming license in Madden NFL 11.

I haven’t actually bought a Madden game since Madden ’96. You’ll have to excuse me. I’m bitter. I am a Cleveland Browns fan. Madden doesn’t have a lot to offer me this side of Turducken. That said, I’m buying it this year. It’s my way of saying, “Thank you for last year’s ‘Madden Curse‘ on Troy Polamalu.”

I’m mainly jumping in out of curiosity. “Game Flow” sounds an awful lot like the old “Ask Madden” playcalling feature, but I’m hoping it’s better than that. Oh, John, Bump and Run again? Thanks. I love being burned for six, Ace.

How do my Browns stack up this season? Not so well. 70 overall. Well, that’s better than last year’s 69. I’m in for a long year.

I’ve never been a fan of playing as other teams. The exception to the rule, of course, was Bo Jackson and the Raiders in Tecmo Super Bowl. Bo knows button mashing touchdown runs. Eric Metcalf knew getting carted off the field every other game. It’s a shame the real world played out the other way around. Bo knows career-ending hip injuries.

This isn’t Street Fighter. This is a sport simulation. I’m not going to switch up for better match-ups. I’m stuck using Dan or whoever the third or fourth worst Street Fighter is. Rose?

That’s not to say everything is bad in Cleveland. The Browns do have a few elite players.

Josh Cribbs (WR, OVR: 78… because he’s not REALLY a wide receiver) holds the NFL record for kickoff return touchdowns, runs plays out of the “Flash” Package (Cleveland’s Wildcat formation, not a package for sexual predators. You’ll need to go to Pittsburgh for that… cue rimshot!), and is the best special teamer since Steve Tasker. However, when your team’s best player is a guy who’s primarily known for special teams, you’ve got a problem.

Shaun Rogers (DT, OVR: 92), the big, DUI-stopping, forgotten-handgun-carrying beast of a man, is a placekicker’s worst nightmare and has kept the Browns in games they had no business being in with a mighty jump. Freak of nature athleticism also allowed him to pick up a few sacks at nose tackle. This year, he’s projected to be playing at end. Of course, he may also be suspended for one of those two TMZ posts. Take a guess which one.

Phil Dawson, (K, OVR: 82) is the last remaining member of the 1999 Browns team.  In the 2007 season, Dawson had two amazing kicks. The first one, against the Baltimore Ravens, is the reason there’s an NFL rule named after him. The second kick may well be the most amazing field goal in NFL history. He’s also a clutch, underrated kicker. In my eyes, this guy should be an OVR 87, minimum.

Joe Thomas (LT, OVR: 95) is the quiet outdoorsman who just happens to be one of the top blindside protectors in the NFL. Three years, three Pro Bowls, possible rookie of the year winner had it not been for some guy named Adrian Peterson.

Other than that, there’s not a lot to love. Eric Wright (OVR: 86) and Sheldon Brown (OVR: 87) could make for an interesting duo in the secondary that includes first-round selection Joe Haden (OVR: 79).

Lawrence Vickers (FB, OVR: 88) is an outstanding blocker and a great fullback, but that’s a dying position.

Jerome Harrison (RB, OVR: 83) is the next in a long line of “next-big-thing” running backs for the Browns. How’d that 2006 season work out for Lee Suggs, again? 2007 for Reuben Droughns? 2008 and 2009 for Jamal Lewis?

Eric Steinbach (LG, OVR: 91) may well be overrated for the year. However, being right next to one of the best tackles in the league probably isn’t hurting him. Alex Mack (C, OVR: 87) should be the centerpiece (pun unintended) of the O-line for the next decade. However, there’s that whole right side of the line to worry about. Floyd “Pork Chop” Womack (RG, OVR: 76) may well be overrated.

The newcomers on the team are a whole lot of blah. Scott Fujita (LB, OVR: 79) was a nice pickup, but he’s hardly an impact player. Jake Delhomme (QB, OVR: 74) is on the downside of a career and hardly looks like a better option than Derek Anderson(former Browns QB, OVR: 67) or Brady Quinn (former Browns QB, OVR: 71). We’re not talking game stats, either. Real world stats from last year were not pleasant. Delhomme’s rating this year is based off of past performance in the belief that he had an “off” year and something to prove as a proven veteran. Tony Pashos (RT, OVR: 72) doesn’t look so hot. Eric Ghiaciuc was cut a few weeks back and should be removed by launch or the first roster update.

If you’re amped for the game this year and still, for whatever reasons, haven’t stared at a bunch of arbitrary numbers in tables, then head over to ESPN’s Madden 11 Ratings.

If you’re on the fence about the game, I suggest adding the demo to your Xbox 360 queue.

Uh, PS3 owners, you’re on your own. I don’t particularly like you, anyhow. I kid, I kid. My brother’s a PS3 owner. He’s also a jerk. Man, you guys would love each other! Seriously, though, does the Playstation Store not allow you to add games to your system through the web?

I may have learned something new today…

Drew Brees image source: http://nfldotcom.files.wordpress.com/2008/10/d_brees_081026_04.jpg
Josh Cribbs image source: http://images.townnews.com/morningjournal.com/content/articles/2009/12/21/sports/mj2060286.jpg