For the second year in a row, Electronic Arts has put the Madden Curse in the fans’ hands. There are some interesting choices, though the most interesting has to be Tim Tebow. The Denver Broncos quarterback, whose pose became the phenomena known as “Tebowing,” is currently on the trading block thanks to one Peyton Manning.

Here’s hoping Tebow wins and takes the cover curse with him. Brandon Lloyd, a member of the New England Patriots, started the fan vote as a member of the St. Louis Rams. So, fret not, Rams fans. You’re safe this year, though I wish you the worst for getting so much out of the Robert Griffin III deal. You, too, Redskins for giving it to them.

Otherwise, it’s an underwhelming roster with only a handful of superstars. Last year’s cover athlete, Peyton Hillis, certainly lived up to the curse. Hillis subsequently switched teams, joining the Kansas City Chiefs at the start of free agency this year.

Interested in supporting your team? Got a problem with Tim Tebow’s religious exposure? Want to see a hated rival have a career ruined (Palomalu…)?

Cast your vote over at ESPN.

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.