Fantasy Files: The New Madden Curse?

Every year as football season approaches, fans eagerly await the release of the acclaimed "Fantasy Files" put out by NFL.Com. These short clips display the NFL's supposed elite performing athletic feats that would be impossible to average players to achieve.

This year's group was disappointing. But that aside, should one look further into what the outlook is anticipated for these players?

"Whatever do you mean?" you may ask. Let's just look at all of the previous files.

Jason Campbell

A once highly anticipated quarterback coming out of Auburn, Campbell drew comparisons to former Redskin quarterback Doug Williams. Campbell even wears Williams' old jersey number. Unfortunately for Campbell, the former first-round pick has struggled in the pros and has even seen his team try to trade him away (notably, this past offseason for Jay Cutler).

Chris Simms

Once dubbed "The Future of Tampa Bay," this son of Hall-of-Famer Phil Simms has seen his career spiral downward. After a life-threatening hit that required the removal of his spleen, Chris Simms has bounced around as a back-up to Jeff Garcia, Kerry Collins, and now Kyle Orton.

His expectations of being drafted in most fantasy football leagues are over.

Marc Bulger

Marc Bulger was so impressive taking over for an injured Kurt Warner, the Rams felt it was in their best interest to cut Warner in 2004. However, since his Fantasy File came out, Bulger has seen better days. He had been benched twice last year in favor of journeyman Trent Green. Even having an elite running back behind him, Steven Jackson, does not help Bulger stay atop of the list of premier quarterbacks.

Losing Torry Holt or Isaac Bruce did not help him any. The poor offensive line play only makes things worse. St. Louis needs a miracle to help their quarterback out.

Laurence Maroney

His combination of speed and power made Laurence Maroney one of the most anticipated running backs in recent years. So much so, the Patriots parted with potential Hall-of-Famer Corey Dillon in favor of him.

However, Maroney has yet to live up to his hype. In three and a half years, he has yet to break a combined 2,000 yards and has only 15 total touchdowns.

His Fantasy File was pretty cool though.

Chris Cooley

Redskin tight end Chris Cooley has not been awful since his file debut. In 2008, he caught 83 pass for 849 yards.

However, that same year, he only found the end zone once. Not exactly what teams are looking for in a starting tight end. He also fumbled three times, losing two of them.

This year saw Cooley's season (in all likelihood) come to an end prematurely with a broken ankle.

Braylon Edwards

Boy, did I get this one wrong.

In the 2005 NFL Draft, I said, "If there is anyone that can be a 'safe' pick, it is Braylon Edwards. No matter what your needs are, if you are unsure about taking any player, let me spare you some anxiety and say that Edwards is the guy to take if he is there for your team."

Boy, did I get this one wrong.

Since Edwards came into the league, he has been nothing short of mediocre, aside from his one Pro-Bowl season in 2007, with the help of fellow Pro Bowler Derek Anderson.

In 2008, he led the NFL with the most dropped passes, at 16.

After his off-the-field fight with Lebron James' friend, he was traded away to the Jets for selections and Chansi Stuckey. Let's see if the Jets blew it again.

Chris Chambers

Probably having the best fantasy file of them all, Chris Chambers exploded on the scene in San Diego after he was traded from Miami.

This past week, he was waived by the team after being surpassed on the depth chart by Malcolm Floyd, a former special teams player.

One day after being waived, he was claimed by Kansas City.

Cheer up, bud. At least you still have a job somewhere.

Mike Nugent

Normally, I wouldn't pay attention to kickers, because, quite frankly, who cares?

The fact that they gave Mike Nugent a Fantasy File is pretty silly to begin with.

Maybe it is because the Jets drafted him so early, using a second-round selection, (their first of the draft) to take a kicker. In typical Jets fashion, however, they blew this selection. Nugent explored free agency after his contract expired and wound up in Tampa where after making only 2-of-6 field goals, he was cut.

He is currently unemployed.

Exceptions to the Trend

I recognize that not ALL of the players who have a fantasy file have flopped, so I'll spare you guys all the e-mails you are going to send me saying, "Hey, Joe! What about _____? He's doing great still! LOL!!!!!!!1 Don't you know anything?!!!!!One"

David Akers. Yes, he's still just a kicker. But he has held his end of the bargain of remaining consistent.

Neil Rackers. Same goes for him. Although his File was probably the worst of them all.

Andre Johnson. You absolutely rule.

Marques Colston is still proving to everyone that they messed up badly by letting him fall as far as he did in the draft by kicking ass. Standing ovation.

What to expect from this year?

First of all, I want to say this year's Files were absolutely awful.

They used Kevin Boss for one. The man averaged two receptions per game last year. That being said, him faltering is inevitable. Watch his File and note how terrible the special effects are in it, including him reaching to catch the ball before it is even released.

After seven games, he has only one touchdown.

Santonio Holmes. They tried to capitalize on his MVP performance in this one, but it was unremarkable. In fact, our local high school team had a player do a similar drill. He jumped on the rope that acted as a barrier for fans. It took him only two attempts and his rope was much higher.

So congrats, guys. You perfected a clip that a 17-year-old boy could do.

As for Holmes, I predict that he will continue being above average, but nothing spectacular. He will likely ride the fame of the tip-toe catch for a few years.

Joe Flacco I think still can only improve as his years go on, provided he has help from his line and receivers to throw to. The latter might prove difficult with Derrick Mason trying to retire and the Ravens trying to keep him.

Maurice Jones-Drew, a.k.a. the cornerstone of my fantasy team, looks like he will be a top-three running back for years to come, provided he can stay healthy.

His File was pretty decent.

Using Darren Sproles I thought was incredibly stupid. Why use a back-up running back?

Oh, and his File wasn't fake at all (sarcasm). This has to be one of the worst ever. The main appeal of the Fantasy Files is that they were supposed to look real. That looked like a sophomore at film school's thesis.