Madden NFL Cover: 3 Reasons Why the Curse Won't Beat Calvin Johnson

It's official—Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson is your new Madden NFL cover-boy.

Johnson beat out Panthers quarterback Cam Newton in the nationwide vote. The results were announced Wednesday afternoon on ESPN2's "SportsNation."

Now that he's won the vote, Johnson will have to worry about the dreaded Madden Curse. Many a player has fallen victim to the curse, with the most notable being Peyton Hillis, Daunte Culpepper, Shaun Alexander, Donovan McNabb and Michael Vick (check out this Wikipedia page, it's quite interesting).

I can't help but think that a few disgruntled Bears fans voted for Johnson in hopes of the curse coming to fruition yet again this season.

Sorry, Bears fans. Johnson won't be falling victim to the curse this season.

For one, he's just too good.

But hey, that's a little to general. Here are three specific reasons as to why Johnson will be just fine next season.

He Was Unstoppable Last Season

Johnson not only had a career season in 2011-2012, he had one for the record books.

He joined Jerry Rice and Randy Moss as the only receivers in NFL history with at least 95 receptions (96), 1,600 receiving yards (1,681) and 15 touchdowns (16).

Compare that to Hillis' breakout campaign in 2010-2011, and you'll see that it's not even close.

Although Hillis had a breakout year, his statistics were nowhere near as dominant as Johnson's.

Hillis carried the ball 277 times, rushed for 1,177 yards and scored 11 touchdowns. In the passing game, Hillis hauled in 61 passes for 477 yards and two touchdowns.

Prior to that season, Hillis had never experienced consistent playing time, let alone success.

When we look at the likes of McNabb, Culpepper and Vick, we can see that their seasons were all strong prior to being named Madden cover boys, but they were not as dominant as Johnson's.

The Lions' Offense

When Hillis was named to the cover in the last edition of Madden, he was the only weapon in an otherwise putrid Cleveland Browns offense.

That is not at all the case with Johnson.

The Lions may lack a consistent run game, but the likes of Maurice Morris, Jahvid Best and Kevin Smith will most definitely be able to get the job done.

Matthew Stafford is one of the best young passers in the game, and he has plenty of weapons through the air to help keep the defenses honest.

Will Johnson command double-coverage nearly every time he runs a route?

Yes, of course—he's that good.

Can a team drop three into coverage on him?

No, because that will leave Nate Burleson or Titus Young wide open for Stafford.

Double-teams have been no match for Johnson in the past, and there's no reason to believe that they'll become one this upcoming season. 

The Schedule

The 49ers, Bears and Eagles will all likely give Johnson a little competition this season, but overall, the schedule poses favorable matchups for Johnson and his quarterback.

The Lions will face the Rams, Seahawks, Jaguars, Packers (twice), Colts, Cardinals and Falcons this season.

The fact that the team plays the Packers twice (one of the worst pass defenses in the league last season) bodes well for several Stafford-to-Johnson hook-ups.

Sure, several of the aforementioned teams have singular guys who are capable of staying with Johnson, but as a unit, the teams are not capable of handling his presence.

He commands two to three guys at all times, and some teams simply don't have the depth to throw that at him.

By the end of the season, we'll all be confident in saying that Johnson has beaten the Madden Curse—no doubt about it.