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The Payton Hillis story: Madden Cursed?

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toad1204's picture
August 25, 2015 at 1:40pm
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Just read this article on Peyton Hillis from BR (I know but this seems to be quality).  Really good in-depth look at his career from Arkansas to the Brownies and the dynamics in play which got him to where he is now, coaching HS football.  Worth the read to get a feel for some of the behind the scenes things we as fans don't really get a good feel for.

To get a feel for just how quickly players can rise and fall in this league, consider that just four years prior to becoming the Madden cover boy, Hillis was a relatively anonymous fullback working in All-American Darren McFadden's shadow at Arkansas. And now, four years after the fact, he's out of football entirely, volunteering at a high school in the Arkansas town of Siloam Springs, population 15,000.

"The Cleveland Browns fans really are the greatest fans," Hillis added. "Me and my wife talk about it all the time, we really sit back and think those were the best days right there. It was really tough because the fans looked down on me, but they weren't on the inside. If they were on the inside, they would have probably thought differently.

Joe Thomas on Hillis "It was a terrible distraction. He crippled our offense. We were struggling to find anybody who could carry the ball after all the injuries we had. To have Peyton going through a contract dispute and basically refusing to play, it was a big distraction. But more than anything, he was our starting running back that was a good player who was going to help us be a successful offense. When he's not there and you don't have anybody to turn to, it makes it hard to win. And that's the distraction, it's not being successful."

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2551700-the-peyton-hillis-story-from-...

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