POLL: Most Over-Rated NFL Player

Remove all ads!

I saw this on Sports Illustrated's Website.

It was a poll taken by NFL players to name who they thought was the most over-rated player in the NFL. I found the results rather surprising. If you don't want to look at the link, here's the breakdown:

Terrell Owens, Cowboys.....10%
Brian Urlacher, Bears.....8%
Ray Lewis, Ravens.....7%
Michael Vick, Falcons.....7%
Eli Manning, Giants.....4%
Keyshawn Johnson, Panthers.....4%
Peyton Manning, Colts.....4%
Ben Roethlisberger, Steelers.....3%
Charles Woodson, Packers.....3%
Warren Sapp, Raiders.....3%

I have to say I don't agree with a lot of the players listed. Terrel Owens is without doubt the most over-hyped player in the NFL, but he is also one of the best players at his position. I don't understand HOW Peyton Manning makes the list - he's just one of the best QBs in the league. And Brian Urlacher is also very good at LB. I don't think you're over-rated if you can back it up.

I don't think Ben Roethlisberger is over-rated, because I never hear him included in lists of the best QBs in the league. Despite his team winning the Super Bowl last year, it is generally agreed upon (including by Steeler fans), that he's a pretty good QB on a very good team. By definition, in order to be over-rated, you have to be highly regarded, and I don't think Big Ben qualifies as that.

That having been said, there are some good names on the list. Ray Lewis, Keyshawn Johnson, Charles Woodson, and Warren Sapp are players that were at one time among the best in the league, but now they are still being held in very high regard despite being well past their primes.

Eli Manning is a good QB, but many people already regard him as great. I think he needs to win a few playoff games before he gets elevated to that status.

Finally, the player that would have got my vote is Michael Vick. He gets almost as much hype as TO, and yet, he's never done much of anything. He has what, one playoff win in his career? He's a tremendous athlete, but IMO, an average QB.

Who do you think is most over-rated?

Poll Information
This poll contains 1 question(s). 8 user(s) have voted.
You may not view the results of this poll without voting.

Poll Results: Most Over-Rated NFL Player (8 votes.)

Most Over-Rated NFL Player (Choose 1)
* Terrel Owens - 25% (2)
* Brian Urlacher - 0% (0)
* Ray Lewis - 13% (1)
* Michael Vick - 25% (2)
* Eli Manning - 0% (0)
* Keyshawn Johnson - 13% (1)
* Peyton Manning - 0% (0)
* Ben Roethlisberger - 13% (1)
* Charles Woodson - 0% (0)
* Warren Sapp - 0% (0)
* Other - 13% (1)

 

TO gets my vote simply because I'm "blinded by hate".

I loved this though

This man was the best defensive line in the game in his heyday (and the centerpiece of TB's top rated D back then too). How the hell can this man be overrated? That's like saying Brett Farve is overrated because he still has the respect he did when he was the best QB in football.

Declining future HOFers aren't overrated, they're just old.

 

Um...all of them?

 

Keyshawn is a shoe-in. He was never one of the best (unless you're counting to 25 or something), plus the attitude, and yet he's still talked about.

And I agree with much of what Aldeth said. TO, despite his attitude, is still one of the greatest WR out there. Ray Lewis, despite being past his prime, can still get it done. Urlacher...well, he's practically the Bears' entire defense. Vick's getting up there, but he proved last week he can still play. Peyton is like TO, but without the attitude: plays great and deserves his recognition.

Eli...he was overrated a year or two ago. Now people don't expect so much of him. And Roethlisberger...he's been proving himself constantly and raising people's expectations. Some might overrate him, but overall I think he deserves most, if not all, of the acclaim he's gotten.

And now we get into the dregs. Keyshawn's mentioned above, and Sapp below the quote. Woodson I'd put at third only because of his reputation from his earlier years. It's not that he can't get it done, but his rep is just still too high for the level of play he's currently giving.

The key difference there being that Favre can still get it done on occasion despite the increasingly worse team they've been building (well, tearing down really) around him. Sapp can't. Though with Sapp not being as highly regarded anymore from what I've seen, him being overrated is still debatable.

 

I can see your point here. No one is immune to the effects of age, and as players near the end of their careers it cannot realisticly be expected that they continue to perform at the same level they have earlier. That having been said, I wouldn't even consider Sapp to be any more than average at this point. I cannot take anythinig away from what he's accomplished, and I agree that one day he will be enshrined in Canton. However, many people still regard him as among the best at his position in the league, and at this point, he simply isn't.

And that's the key for me, and builds on my arguement that I make for Sapp. Favre, while not as good as he was 5 years ago, is still definitely above average. He's still a top 10 QB at this stage in his career, he's just not in the top 3 like he consistently used to be. (Note to placate Fel - I would even argue that some years Favre was *the* best QB in the league. I'm saying that over a 10 year period he was consistently in the top 3, even if not the best.) If you made a list of the best defensive tackles in the league (and I'll include nose tackles in this grouping for those teams that play a 3-4 as opposed to a 4-3) Sapp doesn't make the top 10, and might not even make the top 20.

He would have been my second choice, and to me, he falls into the same category as Vick. Always highly regarded, but never among the best. I can even see the arguement for picking him over Vick, because Key is 35 years old. If he was ever going to be among the best, it would have happened before now. While I doubt Vick will ever become a great QB, since he's still relatively young, I suppose I can leave open the possibiility that one day he will.

The future Hall of Famer arguement is an interesting one though, and I think it's fair to question whether any furture Hall of Famer should be consider over-rated. Going down the list:

Terrell Owens - not now, but if he plays for a few more years, quite likely
Brian Urlacher - not yet, but is playing at a HOF thus far.
Ray Lewis - definitely
Michael Vick - jury is still out - he hasn't been in the league long enough to begin to assess his worthiness
Eli Manning - again, way too early to tell
Keyshawn Johnson - he has a shot, simply because he's put up decent, but not amazing stats over a long period of time. You don't have to be great to make the HOF if you're good for a long, long time.
Peyton Manning - he'll need to win a Super Bowl to complete his resume, and may be this generation's Dan Marino, but I honestly can't see how he wouldn't get in at this point.
Ben Roethlisberger - like Vick and Eli, it's still WAY too early to tell
Charles Woodson - My gut reaction here is no. He had a one or two great years, a couple of other good ones, and has been extrodinarily average the rest.
Warren Sapp - as the anchor of the line in a great Super Bowl defense, he's in, although not a first ballot inductee. Despite his precipitous fall off in recent years, if you're the best player on a great defense, and you play at a high level for as long as he did, you get in.

[ November 01, 2006, 16:02: Message edited by: Aldeth the Foppish Idiot ]

 

I agree with Aldeth and voted for Vick. Yes, he has played well the last two weeks, but what I look for is consistency, and Vick has consistently been among the worst QB's in the league. He can make the big play and is incredibly gifted as an athlete, but I think he is an average QB in the NFL. His greatest asset is his mobility, and while that is a HUGE asset in college, it has more limited value in the NFL.

 

My vote is for Ray Lewis. I beleive that he was extremely overrated during the Ravens superbowl year, it always seemed like he was alloted the tackle for jumpin on the pile. For the last 3-4 years he hasn't really been much of a factor on the field, just a ****-talker.

My second vote would be for Vick. He's a running back not a qb.

@ Felinoid
Keyshawn is talked about because of his attitude. He makes a big deal to the media about every little misgiving, and so his coaches rain praise upon him to shut him the hell up, thus, his hype. He does have a few redeeming qualities though. Next to Hines Ward he's the best blocking WR in the game, and he is pretty good at the corner of the endzone.

 

All last year, all I heard was about how Brady's era was over, and now it was Ben's era... bullcrap, hes alright and has a great team. He is overrated.

TO is not overrated, he is one of the best, he is just a bitch.

And I have Peyton Manning. But hes good.

 

I wouldn't say that Roethlisberger is overrated. Without him the Steelers don't win, or if he is off, the steelers don't win. They proved that against Oakland, and against Atlanta. He may be over-hyped, but I would say he is one of the best QB's in the league right now.

 

TO has to be considered over-rated until he learns how to catch a ball again. Out of that list I don't know who I'd choose, there are very good players who wouldn't be considererd over-hyped, but there are also so-so players who really arent talked about much anymore as being some of the best, so they aren't over-rated in my mind.

Out of this list I'd have to say Eli Manning, overall though Shawn Alexander (note my location).