mr peeples
Banned
- Joined
- Sep 2, 2018
- Messages
- 543
- Reaction score
- 136
- Points
- 43
I'm gonna stick to the "modern era" as most of us weren't around or watching the NFL before that.
QB
O'Donnell - yes, we all mostly hate him, and he wasn't so much underrated while he was playing; as a matter of fact you could argue he was overrated, at least certainly after his days in Pgh. (I remember announcers saying TN didn't have a back up QB; Neil was a legit starter in the NFL when he came in for McNair.) After his Pgh days, the real O'Donnell was exposed, but I still think he may be a little underrated in his place in history. He won his share of big games (just not THE big game) albeit with a great D and rushing attack to help him achieve those wins.
Tomczak - Yes, he was no better than a good back up QB, but he wasn't God awful. Yes, the teams he was on were somewhat wasted but it's not like he was as bad as Cliff Stoudt.
Big Ben - I was reluctant to put him here because he is still playing. And how can a 2-time Super Bowl winner be underrated? But he is. He has never got his due respect for just how much he increases your chances of winning. Every player who plays with him is better because Ben is playing, especially WRs, obviously. AB is great with him, but he'd be just another good WR without him.
RB
Frankie Pollard - Mostly on bad teams, but the guy wasn't bad at all. In '85 he had 991 yds at a 4.3 ypc. He had just under 4,000 career rushing yards. Not bad for an 11th round pick.
Earnest Jackson - We got him on a trade from Philly, when Buddy Ryan said he would have "taken a six-pack for him and it didn't even need to be cold." In '86 he had over 900 yds at a 4.2 ypc. I think we went thru 3 RBs before him. Had he been on a better team he would have done a fine job.
Barry "Bananas" Foster - In his day, he came within a hair of the rushing title at one point. Noll called him "the toughest player I have coached (yet, in his infinite wisdom gave him virtually no playing time). The only real knock on Barry was that as soon as he got paid, he had no more stomach for playing. He quit Pgh and then had short stints in SF and Cinci, where he quit within days at both places. The player today that reminds me of Barry is Hunt in KC.
Most overrated - Kordell Stewart, Willie Parker, Mendenhall.
QB
O'Donnell - yes, we all mostly hate him, and he wasn't so much underrated while he was playing; as a matter of fact you could argue he was overrated, at least certainly after his days in Pgh. (I remember announcers saying TN didn't have a back up QB; Neil was a legit starter in the NFL when he came in for McNair.) After his Pgh days, the real O'Donnell was exposed, but I still think he may be a little underrated in his place in history. He won his share of big games (just not THE big game) albeit with a great D and rushing attack to help him achieve those wins.
Tomczak - Yes, he was no better than a good back up QB, but he wasn't God awful. Yes, the teams he was on were somewhat wasted but it's not like he was as bad as Cliff Stoudt.
Big Ben - I was reluctant to put him here because he is still playing. And how can a 2-time Super Bowl winner be underrated? But he is. He has never got his due respect for just how much he increases your chances of winning. Every player who plays with him is better because Ben is playing, especially WRs, obviously. AB is great with him, but he'd be just another good WR without him.
RB
Frankie Pollard - Mostly on bad teams, but the guy wasn't bad at all. In '85 he had 991 yds at a 4.3 ypc. He had just under 4,000 career rushing yards. Not bad for an 11th round pick.
Earnest Jackson - We got him on a trade from Philly, when Buddy Ryan said he would have "taken a six-pack for him and it didn't even need to be cold." In '86 he had over 900 yds at a 4.2 ypc. I think we went thru 3 RBs before him. Had he been on a better team he would have done a fine job.
Barry "Bananas" Foster - In his day, he came within a hair of the rushing title at one point. Noll called him "the toughest player I have coached (yet, in his infinite wisdom gave him virtually no playing time). The only real knock on Barry was that as soon as he got paid, he had no more stomach for playing. He quit Pgh and then had short stints in SF and Cinci, where he quit within days at both places. The player today that reminds me of Barry is Hunt in KC.
Most overrated - Kordell Stewart, Willie Parker, Mendenhall.
