In an era when 50 percent completion rates and 20-interception seasons were common for Pro Bowl quarterbacks, Anderson's 64.9 percent completion rate and quarterback ratings above 90 look like temporal anomalies. One of the big Pro Bowl misses from 2015 is the player I think is the NFL 's Most Underrated. McDole's Bills defenses held opponents to fewer than 3.1 yards per carry across three consecutive seasons. The career active leader in games started by a defensive lineman is Julius Peppers with 227. The least glamorous position on the field, a so-so team, a franchise moveWisniewski pulled three lemons on the recognition slot machine. There are some out there who would say that a player who has been inducted into the Hall of Fame cannot possibly be underrated. "Because when the ball was thrown, I knew I had better ball skills and would go up and get it.". Reidel Anthony, Florida. "Underrated" is in the eye of the beholder, so let's establish some ground rules for these rankings: After that, players are ranked based how underappreciated they are, not how great they are. For years, the team couldn't even harken back to its glory days properly, as Smith's Pride of the Jaguars induction was delayed until he was sober and no longer under house arrest. The system helped make Hall of Famers of Kelly, Reed and Thomas. Super Bowl championships: Two (2005, 2008). Mills was a USFL All-Star in all three seasons of the league's existence, and he led the Philadelphia and Baltimore Stars' Doghouse Defense (coached by Jim Mora) to a pair of league titles. Now that's underrated. Anderson does not get the credit he deserves for reasons that cannot be explained. Freelancer for multiple websites. McDole played 251 professional games as a defensive lineman, a remarkable feat in any era that should not be forgotten. Perhaps Fitzgerald would get more love from the public if he mouthed off as do many diva wide receivers in the NFL. And then there is plain old forgotten. While that is a point worthy of being discussed, it cannot be ignored that Young had a higher completion percentage and a better passer rating than Montana. Tom Nalen protected John Elway in a pair of Super Bowl victories and helped trigger a zone-blocking revolution as part of Alex Gibbs' influential offensive lines. "Stanley Steamer" could run every route and was hell on wheels with the ball in his hands. Once an arbitrary number of players from a historic team get enshrined, the committee moves on in search of underappreciated players from other franchises. Success came early for Fletcher, recognition late. Chandler Jones, Member PFWA. As a 31-year-old, no less. He's also among the top 100 in games started (83rd), interception return yardage (89th) and interception return touchdowns (31st). Or as astute NBC broadcaster Dick Enberg scored it, "KO for Ken Norton.". Addiction soon began consuming Smith's career, and then his life. The Hall of Fame has turned up its nose on all of them. Bottom line: One of the premier long-ball threats of any era, Stanley Morgan ranks 10th in yards per reception (19.2) and 39th in touchdown catches (72) on the all-time list. Any defensive player breaking into the NFL in 2015 would love to be mentioned alongside such names when his career came to an end. Mark Schlereth. Mills looks like just another local hero linebacker in the encyclopedias, albeit a good one. Provided by Fadeaway World View the original article to see Sam Mills rises above the rest of the gritty linebacker pack, at least when it comes to being underrated, because three of his greatest seasons have been erased from history. That's its own kind of recognition. Marshall reached just two Pro Bowls. That is untrue for a variety of reasons. His 23 fourth-quarter comebacks (20th overall) are more than Dan Fouts, Jim Kelly, Sonny Jurgensen and Bart Starr, to name a few Hall of Famers at the position. With Warfield hurt nearly all of that season, Ryan helped make a Pro Bowler out of receiver/punter Gary Collins. As for being so underrated he's overrated, wellthat's extremely underrated, which justifies Anderson's ranking here. The best we can offer is a little bit of credit where a lot is due. No one else is even close. The Pro Football Reference Similar Players tool compares Ryan's five-year peak to that of Joe Theismann. Smith wasnt a no-show on third-and-long, either. If John Hadl is remembered for anything these days, it's for one of the most disastrous trades in NFL history. Anderson also won MVP honors the same year he won Comeback Player of the Year. Young played for the teams that slowly slid from George Seifert to Steve Mariucci to oblivion. Andre Reed is an all-time great wide receiver who seemingly cannot escape lists of the most underrated football players in history. Evans is a long shot to do either, which is a shame. Joyner, who was beloved by supporters of the Philadelphia Eagles, is a member of the NFL 20/20 club for interceptions and sacks. One of those receivers is Flowers, who totaled over 1,100 yards and 12 touchdowns in 12 games this season for Boston College. 2. "I wasnt the fastest guy, but I didnt mind having the defender at my hip," Ellard said per Yahoo Sports. Hes also among a select few to be a four-time Super Bowl champion. He reached the playoffs as a rookie backup in 2004 and a 32-year-old backup in 2015, but zero times in the decade in between. Krieg was a career overachiever who survived 19 seasons on modest talent with defense-driven teams. The NFL is now full of receivers like Mason, but few of them are as productive as he was for over a decade. Slot specialists such as Julian Edelman and Victor Cruz are now considered valuable components to the modern passing game. He has already waited too long for that deserved honor. It takes years of playing the wrong position for the wrong team in the wrong league at the wrong time. Guys who played in Jacksonville repeatedly have been crapped on in Pro Bowl and Hall of Fame votes, none more so than Taylor during and after his 11 seasons there. Efficient? June 19, 2020 Koby83 Football, Michael Turner, NFL, Running Backs, Sports Underrated. Much of the Saints' offensive success in Evans' prime years is rightfully credited to Brees. Some of the most-talented individuals to ever play particular positions have, at some point or another, gone unappreciated by fans and even by supposed NFL experts. He had the speed to get to the edge and beat defenders down the sideline, the power to plow through tackles, the elusiveness to make things happen in the open field and receiving chops to rival contemporaries Roger Craig or Thurman Thomas. A longtime semifinalist, his case is about to be handed over to the Veterans Committee, which has done a fine job recently of correcting oversights from Kenn's era. And almost nobody remembers that, when Edwards caught the ball, he knew what to do it. Most seasons with 30 made field goals (7). His stardom was spread among three teams, robbing him of local hero status (or Hall of Fame momentum) in any one city. Unlike many of Marshall's teammates, however, he wasnt an obnoxious self-promoter, which partly explained his absence from the NFC Pro Bowl roster that season. Shaun Alexander's production plummeted when Hutch left Seattle in 2006. Dunn left Tampa Bay as a free agent after the 2001 season and headed to Atlanta, largely because of his relationship with Arthur Blank, the Falcons owner. An undrafted quarterback out of the late Milton College (Wisconsin), Krieg got them to the postseason four times and the AFC championship game once. In Jacksonville, Those who have knowledge of National Football League history are well aware of the more famous individuals who made their names and fame playing pro football. ", Teams: St. Louis Cardinals, Houston Oilers, Buffalo Bills, Washington Redskins, Pro Bowl appearances (AFL All-Star Game): Two (1965, 1967). So it takes a remarkable streak of hard luck for a running back to make this list. Fletcher intercepted 23 passes and recorded 39 sacks as a do-it-all middle linebacker. You will find some familiar Hall of Fame snubs on this list (like Jim Marshall, pictured above), but also plenty of players who were even snubbed from the Hall of Fame snubs, plus some current players who aren't getting their due. Eric Allen's job in Buddy Ryan's 46 defense was simple. Fewer yet realize that he made a crucial play in each victory. Allen has much in common with many others on this underrated list. Theyre the flat-liners whose drop-dead consistency gets lost with average-to-bad teams, in smaller markets, with brain-challenged organizations that have little, if any, history of success. Names such as Jim Brown, Walter Payton, Barry Sanders and Eric Dickerson probably immediately come to mind. Ryan made three Pro Bowls, but All-Pro status was blocked by a couple of guys named Johnny Unitas and Bart Starr. McDole is not known for much of anything anymore, as his AFL stardom came before the Super Bowl era and his Redskins heroics predated the era of Joe Gibbs and the Hogs. But his Rams had a running back named Eric Dickerson and quarterbacks named Dieter Brock and Jeff Kemp. Ryan would blitz between five and eight defenders, plus some water boys and maybe a few boo birds from the 700 level of Veterans Stadium. But run defense was king in the era when McDole played, and his 16-year career is littered with big plays: 12 interceptions, 14 fumble recoveries, two touchdowns, three safeties and a pair of sacks in the 1966 AFL Championship Game. Super Bowl championships: Four (1981, 1984, 1988, 1989). Even so, Smith was pretty much a well-kept secret outside Pittsburgh despite meeting or approaching Pro Bowl standards for almost a decade. The Rams eventually acquired Jim Everett and opened up their offense, transforming Ellard into one of the NFL's most dangerous deep threats. Web#shorts #viral #dunk #edit #fyp #nfl #sports #sportsedits Perhaps Hull would be in the Hall of Fame if the Bills had won even one Super Bowl. He must either play for teams so good that they overshadow his accomplishments, or teams so bad that he had to do it all by himself. It's better to be remembered for one of the most painful moments in your career than to not be remembered at all. For me donovan mcnabb marques colston darren McFadden steven Jackson shaun Alexander brian Westbrook .. Who are some more. Neal Anderson replaced Walter Payton. That's a higher sack total than Dwight Freeney or Robert Mathis. Evans is still playing at a high level; the Packers hope that he can do for Aaron Rodgers what he did for Brees. Super Bowl victories? But don't write him off as some 1960s product of the system. Where did Davis score the game-winner late in Super Bowl XXXII? Spoiler alert: Of course it is. Robertson is so poorly remembered that it was hard to find a decent photo of him in our archives. Evans, the best pass-protecting guard of his era, was charged with making sure pass-rushers didn't get close enough to Brees to bat his passes down, let alone sack him. His .588 win percentage ranks second to Wilson in team history. He had one sack in four games, all Rams victories. Mookie The Thief Blaylock made his mark on the defensive end, setting the pace for the steals race in 1996-97 and 1997-98, averaging 2.7 and 2.6, respectively. Teammates Alan Page and Carl Ellar were held in higher regard. This includes a wide receiver that some younger fans may have never before heard of, and also multiple quarterbacks who are still playing in the NFL as of the posting of this piece. By being overshadowed by Brown, achieving his greatest success just before the dawn of the Super Bowl era and getting stuck behind the Tom Brady and Peyton Manning of your grandfather's generation, Ryan earned the title of the NFL's All-Time Most Underrated Player. Its a frigging joke that Taylor isnt in the Hall of Fame discussion. Seven times, he surpassed 1,000 yards on pass receptions, most of them on slants and corner routes. Since the NFL has turned Bottom line: Never mind guys such as Michael Vick and Lamar Jackson. He was usually the Bears' best rusher and receiver in his prime years, catching 40-50 passes per season from Mike Tomczak or the young Jim Harbaugh. WebUnderrated 2000s players that don't get the respect they deserve today. He arrived in Buffalo at the same time Marv Levy was revolutionizing NFL offense with the help of Jim Kelly, Andre Reed and Thurman Thomas. He didnt just take up space, either. It made the Bills of the early 1990s the greatest team to never win a Super Bowl. Most Underappreciated RBs of the 2000s. Membership on various All-1960s teams. By the time Rivers is retired for five years, the "San Diego Chargers" will be as relevant as the Dayton Triangles, and Hall voters will be too busy rubber-stamping Tom Brady and Drew Brees to get to a guy from a lost city who couldn't win the big one. He may not have been as good as Jerry Rice or Randy Moss, but there is a solid argument to be made that Lofton is one of the ten best wide receivers in the history of pro football. To understand why he is not in the Hall of Fame, you must familiarize yourself with both the era he played in and the vagaries of Hall voting. Nope, not Charles Haley. Sideways. He's the Rams' all-time leading rusher with almost 3,000 more yards for the franchise than Marshall Faulk or Eric Dickerson. Marshall cant get his name even on the preliminary Hall of Fame ballot. Its easy to forget the Seahawks had some pretty good teams way back when, even a few playoff ones. 'Nuff said, right? Hes the only quarterback with AFL and NFL titles on his resume and he darn near pulled it off in the Canadian Football League as well. He was an All-Pro for the Orange Crush defenses of the 1970s, and then he stuck around to play for the 1986 Broncos Super Bowl team. There, he led a relentless Redskins pass rush in their Super Bowl XXVI ambush. 4. Why is it that history has seemingly forgotten about Kevin Greene? David Garrard. Perhaps it has something to do with the era during which Tomlinson played, but that L.T. Linebacker in the Hall of Fame has turned Bottom line: Never guys. Hero linebacker in the NFL 20/20 club for interceptions and sacks by a couple of guys named Unitas! Passes and recorded 39 sacks as a defensive lineman, a remarkable streak of luck... Boston College select few to be mentioned alongside such names when his career came to end! In his hands he has already waited too long for that deserved.... 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