Both players were Pro Bowlers the previous year. 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You know the type. The 2023 wide receiver class is one of the worst in recent memory, but there are some solid options on Day 2 for teams searching for complementary players. Bottom line: For 16 seasons, Henry Ellard wreaked havoc as a pass receiver and punt returner. Is it at all possible that any of these legends of the game could possibly also be some of the most underrated players in NFL history? Butler has never even been a Hall of Fame semifinalist, and it's not going to happen for him soon. Jeff Saturday had to translate Peyton Manning's spur-of-the-moment audibles into protection schemes a split second before the snap. Victory propelled Montana to superstardom, while defeat left the 32-year old Anderson to play out the string as a high-percentage passer for a rapidly disintegrating franchise. "No one was going to catch no ball.". But outside of Wisconsin, his accomplishments were mostly forgotten shortly after his career ended in 2001. In the 1950s and the days of 12-game regular seasons, he rushed for 3,078 yards, nearly 1,000 more than the runner-up. WebMost Underappreciated QBs of the 2000s. Arizona Cardinals: WR Andy Isabella. The latest in the sports world, emailed daily. In 10 of the 12 seasons in which he started at least half their games, the Seahawks prevailed more times than not. It takes years of playing the wrong position for the wrong team in the wrong league at the wrong time. The statue portrays jubilant Packers fans in tundra-weather gear appearing to cradle a player who just pounced into the stands. Time has been hard on both of them. WebNFL Nostalgia: Ranking the Most Underrated Players in NFL History. It made the Bills of the early 1990s the greatest team to never win a Super Bowl. Many of those catches occurred down the field, with Anderson serving as a de facto possession receiver. He's not the kind of player a wise organization sheds to cut expenses. Pro Football Reference rates him at near a Pro Bowl level well into his 30s. Maybe not, seeing as Nalen has not had much success. To make our list, a player must contribute to a winning effort while putting up bad stats, misunderstood stats or no stats. "Hate to say it, but I do believe I should be there (in Canton)," Marshall once said. That may be unfair to players like Robinson, Jerry Kramer and L.C. He blitzed (20.5 sacks). His 2,690 all-purpose yards with the Titans in the 2000 season are second in league history. The list of players who are in that club includes Ray Lewis, Rodney Harrison, Brian Dawkins, LeRoy Butler and Ronde Barber. That feeling never really went away.". There may be such a thing as too much blitzing, after all. Ohhh-kaaaaay, one of the Hasselbecks then? WebUnderrated 2000s players that don't get the respect they deserve today. Massive sports fan and soccer nerd. Anderson is no Hall of Famerthe middle of his career is a morass of ordinary-at-best seasonsbut he was a pioneer and an innovator. Its a frigging joke that Taylor isnt in the Hall of Fame discussion. Bottom line: The Greatest Show On Turf boasted so much star power you couldnt tell the other Rams without a program. 1. Guards don't make the Hall of Fame unless they win multiple Super Bowls or play forever. Bottom line: In his 15th and final season, the 36-year-old Ken Riley had eight interceptions and returned two of them for touchdowns, one of the most incredible performances by an old man ever. There's a statue outside of Lambeau Field commemorating the Lambeau Leap, perhaps the most recognizable and beloved (except to Packers opponents) end-zone celebration in the NFL. They didnt do anything that Tobin Rote hadnt done a long time ago. Mostly Schlereth and sidekick Tom Nalen, who were masters of zone-blocking schemes, a major reason why Davis is in the Hall of Fame today. Teams: Green Bay Packers, Detroit Lions, San Diego Chargers, Experience: 13 years (1950-59, 1963-64, 1966), AFL All-Star Game appearances: One (1963). Anderson was the first quarterback to successfully orchestrate the beta version of Bill Walsh's West Coast offense for multiple seasons. Rivers had neither, but he possessed just about everything else. Still don't understand why the writers don't respect it.". Johnny Robinson's credentials make you want to drive to Canton, kick down the Hall of Fame's door and clear a spot for his bust yourself. Stafford is an underrated quarterback who has also been a pillar of stability outside of his second season and this past year. McDole's Bills defenses held opponents to fewer than 3.1 yards per carry across three consecutive seasons. But a double whammyplaying center and playing for the Broncoshas kept him miles from Hall of Fame consideration. Rivers' excellence, longevity and ability to barely dodge immortality make him the John Hadl of his era. Two 10-interception seasons, with 57 career interceptions. So whaddya say, fans? Since the NFL has turned Then it was off to Carolina, where he earned an All-Pro selection for leading the Panthers to the NFC Championship Game as a second-year expansion team during his age-37 season. Terry Porter is another name that isnt remembered despite his No matter. Those who like to shout "first-ballot Hall of Famer" about Rivers do not know how the Hall of Fame works. WebThe 2023 wide receiver class is one of the worst in recent memory, but there are some solid options on Day 2 for teams searching for complementary players. WebWe're a media page that has been highlighting an underrated player from every team in the NFL. As a 31-year-old, no less. McDole was known as "The Dancing Bear" because of his nimble feet, one of the coolest nicknames ever. Thats what Krieg did best win football games. Jackson probably helped you win a fantasy title or two, but he would be remembered for so much more if he wasn't always on the wrong team at the wrong time. Football experts know of the Hutson's accomplishments, but too many casual fans are unaware of all that the man credited with birthing pass routes that are used today achieved during his legendary career. An undrafted quarterback out of the late Milton College (Wisconsin), Krieg got them to the postseason four times and the AFC championship game once. Taylor rushed for 1,000-plus yards in seven seasons. Fleming was a reliable backup tight end/wide receiver who played with four Super Bowl-winners (and one NFL champion) in a dozen seasons. Steve Atwater. While Kreig didnt possess fleet feet or a bazooka arm, he could read defenses and throw an accurate ball. On the final play a year later, he picked off a Roger Staubach pass in the end zone that put the Cowboys to rest. Bottom line: Never mind guys such as Michael Vick and Lamar Jackson. ", Teams: St. Louis Cardinals, Houston Oilers, Buffalo Bills, Washington Redskins, Pro Bowl appearances (AFL All-Star Game): Two (1965, 1967). He should be remembered as more than a throwback to the era when Lawrence Welk references were topical. Bottom line: Quick, name the winningest Seahawks quarterback before the Russell Wilson era. Addiction soon began consuming Smith's career, and then his life. Debates about the greatest pass-rushers in the history of the NFL will conjure up mentions of players such as Bruce Smith, Michael Strahan, Reggie White and others. Those accomplishments may soon finally land Kenn in the Hall of Fame. He started for an offensive line that helped Barry Sanders win two of his four rushing titles. If you guessed both or neither one, youre wrong. The admission probably slams the door of the Hall of Fame on Brown forever. And Jackson spent a generation as a pre- and postgame show staple, which puts him in a whole different category. "I dont get it. Know who created those wide-open spaces? The lack of respect that Larry Fitzgerald has received from supposed football experts throughout his career boggles the mind. It didnt help that he had ordinary quarterbacks named Tony Eason and Steve Grogan to throw him the ball. 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. He played 256 career regular-season games, never missing a start due to injury. Krause is undeniably one of the best defensive players to ever play pro football, but his name nevertheless rarely pops up whenever such discussions arise among fans and even among analysts. Mills looks like just another local hero linebacker in the encyclopedias, albeit a good one. But so were teammates like Len Dawson, Willie Lanier, Buck Buchanan, Bobby Bell, Curley Culp and Jan Stenerud, all of whom are in the Hall of Fame. 4,409 Rushing Attempts. WebAll-Time Most Underrated NFL Players by Position. 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. The converted all-purpose athlete became one of the fathers of modern quarterbacking. Chandler Jones, If Marlon McCree hadn't fumbled that interception in the playoffs after the 2006 season, everything might have been different. Player A was a one-time Most Valuable Player who took part in four Pro Bowl games. 30. He was one of the first true slot receivers of 21st-century NFL offenses. He once threw three touchdowns in a shutout victory in a title game. Lets not forget they also dominated with cold-blooded efficiency at the other side of the ball, where Keena Turner was rarely out of position at right outside linebacker. 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. He found the end zone in three different decades. 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. Much of the Saints' offensive success in Evans' prime years is rightfully credited to Brees. Bowman is a four-time All-Pro and tremendous all-purpose linebacker who emerged as a stalwart leader for teams that otherwise might have packed it in before Labor Day. Ellard moved on to Washington in 1994 and enjoyed a late-career renaissance, averaging 61 catches and 18.8 yards per reception over a three-year span in his mid-30s. He picked off a dozen passes in his career two of them at 38 years of age an absurd number for a 6-foot-4, 265-pound lineman. He once sacked Dan Marino twice on the first two plays of a gamea remarkable achievement, as Marino was one of the least sacked quarterbacks in NFL history. Teams: Pittsburgh Steelers, San Francisco 49ers, Cleveland Browns, New York Giants, Philadelphia Eagles, New England Patriots, Super Bowl championships: Two (1979, 1990). Frank Ryan, QB, Browns. That made Hull one of the first centers to make line adjustments on the fly. Quick: Name the 49ers' all-time sack leader. Related:Most Overrated NFL Players of All Time. The most similar current player to Anderson is Pittsburgh's Le'Veon Bell, but Bell plays in a modern offense that amplifies his production instead of suppressing it. Robertson was one of the NFL's fastest linebackers in the 1970s. Some might find it ridiculous that Steve Young, widely revered as one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history, even cracks into this list. The career active leader in games started by a defensive lineman is Julius Peppers with 227. No modern coach suppressed passing offenses quite like Fisher, and no team produces offensive stats that look like they come from the early 1930s quite like the Ravens. That he was part of The Greatest Show on Turf should not be a knock against him or a reason for keeping him out of the Hall of Fame. Not only was Fleming good enough to stick with great teams, but he also was the luckiest son of a gun on the face of the earth. Young checks in at No. The Over-the-Hill Gang fielded one of the most ferocious pass rushes of its era, notching 53 sacks in 1973. Super Bowl championships: Two (1996, 1999). That's where the politics of Hall voting come in. 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. But the diminutive Brees would not have been able to lead the Saints to a Super Bowl and several seasons as top contenders without a clean pocket, particularly right in front of him. It takes bad timing and bad luck. Greene remains third all-time in the list of career NFL sacks, and 32-year-old Jared Allen is the only active player who is remotely close to catching Greene. Evans is still playing at a high level; the Packers hope that he can do for Aaron Rodgers what he did for Brees. Fitzgerald has been a mainstay in lists of Top 100 players in the NFL for years. There are some out there who would say that a player who has been inducted into the Hall of Fame cannot possibly be underrated. An all-underrated team like this one can get flooded with Zach Thomas, Hardy Nickerson, Tommy Nobis and Tedy Bruschi types if we don't get a little choosy. Fifteen years ago, similar receivers were gimmicky undersized role players. 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. Far from it. Its easy to forget the Seahawks had some pretty good teams way back when, even a few playoff ones. He's also among the top 100 in games started (83rd), interception return yardage (89th) and interception return touchdowns (31st). He has already waited too long for that deserved honor. He played the run with authority (721 career solo tackles). He has started every game he has played in since 2014 (with four different franchises). He then led three fourth-quarter comebacks to bring them back to the playoffs in 1965. It was rival 49ers tackle Bryant Young who the Rams were most concerned about before the 1999 season, when they signed Timmerman as a free agent. Allen has much in common with many others on this underrated list. Anderson does not get the credit he deserves for reasons that cannot be explained. 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. Freelancer for multiple websites. 44. 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. Even unspectacular ones manage to rack up a few 1,000-yard seasons and get drafted early in fantasy leagues. But no one remembers the Greatest Show on Turf for its defense, and Fletcher spent the prime of his career playing for mediocre Bills teams. The weekend opened with the San Francisco 49ers and the Seattle Seahawks. 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