Top 10 Overrated

Below is my list of the Top 10 most overrated offensive players in NFL history. The list is based on what I've seen, heard and read since watching football over 20 years ago as well as Hall of Fame status and general public perception of these players.

Feel free to agree or disagree in the comments section.

NOTE: The list goes down in order to the #1 most overrated player of all time.

10. EDDIE GEORGE, Running Back
George was a durable running back, not missing a single game over the first eight years of his career. While George was a good player, he was not a special one like some people remember him. The former Heisman Trophy winner averaged a measly 3.6 yards per carry over his nine-year career with a season high of only 4.1 yards per rush set in 1996 and 1999. George had just one genuinely special season, his 2000 campaign when he was third in the league in rushing (1,509 yards) and recorded career highs in touchdowns and receptions with 14 and 50, respectively. The four-time Pro Bowler is 12th all time in carries, but is just 20th in rushing yards and is about to be passed by LaDainian Tomlinson and Warrick Dunn to fall out of the top 20. George played in one Super Bowl, a loss to St. Louis, and ran for 95 yards with a pair of touchdowns so perhaps that is one of the reasons why many fans overrate this tough, but not great running back.

9. PHIL SIMMS, Quarterback
Simms is generally considered one of the best quarterbacks of the 1980’s, getting more fanfare than some comparable players of his era. Simms won a pair of Super Bowls in his 14-year career, but Jeff Hostetler quarterbacked the team in the playoffs for the Giants’ championship run in 1990. Simms went to the Pro Bowl just two times and threw 20+ touchdowns in a season only twice. By far Simms’ best statistical season came in 1984 when he passed for a career-high 4,044 yards and 22 touchdowns, although his completion percentage was only 53.7 that season. Simms’ claim to fame and legitimate argument for not being overrated was his Super Bowl performance against Denver in the 1986 season. In that game, Simms completed an amazing 22-of-25 pass attempts for 268 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions. However, after the Super Bowl win against the Broncos Simms went just 1-2 in three post-season games with no touchdowns and three interceptions. Simms was hard-nosed and a gritty player for sure, but quarterbacks of his same era such as Boomer Esiason were more talented and productive.

8. ANDRE RISON, Wide Receiver
When you look at Rison’s career stats (10,205 yards with 84 touchdowns), they’re pretty good. But when you take a peek at his season-by-season breakdown, the numbers aren’t nearly as impressive. Rison had a four-year span in Atlanta’s run and shoot offense where he dominated as a touchdown producer with 48 scores between 1990 and 1993. After that, “Bad Moon Rison” was pretty average with just 32 touchdowns over the final 105 games of his career. And Rison was nothing special in terms of receptions or yardage, failing to catch more than 95 passes in a season and never posting a 1,300-yard campaign. Rison went over 1,000 yards just five times in his 12-year career - not what you’d expect from a player who is widely regarded as one of the best receivers of the 1990’s.

7. TERRY BRADSHAW, Quarterback
Bradshaw is not higher on this dubious list because he actually had some nice skills and posted a couple of good seasons. However, his career numbers are pretty ugly - 212 passing touchdowns versus 210 interceptions with a 51.9 completion percentage. The strong-armed Bradshaw did not throw more touchdowns than interceptions in a season until his sixth year in the league and tossed 20+ picks in a campaign five times in his 14-year career. Bradshaw gets a lot of recognition for the four championships and two Super Bowl MVP awards he won with the Steelers. While the four rings are great, Bradshaw was not as much of a money player in the playoffs as people assume. Of Bradshaw’s 19 post-season games, only six times did he throw multiple scores with less interceptions and his final playoff numbers look like this - 30 touchdowns against 26 picks. To Bradshaw’s credit, he called his own plays, led the league in touchdown passes (28) in his MVP year of 1978 and tied for the most scores (17) in 1982’s strike-shortened season. Bradshaw was a good quarterback that made some big throws in clutch situations on a four-time Super Bowl winning team, but a player that had so many interceptions even in an era of defense is borderline Hall of Fame material at best.

6. GALE SAYERS, Running Back/Kick-Punt Returner
Many purists will tell you that Sayers revolutionized the game with his uncanny blend of speed, quickness and moves and that might be an accurate statement. But Sayers simply did not play long enough to be considered one of the best running backs of all time. That’s not to say Sayers wasn’t a great back, he dominated at many points in his seven-year career. In his first pro season of 1965, Sayers scored a rookie-record 22 touchdowns, including a record-tying six in one game. “The Kansas Comet” is also one of the greatest kick and punt returners in league history, running back a combined eight returns for touchdowns. His career kick return average of 30.56 is the highest of any player in the history of the sport with a minimum of 75 returns. The shifty Sayers played seven years in the league, but just 68 games, missing most of 2+ seasons with knee injuries. Sayers, who is not in the top 50 in any major statistical category for a running back, was selected to the Hall of Fame presumably on potential. If that’s the case why not put in other talented players whose careers were cut short due to injury (Billy Sims and Terrell Davis come to mind)?

5. STEVE MCNAIR, Quarterback
Possibly one of the toughest quarterbacks to ever play, McNair gets a lot of credit for not doing a whole lot as a passer. McNair was a fantastic runner for most of his career, but he’s only had one good year as a passer – the 2003 season when he threw for 24 touchdowns and just seven interceptions, sharing the league’s MVP award with Peyton Manning. During his 13-year career, “Air McNair” has gone to just two Pro Bowls, never passed for more than 3,400 yards in a season and has tossed 20+ touchdowns in a year just three times. He’s been average in the playoffs too with a 5-5 record and only six touchdowns against 11 picks. Like teammate Eddie George, McNair has always been durable, playing through a variety of injuries during most of his days in the league and is probably one of the 10 best running quarterbacks of all time. But those two factors should not put McNair on the pedestal he’s been on for most of his career.

4. TROY AIKMAN, Quarterback
The two truly great things you can say about Aikman are that he won a lot of games and was a very accurate quarterback. Aikman finished his 12-year career with a 62 percent completion percentage and over 30,000 yards passing and helped the Cowboys claim three championships in the 1990’s, winning the MVP award in Super Bowl XXVII with a four-touchdown game. However, Aikman is not a Hall of Fame quarterback in many ways. He never threw for more than 3,500 yards in season and had just one campaign of 20+ touchdowns. Despite posting the most wins of any quarterback in any decade with 94 victories in the 1990’s, Aikman’s 165 touchdowns and 141 interceptions are suspect at best. Perhaps Aikman could have put up great numbers if given the opportunity and asked to air the ball out, but while he made plays at times, he simply managed the game. Wins from a quarterback are great and an obvious necessity, but Dallas could have won with a lot of signal callers in the 1990’s because they were one of the most talented overall teams of all time.

3. JOE NAMATH, Quarterback
Namath was one of the first icons in sports and attracted the causal fan to pro football, but his play on the field, while spectacular at times, is not Hall of Fame worthy. Namath has three things in his favor as a quarterback - he successfully guaranteed a victory over the heavily-favored Colts in Super Bowl III, was the first player in history to throw for more than 4,000 yards in a season and was named AFL player of the year in 1968. Namath’s historic prediction against the Colts was legendary, but he did not even play that well in the big game with 206 yards and no touchdowns. Perhaps “Broadway Joe” could have posted bigger numbers throughout his career if not for various knee injuries, but his regular season stats are gross – 173 touchdowns against 220 interceptions with a 50.1 completion percentage. Namath’s final three seasons in the league were dreadful as he threw only 22 touchdowns versus 49 interceptions and he played in just three playoff games during his 13-year career. A member of the AFL all-time team, Namath was simply a good quarterback that played on bad teams for most of his career and is thought of as a great player for all the wrong reasons.

2. BOB GRIESE, Quarterback
All you need to know about Griese was that he threw more touchdowns than interceptions in a season just seven times. Griese’s final statistics are somewhat laughable for a Hall of Fame career that spanned 14 seasons – 25,092 passing yards with 192 touchdowns and 172 interceptions. Griese did win a pair of Super Bowls, but many do not realize that he missed eight games with an injury in the Dolphins’ 1972 perfect season. Backup quarterback Earl Morrall took most of the snaps in 1972 and even when Griese came back for the playoffs, he was his usual average self, completing 11-of-16 pass attempts for 158 yards with a touchdown and interception between the AFC Championship and Super Bowl. Even on Griese’s bio page for the Pro Football Hall of Fame does he get a less than ringing endorsement - proclaiming him as the poised leader of a classic ball-control offense. The Dolphins were successful in the 1970’s because of Larry Csonka, Mercury Morris and their No-Name defense, not because of Griese’s play. Not sure why Griese gets more credit than he deserves simply because he was the quarterback of a dominate team that won a couple of Super Bowls.

1. LYNN SWANN, Wide Receiver
How Swann got into the Hall of Fame is one of the great mysteries of life, but the fact that he was inducted one year ahead of teammate John Stallworth is criminal. Swann played only nine seasons in the league and put up mediocre numbers, finishing in the top 10 in receiving just three different times. He scored 11 touchdowns in 1975 and 1978, by far his two best seasons, but had more than 50 receptions in a season just once. To Swann’s credit he was a fantastic punt returner early in his career, especially in his rookie season when at the time had the fourth highest yardage total in league history. The probable reason Swann is so revered is because he played well in three of four Super Bowl wins, but his overall playoff numbers are actually in line with his below average regular season stats. Swann went over 100 yards in a post-season game only twice, both in the Super Bowl, but the MVP of Super Bowl X actually failed to catch a pass in Super Bowl IX. Like Terry Bradshaw, Swann gets too much respect for winning four championships and his career is defined by a couple of good games on the big stage. If receivers are voted into the Hall of Fame solely based on that premise, then why not put Deion Branch in Canton?