So who's the league's most overrated? There are a lot of name players to choose from, but the winner is Dallas Cowboys safety Roy Williams. He isn't nearly as good as his reputation, which is Lone Star big.
Williams played in his third consecutive Pro Bowl after the 2005 season, but he certainly hasn't performed to that level. Williams is a good hitter when in the box, but he struggles in coverage, which is why teams were able to exploit the Cowboys with some big plays last season.
Anyone who saw the Cowboys blow that Monday night game to the Redskins saw that Williams can be trouble in coverage. The Redskins twice threw over the top of him for fourth-quarter touchdowns.
Sure, he makes those highlight hits. But for every one of those, there's two misses in coverage. That's not good enough.
There is no way he's a better safety than Adrian Wilson of the Cardinals or Sean Taylor of the Redskins, two players who should have gone to the Pro Bowl ahead of Williams.
Those two, by the way, are among our 32 underrated players.
Dallas Cowboys
Overrated: Williams is a good player when near the line of scrimmage, but he can't be called a top-tier safety because he struggles so much in coverage. He's a decent, not great player. His reputation would lead you to believe he was great.
Underrated: Drew Bledsoe is one of those quarterbacks who always gets picked apart, no matter what he does. But he had a heck of a year for the Cowboys, throwing for 3,639 yards and 23 touchdowns.
New York Giants
Overrated: Tight end Jeremy Shockey is a good player, but he should be a great one. He needs more focus. If that happens, watch out. Until then, he's not as good as many think.
Underrated: Guard Chris Snee is a nasty mauler who will soon be a Pro Bowl player. He won't back down from anyone and he's key to getting Tiki Barber all those yards.
Philadelphia Eagles
Overrated: Defensive end Jevon Kearse isn't the player he was with the Titans. He doesn't have the same burst and opponents don't have to account for on every play. He's still pretty good, but no longer an elite pass rusher.
Underrated: Right guard Shawn Andrews is developing into one of the better guards in the NFC. He can overpower an opponent.
Washington Redskins
Overrated: Safety Adam Archuleta is a big hitter who has made some big plays, but he is a liability in coverage and isn't worth the money the 'Skins paid him.
Underrated: Fellow safety Sean Taylor is a monster player whose talent has been overshadowed by his off-field incident. He's an elite safety.
I agree with the assessment of Williams, but we shouldn't ignore the warning about Archuletta. I must admit that I was puzzled when the Redskins splashed that much cash in his direction.
Normally I think Prisco is as big a tool as King and Pastabelly, but he is pretty much dead on in this instance. Makes me wonder if he had some help on this one.
I'm not too worried about Archuletta, since Taylor will be the one helping out in coverage most of the time.
Andre Carter wrote:Damn man, you know your football.
JSPB22 wrote:I'm not too worried about Archuletta, since Taylor will be the one helping out in coverage most of the time.
Yeah, plus I don't think AA will be doing to much man to man covering, unless it's a TE. I see AA just being a big blitzer and zone/run support guy, ST can handle the WR's.
joebagadonuts on IsaneBoost's signature:
-- "I laughed. I cried. Better than Cats"
JSPB22 wrote:Normally I think Prisco is as big a tool as King and Pastabelly, but he is pretty much dead on in this instance. Makes me wonder if he had some help on this one. I'm not too worried about Archuletta, since Taylor will be the one helping out in coverage most of the time.
I think Gibbs is looking for another Alvin Walton here - the big hitting safey. Doesn't need to be a great cover guy.
I'm going to Randy Thomas as being the most underrated player on our team. He never gets press but he is often at the point of attack in our sweeps, and counters. Plus, when he got hurt last year our Offense basically shut down.
As for Archuletta being overrated.....you have to be good to be overrated! Seriously, no one is going to call Ade Jimoh overrated!
There's a thread about this on Cowboysguide. It's hilarious. They call Prisco a Redskin fan and go into their typical banter about how Roy is better than Taylor.
Haha.
Love is blind.
R.I.P. Christopher Wallace (May 21, 1972 - March 9, 1997)
R.I.P. Sean Taylor (April 1, 1983 - November 27, 2007)
CORNELIUS GRIFFIN : WILDLY UNDERATED.
I stand by my belief that Griffin is the heart and soul of the skins D. I don't see it as a coincidence that his return from injury last season resulted in our 5 game win streak...
"Never get less than 12 hours sleep, never play cards with a guy who has the same first name as a city, and never go near a lady with a tattoo of a dagger on her hand. Now you stick with that, and everything else is cream cheese." - Teen Wolf
MarcusBeNimble wrote:CORNELIUS GRIFFIN : WILDLY UNDERATED. I stand by my belief that Griffin is the heart and soul of the skins D. I don't see it as a coincidence that his return from injury last season resulted in our 5 game win streak...
I totally agree about Griffin's abilities, although I think Marcus Washington is actually the heart and soul of the defense.
Corny is likely the best player though and seldom if ever recognized.
All offensive lineman are underrated, so they should almost have their own category.
Sean Taylor was one of a kind, may he rest in peace.
JPM36 wrote:I'd say that Taylor is the most talented, Washington is the hardest working, and Griffin is the most impossible to replace.
"Impossible to raplace" is more a function of the quality of the backup than anything else. It depends on how our rookie DT's develop. I think Marshall is the biggest over acheiver.
Skins fan since '55
"The constitution is not a suicide pact"- Abraham Lincoln
Underrated = Shawn Springs - We were told from the minute we signed him how injury proned he was and how much he had lost a step. So far he has had TWO prow bowl quality years and very little down time.
Overrated = how bout........The Dallas Cowboys.
Dec. 31, 1972
NFC Championship Game at RFK Stadium
W, 26-3
"Just remember this. Forty men together can't lose." George Allen
We may have, overall, the most underated players in the league. That seems to be the rule on a Gibbs team. During his 1st tenure, I think we had the fewest pro bowlers of any team with a record even close to ours.
Skins fan since '55
"The constitution is not a suicide pact"- Abraham Lincoln
ey would be my pick for most underrated.
