August 5th, 2009 at 10:00 AM ^
But overrated: Anyone who plays football at ND
August 5th, 2009 at 10:02 AM ^
nope overrated is anyone who plays fooball at MSU
August 5th, 2009 at 10:06 AM ^
That's true. But we've been overrated a few times too like being #5 in 2008.
August 5th, 2009 at 10:16 AM ^
However I still say that 2007/2008 team, if healthy and focused, was a top 5 team.
Cap One bowl was a glimpse into a past that could have been.
August 5th, 2009 at 10:05 AM ^
maybe it is because he plays for the Texans, but the dude is just crazy good and I always think that he never gets much national media love.
August 5th, 2009 at 10:28 AM ^
YES... I love Andre J... he dominates every single matchup.. it's just a question of whether the QB can get him the ball or not honestly
August 5th, 2009 at 10:06 AM ^
Can I answer Tim Tebow for both?
August 5th, 2009 at 10:08 AM ^
I was thinking of using him but I couldn't figure out which one. So yeah.
August 5th, 2009 at 10:14 AM ^
how you can say that favre is overrated? is it annoying that ESPN follows everything he does durning the off season? yes! but that doesn't make him overrated. he holds every passing record there is and has won a super bowl, unlike marino.... plus when favre was on he was one of the funest QB's to watch.
overrated: rashed wallace
underrated: brian griese (yes its a reach)
August 5th, 2009 at 11:10 AM ^
I don't think anyone denies Favre's entertainment or greatness. The issue is his performance relative to his adulation. Great player, over-adored.
Also, one of the passing records he holds is career interceptions. And, when you apply career record to greatness, you can get faulty results. Vinny Testaverde is 8th on all-time TD's and nobody calls him one of the best ever.
On the fun to watch end of things, I'll admit that I enjoyed watching him. However, if I were a fan of one of his teams, I can imagine being antsy at not-knowing what he was going to do next that could cost the team.
August 5th, 2009 at 11:16 AM ^
Favre's reputation as a "big-game QB" was wildly overstated, especially at the end of his career with the Packers, when he was good for one backbreaking interception per playoff game. Favre was great in the mid-90s but steadily declined thereafter. For whatever reason, media types like Peter King and the Fox NFL announcers never wanted to recognize that decline. And dismissing his mistakes by saying "he's like a kid out there!" only made it worse.
Clearly, I'm on the Favre is overrated train.
August 5th, 2009 at 12:27 PM ^
Slinging guns = throwing interceptions
Sports are unwatchable of Fox. What a bunch of douche bags.
August 5th, 2009 at 10:15 AM ^
Thats a crazy combo of players. Your overrated leads nearly every statistical category for a QB and your underrated played part of his rookie season before getting hurt. I kind of agree, but just out of opinion, but not of fact. I would have to go Over: Roethlisberger; Under: Kelly Gregg.
August 5th, 2009 at 10:21 AM ^
I'm going to say some pretty blasphemous things and say Tebow is overrated. Now, I do believe that he is a VERY talented football player and he would be an amazing asset to any team he played on, but the way the media/fans/coaches portray him, he is overrated.
I understand that he has contributed to two national titles and also won the Heisman trophy (or Dixon lost it...hmm). However, the amount of talent surrounding him is astounding. The two national title-winning teams he's been on have had incredible defenses, but he doesn't play defense, and offense scores point, so of course he's attributed with "winning" them.
Urban Meyer has called him one of the greatest players of our era. I'm not sure how long of a time-frame he's talking about (Urban, are you talking the past 5 years, or 20 years?), but I would put Vince Young, Matt Leinart, and Reggie Bush as better.
August 5th, 2009 at 10:35 AM ^
I don't know if I agree with you or with this statement I'm about to mention, but I think I've heard some say that Percy Harvin was more of an impact player than Tebow.
Tebow really is a great player, but he's portrayed as God's son by the media. So yeah, his exploits on the field are exaggerated. This article was mentioned last week:
http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/news?slug=jn-bradford072809&prov=…
August 5th, 2009 at 10:37 AM ^
Based solely on that Capital One bowl game, Harvin is way more dangerous than Tebow, alone. I don't have trouble believing it.
August 5th, 2009 at 10:46 AM ^
I would agree that Percy Harvin was more of an impact player than Tebow. When you're that wide open or running the underneath route, anyone can get the ball to Harvin and see their passing yards stats skyrocket.
The kid is an incredible playmaker.
That type of player + RR's offensive acumen = Multiple TDs, Rose Bowl berths, and ruined pants.
August 5th, 2009 at 10:23 AM ^
Overrated- Manny Ramirez
Underrated- Chris Osgood
August 5th, 2009 at 12:56 PM ^
He is an exceptional hitter, he would be a lock for the HOF if not for the steroids. Even in his advanced age he is still one of better hitters in the game. Now if you wanna say he's insane and hurts the locker room, or that he's a cheater, that's fine, but he is and has been a great hitter.
Offense is only one part of the game. He is also one of the worst defensive outfielders in baseball and costs his teams quite a few runs when he is out there.
That a bad defender with a career OPS over 1.000 is more valuable than a good defender who is an average hitter. Noone thinks he is a good defender, but he is still one of the best right handed hitters in baseball history.
August 5th, 2009 at 10:28 AM ^
most overrated - running backs (most, MOST, I say, not all, are interchangeable).
Most underrated - offensive and defensive linemen. Without solid lines, you've got no shot.
Second most underrated - punter. A punter can change a game with field position.
As far as individuals:
Most overrated - Jimmy Clausen.
Most underrated - Josh Nesbitt.
August 5th, 2009 at 10:32 AM ^
Calvin Johnson guy is a feak 69 catches 12 TD's on a 0-16 team all these people can have Larry fitz, calvin hands down, the guy had freaking dan O throwing him the ball. come on lol
August 5th, 2009 at 10:36 AM ^
I personally think the base-stealing ability of a baseball player is one of the most underrated skills.
and to contribute to the thread topic:
Overrated- besides Tebow...Matt Stafford (huge mistake by the Lions, and I couldn't stand hearing the slurping noise Mel Kiper was making for the weeks leading up to the draft)
Underrated- Zach Robinson and Dez Bryant combo
August 5th, 2009 at 12:00 PM ^
Steals are nearly worthless. Yes, there have been times (Dave Roberts for the Sox vs. the Yankees) where a single steal is worth something. But in aggregate, they do extremely little to score runs.
that said that to increase your teams net chance of scoring a run, you have to be a 70 percent base stealer.
Break even is around 77% success rate, IIRC.
Stealing bases is actually overrated.
So too is batting average, RBI's, HR's and a pitchers ERA and Win-Loss record.
Those stats still have value as basic indicators of how a player has performed, they are just generally poor indicators of future performances. Except wins, which is too dependant upon your teammates. I guess RBIs are sort of in the same boat, but batters have so many more rbi chances than pitchers have chances for wins, I view rbis as a better stat.
No, they do not have much value when evaluating how a player has performed.
It is all about OBP, SLG, OPS, wOBA, wRAA, RC, VORP, tRA, FIP, xFIP, K/BB, BABIP, LOB %, HR/FB %, LD %, UZR, WPA and WAR in today's baseball world.
In that those stats are much better indicators of a players performance, because they take luck and other factors out of the equation. The problem is, those are still factors when they actually play the game. RBI's may be mainly context driven, but they still matter. A player who knocks in 120 RBIs has helped his team more than one who hit in 80 with the same OPS. Now, it might be the 2nd player is just as talented and was unlucky, and if you where evaluating them you would find they are equally qualified. But the first player was more valuable to his team, even if it was sheer luck. Those stats are useful when used in conjunction with others to tell the story of the season. I don't put much weight in them as predictive stats, but they are good for looking at what happened in past games.
RBI's are absurdly context-dependent. They're largely a measure of how many times a player has been up to bat with players in scoring position.
August 5th, 2009 at 10:42 AM ^
Overrated- Bill Parcels. Yeah I know he isn't a coach anymore but he never won a Super Bowl... I know he barely lost the one on the missed FG but he screwed up the Jets and the Dolphins haven't made the playoffs under his guidance yet.
Eric Magini is right up there too. How the heck can he expect to have success in Cleveland when he can't cut it in New York? Seriously, the guy should have stayed as an intern.
Underrated- Every member of the Patriots, maybe the best team/organization ever.
August 5th, 2009 at 10:51 AM ^
SuperBowl XXI
SuperBowl XXV
August 5th, 2009 at 10:56 AM ^
Bill Parcells did win the Super Bowl with the Giants...twice.
August 5th, 2009 at 12:07 PM ^
Bill Parcels. Yeah I know he isn't a coach anymore but he never won a Super Bowl
He won 2.
know he barely lost the one on the missed FG
He barely WON the Super Bowl with the missed FG.
but he screwed up the Jets and the Dolphins haven't made the playoffs under his guidance yet.
Before taking over the Jets, they had 4-28 in their previous 2 seasons. Parcells took them to 9-7 in his first year, and 12-4 in his second. They went 8-8 his final year. I'm not sure that's "screwing them up".
He has been the Executive VP of Operations for Dolphins for 1 year - last year. They went 11-5 last year, won their division, and did, indeed, make the playoffs.
In others words, literally nothing you said is true.
August 5th, 2009 at 12:09 PM ^
holy shit epic fail from Indiana Wolverine
August 8th, 2009 at 11:57 AM ^
its in his "Indiana" nature.
August 5th, 2009 at 12:44 PM ^
Hey, give credit where it's due: he did say Parcells isn't a coach anymore.
August 5th, 2009 at 12:15 PM ^
Boom CHITOWN'd
August 5th, 2009 at 10:50 AM ^
Overrated: Eli Manning
Underrated: Mark Buehrle
August 7th, 2009 at 11:41 AM ^
Is it possible for somebody to be underrated after pitching a perfect game?
Considering that he would be overrated if somebody considered him an ace... no.
August 5th, 2009 at 11:02 AM ^
overrated: cesc fabregas
underrated: iniesta (except he's getting more and more credit)
August 6th, 2009 at 10:28 PM ^
..I think after the Chelsea goal and assist to Eto'o in the EC Final, Iniesta may be "rated" properly now.
As far as futbol goes:
Overrated: Paul Scholes (now).
Underrated: Paul Scholes (when he played with Beckham, Butt, Keane and Giggs).
August 5th, 2009 at 11:04 AM ^
Over: Eli Manning, any closer in MLB, Sid Crosby
Under: Deangelo Williams, Matt Cain
All Time overrated: Emmitt Smith
August 5th, 2009 at 11:18 AM ^
Smith and Eddie George are overrated. I'm pretty sure they both averaged under 4 yards per carry in the NFL.
August 5th, 2009 at 12:27 PM ^
He was good, just far from the greatest. Put Barry Sanders on that team, and he runs for multiple 2,000 yard seasons. Eddie George averaged 3.6, I didn't realize people held him in high regard.
August 5th, 2009 at 11:53 AM ^
You couldn't be more right about Emmitt Smith. No way should he have broken Payton's record.
Barry, Payton, Dickerson, J.Brown, even Curtis Martin are more talented. I mean the guy ran behind an incredible probowl line, probowl FB and TE, not to mention a decent passing game to keep D's honest and he played well past his prime.
Worst of all, with the "All Time Rushing Leader" title came that job in broadcasting. He makes Michael Irvin sound intelligent and Magic Johnson sound eloquent.