What player has done the least with the most?

Discussion in 'NFL General' started by TheBeef, Jul 20, 2007.

  1. TheBeef

    TheBeef Commish of FUN!

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    Obviously, Mike Vick is on the verge of throwing all of his athletic oppurtunities away, but even before his current legal problems, most would agree that he was underachieving as a NFL QB....Is he the most underachieving athlete ever? Can you think of other guys that had so much talent and just couldnt put it together? When I was thinking about this, Ricky Williams and Rae Carruth came to mind as guys that have been drafted very high and had less than the expected career(to say the least)....anyone with more talent thats worse?</p>

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  2. DolfanDale

    DolfanDale Active Member

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    <font face="trebuchet ms,geneva" size="2">Are we talking about great college guys that couldn't make the jump or guys that showed some promise or had good years, but then tanked unexpectantly? Based on the players that you mentioned, I would say the latter and that would eliminate guys like Ryan Leaf or Ki-Jana Carter from this discussion, who never did crap in the NFL. </font></p>

    <font face="trebuchet ms,geneva" size="2">Michael Vick did enough with his legs to keep his job and had some good games throwing which made it difficult to sit himbecause his coaches had to be thinking,"What if he was getting ready to turn the corner passing wise?" We all saw Favre finally turn the corner and become a future Hall of Famer. However, Michael Vick would put together two or three good games and then go into the tank. You could count on it. I'm not sure, this late into his career, that he would ever turn the corner even if he doesn't go to jail.</font></p>

    <font face="trebuchet ms,geneva" size="2">I think that Ricky Williams might be the biggest waste of NFL talent ever. Playing wise, Ricky was already there, while people werestill waiting for MichaelVick to learn how to pass consistantly. As a Dolphin fan, I really wasn't looking for Williams to improve so much as to keep producingon a consistant level. Williams production did dip in his last full year, but I blame that more on the Dolphins poor line play andthe inability of Jay Feeble to produceconsistantly in the passing game.</font><font face="Trebuchet MS"><font size="2"><font size="+0"> </font></font></font></p>
     
  3. TheBeef

    TheBeef Commish of FUN!

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    Im basically looking for the guys that were the most talented but produced the least and I really didnt want to include guys whos career was crushed by injury(like Ki-Jana Carter or Trev Albert).....Mike Williams comes to mind, all the talent you would ever want, cant play in the league....Robert Gallery qualifies....still, ive never seen a guy with more tools than Vick, from a physical standpoint, that just never could squeeze the prodution out of it....
     
  4. Jonah

    Jonah Legend

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    Excuse my ignorance..but who was that NFL player who stoppped playing to travel and smoke weed..
     
  5. DolfanDale

    DolfanDale Active Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Theo)</div><div class='quotemain'>Excuse my ignorance..but who was that NFL player who stoppped playing to travel and smoke weed..</div></p>

    <font face="trebuchet ms,geneva" size="2">That was Ricky Williams, who used to play for the Miami Dolphins. </font>
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  6. TheBeef

    TheBeef Commish of FUN!

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Theo)</div><div class='quotemain'>Excuse my ignorance..but who was that NFL player who stoppped playing to travel and smoke weed..</div></p>

    </p>

    You must mean Smokey Williams....</p>

    [​IMG]</p>
     
  7. porky88

    porky88 King of Kings

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    Vick hasn't lived up to the hype but he was still managing to remain in the league and at least starting. I think he qualifies but I'm not sure if I would put him #1. Recently Ricky Williams has got to be up there. He was arguably one of the top 5 backs in the game and then he retired to do his thing and it's been downhill since then. He could've been a hall of fame running back in my opinion. In fact I think he was well on his way but he screwed it up big time.
     
  8. Denny Crane

    Denny Crane It's not even loaded! Staff Member Administrator

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    Marcus Fizer, former Bull and Bucks player has 13 kids, I think.</p>

    I'd call that doing the most with the least!</p>

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  9. Thoth

    Thoth Sisyphus in training

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    <font face="arial black,avant garde" size="3" color="#0000ff">Tony Mandarich then Ryan Leaf.</font></p>
     
  10. TheBeef

    TheBeef Commish of FUN!

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    Leaf is a guy that should on the list for sure....Mandarich was a guy that I considered, but the more I thought about him, the more I think his talents were inflated by steroids, which he had to get off of when he went to the NFL, and he lost his edge....the thing that would still sting me if I were a Packers fan is that they drafted him #2 overall and the next 3 picks were Barry Sanders, Deion Sanders, and Derreck Thomas
     
  11. ATLien

    ATLien Member

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    Yeah, I was going to say Leaf..</p>

    At least, Ricky Williams for a while was one of the best at his position before he "retired".</p>
     
  12. kcgsc

    kcgsc Chiefs Enthusiast Extraordinaire

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    <font face="comic sans ms,sand" size="4" color="#ffff00" style="background-color: #ff0000">I guess this is where I should beat my Tim Couch "dead horse".</font>
     
  13. ZAE

    ZAE Active Member

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    Rickey Williams is up there in football in my opinion</p>

    In basketball I'd have to say Len Bias</p>

    </p><div><object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" width="425" height="350"><param name="src" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/DtmqM2_KPW4&mode=related&search=" /><param name="width" value="425" /><param name="height" value="350" /><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/DtmqM2_KPW4&mode=related&search=" width="425" height="350"></embed></object></div>

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  14. Pack Attack

    Pack Attack The KISS Army

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>the thing that would still sting me if I were a Packers fan is that they drafted him #2 overall and the next 3 picks were Barry Sanders, Deion Sanders, and Derreck Thomas</div></p>

    Dude, you have no idea. I still remember the Sports Illustrated cover with Mandarich on it. It was titled "The Incredible Bulk." The pics were of him in a hot tub with his hottie wife/girlfriend at the time and talking about how he was the 2nd coming of Christ as a lineman.</p>

    I also remember an editorial cartoon in the Milwaukee Sentinel (now defunct) that featured a caricature of Mandarich holding up his jersey and saying "Durrr...it's spelled wrong" while holding up a Packers jersey that said "Man I'm Rich" on the back of it. At the time he signed, it was one of (if not the most) lucrative contracts in team history.</p>

    Dark, dark times... I still remember seeing him play for the Colts under Infante. That was just plain weird...</p>
     
  15. TheBeef

    TheBeef Commish of FUN!

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  16. Dre

    Dre At least we're friends.

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    I think people fail to realize Vick was never a sure thing as a passer, people mentioned that he had a nice arm, but honestly that was about all you could glean from his days at VT...when did he ever win games with his arm in College? People assumed he'd just come together as a complete NFL QB, but he never showed much outside of his big arm to warrant that IMO. He was always the runner with a huge arm. He hit the targets his scrambling ability opened up, and that's it.</p>

    All that said though, I don't think Vick is that bad. The season before last he had what, a 9 10 game INTless streak? When he's patient and not forcing things, he's still agood QB.It was unfair to think he'd ever be Peyton Tomlinson in the first place.</p>

    As far as the biggest wastes of talent, Ricky Williams is dissapointing, he had all the skills to be the best in the league for a good 6-7 year stretch...Mike Williams completely stinking is baffling as well, he was my favorite prospect in that draft, and he isn't even average. I don't know where all those skills and gifts he had went.</p>
     
  17. TheBeef

    TheBeef Commish of FUN!

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    Vick never really put it together and hes got the strongest arm in the league(or close to the strongest, I dont want to debate whos is strongest)....hes basically the most physically gifted QB I have ever seen but he plays like hes a mid to bottom lvl starter at the position....consider guys like Drew Brees that have less than half of Vicks talent but plays like hes top-5
     
  18. ATLien

    ATLien Member

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    Maurice Clarett should be mentioned as well. Dude dominated The Big 10 as a Freshman.</p>

    I think Mike Williams problem is 1.) he is playing in Detroit where they don't win and 2.) has had trouble staying in shape.</p>
     
  19. TheBeef

    TheBeef Commish of FUN!

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    Both those guys, Mike Williams and Maurice Clarett were guys that had success early in college, started reading thier own press clippings and stopped working hard....its one thing to me a fantastic natural athlete in college and dominate, its not possible in the NFL....everyone in the NFL was a fantastic natural athlete entering college(Kickers and Punters withstanding), but also worked thier butts off to develop as a player
     
  20. ATLien

    ATLien Member

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    I think that there are players in the NFL just getting by being fantastic athletes..
     

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