The Most Underappreciated NFL Stars

by NYCowboy on Oct 7, 2008 9:46 AM CDT

This past Sunday, the 49ers honored Steve Young with a halftime ceremony retiring his number. I always thought that despite his numerous accomplishments, Young was never appreciated as much as he should have been. It got us thinking here at The Fantasy Sports Forum about some excellent NFL players who never quite received the credit they probably should have. Here is our top ten list:

10. Phil Simms, QB, New York Giants: Not the strongest arm or the fastest runner, but an excellent leader who got the job done and had one of the greatest Super Bowl games of any quarterback. Could play for my team anytime.

9. Art Monk, WR, Washington Redskins: Yeah I know he was just elected to the Hall of Fame, but it took about 15 years for him to get there - even though when he retired he was the NFL leader in receptions. Wasn't flashy, didn't call attention to himself, just caught the football and kept the chains moving.

8. Jeff Garcia, QB, San Francisco 49ers: Had the impossible job of making 49er fans forget Joe Montana and Steve Young - good luck. His arm is nothing special, but all he does is win. I'm not sure anyone knows why, but he just has that something special.

7. John Taylor, WR, San Francisco 49ers: Maybe he was able to put up all those numbers because opposing defenses were worried about Jerry Rice, but he was a highlight machine himself, regularly turning five yard slants into 60 yard touchdowns. The perfect complement to Rice in that he didn't need the spotlight to shine on himself.

6. Drew Pearson, WR, Dallas: One of the best receivers of the 70s and a leader of the Cowboys. Best known for the Hail Mary completion against Minnesota in the playoffs. Has very similar numbers to Hall of Famer Lynn Swann and should probably be there himself.

Read the rest here: http://thefantasysportsforum.com/article.php?ID=449

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Comments

I would add Jay Novacek to that list.

I think the guy helped redefine the TE position.

by Baked Potato Soup on Oct 7, 2008 11:25 AM CDT reply actions

Danny White

Good call there…

Cowboys fan since 1978.. I was 3 years old

by Mullin on Oct 7, 2008 1:24 PM CDT reply actions

White would have been a HOFer with a couple SB rings

if he had the type of defenses Troy and Roger had. The Cowboys defenses in the early ’80s were not that good, we were all offense back then.

In Romo we Trust

by Terry on Oct 9, 2008 11:34 AM CDT up reply actions

Two Easy Additions

ken Anderson is the best QB not in the Hall, and better than several who are there.

Don Hutson was the greatest wide receiver of all time. No other receiver has ever led the league in receiving yards as many time as he did, nor has any receiver redefined the role as dramatically. He was the Babe Ruth of his era, a pioneer that laid the foundation for the modern era.

Don’t like Art Monk on the list; he was just a durable possession receiver. The Redskins had many weapon in their Gibbs glory days that scared me, but was never one of them.

by kindablue on Oct 7, 2008 2:46 PM CDT reply actions