Most Overrated Athletes In the NFL

Some of these were a lot tougher than others, but all of these players are not quite as good as advertised.

Quarterback
Carson Palmer               Arizona Cardinals
Carson Palmer had mild success in Cincinnati and the team got much better after he left. At the time he was considered the 3rd best QB in the league which was and still is a complete joke. This guy was never a top QB and was never the answer, but teams keep giving him a shot. After failing to bring success to the Raiders, Palmer's newest victim is the Arizona Cardinals. He just threw another interception as I wrote this also.


Runningback
Reggie Bush                   Detroit Lions
Reggie Bush is the most overrated prospect of all-time. I will never forget how much nonsense the Texans got for passing on this guy for a much better football player. Reggie Bush is electrifying, but his skillset is limited. He has to be used the right way to be effective and he is very replaceable. Far from the game changer he was pumped up to be and still is pumped up to be by many.

Wide Receiver
Dez Bryant                     Dallas Cowboys
Roddy White                  Atlanta Falcons
Percy Harvin                  Seattle Seahawks
Dez Bryant is a great receiver, but some consider him the #2 receiver in the game. He was also ranked as the 35th best player in the entire league which is a joke. Good football player, but not elite like he is made out to be. Call me when he does something in the playoffs, if the Cowboys ever make it there.
Roddy White might be the biggest idiot in the NFL. His most recent offense was saying an entire jury should kill themselves. Seriously where does this guy get off telling another human to take their life. Roddy White is credited by many as being the top threat in Atlanta's passing game, but he isn't. Julio Jones and even Tony Gonzalez at times create far bigger matchup problems than White. He is good, but again not elite. Having Matt Ryan definitely helps Roddy out too.
Percy Harvin may be the most overrated player I can remember. He is supposed to be this amazing gamebreaker, but can't stay on the field. Now for the Seahawks, Harvin is again hurt. He has to produce before he can be the difference maker that he is made out to be. He does not make the Seahawks the favorite.





Tight End
Jason Witten                   Dallas Cowboys
I wrote a detailed piece just on Witten a few days ago. Click on the Jason Witten tab at the bottom of this post if you want to read it.

Offensive Tackle
Russell Okung                 Seattle Seahawks
D'Brickashaw Ferguson   New York Jets
Russell Okung made the Pro Bowl, but he wasn't on the field every game again this year. This guy should have to be on the field to make a Pro Bowl. Okung was named a starter over Trent Williams in the Pro Bowl even though Williams is a much better player. Donald Penn is also better than Okung.
D'Brickashaw is considered by some the best Jets player and one of the best tackles in the game. Ferguson is neither of those and until Jake Long left could be considered the weakest starting tackle in the AFC East.


Guard
Maurice Pouncey             Miami Dolphins
Richie Incognito               Miami Dolphins
Richie Incognito made the Pro Bowl somehow need I say more.
Much like his brother Maurice Pouncey has a reputation for being an amazing lineman. He is good, but not great. More than that he obviously is not the brightest as evidenced by the picture to the right.

Center
Maurkice Pouncey            Pittsburgh Steelers
See the write-up for his brother Maurice.

Defensive Tackle
Geno Atkins                     Cincinnati Bengals
Jay Ratliff                          Dallas Cowboys
Geno Atkins is considered by some the best defensive tackle in football. However, if you have been following Atkins during his career, he just is not as good as some others. I just saw video of him getting destroyed by Jermaine Gresham in training camp also. Gresham is a tight end and shouldn't be able to destroy an elite tackle like that. The fact that some consider him better than Ngata is enough to make him overrated in my opinion though.
Jay Ratliff once made a Pro Bowl over BJ Raji. Has there ever been a bigger Pro Bowl snub?

Defensive End
Jason Babin                       Jacksonville Jaguars
Jason Pierre-Paul               New York Giants
Jason Babin was at one point considered a top DE in the NFL. Seriously? The Eagles wised up and cut him last year, but the fact that this guy got that deal and was considered one of the best DE's in football was a joke.
Jason Pierre-Paul is considered a top 5 DE, but why? He is not that good and shouldn't be as high as he is in the top 100.

Linebacker
Justin Houston  and Tambi Hali          
Kansas City Chiefs
Stephen Tulloch              
Detroit Lions
The Kansas City Chiefs had three Pro Bowl linebackers last year. Are you serious? A team with 2 wins had three players from the same unit in the Pro Bowl. Two of these players made the Top 100. I left one of these off because I wanted to include Stephen Tulloch on my overrated list, but this unit is the most overrated group in football. Especially Justin Houston.

Stephen Tulloch was ranked the #51 player in all of football. Tulloch affected the game so much that he never seems to make an impact. The guy doesn't impact the game as much as Kuechley despite a much better defensive line, but somehow he is rated as a better player than the Panthers middle linebacker. He is rated better than every inside linebacker not named Patrick Willis. That is a crime.

Corner
Prince Amukamara               New York Giants
Richard Sherman                  Seattle Seahawks
Prince was supposed to help the Giants secondary return to the Super Bowl. Instead, he was part of the weakest unit on the team. The Giants secondary, especially Amukamara was the reason the team failed to make the playoffs. Amukamara got burned far too often and hopes not to be the Giants' Achilles' Heel this year.
Richard Sherman is considered the best corner in football by many, but quarterbacks challenge Sherman for a reason. They don't do the same with guys like Revis. The true shutdown corners in football. Sherman also tested positive for PEDs and blamed the tester, now where have we seen that before?

Safety
Troy Polamalu                      Pittsburgh Steelers
Eric Berry                             Kansas City Chiefs
At one time, I considered Troy Polamalu the best player in all of football. I still respect Polamalu as a football player. However, I have to be honest and he isn't the same player. He no longer is a top 100 player in this league. Polamalu is still a fantastic football player, but he shouldn't be a Pro Bowler and he shouldn't be a top 100 guy. He's lost a step and just isn't the same guy that dominated the game every snap.
Eric Berry is not the best safety in football. I am told that he is constantly, but it isn't true. He is a good player, but he isn't the best. How could the Chiefs go 2-14 if they have multiple guys that are the best at their positions. This must be the best 2-14 team in NFL history. Yes, their QB situation was awful, but the Chiefs have a lot of overrated players. The only Chiefs player more overrated than Berry is Justin Houston.

-Noland

Most Overrated Athletes In the NBA

The overrated basketball list was my easiest to make. These guys are all severely overrated in my opinion. Especially that first guy on the list.

Point Guard
Steve Nash          
Los Angeles Lakers
Steve Nash is incredibly overrated. This guy should not be considered one of the best point guards in the league. Heck, I'm not positive he is the best point guard on his team. The guy might be the worst defensive starting point guard in the league. It is a complete joke that this guy was an MVP, let alone a two time MVP. The biggest joke was when the Lakers were considered a title favorite largely because of his acquisition, whoops. Going forward, Steve Blake is a better point guard in my opinion.

Shooting Guard
Eric Gordon            New Orleans Hornets
Eric Gordon's talent is the biggest reason that he was traded for Chris Paul. However, that is all he is, the guy doesn't show up. He isn't even on the court. Has this guy played at all for New Orleans? Sure, he has been hurt, but does lack of durability make him less overrated. It is all about producing on the court. The Clippers get rid of him and take off and the Hornets get him and tank. The guy has to produce on the court.

Small Forward
Danny Granger        Indiana Pacers
I got nothing against Danny Granger, but the fact that people still say he is the Pacers best player is a complete joke. The team pushed the Miami Heat to the brink without Granger for the entire season. They went all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals and nearly won it all. Getting him back could make them the title favorite, but Paul George is a much better player than Danny Granger and proved it last year.

Power Forward
Blake Griffin             Los Angeles Clippers
Blake Griffin is by far the best player on this list, but he is not as good as he is made out to be. He has been an all-star starter, but what makes him one of the two best forwards in the West? I certainly don't think he is one of the top two guys. My vote would go towards Durant and Duncan. Sure, Duncan is older, but Griffin has done nothing in big games. I think Zach Randolph shows up much more in the clutch than Blake Griffin as well. Great player, but there are quite a few forwards that are better. Blake Griffin is even overrated in the Dunk Contest as evidenced in this picture. This dunk won Griffin the contest.

Center
Kendrick Perkins      Oklahoma City Thunder
Remember when the Perkins-Green trade was supposedly bad for the Celtics. Anyone that would rather have Perkins over Jeff Green is absolutely crazy. Green would have been a great 2nd option for the Thunder when Westbrook went down. Instead, they got to see Kendrick Perkins disappear in the playoffs. The guy is an average center, but many act like he is one of the best or acted like it in the past. Heck, he might be below average.

-Noland

Most Overrated Athletes In MLB

Doing an overrated list isn't as fun because it is putting down incredibly gifted athletes, but it can be even more telling and have people take a second look. That being said, enjoy my list of overrated baseball players.

Pitcher
CC Sabathia         New York Yankees
What does Sabathia's massive contract get you? A 9-9 record and a 4.65 ERA. The guy is a great pitcher, but he is not the top 5 pitcher he is made out to be. Maybe in the past he was, but not right now. Clayton Kershaw is the best pitcher in the game right now, anybody that says otherwise just does not know.

Catcher
AJ Pierzynski         Texas Rangers
AJ Pierzynski is overrated offensively and defensively. The guy just does not have to glove of Wieters or Perez. He also doesn't have the pop of Wieters and isn't as consistent with the bat as Perez. Despite having better protection in the lineup than Perez, Pierzynski doesn't outproduce him. His skills are also in decline and he won't be catching much longer.

1st Base
Adam Laroche      Washington Nationals
Adam Laroche has the 33rd best average of those playing 1st this year. I don't think there are 33 paid higher than Laroche. Chris Davis among others make far less than Adam Laroche. The Nationals are not getting very good value for his production.With 46 RBIs though he is almost at half of Davis's total so far.

2nd Base
Brandon Phillips    Cincinnati Reds
Brandon Phillips is one of my favorite players and a great baseball player. He is not however an all-star level player this year and definitely not an all-star starter. If it was just defense than maybe, but he is nowhere near Carpenter among others on the production scale.

Shortstop
Jhonny Peralta       Detroit Tigers
Jhonny Peralta is not a good defensive shortstop. There is no way he is a better SS than Elvis Andrus and it is a joke that he was selected to the all-star game over Andrus. Add unto that the Biogenesis link and Peralta belongs on this list.

3rd Base
Chase Headley       San Diego Padres
This guy is constantly mentioned in trade rumors as a team's answer at 3rd base. Most of those teams have better answers at 3rd base though. The Tigers have Cabrera, the Orioles have Machado, the Rangers Beltre, the Rays Longoria, the Giants Sandoval, the Red Sox Iglesias, the A's Donaldson, and on and on. Why would these teams want to give up top picks for an inferior player in Headley?

Outfield
Jose Bautista         Toronto Blue Jays    RF
BJ Upton               Atlanta Braves         CF
Melky Cabrera      Toronto Blue Jays    LF

I can't stand Jose Bautista. There aren't many players that irritate me more than JoeyBats. Why was this guy an all-star starter? He didn't deserve it. He is a liability in the field and hasn't been doing to hot with the bat. He is only hitting .251 which is 35th among right fielders. Not outfielders, right fielders.

BJ Upton needs no words. The guy may be the most overpaid player in baseball not named A-Rod or Pujols. He isn't even hitting .200.

Melky Cabrera has been caught multiple times with steroids and is linked to Biogenesis. He should be out of the game. For now he will just be overrated as another guy that the Blue Jays gave way too much money.

DH

David Ortiz             Boston Red Sox

My thoughts on Ortiz are well documented. The guy for some reason gets a pass, but he shouldn't. If you can't stand A-Rod and Braun than Ortiz should also fit into that category. Look at the Ortiz label for more on Big Papi.

-Noland

Yes, Jason Witten IS Overrated

I decided to post my last blog entry about underrated NFL players on facebook. As always, not everything was 100% popular with everyone. I got some positive feedback, but one comment stood out above others. One of my friends whose opinion I value a great deal said that I had the wrong tight end. He said it was somebody that I thought was overrated. This individual said that Jason Witten was the most underrated tight end and I disagree strongly. Therefore, I decided to do a little preview of my overrated list and go into a really in depth look of why I believe Jason Witten is overrated.

Look, Jason Witten is a very talented football player. He is consistently good and I am not trying to say this guy stinks. This guy is great and is my mom's favorite football player (she's a Cowboys fan). However, I hear far too often that he is an all-time great tight end and possibly the top 5 all-time. The guy is nowhere near top 5 all-time and isn't even top 10 all-time. He is good, but overrated currently and definitely all-time. I will break down several areas of his game and stats to try and prove my point.

First, let's start with playoffs, because that is the biggest argument against Witten. Jason Witten has been to the playoffs three times in his career and won 1 playoff game. Obviously, he can't control all of that himself, but it is a factor. Let's examine Witten's numbers in those playoff games though for a better look at the player. In the Cowboys only postseason win during his tenure Witten caught 4 balls for 27 yards. That is far from historically great. His only "good" postseason performance was the next game when he caught 10 balls for 98 yards. Only problem with that is it didn't help the team at all as he had 0 touchdowns and the team lost 34-3. In typical Witten fashion the catches were not in crucial situations and didn't account for much. He missed 3 balls in more critical situations that game. In four career playoff games Witten has caught more than 4 passes once and 0 touchdowns. Much like during the regular season Witten just doesn't seem to be able to find the end zone.

You can't fault the guy for postseason performance only though, so what does he do in the regular season? In 10 seasons, Witten has caught 806 passes for 8,948 yards, and 44 touchdowns. With more than 8,948 yards you would expect more than 44 touchdowns, but I digress. Needless to say in this passing era where some tight ends are catching 20+ TD's a year; Witten has never caught more than 9 touchdowns in a season. He has totaled over 7 touchdowns in a season only once. If scoring is the most important thing you can do, Witten has fallen very short. Over his career, Witten averages 80.6 catches a season, with 895 yards and 4.4 touchdowns. Compare those stats to the best tight end of this era, Tony Gonzalez, and Witten's stats are crushed in yards in touchdowns.

Over his career, Tony Gonzalez has more than double Witten's touchdowns in only 6 more seasons. For instance just this past season Gonzo had 8 touchdowns and Witten had just three. That is with Matt Ryan also having to get the ball to White and Jones. Yes, I know Ryan is a better QB than Romo, but still. Although Witten had more receptions, he had half the TD production. Witten was thrown the ball 36 more times, but only had 17 more catches than Gonzo. Gonzalez averaged .6 more yards per catch so seemingly they were more difficult passes. Over his career Gonzo has averaged .4 more yards per catch than Witten. Not to mention that Gonzalez is 6 years older than Witten and still outproducing him. However, it was Witten that was higher on the Top 100 this year. Witten was #41 and Gonzalez was #47. Do we honestly think Witten is better than Gonzalez? I don't at least. This season Gonzalez had touchdowns in both his playoff games.

Well, just because he isn't better than Gonzalez, doesn't mean he isn't all time great, right?
It doesn't, but the fact that he is rated higher than Gonzalez currently and doesn't outproduce him is a signal that he might be overrated. Let's look at other tight end production in this era because Gonzalez may not be the best season. In 3 seasons a tight end that did not make the Pro Bowl and was not in the Top 100 (Jimmy Graham) has had 25 touchdowns. Graham has averaged more than 8 touchdowns a year and Witten has gotten more than 8 TD's once.
In 7 seasons Vernon Davis, who is a much better blocker than Witten, has 40 touchdowns. Davis has 4 less touchdowns than Witten in 3 less seasons. Davis scored two touchdowns in each postseason game of 2011 and added another one this year as well.
In 3 seasons, Rob Gronkowski has never had less than 10 touchdowns (something Witten has never done) and has 38 on his career. If healthy, Gronk will likely pass Witten's total this year.
In 8 seasons, my choice for most underrated player, Heath Miller has 39 touchdowns. Those 39 touchdowns are only 5 less than Witten in 2 less seasons. Miller like Davis is a much better blocker than Witten. Miller also has 4 postseason touchdowns and two super bowl rings (something Witten likely never will have).
In 11 injury riddled seasons, Todd Heap, another guy that blocked better than Witten, had 42 touchdowns. Heap also had awful QB play and helped get his team consistently in the playoffs.
My choice for #6 tight end all-time is Ben Coates who had 50 touchdowns in 11 seasons. Coates retired in 2000 after winning a Super Bowl with the Baltimore Ravens. He retired in 2000, long before the passing explosion as of late. Coates was a mauler as a blocker compared to Witten.

Factoring everything in there is no way Jason Witten is a top 5 all-time tight end. Heck, I would say he isn't as good as Heath Miller. He is a great player, but is overrated. No way is he better than these guys.
1. Tony Gonzalez
2. Shannon Sharpe
3. Kellen Winslow Sr.
4. John Mackey
5. Ozzie Newsome
6. Ben Coates
7. Dave Casper
8. Mike Ditka
9. Todd Christensen
10. Antonio Gates
Not sure, I have the correct order, but those are the 10 best tight ends ever. Gates has twice as many touchdowns as Witten in the same amount of seasons also. That's why he is at #10.
There are more and there are more comparisons I could make, but for now, just know that Jason Witten is one of the most overrated players in football. Hey, he's a Cowboy, what do you expect?

-Noland