OT: Who is your vote for most overrated or underrated/underappreciated athlete in any sport?
Simple question...someone who is widely praised but you feel is probably a bit overhyped.
Aside from OSU QBs, there are a number of NFL HOFers that I think are questionable as HOFers.
Kurt Warner..only played 3 complete seasons, and if you take away 99 and 01, he's about a .500 qb with no significant accomplishments. Now granted...those were 2 amazing seasons with one of the most prolific offensive minds/skill talent in the game. But you could make an argument that he wasn't the one who elevated them to greatness. And even still, that HOF resume seems a little thin.
Who's your pick?
April 22nd, 2023 at 11:34 AM ^
Wasn't Navarre a converted O-lineman pressed into QB service at a late hour after Henson was bribed away to baseball by Ohio alum Steinbrenner?
I agree that among Michigan fans Navarre is severely underrated, but saying Griese is overrated is nuts. He played a huge role in Michigan's only NC in our lifetimes.
Terrell Owens. Dude was a freak at wr. If not for his off field antics he would be viewed as all time wr. Should have been 1st ballot.
Overrated: Tiger Woods
Underrated: Jamal Crawford
I don't even know how to respond to someone saying Tiger Woods is overrated. It's not just the accomplishments, which are legendary on their own. Nobody in golf history has changed the game itself like Tiger.
Well at least you didn't respond with "you're racist!!" which is what someone told me when I thought Tiger Woods was overrated. I think he's overrated in the context that he was the athlete of the decade once. Also, he hasn't really done much over the past 10 plus years yet he still gets "the greatest" title.
I do think he was well on his way to being a true legend, but he couldn't keep his dick in his pants.
I always upvote a comment I respond to but it was a close call this time.
Tiger: while race is a fraught issue, I don't know why you brought it up. Maybe you saw it as a preemptive strike against what someone might respond. But your overall point is that you're considering Woods as an athlete, with no other issue—so why bring up another issue?
Couldn't keep his dick in his pants: doesn't that describe a huge number of pro athletes? It sounds as if this is a still other issue for you.
Because on this very blog I was called a racist for calling Tiger overrated a few years ago. That's why.
As for his infidelities. His transgressions are in the 100s of women. I'm willing the bet he is one of the worst in this regard. This includes allegedly his neighbors daughter, who was 14 when he first met her, but slept with her when she was 20. And because of this, he may be a borderline sociopath.
April 20th, 2023 at 11:01 PM ^
To paraphrase The Dude, "You're not a racist, Walter, you're just wrong."
April 21st, 2023 at 12:03 PM ^
which is what someone told me when I thought Tiger Woods was overrated.
Not only overrated but a dick too. Saw him push a kid out of his way during an event.
there was an entire cottage industry of 'tiger proofing' golf courses. No one can evaluate his play and impact on the sport and say 'overrated' with a straight face. Dislike him? sure. Think he's a skeeve? sure. Say he ruined his career with the weights and the scandals, etc? sure. But not overrated.
Jack Nicklaus is still beating Tiger in just about every major category, and I don't think Tiger Woods has it in him to at least get to 18 major victories (to tie Jack). Keep in mind, I would love to knock Jack Nicklaus (a Buckeye) down a peg or 2. Like I said, he was clearly on his way to being a true legend, but whether it was women, infidelities, or drugs (including PEDs), he squandered it all away. But yet even today, his legend status still stands. And that is why he is overrated.
The issue there is "on his way to being a legend". He already was. What he's done since, on and off the courses, hasn't tarnished his legendary status. Sure he didn't and won't catch Jack. Again, it doesn't tarnish his status it only allows us to say: "Wow, it could actually be even greater". But I'm not sure that's even the case.
I think your assessment is fair. From my standpoint, his legendary status was purely based on trajectory. In 2008, it was clear his trajectory was that he'd surpass every imaginable record in golf. He's not even close to surpass Jack Nicklaus in every major metric (as much as I'd love Tiger to do so).
So, Tiger Woods is one of the best golfers ever, no doubt. He could have really sealed his claim as the best golfer ever, but there are some doubts when comparing his stats to Jack Nicklaus. These doubts are rooted in Tiger Woods own behavior.
Kurt Warner..only played 3 complete seasons, and if you take away 99 and 01, he's about a .500 qb with no significant accomplishments.
Abraham Lincoln: only was president for four years, and if you take away all but one of those days, he was a failed Senate candidate that died young!
American marathon running --
overrated: Galen Rupp
Underrated: Scott Fauble
(puts Cleveland glasses on) Nobody gives Kevin Love enough credit as one of the best players in the NBA in the 2010s.
Sticking with NBA...
Underrated: Antawn Jamison, Sam Cassell, Fat Lever, Chauncey Billups,
Overrated: Paul Pierce, Karl Malone, Carmelo (and I'm a Carmelo fan)
Underrated: Rich Gannon
I thought he was really good
Underappreciated: Tom Brookens
To be fair, he still is my favorite Tiger of all-time. I believe there is a Tommy Brookens curse on the franchise and I'll die on this mustache-loving hill until someone proves otherwise.
The Tigers were tied for the best record in the MLB from 1980 through 1988 with the Yankees. Then, they traded Brookens to the Yanks for Charlie Hudson. The Tigers finished the 1989 season with the worst record in baseball and Hudson ended the season in the hospital after a drunk driving incident.
They don't sniff the playoffs until 2006. Guess who rejoined the franchise as a minor league coach in 2005? Tommy Freaking Brookens. He moves up to the big club and gets passed over for the managerial job in favor of Brad Ausmus. Tell me how the Tigers have done since then.
For a cherry on top, Jim Leyland brought Brookens onto his staff as a bench coach for the 2017 WBC, which Team USA won.
The Tigers better bring that man back in some type of front office role so we can get back to the playoffs.
"Big Shot Rob" Robert Horry. You win the title 7 times, you're doing something right.
Along the same vein - Charles Haley. One of the original "Edge" players, and a guy who won 5 super bowls playing as one of the best at a position that's widely considered the most important/valuable on NFL defenses. I'm not saying he's better than LT or anything, I'm saying he's underrated for not being in the conversation.
I believe Haley and Tom Brady are the only two players with 5+ Super Bowl rings
An interesting pair, as they are diametrically opposite players and personalities (though both great competitors)
I agree with Horry, but it does remind me of an anecdote from the 1990 NCAA Tournament.
Loyola Marymount played Alabama in the Sweet 16. Horry had a clear look at a game-winning buzzer beater. But he MISSED that particular "big shot." LMU advances on.
Proof that LMU had someone looking over them for those first 3 games (until the Devil, in the form of UNLV, said to hell with that).
Overrated I would say A-Rod and underrated I would say either Thomas Muller from Bayern Munich or Scottie Pippen.
Most underrated:
Tiger- Lou Whitaker
Lion- Brett Perriman
Red Wing- Chris Osgood
Piston- Joe Dumars
Michigan football wolverine- Brandon Graham
Michigan basketball wolverine- MAAR
April 21st, 2023 at 12:05 PM ^
Red Wing- Chris Osgood
Should be in the HoF
Not the player, but the moment - Jackie Robinson's straight steal of home right under Yogi Berra's tag should be on the back of the 10 dollar bill - I know they lost the game but a 35 year old clearly past his prime pulling that off in a WS they ultimately won, and not just any 35 years but Jackie MFing Robinson, a guy larger than baseball - we need to talk about this every year on Jackie Robinson Day.
Overrated: Craig Krenzel’s academic achievements.
For as much as his academic prowess was hyped, I’d have thought he’d be a multiple Nobel, rocket surgeon by now. I looked it up, nope, sports radio commenter in columbus.
April 20th, 2023 at 11:07 PM ^
Hey, that dude was a scientist:
How about this one - Alexander Mogilny. Scored 76 goals (!) in 92-93 but not in the Hockey Hall of Fame. Also has a Stanley Cup ring with the Devils and was a pioneer of Russian players in the NHL. For whatever reason he doesn't get the respect of Federov, Bure, and other 90s/00s Russians.
Mogilny not being in the Hockey Hall of Fame is not right.
I know he had (and still has) a reputation for being a bit of an oddball, and a bit lazy.
But he and Fetisov are Numbers 1 and 1A in terms of their impact on the game, both on-ice and more importantly, their fight for freedom and Soviets getting to play in the NHL.
Fetisov is a revered all-time hockey great. Mogilny's not even in the HoF. It's odd, because I don't think there's that much of a difference between the two.
Jadeveon Clowney in that one play where he mowed down a player who was barely taller than me.
And if I may add: while unblocked
Unless you're like 5'4 you were probably taller than him. Totally agree, that play is hilariously over hyped. 300 pound man destroys 170 pound man, what a shock!
Most overrated: David Beckham. On the pitch he was world-class in a single minor aspect of the game -- free kicks -- and he always considered a tier or two or three higher than he ever deserved to be than his play warranted because he was both English and attractive.
Beckham had the reputation that Dennis Bergkamp deserved.
Most underrated: Pavel Datsyuk. Datsyuk is not exactly overlooked (ranked #43 on The Athletic's NHL 99 rankings of the best modern hockey players), but there was a run in the mid-aughts where he was every bit as good of a hockey player as Ovechkin and Crosby, yet he's constantly looked-over when it comes to ranking players from his era like Patrick Kane (#41), Jerome Iginla (#34), Joe Thornton (#32), or Evgeni Malkin (#26).
This is wild--via Evolving Hockey, Crosby only passed Datsyuk in Goals Above Replacement THIS YEAR, after Datsyuk's retirement from the NHL in 2016. This data captures Datsyuk's later years and misses much of his prime. pic.twitter.com/40fJQ1cTcG
— Michael Stanford 🇺🇸🇺🇸🌻🌻 (@HalfAgain) February 22, 2019
Patrice Bergeron or Anze Kopitar are similarly underrated for me.
I might be mistaken, but isn’t Bergkamp’s rep quite high amongst those who actually follow the sport closely?
Beckham got way more celebrity attention than his profile merited, but he wasn’t just a free kick guy. His passing was legendary for good reason, and he was an elite goal contribution midfielder for years, with stats that compare well to other recent vintage greats like Andrea Pirlo.
Of course, to your point, everyone knows who Beckham is, but far fewer know Pirlo, or for that matter his superior Real midfield-mates Zidane and Luis Figo.
Very good point about Datsyuk. I remain amused and gratified that the 2002 team that was so publicized with its HOF guys on the roster turned out to have another HOF guy that was as good or better than several of them.
Trevor Lawrence is amazingly overrated at the moment for going a whopping 9-8 in the worst division in football and then throwing 100 picks and somehow beating LA anyway.
Austin Ekeler is a super under appreciated player to me. I think he gives you nearly as much value as any other back in the league rn. I hope he gets paid.
Despite these answers and my username I'm actually not a Chargers fan lol
lol, he threw for over 4,100 yards and had 25 TDs to 8 picks (compared to 17 when Urbz was his coach).
He's overrated if you're putting him in the Mahomes, Allen, Burrow conversation.
But other than Jackson, Herbert and probably Hurts...there's not another QB that I'd take over him in the entire league.
Quarterback wins are a stupid stat
Underrated
Chris Osgood and Pavel Datsyuk
Mikaela Shiffrin is the greatest skier in history and 95% of the people on here have never heard her name...plus she happens to be a babe...
Underrated: Jaylen Harrell
I'll do, Michigan...because, WTH, why not?
Overrated? Devin Garnder (this pains me) or DJ Durkin (this doesn't)
Underrated? Jeremy Gallon or Jay Harbaugh
------------
Overrated? Hunter Dickinson (sorry) or Iggy Brazdekis...I still think Hunter.
Underrated? Derrick Walton? Jordan Morgan? MAAR?...I'll go with MAAR.
...this was not fun.
April 20th, 2023 at 10:25 PM ^
Overrated? Hunter Dickinson (sorry) or Iggy Brazdekis...
Iggy played the star
Jamming good with Poole and Matthews
One year after MAAR
He dribbled left hand
But drove it too far
He left to join the draft
Should've stayed and honed his craft
April 21st, 2023 at 12:13 PM ^
Overrated? Devin Garnder (this pains me)
I find it hilarious people dunk on Gardner to this day.
Dude was the #5 rated QB in the COUNTRY.
Then he went through multiple (incompetent) coaching and position changes -- and never complained about it publicly once.
Gardner almost single-handedly beat ohio and doing so on a broken foot -- for that alone, Gardner should be revered with Carter, Howard, Leach, etc. in Michigan lore.
Your post is bad and you should feel ashamed.
Chubbs Patterson under rated
Underrated: Lou Whitaker and Chris Osgood
Overrated: John Stockton and Karl Malone
Sandy Kofax and bo Jackson. They did not have the longevity but in their primes probably best ever in their sport.
Not an all timer but always underrated and unappreciated was Tony Phillips. He got on base like no one else.