Albert Pujols, 1-day contracts & most overrated player ever

[Bryan]

We were talking about 1-day contracts in the Frank Gore thread, and I agreed with Turney about the baseless nature of the 1-day contract. This morning I was watching Sportscenter, they had baseball Cardinals highlights, Albert Pujols is introduced before the game in a Cards uniform to a standing ovation...I assume this is a 1-day contract thing, but no! Albert Pujols is still playing baseball and drawing a regular paycheck!! He unsurprisingly went 0-5 because he is old and no longer on PEDs.

Which leads to the next item...I feel that Albert Pujols is the most overrated player in MLB history due to a few different things, but who do you feel is the singular most overrated NFL player ever? I've seen Mike Singletary's named mentioned (limited physically, but helped by great supporting cast), Emmitt Smith (product of great OL), but would be interested in hearing other names.

[JeffreyMiller]

Joe Namath gets mentioned alot. Not sure I fully agree that he is THE MOST overrated ever, but he merits inclusion in the conversation. Another I never thought much of was Charlie Joiner. Always felt he was a possession receiver who got more hype than he deserved.
A modern player I'd bring up is Stephone Gilmore.

[7DnBrnc53]

Tom Brady, but nobody wants to hear it. I don't care.

[Reaser]

In the 20's sportswriters made athletes into myth. For a sport like baseball, we can look back at the numbers and they tell the story. Stats don't matter nearly as much in football and come with no context without being able to SEE what happened. But we know that's how stories were told, so we at least have and understand that context.

Now? Hype is at an all-time high and sports fan comprehension is at an all-time low. Making the most overrated player(s) surely having to come from modern/now times.

Everything is "that's the first time I've ever seen that!" when it happened in numerous HS games two days prior, 10 college games (including in the game(s) which everyone would have seen on TV) the day before and another NFL game that same day but announcer, twitter, news, tv, online, everyone is saying "that's the first time" they've ever seen it and it was the greatest thing to ever happen. Even though at the basic level of following the sport they all would have saw it more than once that day, multiple times that weekend and if they're really a fan of the sport they saw it 10+x that weekend. And that's just that weekend. They would have seen it the week before, the year before, and numerous times in their life.

"First time it's ever happened" or "first time anyone has ever done that" or "greatest [whatever] I've ever seen" and on and on. The hyperbole is matched by the sheer amount of coverage and of course matched by the society we live in where people inexplicably believe everything they hear on TV or see online and then repeat it to everyone they know as if it's indisputable fact.

Using it as an example, Patrick Mahomes no look pass(es). 'First player EVER, in football history, any level, and let us even facetiously hype it up even more and say first player in any sport ever, to throw a no-look pass.' When he did it people went crazy like it was inconceivable and he invented the mere thought of a no-look pass.

Never been done! Even though I saw a bad middle school QB do it in a game in 1996, even though I saw Favre's helmet aimed one way and him throw it the other multiple times, even though I grew up going to football camps every summer and later coached at one and saw a 100 different kids a year throwing no-look passes, apparently no one until Mahomes has even thought to attempt it, let alone do it.

That type of stuff leads to modern/now players being more hyped up, which means more overrated, by default.

[Gary Najman]

John Jefferson, he was great with the Chargers and Air Coryell, but then became ordinary when he went to the Packers, even that he had future Hall of Famer James Lofton as the other WR.

[BD Sullivan]

Receivers who reach triple digits in receptions for a season are hailed as a "future Hall of Famer" because the numbers dwarf what guys like Berry, Warfield, etc did. Never mind that the game has drastically changed from that earlier time.

[JeffreyMiller]

Receivers who reach triple digits in receptions for a season are hailed as a "future Hall of Famer" because the numbers dwarf what guys like Berry, Warfield, etc did. Never mind that the game has drastically changed from that earlier time.

Or the younger fans who like to tell us old farts that "Jim Brown would be just another back in today's game." I laugh when I think of Swede Youngstrom being a perennial All-Pro guard in the 1920s at 185 pounds ... OF COURSE he couldn't play in today's game ... you're missing the point!!

[Brian wolf]

There are very good to great players like Terrell Owens that are overrated and then players that should have been great but werent that can be overrated like Matt Stafford or Jeremy Shockey, etc.

[JohnTurney]

Hard to say overrated bu would say Barry Sanders is a running back I would
pick down the line after several others.

As a runner he's at the top of any list but his lack of blocking, lack of
being a top-notch receiver and lack of short-yardage and goal-line running
put him lower than some guys who had fewer rushing yards,

As a highlight runner he;s one of the top 2-3

But I like Payton, Faulk, LT, better

Same goes for Randy Moss, I like, Rice (not a surprise), Warfield, Alworth
even Harrison better . . . then Moss . . . while I see Moss #2 on lots of
lists . . .