Mt. "Roushless" of draft-busts quarterbacks

[Jay Z]

Though he showed flashes and stuck around the league for a while I think Jeff George belongs in the discussion.

Maybe for underachieving, but he threw 9 TDs in the playoffs! He had his moments.

[JWL]

Todd Marinovich belong on the discussion?

Not for Mt. Flushmore. The Raiders were not set back by taking Marinovich. He was a bust, no doubt, but not at the level of some of those other terrible quarterbacks.

[7DnBrnc53]

One telling comment about Phipps came from Blanton Collier, who came back in 1976 as the Browns QB coach. He later noted that Phipps wasn't all that interested in putting in all the work that was needed--the opposite of the less-physically gifted Sipe.

That backs up what I heard about him.

I also heard that he wasn't a super-great prospect coming out of college. The Bears passed him up, and the Steelers weren't that in to him, either. In the book The Super 70's by Tom Danyluk, Art Rooney, Jr. basically said that they would have traded out of the #2 pick if they lost the Bradshaw Super Flip because they weren't that high on Phipps.

[JohnTurney]

1947 6th pick of Packers: Ernie Case,
1949 2nd pick of draft: John Rauch,
1950 7th pick in draft: Travis Tidwell,
1951 2nd pick in the draft: Bobby Williams,
1952 12th pick in the draft: Harry Agganis
1953 3rd pick in the draft: Jack Scarbath
1954 1st pick in the draft: Bobby Garrett

[bachslunch]

Worth mentioning some early QB high draft busts who could be Mt. Flushmore wannabes such as Terry Baker, George Izo, Jerry Tagge, Bobby Garrett, Jack Scarbath, Ted Marchibroda, Bob Williams, George Shaw, Don Allard, Randy Duncan, and Lee Grosscup. The last three were drafted high in the first round in 1959, and all bombed in the pros.

[bachslunch]

1947 6th pick of Packers: Ernie Case,
1949 2nd pick of draft: John Rauch,
1950 7th pick in draft: Travis Tidwell,
1951 2nd pick in the draft: Bobby Williams,
1952 12th pick in the draft: Harry Agganis
1953 3rd pick in the draft: Jack Scarbath
1954 1st pick in the draft: Bobby Garrett

Harry Agganis was of course a really interesting case, a two-sport star who opted to play pro baseball instead. He spent one year in the majors as a first baseman before dying suddenly of a pulmonary embolism after a bout with pneumonia.

[BD Sullivan]

Bobby Garrett was an example of the weak scouting of the era. Ironically, the choice (a bonus pick to start the 1954 draft) was made by Paul Brown, who usually had good drafts. What made the choice so bad was that Brown didn't even know that Garrett stuttered (a pretty bad issue for a QB) until he got to training camp.

[bachslunch]

Looked further at that 1959 draft class. There were actually four QBs taken in the first round that year. Randy Duncan and Don Allard both opted to play in the CFL, then came back briefly to the AFL -- neither ever played in the NFL. Lee Grosscup played three very undistinguished seasons with the Giants. The most successful career was actually had by Dave Baker, who played three years not at QB but as a DB with the 49ers, making the pro bowl once (1959) and named consensus 2nd team all pro once (1960).

[oldecapecod11]

1947 6th pick of Packers: Ernie Case,
1949 2nd pick of draft: John Rauch,
1950 7th pick in draft: Travis Tidwell,
1951 2nd pick in the draft: Bobby Williams,
1952 12th pick in the draft: Harry Agganis
1953 3rd pick in the draft: Jack Scarbath
1954 1st pick in the draft: Bobby Garrett

Harry Agganis was of course a really interesting case, a two-sport star who opted to play pro baseball instead. He spent one year in the majors as a first baseman before dying suddenly of a pulmonary embolism after a bout with pneumonia.

Thank you, Mr. Bach,
Harry Agganis can hardly be considered a "bust." Most busts do not have huge complexes named in their honor
and memory. The Agganis Arena sits as part of a larger complex - a huge area known as John Hancock
Student Village which has towering dormitories and a 5-story fitness and recreation center.
John Hancock was not a bust either and sent a rather large message to King George III.

He simply chose a bonus of $10,000 more than was offered by Cleveland's Paul Brown and played another sport
he loved in his home town of Boston for the revered Tom Yawkey.
His desire to compete by playing too soon following an illness probably led to his death after just one season.
That is not the the action of a "bust" - in any endeavor - and to consider it so is far less than accurate.

{EDITED BY MODERATOR}

Thank you again for highlighting Agganis' achievements before his untimely passing and aiding in the correction
of an extremely erroneous and unfair statement. But, we have seen those often in the past.

As Lord Wellington once remarked at a gathering when snubbed by French officers,
"I have seen their backs before."

[JohnH19]

Jeff George wasn't a bust, especially when compared to the other names previously mentioned, but his career was an overall disappointment. His personality seemed to be somewhat off-putting, kind of like Jay Cutler's, but, despite that, he did have some very good seasons.

I was shocked and perplexed when my Vikings let George go after his excellent 1999 season. He seemed very comfortable in purple throwing to Moss and Carter. Luckily, the performance of a raw, unproven Daunte Culpepper, in only his sophomore season, saved the 2000 Vikes from what I thought would be certain disaster...until the NFC Championship Game.

David Klingler was another Cincinnati bust at 6th overall in the '92 draft.