As the Hall of Fame selection comes closer, to me it is amazing that Issac Bruce is not there.
He was so close to #2 of all-time to receiving yardage and the guys that passed him up did so in a more modern era, but he still sticks at 5 trailing
Rice, Fitzgerald, Owens, Moss
He had the book end long touchdowns in the Rams superbowl season and should have been selected MVP in the superbowl with that great adjustment on the game winning catch. He played great with bad teams and great with the great teams. He is a complete player and the ultimate overachiever. A skinny little guy that isn't the strongest, best jumper, fastest, but was an expert professional at his position and probably made himself the best route runner in the history of the NFL.
so here goes the lists
Underrated
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1) Issac Bruce - Already sad
2) London Fletcher - Another overachiever that was everywhere on the football field and racked up tackles.
3) Cooper Kupp - Folks still don't get how the drop off of the Rams in the 2nd half was related to the loss of this great player.
4) Az Hakim - When kurt Warner lost Az Hakim's ability to make something out of nothing to keep drives going and provide a threat that freed up space for the stars, the offense dropped off. 2002 dropoff had more to do with Hakim leaving than people realize. Of course, Faulk starting to break down was big too.
5) Robert Quinn - That guy could not be stopped for a few years, but played on just an awful team so it was lost. He never got the limelight for his dominance.
6) Kevin Curtis - This guy came into the league behind Bruce and Holt, but when he played he put up big plays. I believe in games that he started he would have projected to have been like a 1300 yard receiver. He goes to the Eagles and becomes that 1100 yard receiver, but got cancer. Tremendous player that was under the radar.
7) Adam Archuletta - This guy was a border line pro bowler and was a big part of the big defenses in 2001 and 2003. He had health issues that brought him down early in his career, but fans acted like he couldn't play. He was a good player prior the health issues.
8) Robert Holcomb - He gave up his carries to Faulk when he arrived but took on the position change and did it without complaining and was part of the superbowl win. I always thought he did a great down that year in making that adjustment.
9) Will Witherspoon - He was so active on defense and could move like London Fletcher in covering the field.
10) Sean McDonald - McDonald was another one that did well in a role as a #4 WR. He was so much better than a guy like these recent receivers that Rams fans seem to navigate to for these role WRs. When he went to Detriot, he was on the verge of a 1000 yards, had like 900+, which is something no Rams WR did over a decade. Put it this way, Curtis and McDonald are like all pros compared to fan favorites Cooper and Reynolds.
11) Roger Saffold - I think Rams fans never could erase the bitter taste of him getting hurt all the time, but this guy has turned into quite the player.
12) Ryan Picket / Lewis - Fans act like these guys were scrubs, but they played in the league as starters for like 10 years, signed big contracts, went to superbowls, etc. While they may not have lived up to 1st round status, not many do. Most teams draft poorly and while these guys weren't stars, they had successful NFL careers. Fans don't realize that 1st rounders are normally not pro bowlers and many times don't even play much or many years. Almost all teams draft poorly.
13) Trung Canidate - This one will be unpopular, but I put it here because of context. His 5.7 yards per carry in 2001 is still the best for a Rams runningback with a reasonable number of yards for 20 years. Yes, the very best. His problem was health, but when I see fans celebrate Benny Cunningham going for like 3 big plays in 2 seasons (That being a touchdown or a play over 20 yards) and be so down on Trung, it is a head scratcher. Trung had 6 tds and 5 runs of 20 yards in 1 season in a backup role. Had he been the #1 RB that year, I am certain, he would have been a pro bowl candidate.
Overrated
1) Benny Cunningham - In 4 years, he has 0 touchdowns and 3 plays of more than 20 yards and fans act like he is a starting caliber RB. He is not a #2 back, period, as that kind of back is expected to make plays. Hence, he is clearly the #1 overrated player in the last 2 decades.
2) Greg Robinson - Fans are still in denial. I believe most came around that he was a bust as a draft pick eventually, but it took a long time to get there. But I believe to this day, they are not honest in just how bad Robinson played. He was ranked at the bottom of the league at the tackle position week after week.
3) Josh Reynolds - There are threads that debate whether he should play instead of Kupp or maybe trade Kupp. These 2 players are in a different world. Kupp if he gets healthy could be an all-time great like Larry Fitzgerald or Wes Welker. Reynolds on the other hand is a roster filler.
4) Danny Amendola - Here is a guy that was compared to Wes Welker but when he was with the Patriots put up like 600 yards while Welker was among the leaders year after year in receptions and yards. There was no comparison other than they both played in the Slot some. When Amendola is your #1 guy vs your #4 guy, you are in trouble and that explains while during the practice squad years, the Rams were so bad. They had no fire power. Given that beat up of Amendola by me, I did like him and thought he was a good player with value, but as a #3 or #4 guy to catch a few passes here and there. Our Fans had him up there with Wes Welker and that was simply silly.
5) Orlando Pace - While I concede he is one of the greats of all time, I question that level of greatness and how long he played at that level. Once he started to skip the preseason every season, he had a drop off on play. His leadership was questionable and it impacted the team. For me, that was enough to blackball him from the Hall Of Fame despite his greatness. In don't think he was same player before and after he started to call in sick for practice every day, every year.
6) Grant Wistrom - Loved the way the guy played with his high motor, but I don't think he was as elite of a player that many thought. Again, an excellent role player that played hard.
7) Dre Bly - The man made some big plays, but he also, blew coverages and missed opportunities to win big games in playoffs
8) Austin Davis - This QB had some early good games, but once teams figured out he had to throw in the middle of the field because he couldn't get the ball to the sidelines, he struggled so much, but fans couldn't let go and kept calling for him. The team was so bad, I guess I understand for the grasping for straws some, but he was definitely overvalued.
9) Pharoh Cooper - I will never understand how so much love for this guy as a receiver, nor did I get it for Reynolds. The Gap between Curtis and McDonald as these #3 and #4 guys versus somebody like Reynolds and Cooper is a mile long, yet many fans have it so wrong and just the opposite.
10) Todd Collins - This guy was the invincible man during the 2000 season, but got so many free passes. You could watch an entire game and he play every down and you never see his number.
11) Kenny Britt - The Rams offense was so poor, that defenses would put 9 in the box to stop the run with Fisher ball and Britt still didn't put up numbers until his last season. I know so much of it was coaching, but this guy would get single coverage as a number 1 guy and still couldn't get open much. I think the defender on Britt could go blow is nose during the play by getting a tissue during the play an Britt would struggle to get open.
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 02/24/2019 07:10AM by Rams_81.
