Most under-appreciated and over-appreciated Steelers players

Who do you think are the most under-appreciated and over-appreciated Steelers players, either current or in the past?
Remember, this is all opinion, and there's no right or wrong answer here. But maybe we can get some good discussions going. I'll start with two and add more later. Add your own, and we'll allow the thread to go wherever it decides to go.

Over-appreciated
Louis Lipps
When I was younger, I remember fans talking about Lipps like he was John Stallworth or Lynn Swann. But if I had to compare him to anyone, I'd compare him to someone like Yancey Thigpen. Given, I was younger and didn't pay as much attention back then, but I seem to remember him making spectacular catches but also dropping a lot of easy ones. He was a really good receiver, but not quite as good as the hype. In 8 seasons with the Steelers, the most receptions he had in a year was 59. And that was also the only year he went over 1,000 yards receiving, with 1,134. By comparison, in 6 seasons with the Steelers, Thigpen had two seasons with 85 and 79 receptions, and yards of 1,398 and 1,307. Again by comparison, Lipps never had a season where he caught 60 or more passes. Hines Ward caught 60 or more passes 10 times, with 112 being his most in one season. And Lipps had a 1,000-yard season only once, while Ward achieved it 6 times. Lipps was a good receiver, but I don't put him in the same league as Swann, Stallworth, and Ward.

Under-appreciated
Neil O'Donnell
If I don't get flack for saying Lipps was over-appreciated, I know I'll get flack for saying O'Donnell was under-appreciated. But quite honestly, I never understood fans' hatred for O'Donnell. Well, I understand it, but I don't agree with it. In the past 40 years, O'Donnell was the best QB the Steelers had who wasn't named Bradshaw or Roethlisberger. In between Terry and Ben, I remember a long list of QB failures ... Cliff Stoudt, Mark Malone, David Woodley, Todd Blackledge, Bubby Brister, Mike Tomczak, and Kent Graham. I'll put Kordell Stewart and Tommy Maddox in a category above the others. But after Bradshaw and before Roethlisberger, no QB got us to a Super Bowl except for O'Donnell. Was Neil as good as Ben or Terry? No. But he was a damn good QB. He got us to Super Bowl XXX and played great all season before picking a bad day to have a bad game. He is blamed for throwing two costly interceptions, but on one of them, there was some miscommunication between O'Donnell and receiver Andre Hastings that led to an interception. I've seen a lot of debates on who was at fault, but it really doesn't matter. Even beyond that one throw, O'Donnell had a poor game, and it cost the Steelers the Super Bowl. But his performance wasn't a whole lot worse than Ben's in Super Bowl XL against the Seahawks. The only difference is that Ben's teammates were able to bail him out, whereas O'Donnell's teammates didn't. I believe that if O'Donnell had stayed with the Steelers instead of leaving for the Jets after Super Bowl XXX, he would have gotten us back to another Super Bowl. And who knows ... we might be trying to win No. 8 or No. 9 instead of No. 7 next season.

I agree about Lipps. I disagree about O'dumbass. He had some pretty good WRs who caught balls others might not have. In SB XXX he threw 2 ints right to the same guy. I for one can't help but wonder if he was bought for that game. You're right he was the best of the rest but did he throw the game? I'll never know because I don't talk to that asshole anymore.

I'm making it my life mission to dispell the myth about O'Donnell. I know it's an uphill battle, but if I can convince all of you that Buddha is funny, then anything is possible. I'm going to post some excerpts from a good article, with my comments in red:
--------------------------------------------------

Maybe one of his receivers ran the wrong route. Maybe O'Donnell never should have thrown the ball. Andre Hastings broke over the middle. Corey Holliday took off downfield. And O'Donnell, fighting off a blitz, hit (Dallas defensive back Larry) Brown right in the numbers.

"A miscommunication," that's what Pittsburgh coach Bill Cowher said happened on the second interception. O'Donnell refused to blame any of his teammates, saying, "We're all in this together."

"It was a 'hot' read," Hastings said, referring to the blitz. "I was thinking 'hot' and I broke 'hot,' but Neil threw the out. I read it one way and Neil read it the other. That's just the way it came out." The QB and WR have to be on the same page. O'Donnell threw an out, where he expected Hastings to be, but Hastings ran a hot route. The result was O'Donnell threw the ball where he expected Hastings to be, but he wasn't there, and it was intercepted. It was miscommunication, like Cowher said. But who's fault was it?

The first interception clearly was O'Donnell's fault. Cowher said the pass "sailed" on him. O'Donnell said, "it slipped totally out of my hand."

It was his first Super Bowl. It took him three quarters to settle down.

Cowher refused to criticize him afterward, saying: "Neil has played well. Neil got us here. Without Neil O'Donnell, we wouldn't have played late into January. Look at the big picture, not the small pieces. He had a heck of a year."

"There was a little miscommunication between the wide receivers and the quarterback," O'Donnell said. "You can't single out one individual and say that was the reason we lost the football game. That was never my style." I think O'Donnell's comments on those two INTs are important. On the first one, he took full blame and said the ball slipped out of his hand. But on the second one, he said there was miscommunication, and that singling anyone out for blame isn't his style. In other words, he's saying that it was Hastings' fault.

I think Dallas' defensive coordinator's take is probably the correct one: "They broke the routes off, and because of the pressure, Neil didn't see them," Dallas defensive coordinator Dave Campo said. "He just happened to throw them in the right spot, and Larry did a good job of being where he was supposed to be."

http://articles.baltimoresun.com/1996-01-29/sports/1996029066_1_neil-odonnell-steelers-interception
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


The bottom line? I agree with what Cowher said: "Neil has played well. Neil got us here. Without Neil O'Donnell, we wouldn't have played late into January. Look at the big picture, not the small pieces. He had a heck of a year."

Without O'Donnell, they wouldn't have made it to the Super Bowl. He had a bad game, and then a miscommunication between him and Hastings (regardless of whose fault it was), cost them the game. But if we're going to hate O'Donnell for the loss to the Cowboys, why don't we hate Ben for the loss to the Packers?

O'Donnell: 28 for 49, 239 yards, 1 TD, 3 INT
Big Ben: 25 for 40, 263 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT

Ben's day wasn't much better than O'Donnell's. One of Ben's INTs was a pick 6 that helped put them in a huge hole early. But we have to remember ... Ben didn't have a great game, and it was his third Super Bowl. O'Donnell was playing in his first Super Bowl. Remember Ben's first Super Bowl? It's regarded as one of the worst QB performances in Super Bowl history. He had a QB rating of 22.6.

I'm not trying to bad mouth Ben. I'm just saying that O'Donnell had a bad game. It happened to Ben. It has happened to other QBs. It is what it is. But again like Cowher said ... without O'Donnell, they never would have made it to the Super Bowl in the first place.

Under-appreciated
Hines Ward
Wait, how can Ward possibly be under-appreciated? Well maybe not by Steelers fans, but by football fans in general. And there are a good number of Steelers fan who, although they love him, don't feel that Ward should be in the Hall of Fame. This is ludicrous. I could be wrong, but I think most fans appreciate Ward more for his character, personality, and heart than his talent. But think about it ... during his entire career, how many passes can you remember Ward dropping? He was every bit as talented as the all-time great receivers. Everyone keeps pointing to his stats for the reason he doesn't deserve to be in the Hall of Fame. He is 8th all-time in receptions. Only 7 receivers have caught more passes than Ward. And he's 18th all-time in yards. This came despite playing more than half his career with subpar QBs and playing in a run-oriented offense for most of it. Some will argue that his stats were padded by his longevity. He played 14 seasons. But let's look at other top receivers: Jerry Rice (21 seasons), Terrell Owens (15 seasons), Isaac Bruce (16 seasons), Tim Brown (17 seasons), Randy Moss (15 seasons), Marvin Harrison (13 seasons), James Lofton (17 seasons), Cris Carter (15 seasons). I like to make the argument that what if Ward had played his entire career in Indianapolis with Peyton Manning? His stats would be comparable to the all-time NFL greats. As it is now, his stats are still very respectable, and it's just not about stats. Intangibles count as well. And I don't think I need to sell anyone on Ward's intangibles.

Over-appreciated
Maurkice Pouncey
Pouncey is still a young player, so it's really not fair to put him in either category. But he's gotten a hell of a lot of hype in his first two seasons, making it to two Pro Bowls. He's a good, young center, and he could end up going down as one of the best ever. But I think his stock is a little too high right now, due mainly to quite a few mediocre games and injuries. For being regarded as one of the best centers in the NFL, I've seen him get pushed around in more than a few games. And in the Super Bowl two years ago and in games last season in which he was injured, Doug Legursky stepped in and did every bit as well as Pouncey. I'm far from an expert on judging offensive linemen, but if you're viewed as one of the best at your position, what does it say when your backup steps in and there's no noticeable difference?

Over-Appreciated: Chad Scott. He stunk and Cowher stuck with him. He left the game with 3rd degree burns over his entire body.

Under-Appreciated: Aaron Smith. He deserved to go to the probowl several times and I think he went once or twice? He didn't have a lot of sacks but go back and look at our run defense when he wasn't in.

solardave wrote:

Over-Appreciated: Chad Scott. He stunk and Cowher stuck with him. He left the game with 3rd degree burns over his entire body.

Under-Appreciated: Aaron Smith. He deserved to go to the probowl several times and I think he went once or twice? He didn't have a lot of sacks but go back and look at our run defense when he wasn't in.

I agree with Smith. He started getting the respect he deserved toward the end of his career, but except for die-hard fans, he was largely unknown for a long time.

I disagree with Scott, only because I'm not sure if anyone really appreciated him at all. But I agree with your assessment. I still have nightmares about him and Dewayne Washington on the corners. Scott had tons of potential, but he never seemed to be the same after his knee injury.

Still think John Stallworth was the Steelers best WR to ever play for them. Ward might have the better numbers but Stallworth was the better athlete. Stallworth's first four years was before the Mel Blount rule and his last 7 years was in the 80s playing with not so good QB talent.

Quote :

Wait, how can Ward possibly be under-appreciated? Well maybe not by Steelers fans, but by football fans in general. And there are a good number of Steelers fan who, although they love him, don't feel that Ward should be in the Hall of Fame. This is ludicrous

Totally ridiculous, imo. He wasn't "just" a wideout, he was a defensive player as well. How many other WRs played defensively the way Hines played?


[quote]Still think John Stallworth was the Steelers best WR to ever play for them. Ward might have the better numbers but Stallworth was the better athlete[quote]

Although I love Stallworth to death, I don't share the same feeling. Stallworth or Swann were not defensive blockers like Hines. I think Hines was a better "all around" athlete than either Swanny or Stallworth (again, LOVE them both). Hines always played like he had something to prove, which made him tougher than the other WRs for the Steelers. Even Rooney states (on Hines Ward Career Highlights) that Hines distinguishes himself from other WRs because of his ability to block. He also made "quarterback plays" and threw the ball against rivals (he was a qb for the Dawgs, afterall).

OVERAPPRECIATED This is tough, because the vast majority of Steelers are awesome and deserve their accolades. To be honest, there is only one or two that come to mind, and they are presently playing. I'll defer from answering this question for about 5 years or so.

UNDERAPPRECIATED James Farrior. This guy is not only a great D-guy, but he is brilliant as well. I also think Aaron Smith is appreciated by most fans.

O'Donnell was a hell of a QB. You can say what you want about Super Bowl XXX, but it was his first Super Bowl. Just look at Ben's first, only difference is, as Wally said, the '05 team bailed him out.

I don't have the time to explain a lot of my reasoning here, but i'll just post my picks and chime in later.

Under-appreciated:

Aaron Smith, James Farrior and Neil O'Donnel.

Over-appreciated:

Jerome Bettis

I'll add more and chime in later.