SI.com posted a players’ poll about who the most underrated players in the league are. Surprisingly, Brian Westbrook made the list at #8, getting 2% of the votes.
A few things to ponder: first, how the hell is Drew Brees underrated? (He was #2 with 5.8% of the tallies.) The same people who think Brees doesn’t get the recognition he deserves also think the media doesn’t do a good enough job kissing Barack Obama’s ass. If that doesn’t entirely discredit this poll then I don’t know what would. Wait, Wes Welker is #1 on the list? Shooooooooocking! But I digress…
Is Brian Westbrook underrated? Maybe a few years ago, but I feel like this a scenario where a player is considered “underrated” for such a long time that he eventually becomes OVERrated. Is Westbrook a talented player? Sure…when he’s healthy…which is never.
That being said, Sports Illustrated’s list gave me the idea to make a real overrated/underrated list of Eagles. Agree? Disagree? Let me know in the comments section.
UNDERRATED
Kevin Kolb, QB: Kolb performed admirably filling in for Donovan McNabb, becoming the first player in NFL history to pass for more than 300 yards in each of his first two career starts. Will he develop into a true starter? Time will tell, but his strong performances this season should at least keep the haters at bay for a little while longer.
Desean Jackson, WR: Desean is one of the best receivers in the NFL, plain and simple. He’s starting to get some recognition but not nearly as much as he deserves.
Akeem Jordan, LB: All Jordan has done is go from being an undrafted free agent nobody to becoming a dependable starter in a talented Eagles defense. With the injury to Stewart Bradley a lot of pressure was placed on the linebacking corps as a whole and Jordan has responded in a big way; he is on pace to put up Pro Bowl calibur numbers this season.
Brent Celek, TE: I’ve been praising Celek on here for a while now (especially now that he is on several of my fantasy football teams) but you have to love his reliable hands and his absolute relentlessness. All I know is, if I run into Celek in an open field I’m running the other way as fast as I can (partly because I’m a chicken, but largely because I don’t want to get run over by a Mack truck of a football player.)
Mike Patterson, DT: Patterson has been underrated since his college days at USC. There he lived in the shadow of Shaun Cody, and I know I wasn’t the only one stunned when the Eagles took him ahead of Cody with the 31st pick in the 2005 NFL Draft. Turns out the Eagles did their homework; Baby Sapp has gone on to develop into a huge part of the Birds defensive line while Cody managed a stellar 1.5 sacks in 53 career games with the Lions.
Almost made the list: Jason Avant, Todd Herremans, Trent Cole, Sheldon Brown
OVERRATED
Michael Vick, QB: This pick was probably the easiest out of this group. The one thing that amuses me the most by far about Vick coming to the Eagles is the legions of fans out there who expect him to magically regain his pre-prison form. First of all, he was a mediocre passer even in his prime, but now he resembles a cross between Brady Quinn (weak arm, look of hopelessness on the field) and Kordell Stewart (some running ability, extremely low football-IQ.) Don’t even get me started on how bad of a fit he is in this offense.
Kevin Curtis, WR: The Eagles gave him big money to come and be a top target, and while he had a nice season with 77 catches he has done exactly zilch since then. Now not only can he not stay healthy, but he may have just lost his starting job to Jeremy Maclin.
Jamaal Jackson, C: He was a questionable addition to this list. There are times when he plays at a high level and anchors the O-line, but there are also far too many times when he has mental lapses and plays nowhere near as well as he should. For that reason, he ends up here.
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