Top 10 Players Who Need a Super Bowl Ring

 

            John Elway, Steve Young, and Jerome Bettis all had the label—players who couldn’t win that big game, the Super Bowl.  Not all of them have had lackluster performances in the playoffs but for all of their efforts have not been able to shed the Losers Label.  Dan Marino, Fran Tarkenton and most notably, Jim Kelly all retired with the Losers Label. 

You’ll notice how most of the players on this list are quarterbacks because generally they are considered the leaders of the team, and therefore shoulder the blame for unsuccessful teams.  All of the players on this list play for contenders who have come close time and time before and therefore, none play for perennial losers (i.e. Browns, Cardinals, Lions).  Here’s to the players that most need that monkey off their back (Thanks for that Steve Young).

 

1.)     Peyton Manning must again shake the stigma of not being able to win big games just as he did at college at Tennessee.  As spectacular in the regular season as he’s been, he gets closer every time but always seems to fall short.  After a second straight 6-0 start, Manning and the Colts almost appear bored with the competition after squeaking out two straight close wins over lesser opponents.  A win would silence the critics who say his career is headed the same direction as Dan Marino as a record-setting QB without a ring. 

 

2.)     Donovan McNabb is a proven winner, and in fact has played like the MVP thus far in the 2006 season proving that last season was an aberration.  Most critics’ argument that their lone Super Bowl was because of T.O.’s presence is unwarranted as McNabb led them through the playoffs without T.O.  However, he still must prove he can win the WHOLE thing and improve on a dismal Super Bowl XXXIX.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3.)     Tiki Barber in his final NFL season needs a Super Bowl win to go down in Giant lore.  Already, the greatest running back in Giant, and arguably New York history(sorry Curtis Martin) a Super Bowl win would vault him into the Jerome Bettis-like stratosphere and all but guarantee his Hall of Fame status(as if his 10,000 rushing yards and 5,000 receiving yards in 10 seasons won’t be enough).  All ready one of the most popular players in the league, winning a ring in his final game could make him an NFL legend.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4.)      Mike Vick can change the NFL’s perspective on scrambling quarterbacks forever with a Super Bowl victory. The problem is actually at times he rushes too much. The current opinion is that for all of their explosiveness and fan appeal, come playoff time good teams will develop schemes to neutralize their elusiveness.  That’s why the current trend has been toward quarterbacks who have the speed and mobility to scramble until receivers can get open or to gain yardage only on broken plays. Ironically enough the way for Vick and the Falcons to do this is by giving Vick more freedom in the passing game as he had in Week 7 against the defending champion Steelers.  In the game, Vick threw the ball more times than he had in a single game all season, connecting on  4 touchdown passes while still rushing for 86 yards  and giving fans glimpse of what could come playoff time.  With a Super Bowl Vick could lead the resurgence for scrambling quarterback’s which has dwindled in the last few Drafts. 

5.)     Steve McNair’s scrambling ability has been hindered a tad bit by time and injuries but he is still enough of a pocket passer to lead the Ravens to a Super Bowl win.  In Tennessee, for all of his accomplishments, he’ll always be remembered for how his team came one yard from possibly winning a Super Bowl.  After, a rocky ending with the franchise he revived in Tennessee, McNair arrived in Baltimore with expectations of taking a team with the top defense in the league the past six years back to the Super Bowl, however even after a 5-1 McNair has been unspectacular, and a concussion in Week 6 sidelined him.  If McNair can return to form by playoff time and lead his team to a Super Bowl win, then he can finally replace that “one yard” in his legacy and in his memory.

 

 

6.)      Terrell Owens and the Super Bowl are synonymous, the name in sports and the biggest stage in sports.  Yes! For all his accolades and media attention T.O. has not won a Super Bowl and while no one criticizes his big game performances since he has always come up big in the spotlight since his early years including, his game winning catch against Green Bay in the ‘97 playoffs, his record setting 20 catches in Jerry Rice’s final home game as a 49er, Super Bowl XXXIX with the Eagles after overcoming a serious injury just six weeks earlier. Critics do question if a disruptive, egotistical playmaker such as T.O. can lead a Bill Parcells coached team to a Super Bowl win.  In his defense, he would not be the first high profile wide receiver to win a Super Bowl with a staunch and controlling coach as Key Shawn Johnson did with Jon Gruden’s Buccaneers in 2003.  This may be his best chance though, with Dallas though as T.O. has a habit of quickly souring relationships with his head coaches and Parcells has already expressed his distaste for all of the T.O. media attention.  Can you imagine Super Bowl Media Day starring T.O.?  His 2004 edition was great but so much has happened since then including his ego having actually grown.  He’s had impromptu press conferences in his driveway, and 24 hour news coverage on a Wednesday after he had an allergic reaction to painkillers.  But seriously, a championship ring for T.O. would supplant him as one of the great wide receivers in NFL history. 

 

 

7.)     Curtis Martin has quietly been the best player on the Jets for the past decade while rushing for over 14,000 yards.  However, Martin hasn’t gotten the recognition he deserves a running back, and is considered secondary to Tiki Barber despite almost 6000 more career rushing yards.  In fact, neither has his football team which always seems to come second to the Giants in New Yorkers minds.  Though, he has yet to play in this, which could be his final season, the Jets are in position to make the playoffs, and a Super win for Martin could finally make him a household name like – Tiki.

 

 

8.)     Jake Plummer in his fourth season as a Bronco is coming off one of the best seasons of his career after leading the Broncos to the 2006 AFC Championship Game, and yet the writing on the wall is pointing towards this being his final as the starter. He was signed in 2002, after being compared to Hall of Famer John Elway for his exceptional mobility and his knack for 4th quarter heroics.  However, this season, With a 60.4 passer rating, and twice as many interceptions as touchdown passes first round pick Jay Cutler is waiting to take the reins and supplant Plummer as the starter.  To add more fuel to the fire, after a 5-1 start by the team but with, shaky play by Plummer who has turned the ball over and been unproductive thus far this season, Shanahan announced that Cutler could become starting quarterback this season weeks if Plummer’s performance does not improve.  The suggestion of benching a veteran quarterback for a rookie on a serious Super Bowl contender shows how much faith Shanahan has lost in Plummer.  The next few games could be the most important of his career with the first coming against Peyton Manning’s Colts on Sunday Night.  If he continues to have sub par performances, then he will be benched for Cutler, subsequently ending his career as a starting quarterback for the Broncos or likely, in the NFL.  If his play satisfies Shanahan, then he should remain the starter, and has a very good chance to take this Broncos team to a Super Bowl which is led by a defense that has only allowed two touchdowns this season, thus finally fulfilling the his legacy as a Bronco.

-- D.J. Dunson

 

 

 

 

 

 

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