Grantland: Of Top 25 WORST players, Okoye 22nd, KJ 6th

[GP]

Okoye and Jackson make the Top 25 Most Worthless list, which is based on the author's conceptual stats of playing time, expectations, and salary.

So, here we go … This list of the 25 worst players in the league accounts for playing time, expectations, and salary. It focuses on the 2010 season without forgetting about those who sucked in 2008 and 2009; in other words, C.C. Brown, you can't hide in Detroit.

25. Laurence Maroney, running back, free agent
24. Dimitri Patterson, cornerback, Eagles
23. Aaron Maybin, linebacker, Bills
22. Amobi Okoye, defensive tackle, Texans
21. T.J. Houshmandzadeh, wide receiver, Ravens

Maroney spent most of his time in New England on the training table or working on his dreads, but the Broncos still dealt a fourth-round pick (getting a sixth-rounder in return) for a guy who promptly gained 74 yards on 36 carries. Then he got arrested for marijuana possession after a Rick Ross concert, which would only have been worse if Rick Ross actually made the arrest.

Patterson was a last resort at cornerback forced into action by injuries; teams avoided Asante Samuel and spent the second half throwing at the guy who the Philadelphia Inquirer politely noted " … is better suited to special teams.” … The 11th overall pick in the 2009 draft, Maybin was supposed to be a hybrid pass rusher who could play in a 3-4 or a 4-3. He's got zero sacks, was a healthy scratch at times in 2010, and the first entry that comes up as an auto-fill when you type his name into Google is "Aaron Maybin bust." … Okoye, the league's youngest draftee at age 19 in 2007, was supposed to form the core of a great defensive line alongside Mario Williams. Williams became a great pass-rusher, but Okoye's still all athleticism and promise. … In addition to this inexplicable drop in the playoff loss to the Steelers, Houshmandzadeh could only catch 53 percent of the passes thrown to him despite running some of the shortest routes in the league. And the Seahawks paid him virtually all of his $7 million in guaranteed salary to go away.

And....

10. Darius Butler, cornerback, Patriots
9. Jeremy Trueblood, offensive tackle, Buccaneers
8. Levi Brown, offensive tackle, Cardinals
7. David Jones, cornerback, Jaguars
6. Kareem Jackson, cornerback, Texans

Butler began the season as a starter by allowing teams to go 26-of-35 for 253 yards in two games against him (plus two pass interference calls). He got benched and came in for three plays the following game, allowing a completion and missing a tackle before disappearing again. It took him six weeks to get any playing time after that. … Trueblood consistently ranked among the league leaders in sacks allowed at right tackle, but the Bucs finally wised-up and benched him after an injury last season. … The Cardinals had no such luck with Brown, who made it through all 16 games. One comment upon close observation of Brown: "[Brown] struggled with outside rushers all day, which is a problem considering he's an offensive tackle." … The Jaguars benched struggling corner Derek Cox for Jones after a poor start. Jones promptly helped Reggie Wayne to a 15-catch, 196-yard game. The Jags stuck with him for several more terrible performances before making him a healthy scratch for the second half of the season. … Even the best cornerbacks usually look pretty bad as rookies, but Jackson allowed a league-worst 11.1 yards per pass attempt last season. If there's ever a Sporcle quiz on matching a receiver's name to the back of his jersey, Jackson will ace it.

Ouch.

[badboy]

I would like to argue but won't. I think KJ can turn it around if he is open to coaching.

[DocBar]

"5. C.C. Brown, safety, Lions

"Can't Cover" Brown blamed the media for his midseason benching in New York in 2009; it apparently caused the Lions to do the same thing in 2010"

I find it hard to believe there are actually expectations for CC Brown in the NFL.

13. Jimmy Clausen, quarterback, Panthers

Only five second-rounders since the merger have thrown as many attempts as Clausen did as a rookie. They were bad, but even the Tony Bankses and Charlie Batchs of the world didn’t throw three interceptions for every touchdown like Clausen did.

Clausen sure is getting thrown under the bus. The guy was a rookie on a BAD football team. I think this is a bit premature.

[GP]

Originally Posted by DocBar

I find it hard to believe there are actually expectations for CC Brown in the NFL.

LOL.

So true.

[76Texan]

For those who love stats, this one has Jason Allen worse than Kareem Jackson:

http://wp.advancednflstats.com/defte...=2010&team=HST

[DX-TEX]

Originally Posted by 76Texan

For those who love stats, this one has Jason Allen worse than Kareem Jackson:

http://wp.advancednflstats.com/defte...=2010&team=HST

Jason Allen doesnt fall down as much.

+1

[Lucky]

Originally Posted by 76Texan

For those who love stats, this one has Jason Allen worse than Kareem Jackson:

http://wp.advancednflstats.com/defte...=2010&team=HST

Care to explain how any of these "stats" are relevant? They have Revis as the 58th ranked corner in the league and Asomugha ranked below Kareem Jackson.

[ThaShark316]

Can't take a list serious that has 2nd and 3rd year players on it.

[powda]

Originally Posted by ThaShark316

Can't take a list serious that has 2nd and 3rd year players on it.

If they start or see signifigant time they should make the list...

I wonder where Zac Diles would be on that list? I've been rewatching last years games lately and he was absolutley miserable in coverage. Eugene Wilson deseves to be top 10 on the list as well.

[Goatcheese]

K-Burnt was pretty terrible, giving up 50 receptions for 920 yards. Glover Quin should be on the list also after giving up 59 receptions for 801 yards.

I don't get putting Okoye on there though. He's been top 5 among DTs in QB pressures since entering the league. Last year he got to the QB 3 times and managed to get his hands on him another 10. Solid numbers for a DT. He's not great, but at worst I would call him average and he still has the better half of a decade before he reaches his full potential.

[76Texan]

Originally Posted by Lucky

Care to explain how any of these "stats" are relevant? They have Revis as the 58th ranked corner in the league and Asomugha ranked below Kareem Jackson.

Come on Lucky, you're among those who like stats or use stats to make certain assumptions (not that I discount the game watching.)
Certainly, you can make sense out of all the stats that are put out there!
You can't have it both ways.
If anything, you and EU should explain those stats to me.

But I do have some "explanations" for those stats that you deem "irrelevant".
You know like INT, FF, TFL... things that either turn over the ball back to the offense or make it harder for the other team to advance.
And the Tackle Factor category, you know, if you stop the other team from converting a third down with a tackle that stop them short.
There's also the penalties that help the other team to advance, you know, like PI or a 5-yd defensive Holding when a CB get beat.)

Also, since he wasn't targeted much, Asomugha's numbers can be easily skewed by a small numbers of "bad" plays (and there were those for him last year - I actually watched about half a dozen of them.)

Revis had a poor game against us and I believe he was injured for a while as well.
Doesn't surprise me he wasn't on top of his game.

[Lucky]

Originally Posted by 76Texan

If anything, you and EU should explain those stats to me.

OK, I will. It's a bunch of crap. In your insatiable desire to find anything (relatively) good about about Jackson, you posted this gobbledygook. Glover Quin? Better than Revis, according to your source. Jason Allen (the Dolphin version)? Better than Revis. Why you continue to ride Kareem's jock and post this inane stuff is mystifying.

But, thanks for sharing.

[powda]

Thanks for the new sig Lucky.

[GP]

Originally Posted by Lucky

OK, I will. It's a bunch of crap. In your insatiable desire to find anything (relatively) good about about Jackson, you posted this gobbledygook. Glover Quin? Better than Revis, according to your source. Jason Allen (the Dolphin version)? Better than Revis. Why you continue to ride Kareem's jock and post this inane stuff is mystifying.

But, thanks for sharing.

So the stats show that our guys are actually BETTER than Revis?

This is fun! Our record was actually 12-4, AND we won the Super Bowl too!

Fantasies are awesome.

[76Texan]

Originally Posted by Lucky

OK, I will. It's a bunch of crap. In your insatiable desire to find anything (relatively) good about about Jackson, you posted this gobbledygook. Glover Quin? Better than Revis, according to your source. Jason Allen (the Dolphin version)? Better than Revis. Why you continue to ride Kareem's jock and post this inane stuff is mystifying.

But, thanks for sharing.

It's strange that you guys use some stats (from Football Outsiders) to put down Jackson and then disregard other stats (AdvancedNFLStats) which incorporate other factors involving a player's performance.

You fail to explain to me why a combine stats of the followings is not a decent way to look at how a player perform::
1. Success rate (how a player defend a pass) as well as Pass Defended.
2. Tackle Factor (how a player stop an offensive player to gain yardage) plus tackle for loss.
3. Sack, QB Hits, Forced Fumble, INts (these should be obvious.)

[76Texan]

Let's compare Revis and Quin:

Revis Quin
Success Rate 38.3% 37%
Pass Defended 11 14
INTs 0 3
These two numbers show two CB relative close to one another defending the pass; however, Quin had 3 INTs to Revis' none.
The advantage here should belong to Quin, I don't see how you can dispute otherwise (based on numbers, of course.)

Revis Quin
Tackles 36 71
Assists 11 14
TFL 0 3
Sacks 0 1
QB Hits 0 1
Forced Fumble 0 1
All the zeroes for Revis cerntainly can't compare with the positives that Quin had.

Why is it difficult to rank Quin higher than Revis based on those numbers?

[76Texan]

Even the site that yoiu guys prefer (Football Outsiders) ranked Quin (35) higher than Revis (52).

Why don't you guys go and have a beef with them now.
Maybe all of their stats (that you've been believing in) are also gobbledygook!

Talking about insanity!

[HOU-TEX]

Screw the stats. It comes down to which one would you rather have starting at CB for your team. To me, and likely everyone else, Revis would be the better option. Why would Quin be moving to FS if he was such an awesome CB?

Dumb comparison, imo. These damn lockout threads are getting worse every day

[76Texan]

Originally Posted by HOU-TEX

Screw the stats. It comes down to which one would you rather have starting at CB for your team. To me, and likely everyone else, Revis would be the better option. Why would Quin be moving to FS if he was such an awesome CB?

Dumb comparison, imo. These damn lockout threads are getting worse every day

This is what I've been saying all along!

I only play along with the numbers because these folks seem to like them!

[Lucky]

Originally Posted by 76Texan

Even the site that yoiu guys prefer (Football Outsiders) ranked Quin (35) higher than Revis (52).

Link?

Originally Posted by 76Texan

This is what I've been saying all along!

What you've been saying all along is that Kareem Jackson did not suck, but was actually good. And you keep posting stuff that implies that. Sorry, but any Texans fan with a byte of memory will tell you that's BS.