The Pro Football Hall of Fame is not just built by drafted players. There is a plethora of gridiron legends representing the building that found their way onto teams in various ways.

The free agent is surely represented in Canton. The number of free agents inducted figures to greatly increase thanks to shorter contracts with clauses, as teams basically just rent players for short periods of time.

Yet signing the right free agent can lead a franchise to championship glory and sports immortality. While some signings are sound moves, others can be gambles and no one knows how they will pay off until all is said and done.

Here are the very best free agent signings in professional football history since the draft was created in 1936.



Johnny Unitas


 

Unitas was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the ninth round of the 1955 draft. He was cut in camp, as the Steelers decided to go with Jim Finks, Ted Marchibroda and Vic Eaton at quarterback. 

Finks would later go on to be a legendary general manager who built the Minnesota Vikings, Chicago Bears, and New Orleans Saints into winners. Marchibroda became an offensive guru who coached several teams. Eaton, drafted two rounds after Unitas, was out of football after 1955. 

Unitas hitch-hiked back home to save money, then worked construction. He kept in shape by playing semipro football for $6 a game.

Weeb Ewbank, the Hall of Fame head coach, asked Unitas' semipro teammate Jim Deglau to try out for the Baltimore Colts. Hearing the Cleveland Browns were interested in Unitas, he asked Deglau to bring the quarterback with him. 

Despite the objections of family members, Unitas went to Baltimore. He made the team, backing up George Shaw and Gary Kerkorian. He soon passed Kerkorian, now in his third year of backing up Shaw, on the depth chart. 

During camp, Unitas would stay after practice was over and throw balls all night to a wide receiver, Raymond Berry, who had caught just 13 catches the year before after making the team as a 20th-round draft pick. This bond between Unitas and Berry would soon have a tremendous impact on the NFL. 

Shaw, who was the Colts first-round draft pick in 1952, broke his leg in the fourth game of the year. Unitas was plugged in and showed some promise. 

His next 10 years saw him go to the Pro Bowl and win the NFL MVP Award three times. Baltimore also won the championship twice with maybe the greatest quarterback to ever play the game. 

The 1970 season was his last as a starter, where the 37-year old Unitas led the Colts to a Super Bowl win. He played until the 1973 season before retiring. 

Unitas left with a ton of records. Many have been equaled or passed as quarterbacks play longer season with rules that help them succeed, but his 47-games streak of a touchdown pass in each game still survives. 

College football hands the top senior quarterback of each year the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award. The name of the award is fitting, because Unitas is more than the greatest quarterback in Colts history. 

He is the best free agent signing in NFL history.






Dick "Night Train" Lane
 

A story that the movie "The Natural" may have gotten inspiration from.

Lane was found as an abandoned infant in a dumpster, then raised by a kind-hearted lady. After going to a community college for one year, Lane joined the United States Army for four years and fought in both World War II and the Korean War. 

After serving, he got a job at an aircraft factory. He disliked the job, so he walked onto the training camp of the Los Angeles Rams seeking a job.

He wanted to play wide receiver, but the Rams already had a set of Hall of Famers there named Elroy "Crazy Legs" Hirsch and Tom Fears. He was switched to cornerback and found his calling.

Lane was a monstrous hitter who could blanket any receiver in the game. In a matter of months, he came from nowhere and was the top defensive back in all of professional football. 

Though just 12 games were played in his rookie year, Lane had 14 interceptions. This is a record that still stands today for the most interceptions in a single season. 

Yet Lane was dangerous once he got the ball. He returned the interceptions for 298 yards and two touchdowns, while still finding time to record a safety.  Despite such incredible numbers, he was somehow left off the Pro Bowl squad even though he had almost twice as many interceptions combined over the players that were chosen. 

He did get to the first of his seven career Pro Bowls in 1954. After having been traded to the Chicago Cardinals that season, Lane had 10 interceptions for 181 yards. 

After six years with the Cardinals, he was dealt to the Detroit Lions and took part in some of the greatest secondaries in NFL history. Lane played with Hall of Fame safety Yale Lary and Hall of Fame cornerback Dick LeBeau. 

When he hung up his cleats in 1965, Lane had 68 interceptions in 14 seasons. It still ranks the fourth most in NFL history, but it is still the most ever by a cornerback. Rod Woodson, who had 71 career swipes, got 24 as a safety. 

Lane had 1,207 yards returned off of interceptions, still the sixth most ever. Deion Sanders is the only cornerback who had more. 

He loved to hit receivers and often sought out contact. His favorite way to tackle was a clothesline shot, which was legal in the NFL then. It was dubbed a "Night Train Necktie." 

There may be no free agent signing on defense more special or important than the day Lane decided to try and play professional football.








Original Cleveland Browns 


 

When the Browns were formed in 1946, head coach Paul Brown had a plan. The fledgling All-American Football Conference would soon get steamrolled by these plans. 

Otto Graham, Marion Motley, Dante Lavelli, Lou Groza and Bill Willis are all Hall of Famers that Brown signed as free agents that year. Along with many other great players like Mac Speedie, Lin Houston, Horace Gillom, Frank Gatski and Lou Rymkus who were just a few others that helped Cleveland dominate. 

After winning all of the AAFC titles, they jumped to the NFL in 1950 and promptly won a title. Graham, Groza, Gatski, Gillom and Lavelli were all on the 1954 and 1955 teams that won it all. 

Several great coaches came from those Browns rosters. Rymkus and Lou Saban won American Football League titles as head coaches and Ara Parseghian won a title with Notre Dame University. 

When it comes to free agent signings, the original Cleveland Browns are on a level all by themselves.










Willie Wood
 

Wood went undrafted in 1960 after a collegiate career where he was the first African-American quarterback for the University of Southern California and the Pacific-10 Conference. He signed with the Green Bay Packers, who moved him to free safety.

While mainly returning punts, a duty he did much of his career, the rookie was mentored by Hall of Famer Emlen Tunnel. Tunnel retired at the end of the season, so Wood was named starter and held that spot the next 11 years.

He played on teams that went to the championship six times, winning five. Not only was he excellent at returning punts, he became a ball hawk. In 1961, he scored twice off of 14 punt returns.

He led the NFL with a 16.1 yards per return average. Wood led the NFL with nine interceptions in 1962, while becoming one of the best free safeties of his era. Green Bay relied on him as their last line of defense, and he seldom ever let them down. 

When he retired after the 1971 season, Wood had intercepted 48 passes, scored four times, and went to eight Pro Bowls. Only Forrest Gregg and Brett Favre have gone more for the Packers. 

After having been a finalist nine times, Wood was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1989. 

He is easily the best free agent signing Green Bay ever made.






Dick LeBeau



 

LeBeau was a fifth-round draft pick of the Cleveland Browns in the 1959 draft. He was the 58th player picked overall, but did not make the Browns team and was cut in training camp.  He would then be picked up by the Detroit Lions as a free agent and played six games in his rookie year, mostly on special teams.

He did recover the first fumble of his career that season.  In 1960, LeBeau earned the starting job at cornerback opposite newly acquired Hall of Famer Dick "Night Train" Lane.

The Lions defense also had Hall of Fame MLB Joe Schmidt, Hall of Fame Safety Yale Lary, Pro Bowl defensive tackle Alex Karras and Pro Bowl safety Terry Barr. LeBeau picked off four passes.  The next three seasons, LeBeau and Lane formed the best cornerback tandem in the NFL.

LeBeau picked off three passes in 1961, then four in 1962. He scored the first two touchdowns of his career that year, by interception and fumble recovery.  In 1963, LeBeau picked off five passes and returned them for 158 yards. He also returned one interception 70 yards for a touchdown.

LeBeau would then make his first of three consecutive Pro Bowl appearances in 1964.  That season also marked Lary's last in the NFL, and Lane played only seven games. LeBeau still managed five interceptions that year. The 1965 season was the last year for both Lane and Schmidt. LeBeau picked off seven passes and returned one for the last touchdown of his career.  

The 1966 season would be LeBeau's last Pro Bowl season, when he intercepted four passes. LeBeau stayed steady the next several years. He picked off four passes in 1967, opposite of Hall of Fame cornerback Lem Barney under new coach, and former teammate, Joe Schmidt.  

LeBeau and Barney would then team up for the next three years as one of the best CB tandems in the league. LeBeau had 20 picks over that time. At 34-years old in 1971, LeBeau would intercept six passes.  

The 1972 season would be the last year as a Detroit Lion for LeBeau and Schmidt. LeBeau was moved to free safety that year, and would not intercept a pass for the first time since his rookie season. He did recover the last fumble of his career that year.

LeBeau only retired from the NFL as a player after 1972. He went into coaching in 1973 for the Philadelphia Eagles as their secondary coach. He stayed with the team until 1975. He then held the same duties with the Green Bay Packers from 1976 to 1979.  

In 1980, he moved to the Cincinnati Bengals. He served as a secondary coach, and as defensive coordinator with the Bengals until 1991. LeBeau then served as the defensive coordinator for the Pittsburgh Steelers from 1992 to 1996.  

This is when LeBeau would gain notoriety for inventing the now commonly used "Zone Blitz" defense. The Steelers defense featured such greats as Hall of Fame cornerback Rod Woodson, Pro Bowl linebackers Greg Lloyd, Hardy Nickerson, Levon Kirkland, Chad Brown, Kevin Greene, Jason Gildon and strong safety Carnell Lake.  They would go to the Super Bowl after the 1995 season.

In 1997, LeBeau returned to the Bengals as a defensive coordinator. He would then be named head coach of the Bengals in 2000 and held that job until 2002.  

LeBeau then worked for the Buffalo Bills in 2003. He returned to the Steelers in 2004, and is still the defensive coordinator of the Steelers today. In 2005, the Steelers won Super Bowl XL. Pittsburgh also won Super Bow XLIII in 2008. 

Dick LeBeau is one of the most respected coaches in NFL history, obviously, and is called "Coach Dad" by his players. He is a member of the Detroit Lions Legend and his 62 interceptions are the most in the history of the Lions. 








Don Maynard
 

 

Maynard was drafted by the New York Giants in the ninth round of the 1957 draft, but did not make the team.

He tried again the next year and made it, mostly being used as a punt returner. The Giants cut him again, so he played in the Canadian Football League in 1959 for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

He left the CFL to become the first player signed by the expansion New York Titans of the fledgling American Football League. He caught a career best 72 balls his first year. Yet he also teamed up with Art Powell to be probably the best wide receiver duo in the AFL.  

The tandem became the first professional football players to gain over 1,000 yards on receptions in a season. They duplicated that feat again in 1962. Despite this dynamic duo, the Titans attracted few fans and were struggling financially.

They changed their name to the Jets in 1963, but business did not pick up until 1965. That year saw them draft, then outbid the NFL for the services of a brash quarterback named Joe Namath.

The future Hall of Famer had a chip on his shoulder, but an arm to back it up. Maynard quickly bonded with Namath and the team started to get better each year.

New York reached the AFL title game in 1968, where Maynard would carry the Jets to victory. Facing the Oakland Raiders and Hall of Fame cornerback Willie Brown, Maynard caught six balls for 118 yards. He scored the Jets' first and last touchdowns, and the last one sealed a 27-23 win. 

It capped off a wild series between the Jets and Raiders that year. Six weeks earlier, the teams made history in the infamous "Heidi Game" incident. The game was taken off the air by television executives with 65 seconds to play and the Jets leading 32-29. Oakland then stormed back and won 43-32. 

The Jets went into Super Bowl III as tremendous underdogs. No one expected much from them outside of the Jets organization and fans. This led to Namath's now famous guarantee of victory. 

Maynard was covered by Johnny Sample, an extremely tough player who knocked many men out of many games in his career. Maynard got shut out, but his bookend George Sauer caught eight balls for 133 yards. 

That, along with a stingy defense and 121 rushing yards by Matt Snell, led the Jets to a 16-7 win over the heavily favored Baltimore Colts. It is the game that convinced the NFL to merge with the AFL. Maynard and Sauer both had 1,000-yards receiving together twice.

While a precision route-runner, Maynard was incredible at getting deep and stretching defenses. When he retired at the end of the 1973 season, he had an excellent career average of 18.7 yards per reception. His 88 touchdown receptions over 15 years show he was also a threat in the end zone. 

Don Maynard, inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1987, was the Jets first and best free agent signing.











Warren Moon





It still is an amazing fact that Moon went undrafted in 1978. Despite leading his college team to a Rose Bowl win the year before, some NFL teams wanted him to switch positions. His refusal was followed by an apparent blacklisting. 

Instead, he joined the Canadian Football League and stayed there until 1983. He led his team to an unprecedented five titles and is now a member of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame. 

The NFL couldn't keep on their blinders any longer, and a bidding war began for his services.

Bud Adams, the owner of the Houston Oilers, gained an upper hand by hiring Hugh Campbell as head coach. Campbell had coached Moon in the CFL. 

Moon started setting team records for the Oilers almost as soon as he donned their uniform. Houston had an explosive offense, led by Moon, but always seemed to just fall short of reaching a Super Bowl. 

After 10 years and six Pro Bowls, Moon was traded to the Minnesota Vikings before the 2004 season. He lasted three years there, making the Pro Bowl twice. 

At 41-years old, Moon signed with the Seattle Seahawks as a free agent. He went to the Pro Bowl again. He joined the Kansas City Chiefs in 1999, retiring after two years at 44-years old. 

Moon was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2006, making him the first Canadian Football Hall of Famer, first undrafted quarterback, and the first African-American quarterback to achieve this. 

His free agency signing wasn't just great for the Oilers, NFL or football, but society as well.







John Randle

Randle went undrafted in 1990, so he tried to join the Tampa Bay Buccaneers because his brother Ervin was entering his fifth season with them. The Buccaneers though he was too small, so they declined. The Minnesota Vikings then gave him a try out and was impressed.

Randle made the team and earned a starting job midway into his second season. He was a quick player who was excellent at rushing the passer.

Starting in 1992, he had eight straight years of double-digit sacks. From 1993 to 1998, he went to the Pro Bowl. 

His 1997 was probably his best. Randle led the NFL with 15.5 sacks and had a career high 58 tackles.

He became a free agent after the 2000 season, so he joined the Seattle Seahawks. He scored the only touchdown of his career, off a fumble recovery, in his first season in Seattle. He also had 11 sacks, but missed the first game of his career in what would be his final Pro Bowl season. 

Randle missed four games the next year. His five games missed with Seattle were the only games he missed in a 14-year career. He would retire after the 2003 season. 

His 137.5 sacks are the sixth most ever, and the most ever by a defensive tackle. Steve McMichael is second with 95. 

For a player nobody wanted, the Vikings sure were lucky and blessed to sign this free agent that got inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2010.








Gary Zimmerman

Zimmerman was selected in the first round of the 1984 Supplemental Draft by the New York Giants, but he chose to join the United States Football League instead. When the USFL folded two years later, he was a free agent. 

The Minnesota Vikings signed him and plugged him in at left tackle right away. Zimmerman stayed with the Vikings for seven years, going to the Pro Bowl four times. At the end of the 1992 season, he became a free agent again. 

He signed with the Denver Broncos, who needed someone to protect Hall of Fame quarterback John Elway's blind side. Though still mobile at 33-years old, Elway was slowing down some after years of hits. 

Zimmerman was the glue of an excellent offensive line, and one of the most important pieces to the Broncos attack. In his five years with Denver, he was a Pro Bowler three times. 

He made his last Pro Bowl in 1996 despite missing the first two games of his career. He missed two games again the next year, but Denver would go on and win Super Bowl XXXII. He retired after that. 

Zimmerman is on both the 1980s and 1990s NFL All-Decade Team, one of just a few players to make two teams. He is also on the USFL All-Time Team. 

Inducted into Canton in 2008, Zimmerman is one of the very best free agent signings for both the Vikings and Broncos.






Reggie White




The Philadelphia Eagles made him their first draft pick in the 1984 Supplemental draft. Steve Young, Mike Rozier and Gary Zimmerman were selected ahead of him.

All decided to go play in the United States Football League. White was named the USFL Man of the Year in 1985, and he is a member of the USFL All-Time Team. 

When the USFL folded after 1985, he joined the Eagles. He played eight seasons for them, going to the Pro Bowl each season except his first.

He was widely known as the best defensive end in all of football, and he was dubbed the "Minister of Defense" because he was also an Evangelical minister. 

He became a free agent after the 1992 season, and a bidding war started to attain his services. The Green Bay Packers won by giving him an airplane to use whenever White desired. 

In his six seasons as a Packer, White went to the Pro Bowl every year. He led them to Super Bowl XXXI, where the Packers defense and special teams carried them to victory. 

After being named the NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 1998, he retired. But the Carolina Panthers coaxed him out of retirement in 2000, the only year of his career he was not a Pro Bowler except for his first year. He retired for good after that. 

His 198 sacks are the second most ever since the stat started to get recorded in 1982. He retired as the Packers leader in sacks, but now ranks second. He still heads the Eagles list. 

Not only was his free agent signing good for the USFL, but Green Bay's signing him won them a championship.

Inducted into Canton in 2006, almost two years after his unexpected death, White is one of the truly great free agent signings in NFL history.

The United Football League started operations in 2009, becoming America's first alternative to the National Football League since 1987. While the UFL has no connections to the NFL. some in the media thought that it would eventually serve as a developmental league.

Others speculated the UFL was born at the time it was to swoop in when the NFL and their players would lock out after the 2010 season. Now that this has happened, the UFL is on the cusp of doing something only one other league has done before. Competing against the NFL has been more a losing proposition.

There have been many leagues formed to oppose the NFL. The first was the American Football League in 1926, created by Hall of Famer Red Grange and his agent after Chicago Bears owner George Halas reneged on monies owed to Grange.

The AFL tried to capitalize on a messy 1925 season for the NFL. Commissioner Joe Carr had just stolen the Championship Trophy from the Pottsville Maroons and handed it to the Chicago Cardinals. The Cardinals owner, NFL co-founder Chris O'Brien, refused the trophy, but the Bidwell family bought the Cardinals in 1933 and have claimed the trophy since.

Grange started the New York Yankees Football Club. A charter NFL team, the Rock Island Independents, joined the AFL and the league played one game in Canada that year. One team, the Brooklyn Horsemen, merged with the Detroit Lions.

This AFL folded after just one season due to financial issues. The second AFL formed in 1936, lasting two years before folding. This league had a team, the Los Angeles Bulldogs, that was the first professional team to play home games on the West Coast. The league had a team called the Cincinnati Bengals, who Hall of Famer Paul Brown named his 1967 expansion team after.

The lasting legacy of the second AFL was the Cleveland Rams, who are now known as the Saint Louis Rams in the NFL. The Rams had a rookie by the name of Sid Gillman on their 1936 team. Gillman is a Hall of Famer known as the "Father of the Modern Day NFL Offense". A second Yankees team was founded as well, and starred Hall of Fame running back Ken Strong.

Though the Los Angeles team drew fans, the rest of the league only garnered local interests in their respective areas. The financial strains of trying to compete against the NFL caused them to fold after 1937, but the dream of competition lived on.

The third AFL formed in 1940. They had a third version of the Yankees, a team that has lineage tied to the Indianapolis Colts, and Bengals. The Yankees called themselves the Americans in 1941, creating a coup by signing 1940 Heisman Trophy winner Tom Harmon over the Chicago Bears. The league folded after just two years because World War II emptied most of their rosters.

The All-American Football Conference was born after the war. The Cleveland Browns, Baltimore Colts, and San Francisco 49ers were teams born from the AAFC that would later join the NFL, though this Colts team has no ties to the current version. The Browns dominated the league, once going a record 29 games without defeat.

The AAFC is most remembered for breaking the color line professional sports employed in that era. The Browns signed Bill Willis and Marion Motley, two men who would later be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The AAFC drew well at first, and helped the NFL get more viewers as well.

The increasing popularity of pro football led to salary increases for the players. Only two NFL teams had profits in 1946. The AAFC instilled the use of the face mask, refining pass route running, shuttling players with plays called from the sideline, a year-round coaching staff, and classroom sessions that broke down games on a chalkboard and film.

The league folded when the Browns, Colts, and 49ers merged with the NFL. A fourth AAFC team, the Buffalo Bills, had their large fan base unsuccessfully campaigned for their teams inclusion but failed. Ralph Wilson, then a part-owner of the Detroit Lions saw this rabid fan base and would reward them a decade later.

The fourth American Football League was founded in 1960. Owners like Wilson, Bud Adams, and Lemar Hunt made the league work even despite their initial struggles. The AFL took an aggressive approach. They did not only line their rosters with ex-NFL players, but they held their own annual drafts and offered college kids more money than the NFL.

They made a few huge signings, starting with 1959 Heisman winner Billy Cannon. Adams recruited him in the end zone of his final collegiate game. Cannon would help lead the Houston Oilers to the first two championship wins in AFL history.

Others soon followed Cannon to the AFL. Hall of Famers like Joe Namath, Lance Alworth, Ron Mix, and Johnny Robinson were all first-round draft picks of the NFL who opted for the AFL. All are inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame except Robinson, who should be as well. The AFL put 31 men in the Hall of Fame, so far, and should have more.

The AFL brought an exciting brand of big play football without castrating the defenses. The offenses were exciting, as opposed to the grind-it-out style of the NFL then. Despite their fun play, the NFL considered them inferior and called them a "Mickey Mouse League."

When the AFL beat the NFL in the third Super Bowl, opinions changed. Secret meetings between Hunt and NFL owners in 1966, that were held without the knowledge of league commissioners Pete Rozelle and Al Davis, bred a merger that was agreed upon in 1970.

The AFL won the Super Bowl one more time in 1969 before it happened. Most of the AFC teams of today started in the AFL and no AFL team is in the NFC.

Since then, the World Football League, United States Football League, and XFL tried to compete with the NFL. The WFL signed several NFL stars and even took a few out of college.

Hall of Famers Larry Csonka and Paul Warfield were joined by Pat Haden, Danny White, Alfred Jenkins, Greg Latta, Jim Fassell, and Vince Papale, along with coaches like Jack Pardee, Marty Shottenheimer, Lindy Infante, and John McVay, to play two years with the WFL until it folded.

The XFL lasted one year before folding. They tried to bring in old school fans by allowing the bump and run defense, except they let defenders hit the receiver at any time. After four weeks, they adopted the NFL's five-yard chuck rule to increase scoring. They only allowed the two-point conversion after touchdowns, which the WFL also had, and they did not flip a coin to begin games to determine possession. They had a player from each team run 20 yards to gain possession of the ball laying on the 50-yard line.

The XFL put 33 players in the NFL and seven played in Super Bowls. Five won Super Bowl rings and Tommy Maddox, Bobby Singh, and Rob Carpenter won both an XFL and NFL championship.

The USFL had some successes in their three years of play. The league has six men in the Pro Football Hall of Fame and several others who later became stars in the NFL. They were aggressive in bidding for NFL free agents and college stars. Some of their biggest signing were Hall of Famers Jim Kelly and Steve Young out of college, as well as 1982 Heisman winner Hershel Walker, 1983 winner Mike Rozier, and 1984 winner Doug Flutie.

The USFL also attained the services of Hall of Famers Reggie White and Gary Zimmerman by offering them more money. Despite all of this, they could not keep up financially and teams began folding before they suspended play after 1985 and took the NFL to court. After losing their lawsuit, the USFL folded in 1987.

The UFL has all of this history to learn from. To see what works and what is a risk for failure. They are struggling some already, having their New York team move to Connecticut and Florida team move to Virginia and become owned by the league.

The league has just five teams right now and plans to play on Sundays starting in August. If they receive an influx of NFL players, there is a possibility of a sixth team. The UFL allows celebrations by players and have a "No Tuck Rule".

Several NFL coaches are in the UFL. Jim Fassel, Marty Shottenheimer, Jerry Glanville and Dennis Green lead teams. Joe Moglia, the Ameritrade CEO who was an unpaid assistant at Nebraska University, will coach the other team. The UFL has had 27 of their players go on and play in the NFL.

The UFL appears to be restricted financially. They borrowed $5 million from Mark Cuban last year and now have been taken to court by Cuban for failure to re-pay him on time. Cuban was once rumored to be interested in owning a UFL team and broadcasted their games on his HDnet network the first two years of their existence.

With the NFL appearing a long time away from solving their differences, the UFL could benefit. There is also a chance the lock out can hurt them. NFL players are trying to convince college players to skip the draft, so owners have been said to consider using replacement players like they did in 1987 during a players strike. The UFL could see most of their players in NFL uniforms.

Getting NFL players to join them could take time, as many may prefer to sit back and observe the negotiations. The UFL also does not appear to have the maverick leadership the AFL in the 1960's enjoyed. But it could work.

If an influx of bored NFL players decides to go to the UFL to collect a paycheck, their popularity could increase. It may increase already, considering they are the only game in town right now. In this tenuous situation, the next few months can define the legacy of the United Football League.

The muckerism known as the Roger Goodell Era began in the National Football League when he barely won the job as commissioner by two votes in 2006. Though he tried to push this image of being a strict disciplinarian since then, but he has mostly shown to be a watered down version of his mentor and predecessor Paul Tagliabue.

Goodell began working with the NFL as an intern thanks to the fact his dad was a Senator in the same state that NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle lived in. When Tagliabue replaced a retired Rozelle in 1989, Goodell was taken under the wing of a former college basketball player who knew very little about the game of football.

His role increased as the rules began to heavily favor the offenses and the quarterback position especially. Goodell has even taken this many steps further to sickening proportions since 2006 to the point even touching a quarterback results in a penalty and fine.

The 2011 season has been his worse, yet it may be a blessing for the NFL. It is quite evident Goodell is the wrong man for the job more than ever and replacing him would benefit the league. The league has made mistakes here before, so admitting they made the wrong hire would be nothing new for the NFL.

Jim Thorpe was the first NFL Commissioner ever from 1920 to 1921. He was an obvious figurehead much like Goodell is. Thorpe was a Hall of Fame football player who won two Gold Medals in the 1921 Olympics, played Major League Baseball, and basically excelled in any athletic endeavor.

Carl Stork, a co-founder of the NFL, was commissioner for two years until stepping down due to illness. Austin Gunsel stepped in when Bert Bell died in 1959, but was replaced by Rozelle four months later. Elmer Layden, one of the famous "Four Horsemen" from Notre Dame University, held the job for five year before being replaced by Bell because owners thought him too much a gentleman and not forceful enough for the job.

While Goodell has tried to pretend his was forceful regime, it has been severely tainted with hypocrisy. He reduced a suspension of Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger by two games this year, but then proceeded to tell people, right before the quarterback was to play Super Bowl XLV, that at least two dozen Steelers did not support Roethlisberger.

The reporter, Peter King, tried to back peddle soon after, but most likely because he was ordered to by Goodell. Still, the damage was done and the timing could not have been more inappropriate. The Super Bowl is the biggest game the league has, one where billions of dollars are involved and where more viewers from other parts of the world tune in.

Not only was the big game marred by Goodell's boorish behavior, but perhaps the worst pre-game and halftime entertainment shows in Super Bowl history followed in a game where hundreds of fans were displaced because Goodell's people did a poor job preparing Cowboys Stadium for the event. These fans are now suing the league.

These debacles took place on the eve of a players strike that is almost certainly going to occur. Players strikes are nothing new in the NFL, having occurred in 1968, 1970, 1982, and 1987. Yet each strike dealt with different issues.

When the players threatened a strike in 1968, the owners countered by declaring a lockout. Since players salaries were low in that era, which caused them to hold second hobs, this strike was brief. There was another brief strike during training camp in 1970.

Just nine regular season games were played in 1982 because of the strike. When the 1987 strike went down, players missed a month of the regular season but the games were still played.

Owners hired replacement players, which was largely a group of players who had been cut in training camps. Many unionized players, including Hall of Famers like Joe Montana, Steve Largent, and Randy White, crossed the picket lines to play.

This strike may be different because NFL players see how Major League Baseball players get paid. The NFL is the king of professional sports right now and players want a bigger piece of the pie. Considering an average career lasts less than two years, their request doesn't seem ridiculous.

The players today are afforded luxuries like never before. Though the game still contains hard hitting at times, the rules today make it a much less violent game. Goodell is now saying the league cares about players suffering concussions, an issue they ignored since their beginnings.

Past players suffer today, ignored by their own brethren who are enjoying the path paved for them. Yet the players see how the legends are doing today and are trying to prevent repeating that in their own future. Goodell's recent claims of caring are generally considered just lip service by most so he can resolve the impending strike sooner.

Besides continuing Tagliabue's mission to pamper quarterbacks and offenses while castrating defenses, there are many other things about Goodell that anger players. Many feel he is out of touch, sitting in an ivory tower with a blind eye as his wallet fills up at a rapid pace.

Many players lately have been echoing the same sentiment in regards to their commissioner. They feel he has too much power and control over the game while maintaining a constant predilection of making wrong decisions ultimately. He once was referred to as an obtuse fascist who has ruined the integrity of the game in favor of money.

Though it is unknown if things would be much better or worse now if Goodell did not retain those two votes in 2006, the question if he is the right man for the job gets louder each day. Whether the owners are listening or even caring is the question.

Bell and Rozelle, generally considered the best commissioners in NFL history, never uttered such ramblings like Goodell has while holding the office over 30 years combined. Neither besmirched their players like Goodell has. Though it is doubtful a person as good as Bell or Rozelle is out there right now, it would behoove the NFL to try and find out while firing Goodell.

If the league stays complacent behind his questionable leadership, the United Football League could very well find success the the American Football League did in the 1960's, forcing the NFL to allow all 10 of their teams to merge. Before that, the All-American Football Conference had the NFL take in three teams in 1950.

Though the game of football needs the upstart UFL, now entering their third season, to compete with the NFL to make their product better, the NFL learned 41 years ago from the AFL that it can take a long time to get back on top after being the only game in town several years. A game that has been eroding under the direction of Roger Goodell.  

Watching Brett Farve lead the 1-3 Minnesota Vikings to another loss, as he tossed 20 incompletions in 34 attempts and added to his NFL records of most interceptions and fumbles coughed up, one couldn't help but see Y.A. Tittle.

Farve has defied all the odds since the Atlanta Falcons drafted him in the second round way back in 1991. He moved on to the Green Bay Packers the next year, leading them to two Super Bowls and winning one over 16 seasons.

He has set too many records to count almost. Yes he played in an era where playing quarterback is nowhere nearly as difficult nor physically taxing as it once was, but he has done it better than anyone in his era so far.

Men like Peyton Manning and Tom Brady are nipping on the heels of several of his records, but they both have a ways to go. A long ways in many instances.

It wasn't just the fact Farve won with a gum slinging mentality that earned him millions of fans, it was how he won in the face of mortality after family death and an ill mate. His 2009 season amazed many.

He made his 11th Pro Bowl at the age of 40, and statistically had the best year of his Hall of Fame career. The three-time NFL MVP seemed ageless, and drew respect of even those perturbed by his waffling of retiring and un-retiring with a diva mentality.

ESPN also brought a lot of that ire on him. It is no secret Favre is close with many on the network, but their on-air fellatio of their deity grew sickening as it has run on a 24-hour loop since 2007.

As he was flopping around in the first half on their loss Monday to the New York Jets, broadcast by ESPN, the announcers seemed contractually obligated to express adoration of Farve every 30 seconds.

At one point, it seemed each member of the broadcast booth wished he had sexually harassed him instead of three other women. Who knows what they are doing with the purported pictures of Favre's genitals.

Even after Farve lazily coughed up three fumbles via poor fundamentals, losing two, the announcers sickeningly sought excuses for him rather than be objective broadcast journalists.

The second half brought him success, as he almost got Minnesota back in the game courtesy of two touchdown passes. One was a lollipop pass to recently acquired Randy Moss that brought back memories of the time Tittle invented the alley-oop pass to R.C. Owens in the 1950's.

Yelberton Abraham Tittle was the first round draft pick of the Detroit Lions in 1948, the sixth overall selection. He opted to join the Baltimore Colts of the All-American Football Conference instead, and the team won just nine games in his three years there in a league dominated by the Cleveland Browns.

Tittle has led the league in passing attempts, completions, yards gained per completion and attempt, and interception percentage, as well as interceptions, at least once in his time with the Colts, who were woefully undermanned.

He found himself with the San Francisco 49ers in 1950 after the Colts folded. He spent three years as a backup to Frankie Albert, a Pro Bowler who was the Chicago Bears first round pick in 1942, but had joined the Niners in 1946 after serving in World War Two.

Albert retired after a sub par 1952 season where Tittle started five times. Tittle's first year as started in 1953 saw the Niners lead the league by averaging a whopping 31 points per game. San Francisco finished second in their division during a time only division winners go to the postseason.

Though Tittle had weapons like Billy Wilson, Gordon Soltau, R.C. Owens, and the "Million Dollar Backfield" that consisted of Hall of Famers Joe "Jet" Perry, Hugh McElhenny, and John Henry Johnson, the Niners could never win it all.

A team that many consider the greatest ever to never win a title, they named Albert the head coach in 1956, and drafted quarterback John Brodie with the third overall pick in 1957.

That year saw the Niners make their first NFL postseason, but they lost to the eventual champion Detroit Lions in the fourth quarter 31-27.

Tittle's next three years saw him mostly injured, though he made the Pro Bowl in 1959, as Brodie became ready to take control of the team. San Francisco then traded the 35-year old Tittle to the New York Giants for Lou Cordileone, their first round draft choice in 1960, just before the 1961 season.

Tittle defied expert opinion by defying his age in an era where it was much more difficult to play quarterback in the NFL. He went to three straight Pro Bowls as the Giants lost five times total over the three seasons.

After leading the league in touchdown passes in 1962, he did it again the next year, as well as completion percentage, touchdown percentage, and yards gained per completion at 37-years old.

Then Father Time came calling and cashed in his chips in 1964. The Giants great teams had aged and were gone, so this team was full of youth and little talent. The few older players that remained were a shell of what they once were.

New York finished last in defense and second to last in offense. Tittle took a tremendous beating, winning just once in his nine starts. A famous picture was taken of him that year realizing it was all over for him and football.

Though Tittle never won a championship, despite leading the Giants to three of them, the seven-time Pro Bowler, who won the NFL MVP trophy twice, was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1971.

He still holds the record for seven touchdown passes in a game, and was the first of just eight quarterback in NFL history to have 30-touchdown passes in consecutive seasons. Farve is one of the other eight.

Tittle's 36 touchdown passes in 1963 was an NFL record until Hall of Famer Dan Marino broke it in 1984 under newer rules that made it easier to play quarterback in the NFL.

It still remains tied for ninth most ever, and the 37-year old Tittle is easily the oldest on the list. A 30-year old Tom Brady set the record in 2007 under even newer rules that have made it much, much easier to be an NFL quarterback.

Farve's 2010 season seems to be resembling Tittle's 1964 year somewhat. The Vikings are losing like the Giants did that year, and Farve has tossed seven interceptions in just four games. He threw that same amount in the entire 2007 season, a career low mark.

The one difference is surrounding talent. Farve has Pro Bowlers like Adrian Peterson, Randy Moss, Percy Harvin, Bryant McKinnie, and Steve Hutchinson helping him on offense. Tittle only had Hall of Famer Rosey Brown as a Pro Bowler, along with tight end Aaron Thomas make his only Pro Bowl in 1964.

Minnesota was, and perhaps still is, expected to be a team with Super Bowl ability this year, unlike the fact few expected much from the 1964 Giants. The season has a long way to go for the Vikings, but their start has to have everyone cheering for the organization concerned.

The hope is that Farve stops playing like he is 41 and washed up, rediscovering the fountain youth that led the Vikings to the NFC Championship last year. Hope that Father Time has not yet cashed in those eventual chips, that we all one day will see, yet again.  

Jay Berwanger was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles, but declined to play. The Chicago Bears traded for his rights after hiring Berwanger's college coach, Clark Shaughnessy, to improve the T-formation offense that had made Berwanger a star at the University of Chicago. 

 

Of the nine players drafted in the first round in 1936, only Berwanger and Notre Dame legend Bill Shakespeare decided not to play. Five players careers did not last past 1939, and the remaining two players careers lasted until 1944.

 

One was Bears Hall of Famer Joe Stydahar. 

 

Other famous facts was that future College Football Hall of Fame coach Paul "Bear" Bryant was drafted in the fourth round by the Brooklyn Dodgers, but Bryant immediately chose to be an assistant at Alabama University instead.

 

Bears Hall of Famer  Danny Fortmann was the fourth from last player drafted that year. 

 

This is a recollection of some of the biggest busts in NFL history, proving the memory of a Jamarcus Russell will fade over time.

 

Berwanger, however, does not belong in this category. 

 

Here is a list of the first picks of NFL drafts that did not play the way their teams and fans expected.

 

 

Tom Harmon

 

Harmon won both the Heisman Trophy and Maxwell Award after a legendary career at Michigan University. The Chicago Bears made him the first pick of the 1941 draft, but he opted to play for the New York Americans of the second installment of the American Football League instead. 

 

Harmon was also making movies, which paved the way for his children to be actors. Mark Harmon may the most famous, though one daughter starred in Tic-Tac candy commercials in the 80's and another married Ricky Nelson. 

 

He then joined the Army as a pilot and flew several missions in World War II. He was shot down once, and flew a plane into a storm where he was the only surviving member of the crew. These incidents caused leg injuries, but Harmon joined the Los Angeles Rams in 1946. 

 

He played just two years before retiring from the injuries he sustained as a soldier. He scored nine times as a part-time player, including a league leading 84 yard run his rookie season and a league leading 88 yard punt return in his last year. He also picked off 11 passes, scoring once each year. One was returned for a league leading 85 yards as a rookie. 

 

Though the war ravaged his career, his impact in the AFL then is mostly unknown due to poorly kept records and statistics.He had impact in his two years in the NFL, but it came about six seasons after he was drafted by another team.

 

He is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame, but he could have had more gridiron success in other circumstances.

 

 

 

Angelo Bertelli

 

"The Springfield Rifle" won the 1943 Heisman despite playing just six games for Notre Dame University before joining the Marines because of WWII.

 

That did not stop the Boston Yanks from making him the first pick of the 1944 draft.  He never played for the Yanks, opting to play in the All-American Football Conference for a few years.

 

He joined the Los Angeles Dons in 1946, starting in three games. He spent the next two years as a backup with the Chicago Rockets before retiring with eight touchdown passes and 14 interceptions in his career. 

 

Perhaps he was destined for greater professional gridiron achievements if it were not for the war.

 

His is also the father of ex-Sonic Youth drummer Bob Bert.

 

 

 

Boley Dancewicz

 

 

The first pick of the 1946 draft by the Boston Yanks, this Notre Dame great lasted three years with the team as a reserve before retiring.

 

He started in two games, and ended up with 12 touchdowns and 29 interceptions. The highlight of his career was in 1947, where he led the NFL in yards gained per pass completion.

 

He is the grandfather of quarterback Chris Pizzotti, who has bounced around several NFL training camps the past few years.

 

 

 

 

Bob Fenimore

 

 

The "Blonde Bomber" was a legendary two-time All-American halfback at Oklamhoma A&M, which is now known as Oklahoma State University.

 

A member of the College Football Hall of Fame, he did not play much in his senior year because of injuries. 

 

The Chicago Bears made him the first pick of the 1947 draft.

 

He lasted one season in the league, scoring three times and intercepting two passes in the ten games he appeared in.

 

Fenimore then walked away from the NFL forever.

 

 

 

 

Harry Babcock

 

 

He was a wide receiver taken by the San Francisco 49ers with the first pick of the 1953 draft, which had one of the worst first rounds in NFL history. 

 

Including Babcock, seven of the 13 first round selections were out of the league by 1957 with little contribution. Two others never played in the league. 

 

Babcock's three seasons saw him catch just 16 balls for 181 yards and no scores. He was out of the game after 1955.

 

 

 

 

Bobby Garrett

Garrett was the guy that made teams start doing their homework better before the drafts.

He was taken by the Cleveland Browns with the first pick in 1954. When the quarterback showed up, Cleveland quickly learned he had a severe stutter. 

 

They quickly traded him to the Green Bay Packers, where he lasted one season.

 

He completed 15 of 30 passes for 143 yards and an interception before walking away from the game. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

George Shaw

The Baltimore Colts made him the first pick in 1955.

 

He started all 12 games as a rookie, but soon found himself on the bench behind undrafted free agent, and future Hal of Famer, Johnny Unitas after breaking a leg in 1956. 

 

He stayed mostly on the Colts bench until 1958, where the Colts won the championship.

He then bounced around as a backup for the New York Giants, Minnesota Vikings, and the Denver Broncos of the AFL before retiring at the end of the 1962 season.

 

He won 11 of the 29 games he started, and had 41 touchdown passes versus 63 interceptions. 

 

Though there have been bigger busts than Shaw, and it wasn't his fault maybe the games greatest quarterback ever ended up on his team, he certainly did not quite enjoy the career expected of him.

 

 

 

 

King Hill

 

It might be hard to call a guy with a 12 year career a bust, but it wasn't one hoped for when the Chicago Cardinals made him the first pick in 1958.

 

The Cardinals also had the second pick that year, and got great value when they snagged halfback John David Crow. 

 

Hill started out as a quarterback, but barely played as a rookie. He was handed the staring job the next year, and won just two of 11 games.

 

He fumbled the ball a league high 13 times, which was tied with Hall of Famer Bobby Layne as the second most ever, one less than Bobby Wade's 14, at the time. 

 

The Cardinals moved to Saint Louis in 1960, and Hill was moved to punter.

 

He was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles the next year and lasted eight years with them as a punter and seldom used quarterback. He rejoined the Cardinals in 1969 as a punter before retiring. 

 

One reason for his longevity was the fact he averaged 41.3 yards per punt on 368 attempts, and never had a kick blocked until his final season.

 

He also was an important man in the players union, holding the title of Vice President of the Players Association in 1968. The league was on strike then, and Hill helped sign the first collective bargaining agreement in NFL history. 

 

Hill immediately stepped into coaching in 1970 as the offensive coordinator of the Houston Oilers, where he stayed until 1980. He then took the same job with the New Orleans Saints from 1981 to 1986 before returning to the Eagles as a scout for six years. 

 

Though he has a fine career as a punter, no one drafts a punter with the first pick of the draft.

 

He threw 48 touchdown passes, but he also tossed 71 interceptions and won just seven of the 30 games he started.

 

 

 

 

 

Randy Duncan

 

The Green Bay Packers made this quarterback the first pick of the 1959 draft after a legendary career at Iowa University, where he was the 1958 Big Ten MVP, Walter Camp and Helms Foundation Player of the Year, and finished second in the Heisman vote. He is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame. 

 

Not liking the contract offer of the Packers, he bolted to the Canadian Football League to be a member of the BC Lions. He lasted two years there before deciding to join the Dallas Texans of the AFL in 1961. 

 

He spent most of the year as a backup to Pro Bowler Cotton Davidson, though he did start twice himself and won once. He threw one touchdown pass that year, then retired from the game to become a lawyer.

 

 

 

 

Terry Baker

 

Baker was an exciting athlete drafted by the Los Angeles Rams first overall in 1963.

He won the 1962 Heisman at Oregon State University, and also excelled at basketball. His team made it to the Final Four that year, making him the only Heisman winner to accomplish this feat.

 

Sports Illustrated named him their Sportsman of the Year and he is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame. 

 

He was a running quarterback, but the Rams ran a system that asked for a pocket passer. He played sparingly over his three years in the NFL, mostly lining up at running back.

 

Baker threw 21 career passes, completing 11. He also caught 30 passes and ran for 219 yards on 58 carries with one touchdown. 

 

Unhappy with the Rams, he went to the CFL and joined the Edmonton Eskimos.

He retired after one season.

 

His selection has to be one of the most curious, because the Rams seemed intent on making him something he was not instead of adjusting some of their playbook to his style.

 

 

 

 

Walt Patulski

The Buffalo Bills made him the first selection in 1972.

A big defensive end with good speed, the former Notre Dame standout had finished ninth in the 1971 Heisman voting.

 

When he arrived in Buffalo, big things were expected. After five quarterback sacks as a rookie, he improved to seven the following year and was named Defensive Player of the Week after the 11th game.

 

He then got nine and a half sacks over the next two years. 

 

Buffalo then decided to trade him to the Saint Louis Cardinals before the 1976 season, but he hurt his knee and missed the entire year. He returned in 1977, then retired at seasons end. 

 

Though Patulski had some success, it wasn't what both he and the Bills had expected and hoped for.

 

 

 

 

Kenneth Sims

 

The New England Patriots tabbed this defensive end with the first pick of the 1982 draft.

It was a strike year that season, so Sims had three sacks over nine games. He played in just five contests the next year because of injuries. 

 

His best season as a pro was in 1985, when he had a career high five and a half sacks as New England made it to Super Bowl XX before losing.

 

He spent three of his last four years injured mostly. He played four total games over two seasons.  

 

In 1980, he was caught with drugs and the Patriots released him, thus ending his career.

Sims is considered by many as squandered talent.

 

He was called "Game Day" because he preferred not to practice during the week.

 

 

 

 

Steve Emtman

 

The Indianapolis Colts had the first two draft picks of the 1992 draft. Emtman was the first, linebacker Quenton Coryatt was the second.

 

Coryatt lasted six years with the team, getting eight and a half sacks and three interceptions before playing four games for the Dallas Cowboys in 1999 and retiring at seasons end. 

 

Emtman was an athletic defensive tackle with a "cant miss" tag on him.

 

He came out as a junior after finishing fourth in the Heisman voting. He is also a member of the College Football Hall of Fame. 

 

He got off to a fast start as a rookie, getting three sacks and intercepting a ball, returning it 90 yards for a touchdown against the Miami Dolphins. Two weeks later, he blew out his left knee against the Dolphins and was out for the year.

 

He then blew out his other knee in the fifth game of the following year, shelving him again. He came back again the next year, but ruptured a disc in the first game. 

 

Emtman continued to play three more games before the pain became unbearable and his season was shut down early for the third consecutive season. 

 

He joined the Dolphins in 1995, playing all 16 games for the only time of his career as a reserve.

 

After playing in 13 the next year, he joined the Washington Redskins for four games in 1997 before retiring. 

 

Obvious bad luck derailed a very promising career, but Emtman's toughness was undeniable in his ability to come back for more yearly.

 

 

 

 

Ki-Jana Carter

Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images

The National Football League has a wasteland of first round draft picks who never did much if or when they played. Many players are on ever draft board every year with lackluster numbers few expected at the time they were chosen. 

In 1936, the NFL created a draft. There were nine teams in the league at that time, so they held a nine round draft.

The league was not very popular at the time, taking a distant backseat to Major League Baseball and college football.  Many of the players drafted eschewed the opportunity to play in the NFL, a practice that continued into the 1950's, because they could earn much more money working elsewhere.

This includes the first player ever drafted, who happened to also be the first winner of the Heisman Trophy.

 

Steve Emtman

The Indianapolis Colts had the first two draft picks of the 1992 draft. Emtman was the first, linebacker Quenton Coryatt was the second.

Coryatt lasted six years with the team, getting eight and a half sacks and three interceptions before playing four games for the Dallas Cowboys in 1999 and retiring at seasons end. 

Emtman was an athletic defensive tackle with a "cant miss" tag on him.

He came out as a junior after finishing fourth in the Heisman voting. He is also a member of the College Football Hall of Fame. 

He got off to a fast start as a rookie, getting three sacks and intercepting a ball, returning it 90 yards for a touchdown against the Miami Dolphins. Two weeks later, he blew out his left knee against the Dolphins and was out for the year.

He then blew out his other knee in the fifth game of the following year, shelving him again. He came back again the next year, but ruptured a disc in the first game. 

Emtman continued to play three more games before the pain became unbearable and his season was shut down early for the third consecutive season. 

He joined the Dolphins in 1995, playing all 16 games for the only time of his career as a reserve.

After playing in 13 the next year, he joined the Washington Redskins for four games in 1997 before retiring. 

Obvious bad luck derailed a very promising career, but Emtman's toughness was undeniable in his ability to come back for more yearly.

 

Bad luck met Carter early in his career, a few weeks after the Cincinnati Bengals made the running back the first selection in 1995.

 

He blew out his knee the third time he ever touched the ball in an exhibition game, putting him on the sideline for the year. 

 

He came back the next season and scored 15 touchdowns over two years before injury struck him again. After appearing in just four games over two seasons, Cincinnati cut him.

 

The Washington Redskins picked him up for one season before he moved onto the New Orleans Saints and played in ten games over two years before retiring. 

 

He lasted seven years in the NFL, gaining just 1,144 rushing yards and 21 total touchdowns.

 

Yahoo Sports named him as the worst number-one draft pick since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970, though injuries had a great part as to the reason why he struggled.

 

 

 

 

 

Tim Couch

This quarterback was the first selection of the 1999 draft by the Cleveland Browns, who were an expansion team.

 

Both he and the team struggled to two wins that year, though Couch did show promise.

 

He was hurt the next year, appearing in seven games, then seemed to regress each season even though the team was improving with more victories.

 

After a mediocre 2003 season bereft with injury, Cleveland parted ways with him. 

 

Couch spent several years talking about playing again, but he never made a roster and struggled with rotator cuff issues.

 

Too bad the UFL wasn't out then for him.

 

 

 

 

Courtney Brown

 

The first pick of the 2000 draft by the Cleveland Browns, this defensive end stayed in the NFL until 2005 with inconsistent play in between injuries. 

 

His rookie season was the only time he played all 16 games, and he got four and a half sacks. He duplicated that sack total in just five games the next year, as well as scoring his only touchdown off a fumble recovery, before he was befell by injury. 

 

He had a career best six sacks in 13 games during 2003, but played in just two games the next year. Cleveland cut him, and he signed with the Denver Broncos.

 

He lasted one year with them before retiring after 2005. 

 

Blessed with good size and athleticism, his critics felt he lacked the inner drive to be the best player he possibly could be.

 

 

 

 

 

 

David Carr

 

This quarterback was the first pick ever by the expansion Houston Texans in 2002.

 

Playing behind a porous offensive line, Carr was hit virtually every time he attempted a pass.

 

He fumbled 21 times as a rookie, leading the league with 12 recoveries while being sacked an NFL record 76 times. 

 

He led the league in times sacked his third and fourth seasons as well, though he showed some improvements. He led the NFL in completion percentage in 2006, but the Texans cut him anyways. 

 

After a one year stop with the Carolina Panthers in 2007, where he won one of four starts, he joined the New York Giants for two years as a backup. He then signed with the San Francisco 49ers as a reserve for 2010. 

 

Though his career may not yet be done, few quarterbacks took the pounding Carr did in his first five years.

 

 

 

 

 

JaMarcus Russell

 

The first pick of the 2007 draft by the Oakland Raiders, his career might be a lesson as to what can happen when you toss a quarterback onto the field before he is ready.

 

Undeveloped talent might be the best term for Russell so far, but his work ethic is widely regarded as terrible. 

 

Russell was recently cut by the Raiders and is unemployed.

 

A year or two in the UFL would do him good, but there has yet to be a story of his interest in the upstart league. 

 

Blessed with enormous size for a quarterback, and rare arm strength, the knock of him is what is in his head and heart.

 

A story circulated around Raiders headquarters that a coach asked Russell to study a DVD. When asked about it the next day Russell reportedly said he learned a lot. Problem was, he way handed a blank DVD, which further exposed his work ethic and interest in football. 

 

Only 25-years old, it is fathomable he can one day return to the NFL and salvage his career. It is looking like a long shot at best right now, because many feel he will never put in the required work.

 

 

 

Honorable Mention

 

Alex Smith was the first pick of the 2005 draft and has mostly been unimpressive thus far. He might be running out of chances to get off this list.  

 

The AAFC held drafts from 1947 to 1949. Many of their drafted players elected to play in the NFL instead. 

 

Frank Aschenbrenner was the first ever player drafted. He lasted one year with the Buffalo Bills, carrying the ball eight times for 14 yards before retiring. 

 

Clyde Scott was the first pick in 1948 by the Buffalo Bills, but he was also the eighth overall selection by the Philadelphia Eagles. He joined the Eagles for just over three years, before finishing his career with the Detroit Lions. He won a championship with each team. 

 

Abe Gibron was the last number-one draft pick of the AAFC, also by the Bills. He played ten games in Buffalo, then the league went defunct.

 

He joined the Cleveland Bowns for over 6 years, making the Pro Bowl four times. He was traded to the Philadephia Eagles late in 1956, then joined the Chicago Bears in 1958. He retired after the 1959 season, having won three championships with Cleveland. 

 

He later became a head coach of the Chicago Bears for three years, then one year for the Chicago Winds of the World Football League. He later joined the expansion Tampa Bay Buccaneers, where he was beloved for his sense of humor and love of food. 

 

The fourth installment of the American Football League held drafts from 1960 to 1966.

Like the AAFC, many drafted players went to the NFL, though the AFL was much more aggressive and signed more players.

 

This aggressiveness led to better play than what the NFL was producing, forcing a merger between the two leagues. 

 

The 1960 draft was a territorial draft, though officially the Oakland Raiders selected a player in a supplemental draft who never played for them. 

 

The first pick of the 1961 draft was Bob Gaiters by the Denver Broncos, but he opted to play with the New York Giants instead.

 

Roman Gabriel was the first pick in 1962 by the Raiders, but he too chose the NFL. 

 

Hall of Fame defensive tackle Buck Buchanan was the first selection in 1963 by the Kansas City Chiefs, and he became the first to actually play in the AFL. Amazingly, the New York Giants waited until the 19th round to draft him in the NFL, and 264 players were chosen before him. 

 

Buchanan led the Chiefs to two Super Bowls, winning one, in a 13-year career that saw him named to eight Pro Bowls and four First Team All-Pro honors. 

 

Jack Concannon was the first pick in 1964 by the Boston Patriots. The NFL Philadelphia Eagles drafted him in the second round, so he chose to go there. He lasted ten years, promarily as a reserve. 

 

"Broadway" Joe Namath was the first pick of the 1965 AFL draft by the New York Jets.

 

He is widely regarded as the man who saved that franchise from extinction.

 

He became the first man to throw for over 4,000 yards, quite a feat in the ten-yard chuck rule era. He lasted 12 years with the Jets and one with the Los Angeles Rams.

 

He led the league in passing yards three times, as well as interceptions. He went to five Pro Bowls, but the Hall of Famer is best remembered for the "Guarantee". 

 

His Jets upset a favored Oakland Raiders in the AFL Champoionship, a team that handled them just five weeks earlier, that enabled them to oppose the heavily favored NFL Champion Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III.

 

New York won 16-7, shaking up the world of professional football and bringing respect to the AFL and helped force the eventual merger in 1970. 

 

The 1966 season was the last AFL Draft before the leagues merged their drafts.

The Miami Dolphins selected Jim Grabowski, but he elected to join the Green Bay Packers. They had selected him ninth overall that season. 

 

Though Buchanan and Namath were the only first overall picks to play in the AFL, their impact is historic.

 

Both brought the AFL their only Super Bowl trophies,proving to all their league wasn't as inferior as the NFL loved to claim.

 

They made football better then, which in turn made the future of professional football better off.

 

 

 

Week 2 Picks (8-7 Last Week) :

Pittsburgh Steelers @ Tennessee Titans

Dennis Dixon wasn't great in his start last week, but the defense was. This unit realizes they need to carry the team right now.

Steelers 20 Titans 13





Chicago Bears @ Dallas Cowboys

Dallas was horrible last week, a far cry from the team expected to win their division. If they do not beat a team that had no business defeating the Detroit Lions last week, they may as well go home now.

Cowboys 23 Bears 21





Buffalo Bills @ Green Bay Packers

Green Bay handled the Philadelphia Eagles last week, but lost star running back Ryan Grant for the year. We will see how they will look without him this week.

Packers 24 Bills 21

Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ Carolina Panthers

Tampa Bay outlasted Cleveland last week, even though their quarterback has an injured thumb on his throwing hand. Carolina's quarterback, Matt Moore, needs to play better than he did last week, and I expect him to.

Panthers 27 Buccaneers 17






Kansas City Chiefs @ Cleveland Browns

While Kansas City provided a nice surprise last week in their upset victory over the San Diego Chargers, the Browns frustrated a few by dropping their game to Tampa Bay. Though neither team will get to the playoffs this year, but it will be an interesting battle of rebuilding teams.

Chiefs 31 Browns 24






Miami Dolphins @ Minnesota Vikings

Both teams like to pound their opponents into the turf, so this will be a real smash mouth grind. Both have good running games, but less than stellar passing attacks. This could go into overtime.

Vikings 23 Dolphins 20







Arizona Cardinals @ Atlanta Falcons

Arizona squeaked by the Saint Louis Rams last week, while the Falcons went toe-to-toe with Pittsburgh into overtime before losing. Though the Cardinals have a good defense, it isn't quite as good as the Steelers, so Atlanta should be more productive.

Falcons 34 Cardinals 21







Baltimore Ravens @ Cincinnati Bengals
Game of the Week

Terrell Owens and Chad Ocho Cinco's egos will be the downfall of Cincinnati this year. Both cry for the ball every play, but are obviously on the downsides of their careers. Owens seems to have a foot in his career's grave.

Tight end Jermaine Greshem and the running game are more dangerous weapons, but we won't see enough of it because of the two babbling divas. This was seen last week when the New England Patriots thrashed them.

Baltimore was amped up last week, so critics expect a let down in a short week to prepare. This is a veteran team, so their Super Bowl candidacy will broadcast their intentions this weekend. The great teams win these games.

Ravens 30 Bengals 28





Philadelphia Eagles @ Detroit Lions

While the Lions were robbed last week, the Eagles started their season flat footed. Both teams will be playing their backup quarterbacks this week. Philadelphia's Michael Vick is now getting the chance he once thought he'd never get again. He has a good chance of running and throwing for over 100 yards.

Eagles 34 Lions 17






Saint Louis Rams @ Oakland Raiders

While the Rams played fairly well in their loss last week, the Raiders played poorly. Oakland needs to bounce back this week.

Raiders 27 Rams 21






Seattle Seahawks @ Denver Broncos

While the Seahawks surprised many in their blow out victory over the 49ers, the Broncos dropped a game some thought they would win. While neither team is looking very strong right now, this should be a game that goes to the wire.

Broncos 24 Seahawks 23







Houston Texans @ Washington Redskins

The Redskins benefited from poor play calling by the Dallas Cowboys last week. Their top two running backs averaged almost five yards a carry, but the team decided to throw too much.

 

Houston will not make this same mistake, especially after Arian Foster had the second most productive ground game of any player in NFL history. Washington is expected to show more offensive punch than last week.

Texans 26 Redskins 21
 

New England Patriots @ New York Jets

While the Patriots proved themselves to be a serious Super Bowl contender last week, the Jets showed they are further away than they expected. New England will widen the gap further.

Patriots 27 Jets 13




Jacksonville Jaguars @ San Diego Chargers

The Chargers are coming off a crushing loss last Monday, and they need to rebound quickly. Jacksonville looked solid last week, and will try to build off that momentum.

Chargers 34 Jaguars 24





New York Giants @ Indianapolis Colts

Neither team was very impressive last week. While the Giants defense destroyed the Carolina Panthers, their offense made way too many mistakes. The Colts tiny defensive line might just what New York needs in this battle of the Manning brothers.

Giants 27 Colts 26




New Orleans Saints @ San Francisco 49ers

This is not how the Niners wanted to start this season. They got blown out by Seattle, a team most did not expect a lot of this year. Now they face the defending champions, who are coming off an impressive win and had a few extra days to prepare as well.

Saints 37 49ers 20