Most overrated play in NFL History

[fallforward3y+]

As much as I've enjoyed all the talk about Denver versus Seattle, I figured I'd mix it up a bit. I was thinking earlier about how overrated the whole 'Bo running over Boz' play is.

It is incredibly stupid that that play is supposedly the biggest sign of Boz being a bust. For one since when is it the end of the world for a LB if he gets run over by a powerful runner one time? Like a good LB has never been run over before. If you get the guy to the ground(which Boz did), it's nothing embarrassing. He scored because he was first hit at the 1. To make it even worse, Boz was running laterally and Bo was running straight ahead. That situation STRONGLY favors the RB to knock the tackler back. If Bo had also been running at an angle, it probably goes differently.

It's amazing how people make that out to be some big ultimate sign of Boz's bust status. It's completely ridiculous, Bo was a very powerful RB. If you think about it, the hyping of that play is really a huge insult to Bo without intending to be. If I were to get about 3 yards while being tackled against someone and everyone said that player should be severely embarrassed because of it, I'd take that as a pretty big insult.

So anyway, as you can tell that gets under my skin a bit, lol.

So, what do you guys think is the most overrated play in NFL History. For me, it's hard to top that.

[rsrobinson]

I was at that game in the Kingdome and remember well the crowd booing Bosworth as he left the field. It wasn't just because of that one play but represented an accumulated frustration with his overall play after coming into the league with massive hype.

In some ways the Boz was the Richard Sherman of his time...a big talking self-promoter who was a polarizing figure. Unlike Sherman, though, Boz didn't back up his talk with his play on the field which is why that play is so well remembered. You're right that it's doubtful any LB would have kept Jackson out of the end zone on that play, it's just that it was the perfect illustration of the large gap between hype and reality. Bo Jackson was the real deal; the Boz was not.

[gorky]

Bo Jackson was a god.

As much as I love T Davis, if I could pick one running back historically to have in his prime on my Broncos, it would be Bo.

I remember when Bo ran over Karl Mecklenberg kind of like what you describe with the Boz. Karl was one of the best tacklers on my team ever. If he got his hands on you, you were going to be tackled. Bo literally ran him over and made him look stupid.

So, I don't think the play you describe is so much about Boz's failure, as much as it's about how amazing Bo was.

[fallforward3y+]

I was at that game in the Kingdome and remember well the crowd booing Bosworth as he left the field. It wasn't just because of that one play but represented an accumulated frustration with his overall play after coming into the league with massive hype.

In some ways the Boz was the Richard Sherman of his time...a big talking self-promoter who was a polarizing figure. Unlike Sherman, though, Boz didn't back up his talk with his play on the field which is why that play is so well remembered. You're right that it's doubtful any LB would have kept Jackson out of the end zone on that play, it's just that it was the perfect illustration of the large gap between hype and reality. Bo Jackson was the real deal; the Boz was not.

I get the gap between hype and reality, but I just don't see why that one play is so significant. I don't think that play is really a great illustration of the gap between hype and reality, because even a LB who lived up to the hype probably doesn't make that stop. That situation just favors the ball carrier too much, even if the ball carrier is not a beast of a power back. A back of say, average power probably runs over even a LB like Ray Lewis in that scenario, tackler running lateral back running straight ahead makes it much easier for a back to run over a tackler.

There are a lot of draft busts who don't have this one play that supposedly is the best tell of them of being a bust. There is no need to overinflate one play into more than it is. Since there isn't even anything about that play that indicates Boz wasn't the real deal, it shouldn't be used as a tell of how he's a bust.

[fallforward3y+]

Bo Jackson was a god.

As much as I love T Davis, if I could pick one running back historically to have in his prime on my Broncos, it would be Bo.

I remember when Bo ran over Karl Mecklenberg kind of like what you describe with the Boz. Karl was one of the best tacklers on my team ever. If he got his hands on you, you were going to be tackled. Bo literally ran him over and made him look stupid.

So, I don't think the play you describe is so much about Boz's failure, as much as it's about how amazing Bo was.

I can't find a video of the play, what exactly happened. Do you mean that Bo ran over Karl but Karl tackled him forward? Were they both running head on at each other?

If that's the case, then it's essentially an illustration of what I'm talking about. A good power back will sometimes run over a LB, even if that LB is good. As long as the LB makes the tackle still(without getting dragged too much), it's not anything to be embarrassed about.

[gorky]

I can't find a video of the play, what exactly happened. Do you mean that Bo ran over Karl but Karl tackled him forward? Were they both running head on at each other?

If that's the case, then it's essentially an illustration of what I'm talking about. A good power back will sometimes run over a LB, even if that LB is good. As long as the LB makes the tackle still(without getting dragged too much), it's not anything to be embarrassed about.

I don't know if there is a video still of it.
I'm just going off a memory.

Bo had run to the left outside with no blockers. I'm guessing Karl was his shadow, because he is the only defender to follow him to that side of the field.
Karl kind of stood in his path all alone, and Bo did nothing to try to juke him. He just lowered his upper body and simply ran Karl over. It was such a destructive hit that Karl was knocked backwards, while Bo ran over his falling body.
It kind of reminded me of when a bull plows into a human. It was that violent. After the collision, in which he lost no momentum, Bo ran another 20 or so yards before a safety or corner caught him from behind.
When Karl got up, he looked injured. But it was just his pride. He had been steamrolled.

[DevilSpawn]

Bo destroyed a whole team that night, not just Boz. 26 years later, his performance that game is still the Monday Night Football rushing record. But the whole Boz thing with that play, maybe because Bo made it look like he was taking off a fur coat on the way to the endzone, is the reason why people say that Bo destroyed him on that play. The fact that Boz didn't do anything on that play hurt his reputation in that battle.

By comparison, Jack Tatum has a somewhat similar angle on Earl Campbell, although a tad more favorable than Boz had on Bo. Tatum went for the hit while Boz went for the tackle. Campbell scored, even pushed Tatum aside after the hit, but Campbell fell backwards into the endzone and was even knocked out. Tatum made a mark on that play even though Campbell won the battle by scoring. Had Boz made some type of mark on that tackle, maybe he's not ridiculed. Overblown by the media and fans? Yeah. Most overrated play in NFL history? Not by a longshot in my opinion.

Now as for the most overrated play, it has to be the Holy Roller. I still don't know why people make such a big deal on what was then a legal play. Heh heh.

[rsrobinson]

I get the gap between hype and reality, but I just don't see why that one play is so significant. I don't think that play is really a great illustration of the gap between hype and reality, because even a LB who lived up to the hype probably doesn't make that stop. That situation just favors the ball carrier too much, even if the ball carrier is not a beast of a power back. A back of say, average power probably runs over even a LB like Ray Lewis in that scenario, tackler running lateral back running straight ahead makes it much easier for a back to run over a tackler.

There are a lot of draft busts who don't have this one play that supposedly is the best tell of them of being a bust. There is no need to overinflate one play into more than it is. Since there isn't even anything about that play that indicates Boz wasn't the real deal, it shouldn't be used as a tell of how he's a bust.

You have to understand the background to that game. Bosworth had been trash talking Jackson in the media prior to the game and saying he was going to shut him down. Instead Jackson ran wild in front of a national audience on MNF and when he ran over Bosworth for the touchdown it left him ripe for ridicule. Bosworth's mouth kept writing checks his ass couldn't cash and that was the play when payment came due.

A lot of Seahawks fans were also growing weary of Boz's act and that was the tipping point for many of them. He wasn't a terrible LB but he also came nowhere close to living up to his hype or his contract. Fairly or not Bosworth's reputation took a big hit that night.

[Beagle]

I would disagree..only because Boz when healthy did back up the hype...his shoulders were just trashed...He was big fast and flew to the ball with a reckless abandon dispsite the shoulder pain.There were plenty of LBs that would have blown Bo up on that play..Boz just got tall and Bo put a helmet into him.

[Beagle]

[fallforward3y+]

Bo destroyed a whole team that night, not just Boz. 26 years later, his performance that game is still the Monday Night Football rushing record. But the whole Boz thing with that play, maybe because Bo made it look like he was taking off a fur coat on the way to the endzone, is the reason why people say that Bo destroyed him on that play. The fact that Boz didn't do anything on that play hurt his reputation in that battle.

By comparison, Jack Tatum has a somewhat similar angle on Earl Campbell, although a tad more favorable than Boz had on Bo. Tatum went for the hit while Boz went for the tackle. Campbell scored, even pushed Tatum aside after the hit, but Campbell fell backwards into the endzone and was even knocked out. Tatum made a mark on that play even though Campbell won the battle by scoring. Had Boz made some type of mark on that tackle, maybe he's not ridiculed. Overblown by the media and fans? Yeah. Most overrated play in NFL history? Not by a longshot in my opinion.

Now as for the most overrated play, it has to be the Holy Roller. I still don't know why people make such a big deal on what was then a legal play. Heh heh.

The angle Tatum had was ALOT more favorable, not just a tad. In watching that play again, Tatum appears to get a head on shot, and Campbell is running at a fairly wide angle. It was a hard hit, but a more favorable situation than Boz had.

Since Boz was running laterally, it would have been difficult for him to try and deliver a big hit when they met. To analyze that particular play, you have to think of the actual angle of contact. Talk aside, media hype or misguided prejudices of fans aside...how bad of a play by boz was it really?

In truth, going for the tackle over the hit is a good way to go in anywhere on the field except less than about 3 yards from the goal line, especially if it's at an angle, where the initial hit has less of an impact how the play turns out.

But, in the Boz-Bo scenario, it wouldn't have gone so well if he had gone for the hit anyway, bad position for it.

[Rancid]

To me this '83 Falcons play was the most over rated because Billy 'White-Shoes' Johnson became the talk of the town and Junior Miller and Alfred Jackson were much better receivers. I guess it was over-rated because it was a lucky play that changed a city.

[Thors Hammer]

As a Broncos fan it was this play

So many blocking penalties not called on that return.