Foge Fazio, who succeeded Jackie Sherrill as the football coach at alma mater Pittsburgh and later was a defensive coordinator for the NFL's Vikings and Browns, died Wednesday night following a lengthy battle with leukemia. He was 71. Pitt athletic director Steve Pederson confirmed Fazio's death while attending the Pitt-Duquesne basketball game on Wednesday night.
Jamal Lewis has plowed into the line for the last time. Cleveland's punishing running back, who announced last month that he planned to retire following this season, was placed on injured reserve Wednesday with post-concussion symptoms, a premature and unceremonious ending to his illustrious NFL career.
Time is running short on the last year of the '00s, so it's time to dive into the daunting task of ranking the NFL's best of the decade. Best what? Best everything. We're going with a series of top 10 lists, and if something miraculous happens between now and December 31st, well, we'll just have to catch it at the end of 2019.
What makes a draft bust? Is draft position alone the determining factor? How much does one have to fail? Could a bust have an otherwise fine career, aside from the massive expectations that accompanied him into the league? What role do injuries play in the whole thing? Does bad luck equal bust?
Ask 100 different people and you'll get 100 different answers, which is why the whole darn discussion is so fun. There are no right answers, hence the following list fraught with contradictions. You'll find complete flops next to guys who could play a decade in the league. The reasoning player X is included might make you say, "well, why not player Y?"
And some of the names you don't see might be as surprising as those you do see. For instance, David Carr(notes) or Alex Smith on this list, even though their names frequently pop-up on such rankings. Just because they went No. 1 doesn't mean that, outside of a two-month stretch in the spring of the year they were drafted, most people ever thought they'd be great. Those guys were more No. 1 by default; the best looking prospects of a bad class.
But, without further adieu, Shutdown Corner's top 10 draft busts of the 2000s:
10. Mike Williams, WR, Detroit Lions, No. 10, 2005
Sitting out the 2004 college season was bad. Getting drafted by the Lions was worse. After a decent rookie season (29 catches, 350 yards), Williams caught just 14 balls in the NFL. He was cut by the Tennesee Titans in 2007 after failing to get a single reception.
9. Robert Gallery(notes), T, Oakland Raiders, No. 3, 2004
Sports Illustrated called him "the best lineman to come out of college in years". He was supposed to dominate the left tackle position for "10 to 15 years". But he went from that marquee offensive line position to right tackle to left guard, on the Raiders no less. He's an adequate NFL player, but far from the "next Tony Boselli".
8. Courtney Brown, DE, Cleveland Browns, No. 1, 2000
7. LaVar Arrington(notes), LB, Washington Redskins, No. 2, 2000
Two Penn State defenders went with top two picks in the first draft of the decade. Neither have played in the league since 2006
5. Maurice Clarett, RB, Denver Broncos, No. 101, 2005
Not a bust in the traditional sense, but before the goose-getting and the arrests and the jail sentence, it was thought that Maurice Clarett could be a good gamble for the Broncos. His 40 times at the combine were abysmal and he looked puffier than Vince Vaughn in Old School. But Mike Shanahan had made stars of less (Mike Anderson(notes), anyone?).
5. Matt Leinart(notes), QB, Arizona Cardinals, No. 10, 2006
Why Leinart and not Carr or Smith? Leinart was the USC golden boy, the Heisman Trophy winner who became the toast of L.A. and could have been the No. 1 pick in 2005 before coming back and getting his game nitpicked by scouts. Now he's best known for holding a beer bong and backing up the ageless Kurt Warner(notes). Who knows, he may be a star of the 2010s. But for the '00s: bust.
4. Reggie Bush(notes), RB, New Orleans Saints, No. 2, 2006
All of the flaws that are readily apparent in Bush's game today weren't so obvious three years ago. Those who were touting Mario Williams(notes) as the No. 1 pick (and there weren't many) did so more because they thought Williams would be great, not because they thought Bush's college dominance wouldn't translate to the pros. Bush is a fine NFL player, but far from the game-changing superstar he was anticipated to be.
3. Peter Warrick(notes), WR, Cincinnati Benglas, No. 4, 2000
This summer, the former Florida State star was playing for the Bloomington Extreme of the Indoor Football League. No word on whether they give discounts at Dillard's.
2. JaMarcus Russell(notes), QB, Oakland Raiders, No. 1, 2007
Earlier this month, Joe Posnanski had the best summation of Russell's professional prospects I've ever seen:
You keep hearing about this "talent" that he has - after all, he was the No. 1 pick in the draft - but best I can tell he can't or won't run, he has no feel in the pocket, he has no idea what an open receiver looks like and he has absolutely no idea where his passes are going. I'm just not sure what his talent is supposed to be. Yes, he's big and he has a strong arm. Big deal. That's not talent, not for an NFL quarterback. To me, that's like saying someone has talent for playing the piano because they have long fingers and like music.
1. Charles Rogers(notes), WR, Detroit Lions, No. 2, 2003
It's always easier to judge a bust in retrospect. We can look back at the failed drug tests in college and the prima donna attitude and say, "he was destined to fail." But that's the thing ... you never know how a guy is going to perform. Randy Moss(notes) had problems, but he's on his way to Canton. Charles Rogers had just as much talent, he just couldn't harness it. And it didn't help that he went to the Lions either.
Comments, criticisms, omissions, and your own top ten lists are encouraged in the comments below.
1. Matt Schaub(notes), Quarterback, Houston Texans. Were there quarterbacks who had worse days than Schaub yesterday? Plenty. Expectations are a factor, though. There's not much difference between Schaub and the elite quarterbacks in the NFL right now, but that difference is there, and it made its presence known in the fourth quarter of the game against the Colts. Schaub turned it over on consecutive fourth quarter drives, one of them being a pick-six for the Colts. You have the talent to compete with the Colts, Texans. But to climb that mountain, you've got to grow up in those late-game situations. It starts with Schaub.
2. Derrick Roberson(notes), Cornerback, Tampa Bay Buccaneers. With :36 to play and the Falcons looking at a fourth down, Roberson gave them a fresh set of downs with a defensive holding penalty about 11 miles away from the play. The Bucs defense gutted it out, though, and forced another fourth down, and this time, Roddy White(notes) caught the game-winning touchdown pass right in front of Roberson. Roberson's coverage on that play was actually pretty solid, but still, after the earlier boner, it was a salt-in-the-wound type of play for him.
3. Jake Delhomme(notes), Quarterback, Carolina Panthers. 14-of-34, 130 yards, zero touchdowns and four interceptions. Yeah, that sounds about right for Jake Delhomme these days.
4. Rudy Niswanger(notes), Center, Kansas City Chiefs. Niswanger (prounounced "nice-wonger") accepts this award on behalf of every Chief who turned the ball over yesterday, which seemed like about every Chief on the roster. Nice Wonger's contribution was a shotgun snap that looked like a Ricky Vaughn fastball before he got glasses. Cassel didn't even get close to getting a hand on the ball. Larry English(notes) pounced on it for the Chargers.
5. Shaun Rogers(notes), Defensive Tackle, Cleveland Browns. Two of the last three weeks, the Browns have actually put together impressive defensive efforts, and Shaun Rogers is a part of that. He made a dangerous, boneheaded play right before the half yesterday, though. It looked like a Bengals drive would end without points, but Rogers nearly horse-collared the life out of Carson Palmer(notes), slamming his head to the turf and moving the Bengals up 15 yards and into field goal range. The defensive penalty also gave them one untimed down to get the points. It wasn't the difference in the game, but the combination of dumb and dangerous earns Rogers a spot here.
It was an easy win, but the Cincinnati Bengals earned it. With their 16-7 victory over the Cleveland Browns today, the Bengals pulled off an amazing feat -- they swept the AFC North with two wins each over the Steelers, Ravens and Browns. Of those teams, the first two were the only ones with any real competitive juice -- the Browns are now 1-10, and that record doesn't really indicate how bad they are. After putting up video game numbers against the Lions, quarterback Brady Quinn(notes) was dragged back down to earth by Cincinnati's tenacious D. Quinn completed 15 of 34 passes for 100 yards and a rushing touchdown, while Cleveland's defense allowed Larry Johnson(notes) to gain 107 yards on 22 carries and Bernard Scott(notes) to put up 87 yards on 18 tries. It was Johnson's first 100-yard game since Week 15 of the 2008 season, and only the fourth in his last two seasons.
The Bengals played it close to the vest all day because they could. Carson Palmer(notes) attempted only 24 passes, and the idea was clearly to let the Browns beat themselves. Of course, any team "coached" by Eric Mangini will do its best to cooperate. Up 10-0 already at the end of the first half, the Bengals were gifted with an extra play when Browns tackle Shaun Rogers(notes) brought Palmer down at the 50-yard line by the back of his jersey with no time left on the clock. The horse-collar call put the ball at the Cleveland 35, allowed Shayne Graham(notes) to boot a 53-yard field goal. It was the second time in two games that the Browns ended a half with a defensive penalty that gave the opposing team an extra play and a chance to score -- you may remember the pass interference call against Hank Poteat(notes) that allowed Matt Stafford to hit Brandon Pettigrew(notes) for the game-winner against the Lions. The Browns had sacked Palmer on two straight plays before today's penalty on Rogers, but it seems to be a rule -- for every positive step, a landslide must fall.
It's been a bad weekend for the Cleveland faithful -- first, the announcement that noted pariah Art Modell made the semi-finalist list for the Hall of Fame, then the realization that as bad as having Modell move the old Browns to Baltimore felt, what Mangini is doing to the new Browns may be even worse. As for the Bengals, they get to go home, settle in their respective Barca-Loungers, and watch the Steelers and Ravens beat each other up tonight for second place in the AFC North.