Vote for the Biggest Epic Fail

The Gipper

Here is your chance to vote for the biggest Epic Failure of a First Round QB pick since the common draft of 1966. Here are the list of candidates with # taken in the draft, career yards and TD, and some other appropriate data. Starting for earliest to most recent:

1966 Rick Norton #2 overall 1815 yds. 7 TDs, 1-10 career record as a starting QB

1967 Steve Spurrier #3 overall 6878 yds. 40 TDs. 13-24-1

1972 John Reaves #14. 3617 yds. 17 TDs. 4-13 W/L record

1972 Jerry Tagge #11. 1583 yds. 3 TDs. 6-6 W/L

1977 Steve Pisarkiewisc #19. 804 yds. 3 TDs. 4 career starts

1979 Jack Thompson #3. 5313 yds. 33 TDs. 4-17 W/L record

1981 Rich Campbell #6. 386 yds. 3 TDs

1982 Art Schlichter #4 1006 yds. 3 TDs. 0-6 W/L

1986 Chuck Long #12 3747 yds. 19 TDs. 4-17 W/L

1987 Kelly Stouffer #6 2333 yds. 7 TDs 5-11 W/L

1990 Andre Ware #7 1112 yds. 5 TDs. 6 career starts

1991 Todd Marinovich #24 1345 yds. 8 TDs 8 career games

1991 Dan McGwire #16 745 yds. 2 TDs. 13 career games

1992 David Klingler #6 3994 yds. 16 TDs 4-10 W/L

1994 Heath Shuler #3 3691 yds. 15 TDs 22 career games

1997 Jim Drukenmiller # 26 239 yds. 1 TD 1 career start

1998 Ryan Leaf #2 3666 yds. 14 TDs 4-17 W/L

1999 Cade McCown #12 3111 yds. 16 TDs 3-12 W/L

1999 Akili Smith #3 2212 yds. 5 TDs. 3-14 record

2006 Matt Leinert #10 4065 yds. 15 TDs 18 starts

2007 Brady Quinn #22 3043 yds. 12 TDs 4-16 W/L

2007 Jamarcus Russell #1 4083 yds. 18 TDs. out of the league in 3 years

2010 Tim Tebow #25 2422 yds. 17 TDs out of league in 3 years. (ordinarily I would not judge this soon...but when the NFL says Sayonara, I guess the fat lady sang)

Give like your Top 5 All time Epic Fails. Then we will compute the votes after some period of time.

miktoxic

schlicter

marinovich

leaf

russell

mcgwire

some would say leaf would be top but when you know what happened to schlicter and marinovich in their lives after the game.....

The Gipper

Random thoughts on this process of elimination:

Delete anyone drafted below #20: Tebow, Quinn, Drukenmiller, Marinovich

Delete anyone with 5000 yds or 20 TDs: Spurrier, Thompson

Include in Top Ten, anyone drafted in first 5 picks: Norton, Schlichter, Shuler, Leaf, Smith,Russell

Include any of the others that had less than 2k yards or 10 TDs: McQwire, Ware, Stouffer, Campbell, Pisarkewisz, Tagge

Those in bold are my final 12. Now, how to get down from there? If I eliminate anyone not drafted in the Top Ten, I delete Tagge, Pisarkewisz, and McGwire, leaving me with 9.

If I now delete anyone with either 3000 or more career yards, or 10 or more career TDs, I delete Russell, Shuler, and Leaf. (I know that Leaf and Russell may be a lot of peoples 1-2...but by my process, I am eliminating them.) Giving me my final Six:, Rick Norton

Rich Campell, Art Schlichter,Andre Ware,Kelly Stouffer, Akili Smith

How to eliminate one? I guess I will do it the way ESPN and some others do: believe that the planet didn't begin until 1970...so Rick Norton gets tossed....as he was drafted in the "dark ages". All the others were post 1980.

So, here is my Final Five most Epically Failed First Round draft pick QBs of all time:

1981 Rich Campbell #6 overall pick. 386 career yards and 3 TDs

1982 Art Schlichter #4 overall pick. 1006 career yards and 3 TDs

1987 Kelly Stouffer #6 overall pick. 2333 yards and 7 TDs

1990 Andre Ware #7 overall pick. 1112 yards. 5 TDs

1999 Akili Smith #3 overall pick. 2212 yards. 5 TDs.

Westside Steve

Any reason you didn't post the win loss record of everyone?

WSS

The Gipper

@westside-steve said:

Any reason you didn't post the win loss record of everyone?

WSS

I didn't see it all for everyone, or I thought other factors were more relevent. E.g. I think one guy went like 3-3 in his starts.....but the fact that he only got those 6 starts seemed more telling to me.

Browns149

Jamarcus Russell hands down. He was supposed to be better the anyone on that list

Browns149

Also why isn't Weeden on that list?

Zombo

Leaf

Thompson

Ware

Smith

Russell

And a tip of chardonnay or some gay fruity cocktail to Shep on the Quinn/Leinart combo ... there should be a special category for "Busted QBs that were most beloved by the metrosexual population"

GuNNerGatSKi

@miktoxic said:

schlicter

marinovich

leaf

russell

mcgwire

some would say leaf would be top but when you know what happened to schlicter and marinovich in their lives after the game.....

Especially Marinovich.... Watched a special on him today and I have a lot in common with him as far as the demons I have has to fight.... He seems to be a great guy these days though. Wish the best for him. As someone who lived through the hell that Mari did I feel deeply for the guy. So much potential, wasted..... I mean the guy threw ten touchdown passes in an Arena football game whilst going through withdrawals. I'm just glad I got my life together way way sooner in my journey than he did.... God so many years he wasted....

I'd have to say:

Marinovich

J. Russel

Leaf

Akili Smith

Schlicter

miktoxic

yeah i saw the same special. i tell you the father put too much on that kid, but that's neither here nor there.

in my wild times in the army and just getting out i did a lot of stoopid shit but never touched that. but there were many times where i ended up places that i should have never been and look back at it now thinking how many times i should/could have been dead.

hey, todays a new day and i'm glad to hear you've beat those demons down.

let's hope the browns finally have the monkey off their back.

hoorta

Zombo said:

Leaf

Thompson

Ware

Smith

Russell

And a tip of chardonnay or some gay fruity cocktail to Shep on the Quinn/Leinart combo ... there should be a special category for "Busted QBs that were most beloved by the metrosexual population"

Gee, you forgot one of Shep's other Man-Crushes, Joey Harrington. (hey Gip JH was drafted #3 overall IIRC) yes. he had a lot of yards, but a 26-50 W-L record, and a 69 QBR. Shep was still in love with him for years (as he was with Leinart). Long after it was painfully obvious they both sucked.

I have to nominate Mike Phipps as the biggest Browns bust- considering we traded away a HOFer for him. Amazingly (I would have lost big money on it) Phipps actually had a winning record as a qb- though I don't know how- with 55 TD passes, 108 picks, and a QBR of 52.

sisky fringo

Zombo said:
And a tip of pinot grigio or some faggy-ass lt rum umbrella cocktail to Shlep on the Quinn/Leinart combo ... there should be a special category for "Busted QBs that were most beloved by the metrosexual population"

as much love as he has for QB's i suspect he's more "metroflexible"...a potential warrior for the browneye...also known in closed circles as "craigslist gay".

alright let's stop talking about him since he regularly searches his name here as a keyword...or he'll be poppin by slobbering about yet another of his man-crushes "the currently still relevant alex smith"...

didn't he like Clausen pickle too?? or maybe it was Tannehill. actually i think it was both, depending upon the thread. fuck it who cares.

sisky fringo

with the amount of TD's Spurrier Reaves and Thompson had you'd think they would have had better records in their respective eras.

i'm assuming there were also rushing TD's scored by their teams not included in that TD count as well?

regardless, that's a lot of scoring back then to still lose games...these stats arent telling the whole story obviously.

EDIT oh yeah...and my Most Horrible QB vote goes to **drum roll** the epically inept Mr. Dan McGuire. Esquire.

The Gipper

@browns149 said:
Jamarcus Russell hands down. He was supposed to be better the anyone on that list

I asked for your top 5. Can you count to 5? I ask for 5 in order to assess the worst 5. So just voting for one does not allow me to give a full assessment.

The Gipper

@browns149 said:
Also why isn't Weeden on that list?

Because the fact is, as bad as he is...he isn't as bad as all these other guys. You just think so because your team picked him very recently. Plus...the fact is, his career is far from over.....he could still do something. These others are done.

The Gipper

@hoorta said:

Gee, you forgot one of Shep's other Man-Crushes, Joey Harrington. (hey Gip JH was drafted #3 overall IIRC) yes. he had a lot of yards, but a 26-50 W-L record, and a 69 QBR. Shep was still in love with him for years (as he was with Leinart). Long after it was painfully obvious they both sucked.

I have to nominate Mike Phipps as the biggest Browns bust- considering we traded away a HOFer for him. Amazingly (I would have lost big money on it) Phipps actually had a winning record as a qb- though I don't know how- with 55 TD passes, 108 picks, and a QBR of 52.

Give me your five Hoorta

I am trying to come up with a consensus worst 5....come on guys, grade school: 1,2,3,4,5.

(Also, no, as bad as Phipps seemed to us then, he would have been the best QB we would have seen here in 15 years.....gggggg!)

sisky fringo

sorry Gip i just voted one as well...i just couldnt decide.

if im being honest i was more into bashing Schlep.

(5 bux says after today he now includes "shlep" and "schlep" in his egomaniacal keyword searches for himself...)

The Gipper

Gee, you forgot one of Shep's other Man-Crushes, Joey Harrington. (hey Gip JH was drafted #3 overall IIRC) yes. he had a lot of yards, but a 26-50 W-L record, and a 69 QBR. Shep was still in love with him for years (as he was with Leinart). Long after it was painfully obvious they both sucked.

Are you saying that Shep was Poetic G version 1.0?

The Gipper

Let's Add one more component to this thread....separate and aside from the vote on worst Epic Fail of the Past:

That is: Epic Failure of the Future. Vote for which QB in this coming draft could be the best candidate to join the above list of Epic Failures.

hoorta

@the-gipper said:

Gee, you forgot one of Shep's other Man-Crushes, Joey Harrington. (hey Gip JH was drafted #3 overall IIRC) yes. he had a lot of yards, but a 26-50 W-L record, and a 69 QBR. Shep was still in love with him for years (as he was with Leinart). Long after it was painfully obvious they both sucked.

Are you saying that Shep was Poetic G version 1.0?

Now that you got me to think about it Gip, yes he was (is). Only slobbers over qbs, though. You can bet (if the Browns had the #1 overall) he'd be screaming for the Browns to take a qb, even though Clowney is a once in 10 year talent, and frankly, none of the qbs are. Gee, I forgot about his manly crush on the Clausen Pickle- Alzheimer's must be setting in. He'd be far more tolerable if he'd just admit he's been dead wrong a number of times.

Oh, he's over on the other Board with the same schtick (I occasionally visit- there are some great posters that originally started here, and some guys like Jason J don't much care for the occasional low level of discussion we have here.) Shep's current man-love is JF, subject to change. Maybe he'll kill himself if the Browns don't draft a qb @ #4 this year.

PS- since you asked for my top 5 worst. Campbell and Druckenmiller- any qb in the first round who can't make 1,000 yards passing was a monumental bust. Art Schlichter, A-kill-me "worm burner" Smith, and so many stinkers to choose from for the 5th. Have to go with Ryan Leaf, with a dishonorable mention to JaFattus Russell.