Are Mike Green, Dion Phaneuf, & Roberto Luongo Overrated?

[IPostedWhat]

According to this article they are 3 of the 25 most overrated athletes in sports today.

1) Dwight Howard - NBA

2) Darrelle Revis - NFL

3) Derrick Rose - NBA

4) Jozy Altidore - Soccer

5) Kevin Durant - NBA

6) Chris Bosh - NBA

7) Zlatan Ibrahimovic - Soccer

8) Roberto Louongo - NHL

A confidential NHL Player Poll ranked Roberto Luongo as the most overrated player in the league. However, you don't need a poll to figure that out, just look at his numbers.

He's the higest paid goalie in the NHL, yet he's ranked 12th in GAA and 13th in SV %. Luongo has been posting middle of the road stats for top of the line money.

A common rebuke to the overrated accusations is that Luongo won the gold this year with Team Canada.

The response: A lot of goalies could have won gold playing for Canada, just ask Ryan Miller.

9) Andrew Bynum - NBA

10) Tim Tebow - NCAA

11) Wayne Rooney - Soccer

12) Pau Gasol - NBA

13) Joba Chamberlain - MLB

14) Dion Phaneuf - NHL

Phanuef was once widely regarded as one of the NHL's best defenseman, video game covers and a fling with actress Elisha Cuthbert were soon to follow.

However, his magic is wearing off and he's now being exposed for what he really is: overrated.

He was traded from the Calgary Flames to the Maple Leafs in a big money move that nets him $6.5 million a year, yet he had the lowest point total of his career this year.

What's more, the Maple Leafs fans were calling for Phaneuf to be captain after playing in just 21 games with the club. I don't care who you are, that's damn quick.

The hype didn't translate to international success either, as Phaneuf was left off of the Canadian team.

15) Marques Colston - NFL

16) Jonathan Papelbon - MLB

17) Adrian Peterson - NFL

18) David Beckman - Soccer

19) Danica Patrick - IIHF/Nascar

20) A.J. Burnett - MLB

21) Cristiano Ronaldo - Soccer

22) Brandon jacobs - NFL

23) Fred Couples - Golf

24) Mike Green - NHL

Mike Green has always been in people's shortlists when debating who is overrated in the NHL.

Green is an offensive defenseman, but unfortunately puts a lot of emphasis on the offensive part and less so on the defensive part.

He is by no means terrible defensively, but he's pretty vanilla in shutting down forwards, and it can peeve Caps fans when Green isn't performing up to his potential as a defenseman yet he's on the attack during the majority of Washington's possessions.

Green is also prone to taking risks on defense and missing out big time. Just look at the Capitals in this year's playoffs. Green completely screwed them over in my opinion with his shoddy defense, and breaking out too often, leaving his defensive partners out to dry.

Green is a great asset to have on the ice because of his offensive skills, but until the Caps can find a true stay at home, shut down defenseman to compliment Green, he'll continue to be overrated.

25) Jacoby Ellsbury - MLB

Start Your Debate Engines: The 25 Most Overrated Athletes Today | Bleacher Report

 

[naslundfan19]

I'd say yes, all 3 are overrated in some way.


And Durant at 5? I don't know about that.

 

[Bizzle McDizzle]

how can one be overrated in NCAA football? You either win or you don't... and you don't get paid (theoretically)

 

[Bizzle McDizzle]

guess LeBron should have read this first

 

[puckhead]

bobby lou had a poor year.

his cap hit is 9th highest in the league.
I don't think it's a stretch to call him a top 10 goalie.

but yes, he will have the highest salary next season,
and will have to pick up his game to shed the overrated notion.

and he most certainly did earn his gold medal.

 

[quoipourquoi]

A common rebuke to the overrated accusations is that Luongo won the gold this year with Team Canada.

The response: A lot of goalies could have won gold playing for Canada, just ask Ryan Miller.

Bullshit. Just ask Martin Brodeur.

 

[scottflyers88]

green is overrated. all of them are. i do not think luongo is overrated, just overpaid. i think any goalie earning that much is overpaid.

also, i do not agree with some names on the list. it really just depends on how good you think a player is. of course joba and jacoby are overrated because espn talks about those teams all the time.

 

[flyersfan4706]

Luongo is over rated but he is more overpaid then anything.

Phaneuf is overrated.

Green is a forward.

 

[pixburgher66]

luo is solid in my opinion, really for the most part it seems like the rest of his team is the issue in their playoff woes. however, he's yet to become the reason they won...he hasn't stolen a series, which is basically what needs to happen to win the cup.

 

[pixburgher66]

oh, and that list is a little eh. durant is in NO WAY overrated. he's the whole freaking team in OKC. and who the heck is this david beckman person? and how the heck is beckham not on here?

 

[scottflyers88]

not really. neither goalie really did it this year. leighton and niemi made it to the finals without being great. luongo should for that money though.

 

[IPostedWhat]

and who the heck is this david beckman person? and how the heck is beckham not on here?

I felt his name was also overrated and decided to change it.

If I could edit posts past the 10 minute mark, I would, but it's not like I'm going to be losing any sleep over spelling his name wrong.

 

[forty_three]

Anyone on that list ranked higher than Joba Chamberlain should be incredibly insulted.

 

[gtown27]

I'd say yes, all 3 are overrated in some way.


And Durant at 5? I don't know about that.

Yeah, Durant didn't make sense to me, either...

 

[IPostedWhat]

Maybe he was talking about Jimmy Durante?

Ha Cha Cha Cha

 

[naslundfan19]

Maybe he was talking about Jimmy Durante?

Ha Cha Cha Cha

 

[juliansteed]

I don't think Mike Green is over-rated at all. Everything said in that article about him is pretty much the general perception of him and has been for some time. So who/what exactly is over-rating him? And what are people claiming him to be that he isn't?

 

[scottflyers88]

a norris candidate.

 

[elocomotive]

As to Mike Green, I'd say he's both overrated and underrated.

On the defensive end, he's probably just slightly better than your average NHL defenseman. Before this year, I'd put him at the 50th percentile. Now, I'd say maybe the 55th percentile (he definitely improved some despite another lackluster playoff showing). He's been nominated for the Norris Trophy twice and that irks people, and rightly so based on a number of criteria that go into that award. That said, he can deliver a pretty big hit and he does a lot of things well defensively, but he definitely has lapses and issues.

On the other hand, while his scoring and playmaking abilities are well known, those same skills contribute to a lot of underrated aspects of defensive performance - moving the puck, setting up the offense in the transition game, and being able to safely move the puck through the neutral zone. Green probably does the latter better than any D-man in the game today. It sets up Washington for quick counter attacks and minimizes the forechecking impact of opponents. He also captains a power play which has been in the top 2 for the last two seasons and over 25% effectiveness during those years (no other team has done that in the past decade).

So, in a way, I think he's both underrated and overrated.

 

[recon]

i don't feel like phaneuf is that overrated. i like his style of play. he checks, he fights, he plays defense, and he shows offensive spurts sometimes.