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Who is the worst "Face of the Franchise" in the NFL (1 Viewer)

SSOG

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I was just thinking about this. There are 32 teams, and each of them has a "face of the franchise", which means that one team has a "face of the franchise" that's at best the 32nd best player in the league (and likely outside of the top 50 entirely). When I talk about the "Face of the Franchise", I'm not talking about the best player on the team, I'm talking about the guy who is generally most associated with the team. If ESPN was going to do an interview on national TV and had their pick of who to interview, who would they choose?

From what I can tell, these are the FotFs

AFC West:

San Diego- LaDanian Tomlinson

Denver- Champ Bailey

Kansas City- Larry Johnson

Oakland- Jamarcus Russell? Nnamdi Asomugha is their best player, but I don't think he's a FotF candidate.

AFC North:

Pittsburgh- Big Ben

Cincinnati- Carson Palmer

Baltimore- Ray Lewis still? Ed Reed?

Cleveland- Brady Quinn already? Jamal Lewis?

AFC South:

Indy- Peyton Manning

Jacksonville- Taylor? Peterson? Mathis? Jones-Drew? Stroud/Henderson?

Tennessee- Vince Young

Houston- Andre Johnson?

AFC East:

New England- Tom Brady

Buffalo- Lee Evans? J.P. Losman?

New York Jets- Chad Pennington?

Miami- Jason Taylor, right? It has to be Jason Taylor.

NFC West:

Seattle- Shaun Alexander or Matt Hasselback

St. Louis- Marc Bulger or Torry Holt

San Fran- Alex Smith

Arizona- Matt Leinart, right? Or is it Fitzgerald?

NFC North:

Green Bay- Brett Favre

Chicago- Brian Urlacher

Detroit- Roy Williams?

Minnesota- Adrian Peterson already?

NFC South:

Atlanta: I suppose it's not Michael Vick anymore, huh? This is a real stumper- is it Crumpler?

Tampa Bay: Derrick Brooks.

New Orleans: Reggie Bush

Carolina: Steve Smiff

NFC East:

New York: Eli Manning? Jeremy Shockey? Michael Strahan?

Dallas: Tony Romo?

Washington: Clinton Portis by default?

Philadelphia: Donovan McNabb

Thoughts? Corrections from homers? Opinions on who's the worst? :bag:

 
I'd say Dunn easy in Atlanta. He's very involved with community service and a classy, well-spoken veteran. Zach Thomas could give Taylor a run for his money, but I like Taylor there. Agree on Quinn and Russell. Think Mario Williams over Andre Johnson. Fred Taylor in Jacksonville, maybe Leftwich. Definitely Eli. Dallas is T.O. for sure. Think New Orleans could be Brees over Bush. Think Baltimore is definitely Ray Lewis. St. Louis is probably Holt, Bulger's pretty quiet. Think Seattle is Alexander. Minnesota's a very tough one...believe it or not, Antoine Winfield comes to mind first. That's pretty sad. Pretty sure him or AP is the worst.

 
Interesting post.

AFC West:

Oakland- Jamarcus Russell? Nnamdi Asomugha is their best player, but I don't think he's a FotF candidate. Lamont Jordan

AFC North:

Baltimore- Ray Lewis still? Ed Reed? I'd go with Ray

Cleveland- Brady Quinn already? Jamal Lewis? KW2

AFC South:

Jacksonville- Taylor? Peterson? Mathis? Jones-Drew? Stroud/Henderson? Maybe Leftwich?

Houston- Andre Johnson? :lmao:

AFC East:

Buffalo- Lee Evans? J.P. Losman?

New York Jets- Chad Pennington? :thumbup: As Martin is gone.

Miami- Jason Taylor, right? It has to be Jason Taylor. :thumbup:

NFC West:

Seattle- Shaun Alexander or Matt Hasselback

St. Louis- Marc Bulger or Torry Holt

Arizona- Matt Leinart, right? Or is it Fitzgerald?

NFC North:

Detroit- Roy Williams? :excited:

Minnesota- Adrian Peterson already? :lmao:

NFC South:

Atlanta: I suppose it's not Michael Vick anymore, huh? This is a real stumper- is it Crumpler? Warrick Dunn?

NFC East:

New York: Eli Manning? Jeremy Shockey? Michael Strahan?

Dallas: Tony Romo? TO?

Washington: Clinton Portis by default?
Some, like Oakland, Minnesota or the NY Jets, don't really have a face right now.For some reason, when I think of the Bucs, I still think of Sapp.

ETA: I have a difficult time seeing Mario Williams as the face of the Texans just yet. Give him a year.

 
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I forgot about KW2. I think it's him over Quinn.

As for Arizona, Edge has to be up there. Him and Leinart are both pretty famous, and I think both are more famous than the WRs. Because of the youth and the position, I'd probably put Leinart first. And it's not like he hasn't been in the limelight for years, either.

Buffalo's another tough one...I actually met J.P. Losman and didn't know it was him, so it's hard for me to say he's obviously the face of the franchise. Of course, if I ran into Lee Evans on the street, I probably wouldn't recognize him, either.

 
I forgot about KW2. I think it's him over Quinn.As for Arizona, Edge has to be up there. Him and Leinart are both pretty famous, and I think both are more famous than the WRs. Because of the youth and the position, I'd probably put Leinart first. And it's not like he hasn't been in the limelight for years, either.Buffalo's another tough one...I actually met J.P. Losman and didn't know it was him, so it's hard for me to say he's obviously the face of the franchise. Of course, if I ran into Lee Evans on the street, I probably wouldn't recognize him, either.
I ran into Keith Bulluck the other day at the lake, it took me a minute to realize it was him instead of just some huge dude. Losman probably just looks like a frat boy. I almost suggested Edge, but many casual fans will immediately place him in Indy still.
 
Baltimore is Ray. He has his own seperate entrance(dance) from the rest of the team during home games.

Do coaches/owners count? Gibbs over Portis??? Jerry Jones over TO???

I'd go Hass over SA in SEA. I'm East coast and see Hass a lot more than SA. May be different in SEA though.

MIN- The ghost of Randy Moss

STL- SJax, or is that just because I'm into fantasy?

KC- Gonzo over LJ?

 
On Houston

Andre Johnson is the best on the field player, but is a :thumbup: of a personality. Dunta Robinson and D. Ryans could easily surpass Johnson, especially if the defense takes any sort of step forward.

 
I'd say Dunn easy in Atlanta. He's very involved with community service and a classy, well-spoken veteran.
Actually, thinking about it, DeAngelo Hall might be a candidate, too. He's loud, he's fast, he's flashy, and he's a relentless self-promoter. If that's the case, he's my pick for worst FotF in the league.
 
For better of worse, it's Warren Sapp in Oakland.He is still a good player, and he is the vocal leader.
I agree, Sapp is the most popular player (from a national perspective) on the Raiders.Also, Chad Johnson is the face of the Bengals.
 
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Surely this time next year we'll be saying Jay Cutler in Denver. The kid speaks extremely well, is unbelieveably composed and Miles Davis when it comes too cool.

Very marketable as a FotF.

 
Surely this time next year we'll be saying Jay Cutler in Denver. The kid speaks extremely well, is unbelieveably composed and Miles Davis when it comes too cool.Very marketable as a FotF.
Cutler may be marketable as a FotF, but no way he overtakes Bailey. Bailey's just too, too, too good. No matter what, Bailey's jersey sales are going to beat Cutler's next season. Bailey's going to get more interview requests than Cutler next season. Bailey's going to get paid more for endorsement deals than Cutler. When you watch an NFLNetwork commercial and they flash a Broncos Jersey, it's going to be #24, not #6.Actually, that's a great criteria. When you watch an NFL network commercial, which player jersey would they be most likely to flash. By that measure, it's clear that Warren Sapp and DeAngelo Hall are indeed the faces of their respective franchises.
 
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For Minn I would say Matt Birk
Matt Birk? You think that if the NFL Network ran a commercial, they'd feature Birk's jersey? I love Birk and think he's dramatically underrated, but somehow I don't think a Center (or any offensive linemen, for that matter) can be the face of a franchise.
 
Surely this time next year we'll be saying Jay Cutler in Denver. The kid speaks extremely well, is unbelieveably composed and Miles Davis when it comes too cool.
I still can't help hearing a banjo in the background when he speaks. I wonder if he does his interviews in bare feet.
 
For Minn I would say Matt Birk
Matt Birk? You think that if the NFL Network ran a commercial, they'd feature Birk's jersey? I love Birk and think he's dramatically underrated, but somehow I don't think a Center (or any offensive linemen, for that matter) can be the face of a franchise.
Who else as the face of the Vikings?They claim to have one of the best offenive lines.And he stays off of the police reports!
 
For Minn I would say Matt Birk
Matt Birk? You think that if the NFL Network ran a commercial, they'd feature Birk's jersey? I love Birk and think he's dramatically underrated, but somehow I don't think a Center (or any offensive linemen, for that matter) can be the face of a franchise.
Who else as the face of the Vikings?They claim to have one of the best offenive lines.And he stays off of the police reports!
Randy Moss was the previous face of the franchise, so staying off the police reports is hardly a prerequisite. Relentless self-promotion helps. So does being constantly fellated by the bobbleheads on Sportscenter. And playing a recognizable position.It's not fair, necessarily. I mean, if it were up to me, Tom Nalen would be the face of the Broncos, and Nnamdi Asomugha would be the face of the Raiders, etc, but it goes more to the most recognizable player than the most deserving, and if you asked the casual fan to name just one Minnesota offensive lineman, I suspect that 75+% of them would name Hutchinson or not be able to name anyone. Heck, if you asked the casual NFL fan who Minnesota's center was, I doubt most would know.
 
for Atlanta, I'd think a guy like Keith Brooking would best qualify now. local guy who played college ball in the area and he's been a consistently good player for his entire career there.

for the Bills, it's definitely Losman now that all the vets on defense are gone. Evans is the better player but he's pretty low-key.

Broncos have John Lynch and Champ Bailey over Cutler I think. Would have probably said Rod Smith if he was healthier.

Browns don't really have one, but I'd guess Winslow and Braylon Edwards are the best candidates.

Vikings don't really have one either. The Defensive Tackles seem to stand out to me. Antoine Winfield is up there too.

tough to pick one guy in Arizona, but I might go with Edge. Leinart should be the guy soon enough though. Adrian Wilson also in the conversation.

for the Bengals, I would put Chad Johnson ahead of Carson Palmer in this type of ranking.

for Jacksonville, Fred Taylor is the obvious choice I think.

Jets should be Vilma if he has a better year. Coles too maybe is up there.

as for the who the worst is, tough to go wrong with the Raiders no matter who the player is.

 
For Minn I would say Matt Birk
Matt Birk? You think that if the NFL Network ran a commercial, they'd feature Birk's jersey? I love Birk and think he's dramatically underrated, but somehow I don't think a Center (or any offensive linemen, for that matter) can be the face of a franchise.
Who else as the face of the Vikings?They claim to have one of the best offenive lines.And he stays off of the police reports!
Randy Moss was the previous face of the franchise, so staying off the police reports is hardly a prerequisite. Relentless self-promotion helps. So does being constantly fellated by the bobbleheads on Sportscenter. And playing a recognizable position.It's not fair, necessarily. I mean, if it were up to me, Tom Nalen would be the face of the Broncos, and Nnamdi Asomugha would be the face of the Raiders, etc, but it goes more to the most recognizable player than the most deserving, and if you asked the casual fan to name just one Minnesota offensive lineman, I suspect that 75+% of them would name Hutchinson or not be able to name anyone. Heck, if you asked the casual NFL fan who Minnesota's center was, I doubt most would know.
SSOGYou are right most would know Hutchinson but any true fan knows who Birk is.I know being Center is not a glamorise position but in Minn he has been the anchor of the offinsive line.And he is one of the Vikings' veteran leaders. Who else would even be considered?
 
I don't think the Raiders have one.

IF IF IF Russel becomes a leader there with some playing time, that'd be a sorely welcomed change for that franchise IMO.

I don't think they're that bad of a team. They remind me of some Parcells quotes about taking over the Jets. He was asked if the Jets were really as bad as 3-13(or whatever) and he replied with something like "your record is your record. You are that bad or that good. That's why we play the games." And that's very true yet it becomes hypocritical in the offseason as we predict outcomes for teams and players. Much like those Jets, I think the Raiders are one of the better teams with a horrible record(06) the league has had over the years.

A leader would be the start of a turnaround IMO.

 
I agree with Big Ben for the Steelers although Hines Ward is close and Troy Polamalu gets a lot of attention as well.

 
Baltimore- Ray Lewis still? Ed Reed?
This starts and ends with Ray. Reed may be a better overall player now, but Ray is the heart and soul and face of the franchise.Heap is actually the one I'd put in the on-deck circle, at least among the fans around here. Guys like Reed and Ogden who have been great players and leaders, just aren't vocal/public enough to be "FotF" right now.
 
Carson is the franchise player, but here in Cincy, we hear 10 references to Chad Johnson for every mention of Carson Palmer. I'm not sure which is the criteria, but Chad is easily the most well known and most talked about Bengal.

 
Regardless of what Falcons management might like.....Mike Vick will be the face of the franchise for sometime....playing or not.

 
Id say the Steelers have the worst FotF, Worthlessberger gets hurt over everything and is CONSTANTLY making excuses for his poor play. All last year we had to hear about the toe's, the knee, the apendix, the 104 fever or the thumb for the thousandith time. Ben always has some hang nail, WHAT A WIMP! I wonder what its going to be this year, I did see him looking at his hand last game, maybe he broke a nail, Or maybe that is just the look of a QB that is getting slammed into over and over all game.. I think the real cause of his "ailments" is he has a severe case of Quarterbacksuckitus.

 
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just to clear it up for the jets one, pennington is without a doubt the poster boy of the organization.

vilma might be as a defensive leader and most talented player but jets are chad pennington's team for better or for worse yeah!

 
I would say Dallas is in bad shape until Romo steps up.... TO as the FOTF... OMG

Oak is another one... right now its..................Culpepper.

 
RAIDERNATION said:
chook said:
Surely this time next year we'll be saying Jay Cutler in Denver. The kid speaks extremely well, is unbelieveably composed and Miles Davis when it comes too cool.
I still can't help hearing a banjo in the background when he speaks. I wonder if he does his interviews in bare feet.
Do people from Indiana do that too?WOW!There must be something to that barefoot-banjo thang!(unfreakingbelievable) :goodposting: :thumbup: :confused:
 
Chase Stuart said:
I forgot about KW2. I think it's him over Quinn.
last year it would have been Charlie Frye and then later in the season Kamerion Wimbley. Right now its Brady Quinn.
 
Until the Lions start winning, I'm going to say that the FotF is Matt Millen, because I can't believe he's still there.

 

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