Ten Future Hall of Famers Who May Never Win a Super Bowl

Winning a team championship is the ultimate accomplishment in sports. However, not all the great ones win a title. The stats are all there on their Hall of Fame resume, but for one reason or another, these players are just unable to finish the deal—often through no fault of their own.

You see, in addition to a certain amount of skill, it takes some luck to win a Super Bowl. Take Dan Marino, Barry Sanders, and Dan Fouts for example. These 10 following players run the risk of joining this infamous company and heading to Canton with naked fingers.

Tony Gonzalez

Resume

Age: 34
10x Pro-Bowl Selection
9x All-Pro Selection
999 Receptions
11,807 Receiving Yards
82 Touchdowns
Playoff Apperances: 3
Furthest Advanced: Divisional Playoffs 2x (1997, 2003)

Statistically, Tony Gonzalez is the best offensive tight end in NFL history, holding the records for receptions, yards, and touchdowns for a player at his position. Unfortunately, all of that was for naught as he wasted away in Kansas City for a decade.

In 2008, he moved on to team up with Matt Ryan and the then up-and-coming Atlanta Falcons, only to see his production fall off significantly in correspondence to the team's as a whole. At age 34, after 13 long hard years in the league, it's hard to imagine him continuing on for much longer than a year or two. Barring any major developments out of Atlanta in that time I cannot see Gonzalez grabbing the biggest prize of them all.

Jason Taylor

Resume

Age: 35
6x Pro-Bowler
4x All-Pro
2006 Defensive Player of the Year
524 Tackles
127.5 Sacks
8 Interceptions
Playoff Appearances: 5
Furthest Advanced: Divisional Playoffs 3x (1998, 1999, 2000)

In case you forgot, between 2000 and 2007, Jason Taylor was one of the most dominant defensive forces in the league. In that seven-year span, he proved to be a quarterback's worst nightmare, putting up double digit sacks in all but two seasons and averaging 12.5 sacks a year overall.

The problem for him was he spent the prime of his career playing on some bad Miami teams. It probably didn't help that he had to share a division with Tom Brady's Patriots, who were hoarding the titles throughout the decade.

After an uneventful year with the Redskins in 2009, Taylor has taken his talents to the Big Apple to supplement Rex Ryan's extremely loaded Jets defense. With the clock ticking at this point in his career, Taylor probably could have found himself in a better situation. With a young quarterback and relatively unproven running back, the Jets are far from a shoe-in to the Super Bowl however. Only time will tell whether or not this team will be a legitimate Super Bowl contender.

For Taylor though time is not a luxury he can afford as it could prove to be Super Bowl or bust for him this year.

Steve Smith

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Age: 31
4x Pro-Bowler
3x All-Pro
574 Receptions
8,330 Yards
50 Touchdowns
Playoff Apperances: 3
Furthest Advanced: Super Bowl (2003)

Steve Smith is the youngest player to make this list at age 31 so he does have the most time of any of these players to get a ring. That said, he is still under contract with the Carolina Panthers until after the 2012 season. Currently the Panthers are in the midst of youth movement and don't figure to be competitive in those upcoming two seasons.

If that proves to be the case, he'll be 33 and still ringless. Who knows though, Carolina has some good pieces so maybe they can become a force again, but I'm not holding my breath. If he can team up with a contender, as veterans often do later in their careers, then his odds could certainly improve. As it stands though Smith is on the path to infamy in the big picture. Sad to say about one of my favorite receivers growing up.

Brian Urlacher

Resume

Age: 32
6x Pro-Bowler
4x All-Pro
816 Tackles
37.5 Sacks
17 Interceptions
Playoff Apperances: 3
Furthest Advanced: Super Bowl (2006)

Brian Urlacher and Ray Lewis have been the standard for NFL linebackers of this era. Both are big, hard-hitting, versatile linbackers that have headed some ferioucus defenses over the years. The only distinguishing factor between the two is the fact Lewis has a ring whereas Urlacher does not.

A lifetime Bear for the most part, he's played on some mediocre teams thanks mostly to an offense that's remained continuously stagnant since "Sweetness" last played in the mid-eighties. In his lone Super Bowl appearance, his Bears had the misfortune of drawing Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts, and with Rex Grossman at the helm we all know how that turned out. Chicago has been treading water ever since that game and it doesn't look as if they'll be back in Urlacher's career.

Ed Reed

Resume

Age: 31
6x Pro-Bowler
6x All-Pro
2004 AFC Defensive Player of the Year
458 Tackles
5 Sacks
46 Interceptions
8 Defensive Touchdowns
Playoff Apperances: 4
Furthest Advanced: Conference Championship (2008)

Speaking of players who have been the standard at their position, let's talk about Ed Reed. When I was doing research for this article I found it surprising that he wasn't on that great Ravens defense of 2000. I just kind of took it for granted that he was because they were so good. Just imagine if he was, teams might've never scored a point on them.

Unfortunately for Reed, he wasn't drafted until 2002 and since then the Ravens, as good as they've been, have not returned to the Super Bowl. They came close in 2008, but were ousted by the rivial Steelers in one of the hardest hitting games in the history of the sport.

Reed, who will turn 32 in September, is currently struggling through some injury issues that are reportedly leaving him to question whether or not he can preform at as high a level anymore. The Ravens look like a loaded team heading into 2010 and beyond, but the window for Reed may be dwindling.

Brian Dawkins

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Age: 36
8x Pro-Bowler
7x All-Pro
1,014 Tackles
21 Sacks
36 Interceptions
Playoff Apperances: 8
Furthest Advanced: Super Bowl (2004)

When you think of the league's top safeties over the past few years, who comes to mind? Ed Reed, Troy Polamalu, Darren Sharper? How about Brian Dawkins? For years he was the hard-hitting stalwart patrolling center field in the Eagles defense where he came oh so close to winning a title time and time again (see McNabb, Donovan).

Last year in Denver, he became a member of the exclusive 20 sack, 20 interception club. Always having been a somewhat underrated force in my eyes, there are not many players more deserving of a Super Bowl title than Dawkins. Unfortunately for him, he's stuck in Denver in the midst of the Tebow experiment for the remainder of his career, so it is unlikely he will get one.

Donovan McNabb

Resume

Age: 33
6x Pro-Bowler
2004 NFC Offensive Player of the Year
TD-INT: 216-100
32,876 Passing Yards
3,249 Yards Rushing
244 Touchdowns
Playoff Apperances: 8
Furthest Advanced: Super Bowl (2004)

Now he might not have a Super Bowl, but it isn't for lack of trying. He's been to the playoffs eight of his 11 seasons in the league, including a stretch of four straight conference championship games between 2001-2004.

Like many players on this list, he's just encountered some plain old bad luck. In 2002 who was picking warm-blooded Tampa Bay to win a sub-zero game in Philly? And who could've expected McNabb to go down with a rib injury in the third quarter of a tight game with Carolina the next year? The year he finally made the Super Bowl, he ran into the Patriots, who were cementing their dynasty.

Just terrible luck for a nice guy who really deserved better. This year will be his first year playing outside Philadelphia, suiting up for the rival Redskins. While I think the 'Skins will be competitive, I still think there's some work to be done before they can be called Super Bowl contenders. But McNabb's a competitor, so who knows? The one thing I do know is that the clock is ticking.

Randy Moss

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Age: 33
7x Pro-Bowler
4x All-Pro
926 Receptions
14,465 Yards
148 Touchdowns
Playoff Apperances: 6
Furthest Advanced: Super Bowl (2007)

Over the course of his career, Randy Moss has lived up to the hype. From day one he was an NFL superstar when he and Cris Carter (who never won a ring) formed their dynamic duo that took the league by storm. In his rookie year, he brought in 69 catches for 1,300-plus yards and 17 touchdowns, and from there never looked back.

Despite all of the success he and the Vikings had over his seven years there, they just never found themselves able to get over the hump and advance to the Super Bowl, losing two conference title games.

He wasted two seasons in football purgatory after being traded to the Raiders, where his production plummeted prompting rumors of a premature retirement.

However, he found redemption when he joined the Patriots in 2007 where he and Tom Brady had arguably the greatest season between a quarterback and receiver ever, and New England rolled to 18 straight victories.

The stars seemed aligned for Moss and the Patriots to compile the best record in history en route to Super Bowl glory until Eli Manning and David Tyree's miraculous third down play that will forever live in football lore and ripped perfection from the Patriots' grasp. On a side note, while that play merely prolonged Moss' pursuit of a title it effectively ended another's in Junior Seau, a future Hall of Famer.

This year, Moss' Patriots figure to once again be in contention for a Super Bowl title again, but the AFC is as competitive as ever. Looking ahead things get a little murky as the word is Moss does not wish to return to New England.

Entering the twilight of his career, Moss has no more time to mess around. He'd better make his next move wisely because he might end up being in the coversation for greatest receiver ever, but without a ring what does all that really mean?

LaDainian Tomlinson

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Age: 31
5x Pro-Bowler
6x All-Pro
12,490 Yards Rushing
3,955 Yards Receiving
153 Touchdowns
Playoff Apperances: 5
Furthest Advanced: Conference Championship (2007)

You'd have thought LaDainian Tomlinson would've won a championship by now after all the hype his Chargers teams got over the years. Not that they didn't deserve it as they amassed double-digit wins in four out of his nine seasons behind an offense that rolled into the playoffs. Just when it counted in the postseason, the Patriots and Jets had their number.

While Tomlinson will surely go down as the greatest back of his generation, his history of fading in the postseason, where he only averages 3.4 yards per carry and has scored only four touchdowns, could be a blow to his legacy should he not be able to get over the hump.

This year Tomlinson is getting a fresh start, chasing a ring with those aforementioned Jets who are predicted to favorites in the AFC. You know the old saying, if you can't beat' em join them. Tomlinson's banking that sentiment.

Terrell Owens

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Age: 36
6x Pro-Bowler
5x All-Pro
1006 Receptions
14,951 Yards
144 Touchdowns
Playoff Apperances: 8
Furthest Advanced: Super Bowl (2004)

It's hard to believe that Terrell Owens has been around since 1996, yet hasn't won a title despite the fact he's played with some great quarterbacks over the course of his career: Steve Young, Jeff Garcia, Donovan McNabb, and Tony Romo.

Some might attribute Owens' lack of hardware to his reputation as "Team Obliviator." However, he's a great player solidly entrenched in the discussion as one of the greatest ever. His Super Bowl preformance in 2004 on a broken leg will forever rank amongst the gutsiest preformances in history.

That's how important a title is to this guy. He might be a knucklehead, but a harmless one. He's not out at the strip clubs, or out on the street playing a gangster in the offseason. He just enjoys playing football and wants to make it fun.

As we saw this offseason though his career is on its last leg. In Cincinnati this season, teamed with fellow prima donna wideout Chad Ochocinco (also ringless) you can't say it won't be fun to watch at least, but I don't know many betting on the Bengals to make the Super Bowl.