The 25 Dumbest Players in NFL History

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When its all said and done 2010, may go down as the season of head injury awareness. Scientists haven't been able to pinpoint the effects that brain trauma will have over the course of one's life, but they are seeing connection between memory loss, declining motor skills and head trauma.

The following players could possibly help them make their case. Maybe they suffered from brain trauma or maybe they just were blessed with far more athletic ability than brains or simply their life in the spotlight caught them in bad moments.

From the outside looking in, it is really impossible to tell. One thing is for certain, they have all displayed questionable enough judgment to land them on the list of the 25 Dumbest Players in NFL History.

No. 25: Jeff Reed

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Jeff Reed has an impressive resume. He once got angry at a paper towel dispenser for being empty and then assaulted it. He has also been arrested for public drunkenness.

What might be his most impressive bout with stupidity came after he decided to bash the Steelers' fans after he had missed crucial field goals that cost the Steelers a victory. While bashing the fans he also tried to backhandedly deflect blame onto his holder and long snapper. Reed was released later in that same week.

No. 24: Alex Karras

It's hard to call someone who made as many people laugh with him as Alex Karras did, dumb. So, I'll let him explain it for us. "I never graduated college, but I was only there for two terms--Truman’s and Eisenhower’s.”

Karras was stupid all the way to the bank.

No 23. 2003 Oakland Raiders

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Football is a team sport. Along those lines of reasoning it is only fair that we include a team into this countdown. Besides, you don't have to take my word regarding this group of players intelligence, their own coach sums it up for us.

Bill Callahan referred to his team as the "Dumbest Team in America." Thanks for making my job a little easier, Bill.

No. 22: Karl Mecklenberg

Mecklenberg had a stellar career. It is no surprise. Just read about the insight Mecklenberg offered about the game when he let everyone in on his secret of defense.

"Defensively," Mecklenburg said, "I think it is important to tackle."

Since Mecklenberg put this emphasis on tackling, the game has never been the same.

No. 21: JaMarcus Russell

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JaMarcus Russell is largely considered the biggest draft bust in NFL history. He had zero notion of what it would take to succeed in the NFL. He spent his short career wildly out of shape and under the influence.

During the course of his terrible 2009 season, he was asked about his struggles and he mumbled his way through an excuse that placed the blame on his teammates. He was soon benched and then later released.

Russell is still a young man. He was invited to workout for the Redskins and the Dolphins in 2010, but he reportedly showed up pushing 300 lbs. and in no shape to resume his NFL career.

No. 20: Mike Vanderjagt

Mike Vanderjagt spent a couple of season on top of the NFL kicking world. He failed to realize, that in the NFL landscape, this still left him miles behind the QB.

After a Colts loss, Vanderjagt went on the radio and called out Peyton Manning for not showing enough enthusiasm. Manning later gave a glimpse into the NFL hierarchy when he responded to Vanderjagt's comments by referring to him as their "idiot kicker."

Vanderjagt has not been to the peak of Mt. Kicker since.

No. 19: Gus Frerotte

Gus Frerotte is one intense individual. After scoring a touchdown for the Washington Redskins, he tried to further demonstrate his macho-ness by beating up a wall with his head. Surprisingly, the wall did not go down.

Frerotte did, though. At halftime, he was rushed to the hospital after suffering spasms. Frerotte was never the same after his run in with the wall.

No. 18: Terry Bradshaw

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Terry Bradshaw has made a career out of his implied lack of intelligence.

"In Montana," Bradshaw's co-worker, Howie Long once said, "they renamed a town after an all-time great, Joe Montana. Well, a town in Massachusetts changed their name to honor my guy Terry Bradshaw--Marblehead."

Of course, Bradshaw plays right along. After being told that Thomas "Hollywood" Henderson said Bradshaw "couldn't spell cat if you spotted him the 'C' and the 'T'". Brandshaw responded by saying, "I may be dumb, but I'm not stupid."

He's probably right.

No. 17: Channing Crowder

Maybe geography is just one weak subject for Crowder. Still, I think his placement on this list becomes evident as we review his comments about the Dolphins trip to London.

First, he wanted to hire a translator for the trip to London. Then he went on to say, "(He) couldn't find London on a map if they didn't have the names of the countries." I wonder if he was confused when people referred to going to England?

He did prove that he wasn't totally oblivious to all things London when he said, "I know London Fletcher. We did a football camp together. So I know him. That's the closest thing I know to London. He's black, so I'm sure he’s not from London. I'm sure that's a coincidental name."

No. 16: Donovan McNabb

Do you know that a regular season NFL game can end in a tie? If you are reading this, my guess is that you do. Of course, I would have also guessed that NFL QBs knew they could too. I would have been wrong.

Well, at least until reporters informed Donovan McNabb that they could. McNabb infamously told reporters he thought his game would keep going beyond the 15 minutes of extra time if it was still tied.

No. 15: Eugene Robinson

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Robinson had a long and successful career. He did, however, display some horrible lack of timing. The night before Super Bowl 33 between his Atlanta Falcons and the Denver Broncos, Robinson was arrested for soliciting prostitution.

Robinson's unsuspecting wife was asleep in their hotel room at the time. Robinson was detained and kept up all night. The Falcons were destroyed in the Super Bowl and the closest Robinson got to the action was watching long plays go past him.

No. 14: Garo Yepremian

Yepremian almost singlehandedly destroyed the Dolphins perfect 1972 season when he forgot he was a kicker. Yepremian tried to roll out on a failed field goal attempt and throw a pass. Only he threw the ball backwards and the Redskins recovered.

No. 13: Randy Moss

Where do we begin and where do we end with Randy Moss? Moss once hit/nudged a female officer with his car, because she would not get out of his way. He admitted on TV that he takes plays off and he likes to smoke pot.

After scoring a touchdown, he once pretended to moon the crowd. Recently, Moss was alleged to get into a verbal altercation with Tom Brady and then criticized the organization over his lack of a contract extension and he was soon traded. He has one touchdown since being traded.

No. 12: Bill Gramitica

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Gramatica set the evolution of kickers as accepted members of a NFL team back about 50 years. Gramatica made a game winning kick and he then jumped in celebration.

The problem for Gramatica was he had to land and when he did, he blew out his knee. Gramitica's career was never the same. 

No. 11: George Rogers

George Rogers had better intentions than math skills. When asked about his goals for his upcoming season, Rogers replied, "I want to rush for 1,000 or 1,500 yards, whichever comes first."

No. 10: Bill Peterson

Bill Peterson was a coach and not a player. The fact that I am including him on the list may make me a candidate for the list myself, but take a look at some of the quotes from the Head Coach of the 1979 Houston Oilers.

"You guys line up alphabetically by height. Then you guys pair up in groups of three and line up in a circle."

"Men, I want you just thinking of one word all season. One word and one word only: Super Bowl."

"You guys need to run a little more than full speed out there."

"Please lead us in a few words of silent prayer."

You can't make that kind of stuff up.

No. 9: Joe Don Looney

Looney went Allen Iverson on the press long before Allen Iverson was born. Practice? Looney was not a fan.

The following was Looney's reasoning for not reporting to training camp. "A good back makes his own holes. Anybody can run where the holes are."

No. 8: Jim Marshall

Jim Marshall had a great career. Unfortunately for Marshall, it is going to be remembered for one moment of confusion.

Marshall picked up a fumble and ran unimpeded and untouched into the endzone. The problem was, it was the wrong endzone.

No. 7: Joe Theisman

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On the field, Theisman was a smart and effective Quarterback. It wasn't until Theisman graduated to the broadcast booth that we started to get a glimpse of inner workings of his mind.

Listen to a complete game that Theisman broadcasts and you'll agree he belongs on this list. Here is my all-time favorite Theisman line: "Nobody in football should be called a genius. A genius is a guy like Norman Einstein."

Well, I guess he proved his point.

No. 6: Adam "Pacman" Jones

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Pacman Jones made it rain on the NFL with his laundry lists of offenses. Incident after incident, Jones could not keep himself out of trouble, even though each misstep was costing him millions of dollars. To Jones credit, he has had a quiet couple of seasons.

No. 5: Ben Roethlisberger

Despite being on a short leash with the NFL, Roethlisberger could not seem to keep his name out of the wrong kinds of conversations.

I don't know exactly what happened in any of the sexual abuse allegations levied against Ben, but I do know he was foolish to keep putting himself in those kinds of situations.

No. 4: Leon Lett

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Leon became the king of the Super Bowl blunders when, just yards away from a touchdown, he held out the ball for anyone to take. Don Beebe obliged and stripped the ball from Lett, denying him his Super Bowl touchdown.

Leon Lett is thorough. He didn't want to leave his place on this list in jeopardy. The year after his Super Bowl fumble, Lett had another historic miscue and this time it cost his team the game.

With the clock approaching zero on Thanksgiving day, the Dolphins attempted a field goal that would give them a two-point victory. The Cowboys blocked the kick and the ball landed harmlessly around the 10-yard line. The Cowboy players were waving their arms and walking away from the ball.

When the ball stopped moving, possession would belong to the Cowboys. Instead, Lett came rushing in and tried to cover the ball. He kicked it instead and the Dolphins recovered it on the one-yard line. They had just enough time left to kick the game-winning field goal.

No. 3: O.J. Simpson

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Simpson's placement on this list was by far the hardest decision. His transgressions were not football related and they came long after his playing days were over.

In the end, it was Simpons continued lack of judgment that landed him on the list.

Simpson had long made a joke out of the freedom many felt he did not deserve. He had to have known there were many people out there waiting to nail him.

Despite this, Simpson broke into a hotel room with armed accomplices in an attempt to steal memorabilia he said had been taken from him. Not surprisingly, the courts did not see it his way. He is now serving time.

No. 2: Michael Vick

Vick made some stupid decisions. He'd be the first to tell you. He flipped off his home crowd, allegedly tried to sneak pot onto an airplane and was running and funding an illegal dog fighting ring.

It is impossible to get an exact figure on how much money these bad decisions cost him. It is not far-fetched to say it is in the 100 million dollar range.

Vick has made his way back into the league and he is better than ever, but who knows what he could have accomplished had he not been forced to take a hiatus.

No. 1: Plaxico Burress

The details of the events of the night that have cost Plaxico so dearly continue to confound me. They are layered in questionable moments of judgment. Enough so, that he is worthy of the number one spot on this list.

First, he was carrying an unlicensed hand-gun. Second, he decided to take it into a popular night club. Third, he decided to put a handgun with no safety in the waistband of his sweatpants. Fourth, he was wearing sweat pants to a night club. Fifth, he shot himself in the leg. Sixth, he thought he could evade police scrutiny by checking himself into the hospital as Harris Smith.

Just one of those decisions is probably list worthy. Put six of them together and you have the Dumbest Player in NFL History.