Cleveland Browns: The Most Overrated and Underrated Players

Football, like life, often isn't fair.

Sometimes players who don't perform get more credit or second chances than they deserve, and players who get the job done don't get recognized for it. In most cases, this isn't how it goes and assessments of players' performances are accurate. 

But there are enough guys out there on the Browns and on every team who are either getting too much or too little credit for their work. So maybe it's time to take a swing at correcting some of that. 

Following are some of the most overrated and most underrated players on the Browns by position. Not every position has candidates for this honor (or in some cases, dishonor), but there are quite a few where the record needs to be set straight. 

This discussion is open to all, so feel free to share other players who you think are overrated or underrated in the comments below!

1. Wide Receivers

Overrated: Mohamed Massaquoi

Mohamed Massaquoi's career, at least in terms of how his skill level is perceived, has had an interesting trajectory. Nobody expected much out of him right out of the gate, and he wound up being a pleasant surprise. Then things flip-flopped last season when his performance was a total disappointment to most. 

Yet in spite of his struggles last year, there are still those who persist in calling him the Browns number one receiver. That makes him completely overrated. Massaquoi hasn't even earned a starting spot next season for certain, much less a number one guy designation. 

Underrated: Brian Robiskie

Like Massaquoi, Robiskie has unfortunately up to this point, not lived up to his draft slot. Skepticism about how he'll pan out in the future is certainly understandable; overall, his 2010 season was almost bad enough to call it a disaster.

But unlike Massaquoi, Robiskie showed some life at the end of the year and appeared to be making forward progress. As much as we have to approach counting on Robiskie in 2011 to be a big producer on offense with skepticism, there is every indication that he deserves more credit than we often give him. 

The jury is still out, of course, and will be until we see what he does this year, but there's a good chance we've sold him short. 

2. Running Backs

Overrated: Montario Hardesty

I'll admit that I hate tagging Hardesty with this label; after all, 2011 is only his second year in the NFL, and he spent his rookie year on the IR, unable to prove what kind of player he was for better or for worse. 

Still, Hardesty does qualify as overrated. Unlike others on this list, in his case, it isn't poor performance or a lack of skill that earns him this designation. For Hardesty, it's about the fact that the Browns faithful have put a lot of stock into his being able to take some of the burden off of the overworked Peyton Hillis this year and in the future, and Hardesty's injury record indicates that Hardesty may not be able to do that. Ever. 

Granted, if he can surprise us and stay healthy, he'll probably be the quickest guy to get himself off this list and free of any suggestions that he's overrated, but until he makes that happen, his presence on the roster and his ability to share duties with Hillis are overrated.

Underrated: Lawrence Vickers

 This one is a little bit of a stretch, since Vickers is a free agent at present and unfortunately unlikely to re-sign with the Browns. However, it's important to still give credit where credit is due, and there's no one as underrated at his job than FB Lawrence Vickers. 

Case in point: Peyton Hillis had a monster season last year. Hillis gets 100% of the credit for that, which just isn't right. Of course, I wish to take nothing away from Hillis, who was tremendous in 2010 and deserves plenty of praise, but it is often forgotten how much Vickers' phenomenal blocking contributed to Hillis' success.

Hillis is a fantastic player and would have had a great season no matter what. But would he have had quite as great a season as he did without Vickers? Probably not. 

3. Offensive Line

Overrated: Tony Pashos

As in the case of Hardesty, it seems a little unfair to call Pashos overrated when most of the reason behind it is that he couldn't perform because he was injured. 

But the problem is that Pashos was counted on to beef up the right side of the line last year, which just didn't happen, and the Browns are still looking to him as an option to do the same this year. Of course, if he manages to get the job done, we'll have no complaints. But at this point, he hasn't earned the right to be counted on in such way. 

There's nothing wrong with the Browns giving Pashos another chance to earn his paycheck, but they need to explore other options more heavily and stop considering Pashos a likely option.

Underrated: Eric Steinbach

The left side of the Browns offensive line gets all the credit, and well they should. Given the mess on the right side, they were the only thing that kept Colt McCoy from winding up on a stretcher by halftime every Sunday. 

Most of the credit for that usually goes to Joe Thomas and Alex Mack. But there's another guy over there responsible for the solid play of the left side of the offensive line, and that's Eric Steinbach. 

It does make sense that Mack and Thomas get a bigger share of the credit. They've earned it. But Steinbach still isn't getting enough of it. 

Steinbach has his critics, and many of their complaints about him are valid or at least understandable, but he also does a lot of things right, and he doesn't get nearly the recognition he deserves for that. 

4. Defensive Line

Overrated: Robaire Smith

Like Vickers, Robaire Smith may not wind up truly belonging on this list because he may not be a Brown when the 2011 season begins, but he's ours for the time being (and possibly in the future), so that means he's fair game. 

Obviously, Smith is in a way the runner up for this unfortunate designation, since it would clearly go to Shaun Rogers if he was still around. But Smith has earned it too. 

It isn't that Smith has been awful, but he got way too much hype going into 2010, and then proceeded to fall flat on his face, literally and figuratively. He got into legal trouble, underperformed, and was on the field for just five games last season. In spite of this, there are those who still think he should have a job with the Browns. 

Maybe that's true. Maybe he can get it together and improve his performance overall. Maybe he'll do better in a 4-3. But until he does, even considering him as a viable option next season looks like giving him way too much credit.

Underrated: Brian Schaefering

A year ago, this honor would have gone to Ahtyba Rubin, but by the end of last season he had proved himself enough to get the credit he deserves. So instead it goes to Brian Schaefering.

Schaefering wasn't completely without supporters or praise last season, nor was he what you would call "exceptional", but for the most part, he's a lot better than he gets credit for and is still improving all the time.

Schaefering should be one of the first guys mentioned as candidates to start on the line in the new 4-3 scheme, but instead he's among the last. Obviously there are no guarantees and I don't mean to suggest that Schaefering should be a lock for a starting job in 2011, but he's got a lot better chance and has done a far better job in the past than is often acknowledged.

5. Linebackers

Overrated: D'Qwell Jackson

Honestly, I kind of like D'Qwell Jackson. But then, I kind of like Jake Delhomme too, but that certainly doesn't mean I ever want to see him throw a pass again. 

The problem with Jackson isn't that he's terrible or that he shouldn't get any credit at all; more that it is still being suggested by some that he could earn a job at LB next season, despite other far more talented players at the position not getting the same nod when they're more deserving. 

The Browns have (at least potentially) a decent amount of young talent at LB. I'm not opposed to giving Jackson a shot, so long as he isn't given a job because of a reputation that he hasn't earned. Jackson has had some decent seasons in the past, but he's never had a truly great season, and he didn't play at all in 2010. From where I'm standing, he's not looked at as nearly as far down the depth chart as I think he should be at the moment. 

Underrated: Marcus Benard

Luckily for Marcus Benard, he has a fair amount of people singing his praises. But he's also frequently ignored, underrated, or just not given enough credit for his play. 

While I expect Benard to win a starting job at LB this season and I expect that by the end of 2011 his play will have finally earned him plenty of recognition, at the moment, he just doesn't get the proper amount of accolades for what he's shown on the field.

6. Secondary

Overrated: Sheldon Brown

Calling Sheldon Brown overrated here is not meant to imply that he played poorly last season, will play poorly in the future, or even got credit he didn't deserve. 

Rather, it is to acknowledge that Brown is counted on to start in the secondary next season far more than he should be given his age and injury risk. 

I like Sheldon Brown. I thought he did a nice job last season, but we can't count on him as heavily for 2011 as many people seem to think. I expect more praise-worthy performances in the future for Brown, but not as many as a lot of folks are currently counting on him for. 

Underrated: Joe Haden

It's hard to call a guy underrated when he garnered Rookie of the Year whispers last season, but Joe Haden has somehow managed to earn the designation anyway. He's so good that even the gobs of kudos he received last season just didn't seem to do him justice. 

Obviously he's not as bad off as those players who got little to no credit despite performing well, but Haden still remains an underrated player. All you have to do is look at where he's often ranked throughout the league in terms of cornerbacks. He's certainly not ranked poorly, but he's consistently ranked lower than he deserves. 

Hopefully, much of that is due to the fact that as a rookie, he just didn't get the same attention as a more well-established player would for comparable play, and we'll see Haden get all the credit for his spectacular play that he deserves in the future.