NFL: What Was I Thinking? [1] Trivia Quiz

Answer: Johnny Unitas

Think of the shoes Terry Bradshaw would of had to fill if Unitas had remained in Pittsburgh. The Steelers had three other QBs at the time, and the coaches called Unitas awkward and dumb. The following year (1956) Unitas was brought to Baltimore to try out for the Colts, and the rest, as they say, was history.

Answer: Houston Oilers

Houston probably was pulling their hair out after watching Largent set most of the NFL receiving records in Seattle before 49er Jerry Rice passed him. The word was that the Houston coaches thought Largent was too short to be an impact wide receiver.

Answer: Brett Favre

In perhaps the biggest case of misjudgement and misinterpretation in the NFL, the Atlanta Falcons burned themselves in 1991. Coach Jerry Glanville at the time said the Falcons made a mistake drafting Favre. In fact, he was quoted as saying, "It would take a plane crash for me to put him in the game". The Green Bay Packers traded a draft pick in 1992 to gain the services of Favre.

Answer: Ryan Leaf

Obviously, NFL owners don't have ESP and can't predict whether a player is going to be a bust or not. And in 1998, it was a no-brainer that the two top QBs in the draft were Peyton Manning and Ryan Leaf. The problem was that San Diego gave up way too much just to move up one spot in the draft. Two first round picks, a second round pick and four time Pro Bowler Eric Metcalf were given to the Arizona Cardinals.

Answer: Barry Sanders

Nearly 10 years prior to the Ryan Leaf fiasco, Tony Mandarich was considered by ESPN analysts as the biggest NFL flop of all time. The Packers needed a RB but instead they decided to go for an offensive lineman, which was against the norm of the NFL draft. Sanders was picked by the Detroit Lions at number three and at the time of his retirement in 1998, he was the all time leading rusher. Mandarich, on the other hand never quite lived up to his billing and was at the center of the steroids issue in 1989.

In an interesting side note, the Packers also passed up on the number four and five picks as well, Pro Bowlers Derrick Thomas and Deion Sanders.

Answer: Herschel Walker

It was what some people called the biggest bonehead trade in history. The Minnesota Vikings gave up six players, three number one picks, three number two picks, a number three and a number six pick from 1990-1992, just to get the services of Walker. In the aftermath, the Vikings didn't get any better with Walker while the Cowboys built a three-time Super Bowl Championship team. And do you want to know what was the irony of it all? The Vikings let Walker go in 1992, and after short stints with the Eagles and Giants, Walker ended his career back in Dallas.

Answer: Cleveland Browns

The Browns took Kentucky QB Tim Couch who was highly tauted as a Heisman Trophy finalist. It's not that he wasn't a good QB, but rather he was not handled very well by the Brown organization. Working in a different system every season and not having a quality offensive line became his downfall.

He became injury prone and was unable to make a comeback in 2005 after being picked up by the Chicago Bears.

Answer: Marshall Faulk

The Bengals needed a RB at the time, and it was verified the following season when they chose a RB at number one. Actually, the Bengals needed a lot of things in 1994. One need was a run-stopper on the defensive line. So, they ignored Faulk and took DT Dan Wilkinson from Ohio State.

The Colts jumped on Faulk, and he gave them three good seasons. But after a miserable season in 1996 due to a toe injury and contract disputes in 1998, Faulk was traded to the St. Louis Rams in 1999, where he won a MVP and helped the Rams win Super Bowl XXXIV.

Answer: Chris Samuels

Samuels became a solid piece of the Skins offensive line. The Outland Trophy winning tackle at Alabama became a three-time Pro Bowler with Washington. As for the other three, they left a lot more to be desired. Heath Shuler, who was the third overall pick in the 1994 draft, finished second in the Heisman voting while playing for Tennessee, but he got off on the wrong foot with the Redskins by holding out of training camp.

He was never able to develop into an effective QB in the NFL, and after several stints with other teams, he retired and went into politics. Westbrook was a highly tauted WR from Colorado who showed some promise in Washington, however he became severely injury prone and was never able to make an impact in spite of him being drafted fourth overall in 1995. Howard, another Heisman trophy winner in 1991, was a WR at Michigan who also was a punt returner.

The Redskins found out the hard way that he was more suited in the NFL as a punt returner and so he became another wasted pick by Washington.

He ended up in Green Bay where his punt return prowess took center stage in Super Bowl XXXI, as he returned a punt for a TD vs the New England Patriots enroute to the Super Bowl MVP.

Answer: Oakland Raiders

After a semi-successful career at USC, Marinovich lasted only two short seasons with the Raiders. Following his losing the starting position and his legal off-field troubles in 1992, he never threw another pass in the NFL. If only the Raiders could of gazed into a crystal ball and realized that there was another QB in that draft which was picked nine positions after Marinovich at number 33.

His name? Brett Favre.