Lengthy....but quiet.....careers

[Sport]

How about Igor Larionov? 16 seasons and only 644 points in his whole career.

He's also a hall-of-famer which means he had the opposite of a quiet career.

[Kramerica Industries]

Igor Larionov is one of the most famous Soviet players of all-time.

There is no way he could ever qualify for this kind of list.

[The_Admiral]

Shane Doan's career has been lengthy but quiet, unless his perpetual bitching makes him unquiet.

[infrared41]

Joe Ferguson (1973-1990,1995), the Steve DeBerg of Buffalo, and Detroit, and Tampa Bay, and Indianapolis (and a brief comeback at the age of 45 with the CFL).

There were more than a couple years early in his career when Ferguson was considered one of the better QB's in the league. I don't know if I'd call his career quiet.

You trade Joe Ferguson straight up for Terry Bradshaw and Ferguson might very well be in the Hall of Fame.

Like I said earlier though, to me the topic has already gotten watered down with too many good players. To me someone like Gary Danielson would be a much better example. 11 year NFL career. Decent QB, but nobody would be saying boy if we got someone like Gary Danielson under center it could really take us to that next level as a team. I could see someone saying that with Joe Ferguson given the right scenario. He was a really good QB that just happened to play for a really bad football team. Unless you had someone like a Roger Staubach or a Fran Tarkenton or a Dan Fouts on your team, he was at least as good as whoever your starting QB was.

Exactly. Would you say a QB like Matt Schaub or Matt Ryan would be a decent current comparison to Joe Ferguson? Not quite "elite", but very good.

[Kramerica Industries]

Billy Volek seems like a decent entry on this list.

Stuck around for 12 years in the NFL as Steve McNair and Phillip Rivers' back-up. Only played (partially) in one notable game in his career - 2007 playoffs against Indy, and the emergency 4th quarter rally.

[pmoehrin]

Joe Ferguson (1973-1990,1995), the Steve DeBerg of Buffalo, and Detroit, and Tampa Bay, and Indianapolis (and a brief comeback at the age of 45 with the CFL).

There were more than a couple years early in his career when Ferguson was considered one of the better QB's in the league. I don't know if I'd call his career quiet.

You trade Joe Ferguson straight up for Terry Bradshaw and Ferguson might very well be in the Hall of Fame.

Like I said earlier though, to me the topic has already gotten watered down with too many good players. To me someone like Gary Danielson would be a much better example. 11 year NFL career. Decent QB, but nobody would be saying boy if we got someone like Gary Danielson under center it could really take us to that next level as a team. I could see someone saying that with Joe Ferguson given the right scenario. He was a really good QB that just happened to play for a really bad football team. Unless you had someone like a Roger Staubach or a Fran Tarkenton or a Dan Fouts on your team, he was at least as good as whoever your starting QB was.

Exactly. Would you say a QB like Matt Schaub or Matt Ryan would be a decent current comparison to Joe Ferguson? Not quite "elite", but very good.

I don't know what Joe Ferguson would do in today's game but in terms of where he would be on the talent scale, lower end top ten QB like Ryan and Schaub sounds about right. You can do better, but he's good enough to where your not actively seeking a replacement.

As for the Larionov mention, he's in the Hall of Fame as he should be and 600 points in less then 1000 games is far from bad. Again I'll take him on my team if nobody else wants him.

[The_Admiral]

Cliff Floyd hung around for seventeen seasons. His b-r comparables are a veritable who's who of "yeah, that guy was a pretty good hitter, wasn't he?": Ryan Klesko, Aubrey Huff, Mike Sweeney, Raul Mondesi, and Geoff Jenkins, who is a lengthy-but-quiet unto himself.

[Cosmic]

Shane Doan's career has been lengthy but quiet, unless his perpetual bitching makes him unquiet.

If it weren't for the Coyotes thread, I don't know if I would have ever heard his name.

Dave Andreychuk played for over 20 years in the NHL and made (I think) two All-Star teams. Aside from his cup run in 2004 and using Toronto in NHL '96 for Super Nintendo, I didn't hear know or hear about him at all.

Is it possible for a guy to have a quiet career if he captained a Cup-winning team? He definitely had his niche with the PP work, but I wouldn't call it quiet.

Edit: 19 NHL seasons of 20 or more goals, some significantly more.

[The_Admiral]

While Andreychuk is more than just a guy who hung around a long time without doing anything, I did think the framing of the Lightning's 2004 run as The Time Has Finally Come For Dave Andreychuk was more than a bit of a reach.

[Kramerica Industries]

Of course it was, but what else would you expect the narrative to be for someone who played 20+ seasons, 2000+ games, had over 600 goals, and had never won a Cup (and, , didn't he leave the Devils and Avs a year before both teams won the Cup)?

That narrative wrote itself.

[Glover]

Not sure how much we want to take NASCAR into consideration here, but there are a few guys.

Ken Schrader raced full time in the Cup Series from 1985 to 2006, and has been running part time since then. He has 4 Cup wins.

Other guys you could include are Joe Nemechek, Dave Blaney, and Brett Bodine.

[sc49erfan15]

How about Chris Chandler?

17 seasons, 8 teams, a few Pro Bowls on the Falcons in the late '90s when the Falcons made the Super Bowl... but other than that, nothing.

Not sure how much we want to take NASCAR into consideration here, but there are a few guys.

Ken Schrader raced full time in the Cup Series from 1985 to 2006, and has been running part time since then. He has 4 Cup wins.

Other guys you could include are Joe Nemechek, Dave Blaney, and Brett Bodine.

Oooh, good call on NASCAR - Morgan Shepherd as well. A total of 858 races (514 Cup and 344 BGN/Nationwide) with 19 wins (4 Cup, 15 BGN/Nationwide), ran scattered races in the 1970s, started full time in 1981, still going today at age 72 (?!).

Dave Marcis. 883 Cup races ran from 1968-2002. 5 wins. About as mediocre as you can get. Probably more impressive than Vince Evans.

[pmoehrin]

Not sure how much we want to take NASCAR into consideration here, but there are a few guys.

Ken Schrader raced full time in the Cup Series from 1985 to 2006, and has been running part time since then. He has 4 Cup wins.

Other guys you could include are Joe Nemechek, Dave Blaney, and Brett Bodine.

I think its definitely worth mentioning NASCAR.

Rick Mast, Jeff Green, Dave Marcis if you forget what he did prior to the Reagan Administration.

That's probably the biggest way NASCAR has changed for the better. It was only the sport it seemed like where you could actually qualify for tenure. Now I think its much more skill based now then when it was even going back to the mid-90's.

[sc49erfan15]

Not sure how much we want to take NASCAR into consideration here, but there are a few guys.

Ken Schrader raced full time in the Cup Series from 1985 to 2006, and has been running part time since then. He has 4 Cup wins.

Other guys you could include are Joe Nemechek, Dave Blaney, and Brett Bodine.

I think its definitely worth mentioning NASCAR.

Rick Mast, Jeff Green, Dave Marcis if you forget what he did prior to the Reagan Administration.

That's probably the biggest way NASCAR has changed for the better. It was only the sport it seemed like where you could actually qualify for tenure. Now I think its much more skill based now then when it was even going back to the mid-90's.

Well, with the Champion's Provisional, you kind of did qualify for tenure. Do they even still do that anymore?

Good call on Rick Mast. Stalwart of the 1990s, never even really seemed like he sniffed winning. Not really a good thing when the only thing remarkable about your career is that you drove the #1 car for a decade.

Michael Waltrip never really did much, either, other than being DW's little brother and winning the Daytona 500 in 2001. J.D. McDuffie (R.I.P.) holds the distinction of having the most Cup starts (653) without a win, but I don't think it really counts if you didn't have a pit crew. On that note, Dave Marcis is really kind of iffy as well. For probably his last 10 years, he wasn't anything more than a R&D driver for Childress Racing. It's almost like if the Toledo Mud Hens played 50 games a year against MLB opponents.

[chrysleraspen08]

I'm a little bit surprised that John McDonald is still around. He is 38 and has played quite a few game here and there for a few teams in the majors since 1999.

http://mlb.mlb.com/team/player.jsp?player_id=150348#gameType='R'&sectionType=career&statType=1&season=2013&level='ALL'

[infrared41]

How about Craig Counsell? He played 16 years for five different teams. Then again, he did win the NLCS MVP in 2001 and he managed to be involved in a couple of famous World Series moments.

[pmoehrin]

Not sure how much we want to take NASCAR into consideration here, but there are a few guys.

Ken Schrader raced full time in the Cup Series from 1985 to 2006, and has been running part time since then. He has 4 Cup wins.

Other guys you could include are Joe Nemechek, Dave Blaney, and Brett Bodine.

I think its definitely worth mentioning NASCAR.

Rick Mast, Jeff Green, Dave Marcis if you forget what he did prior to the Reagan Administration.

That's probably the biggest way NASCAR has changed for the better. It was only the sport it seemed like where you could actually qualify for tenure. Now I think its much more skill based now then when it was even going back to the mid-90's.

Well, with the Champion's Provisional, you kind of did qualify for tenure. Do they even still do that anymore?

Good call on Rick Mast. Stalwart of the 1990s, never even really seemed like he sniffed winning.

They still do, but that had nothing to do with it.

It was just the general culture of the sport. It seemed like you had to be about 30 just to break in and then you get these old timers hanging around that haven't done anything in a decade plus and in some cases never did anything, but you couldn't get them out of the sport. Just there for the sake of being there.

I think you see that in the standings as well. Its not just three or four drivers winning every race now. More balanced equipment has a lot to do with that as well, but overall I think its a much more competitive sport then it was 20-25 years ago.

[HedleyLamarr]

How about Craig Counsell? He played 16 years for five different teams. Then again, he did win the NLCS MVP in 2001 and he managed to be involved in a couple of famous World Series moments.

It's so weird to look at the list of LCS MVP's and see a bunch of stiffs that had one good week and get the forever recognition for their series accomplishments.....

[FiddySicks]

Billy Volek seems like a decent entry on this list.

Stuck around for 12 years in the NFL as Steve McNair and Phillip Rivers' back-up. Only played (partially) in one notable game in his career - 2007 playoffs against Indy, and the emergency 4th quarter rally.

That's a good example, and one I never would've even considered. His father, John, was the athletic director at my old junior college and I saw more Billy Volek jerseys while I was there than any other jersey. I always wondered where in the hell they found them.

[infrared41]

Michael Waltrip never really did much, either, other than being DW's little brother and winning the Daytona 500 in 2001.

"Mikey" actually won Daytona twice (2001and 2003), but the point remains.