Where's my Ring?

So it is the Friday before the Super Bowl. Every year I think of some of the greatest players are that I have seen that were not fortunate enough to win the Super Bowl. As I was thinking about this today, I came up with ten guys that I felt were great players who just weren't quite able to get it to all come together enough to get that ring. So here is my list of guys that came up short.

10) Boomer Esiason (QB- Bengals, Jets, Cardinals)- Boomer was the QB for the Bengals team that went to Super Bowl 23. They were close that year, losing in the end to the 49ers. Boomer was the NFL MVP that year (1988), was a four-time Pro Bowler and is (or was) a top 10 NFL QB in career marks.

9) Warren Moon (QB- Oilers, Vikings, Seahawks, Chiefs)- Moon is the guy that would be the all-time leader in passing yards if you combined his CFL yards with this NFL yards. He was the 1990 NFL Newspaper Ent. Assoc. MVP as well the AP Offensive Player of the Year. He was a 9-time Pro Bowler as well.

8) Bruce Smith (DE- Bills, Redskins)- Smith retired as the NFL's all-time leader in QB sacks with 200. He had at least 10 sacks in 14 of his 19 seasons in the NFL. He was an 11-time Pro Bowler as well. He helped lead the Bills to 4 straight Super Bowls in the early 1990s, but came up short each time.

7) Thurman Thomas (RB-Bills, Dolphins)- Thomas was the main cog in the Bills K-Gun offense that helped them make those 4 Super Bowl runs. He was the 1991 NFL MVP as well as a 5-time Pro Bowler. He also won the Heisman Trophy in 1987 at Oklahoma State.

6) Randall Cunningham (QB-Eagles, Vikings, Cowboys, Ravens)- Cunningham was one of the first truly mobile QBs to play in the NFL. He was the the 1998 NFL Newspaper Ent. Assoc. MVP. He was a 4-time Pro Bowler and led the 1998 Vikings to the NFC Championship game with a 15-1 record, but missed the Super Bowl.

5) Tim Brown (WR-Raiders, Buccaneers)- Brown was a receiver for the Raiders and Bucs in his career. He made the Pro Bowl 9 times in his career and is the 4th all-time leading receiver. He played in one Super Bowl with the Raiders, but lost to the Bucs.

4) Cris Carter (WR-Eagles, Vikings, Dolphins)- Carter was one of the greatest wideouts of all time. He is one of only 5 receivers with 1000+ receptions. He was on the Vikings team that made it to the NFC Championship game in 1998 only to lose to the Falcons. He was an 8-time Pro Bowler.

3) Derrick Thomas (LB- Chiefs)- Thomas was the 1989 AP Defensive Rookie of the Year as well as a 9-time Pro Bowler. He finished his career with 126.5 sacks. He never was able to get to the Super Bowl and passed away a few weeks after being injured in a car accident.

2) Dan Marino (QB-Dolphins)- Marino was one of the greatest QBs of all time. With his size and quick release he had all the tools of a Super Bowl winner. After playing in the Super Bowl in his second season it seemed that this was just the first of many. It was would turn out to be his only one. He was the 1984 AP NFL MVP as well as Offensive Player of the Year. He was a 9-time Pro Bowler and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2005.

1) Barry Sanders (RB-Lions)- Easily the greatest running back of his time. He made it to the NFC Championship game one time in his career, falling to the Redskins. He is the 3rd all time leading rusher in the NFL. He was the 1997 AP and Newspaper Ent. Assoc. MVP, the 1989 Offensive Rookie of the Year, and a 10 time Pro Bowler.

So there it is. My list of some of the best players to never win a Super Bowl ring. I know that there are some that I have probably left off, but hey, it's my list. Peace and Love y'all.