Troy Polamalu Found to Be NFL's Most Liked Player, While Ndamukong Suh Not a Crowd Favorite

Troy Polamalu Found to Be NFL’s Most Liked Player, While Ndamukong Suh Not a Crowd Favorite

by Ricky Doyle on Wed, Oct 24, 2012 at 10:43AM

When it comes to the NFL's most liked players, Troy Polamalu is head and shoulders above the rest.

Whether it's the commercials, the Super Bowl rings or the fact that Polamalu goes full throttle on every play, football fans have taken a real liking to the Steelers' Pro Bowl safety.

Ndamukong Suh, on the other hand, likely won't be receiving many Christmas cards from fans this holiday season, as he was found to be the NFL's least-liked player. Perhaps his questionable — or "dirty," depending on who you ask — reputation has something to do with that.

Forbes on Tuesday revealed the results of a poll aimed at finding out which NFL players appealed to fans and which didn't, and Polamalu and Suh were found to be on opposite ends of the spectrum. Nielsen collaborated with E-Poll Market Research in completing the survey, in which players' appeal numbers were determined based on the percentage of those whose response was that they "like" the player or "like him a lot."

Below are the top five and bottom five, according to Forbes.

Most Liked NFL Players
1. Troy Polamalu (63 percent appeal)
2. Drew Brees (62 percent appeal)
3. Charles Woodson (62 percent appeal)
4. Peyton Manning (59 percent appeal)
5. Aaron Rodgers (58 percent appeal)

Most Disliked NFL Players
1. Ndamukong Suh (19 percent appeal)
2. Jay Cutler (21 percent appeal)
3. Michael Vick (23 percent appeal)
4. Randy Moss (24 percent appeal)
5. Matt Leinart (26 percent appeal)

Most of those names you may have expected, although the hatred toward Matt Leinart is a bit of a surprise considering how irrelevant he seems to be in today's NFL landscape. One would assume Cam Newton, Ben Roethlisberger or some other high-profile pot stirrer would appear on the list over him.

It's also interesting that Tim Tebow isn't on the list, but then again, football fans seem to be so split in their infatuation or lack thereof that we probably shouldn't be surprised.

Quarterbacks, as you might have expected, garnered the most fan passion, one way or the other, in this poll. Five of the 10 most-liked and seven of the 10 least-liked players in the league were QBs, according to the poll results. Robert Griffin III (57 percent appeal) and Matthew Stafford (56 percent appeal) were reportedly viewed favorably, while Kyle Orton (27 percent appeal), Tony Romo (27 percent appeal), Mark Sanchez (31 percent appeal) and Brady Quinn (31 percent) don't exactly tickle fans' fancy.

Partying will apparently get you somewhere, though. Rob Gronkowski appeals to 58 percent of respondents.

Photo of the Day

Football in London brings out plenty of wackiness.

Quote of the Day

Let's face it. It was not a positive for the team; it was not a positive for Ozzie. It was a disappointment, no doubt about it.
–Marlins president of baseball operations Larry Beinfest, pointing out the obvious

Tweet of the Day

Ozzie Guillen has suddenly become quite the optimist.

In life there are worst things and i have experinced them i have lived through bad moments and i will get through this with support

— Ozzie Guillen (@OzzieGuillen) October 24, 2012