After seeing the perennial week-one injury bloodbath in the NFL that has left fantasy owners reeling and fans cursing their luck, many wonder if players’ tendencies to get injured are the result of playing style, physical composition, or simply bad karma for not tipping their valet. While their doesn’t seem to be much rhyme or reason to the injury patterns in sport, it remains clear that certain players seem to spend their whole careers recovering from the DL when they should be hitting their stride. Here are nine sports stars that haven’t made the leap due to being dogged by injuries.

1. David Beckham
Beckham’s career and celebrity have both reached the point that soccer fans don’t know if he’s getting injured because he’s getting old and playing hard, or he’s getting “injured” because he doesn’t care about soccer anymore. During his wildly unsuccessful and expensive stint with the Los Angeles Galaxy, he was criticized by fans, teammates, and British media (American media didn’t seem to care) for his slow return to the pitch.

However, acrimony over Beckham’s injuries didn’t start there. In April 2002, he broke a bone in his foot following one of his best seasons, causing Manchester United to lose the Premier League title to rival Arsenal. That was the beginning of the end of Beckham’s time at Man U. After more spats with manager Alex Ferguson and further injury, he was off to Spain (and the downside of his career) 14 months later.

2. Tracy McGrady

Tracy McGrady had proven time and again that he had all the physical elements to be one of the NBA elite. His lanky frame, ability to score at will, and Houston complement in Yao Ming had even the most casual fans wondering when, not if, he would make the leap. It never happened. While injuries were the guiding force behind McGrady’s dissolution, he also never managed to develop the intensity of a Jordan, Kobe, or Reggie Miller.

That, however is a conversation for another day. Shoulder, knee, and most notably, back problems turned him into one of the best journeymen in the history of the NBA. At the age of 31, he has already had stints with the Raptors, Magic, Rockets and Knicks. The fall of 2010 has him suiting up as a Piston, who likely won’t hold him past their rebuilding phase.

3. Bob Sanders
This year, perennial tough guy Bob Sanders was able to make it ALMOST through the first defensive series before suffering the same injury (on the other arm) that helped keep him sidelined for all but two games last year. The year before, he was able to play a Cal Ripken-like six games uninjured.

He’s missed (49) more games than he’s played (48) and there’s a decent chance he could miss the rest of this season if his bicep injury is as bad as everyone thinks it could be.

Sadly, there’s no reason to believe Sanders has any ulterior motives here. He’s young and productive when he’s healthy, having put together two Pro Bowl seasons during his intermittent windows of good health. It seems like this guy is either suffering from some rotten luck or is built like a rag doll. Let’s hope it’s the former and his luck turns around soon.

4. Yao Ming
In his fourth season, Yao was finding his groove. The giant from the Shanghai Sharks was starting to live up to the hype and began establishing himself as the game’s dominant big man. The footwork was coming together, and Yao was developing the aggressive instinct that had evaded him his early years in the NBA.

However, with four games left in the season, Yao suffered a broken foot that would keep him sidelined well into his fifth season in fall of 2006. No sooner had his foot healed and Yao cleared to play than he broke his kneecap in December, waylaying a brief glimpse at an MVP-caliber season.

Fast forward to February 2008, when Yao suffers a stress fracture in his foot and is sidelined for the rest of the season. It appears that the injury still has not fully healed or has been aggravated. The Rockets recently got an injured player exemption to acquire a free agent, signaling that Yao might be a lost cause.

5. Jason Giambi
Like in so many other avenues of sport, I feel that Giambi’s inclusion here warrants an asterisk. He did some steroids (He did.) and then it appeared that he didn’t. The turning point appeared to be the removal of a benign tumor, which caused him to miss six weeks of the 2004 during treatment of the tumor. Despite a career renaissance in 2005, it appeared that, subsequent to both the removal of the tumor and rampant steroid accusations, Giambi was both less productive and more injury-prone than in years past.

For comedy’s sake, I feel obligated to mention that he also split his eyelid open after walking into a hotel door in Tampa Bay. He went 1-4 that night.

6. Michael Redd
Initially one of the leagues most dangerous offensive threats, Michael Redd has been flying under the radar recently for two reasons; a) he plays in Milwaukee, the red-headed stepchild of the NBA and b) he hasn’t played all that much.

While Redd hasn’t been able to crack the top tier of the NBA perhaps due to the market and quality of his teammates, the fact that he’s missed the peak of his career so far to repeated ACL and MCL injuries certainly doesn’t help. January has proven to be a cruel month for Michael, as he shredded his knee in both 2009 and again in 2010, leaving fans of Redd and the Bucks to wonder what’s left of their leader.

7. Grant Hill
After a promising first few years, Grant Hill spent more time at his “peak” on the training table or at home than on the court. A lot more. In a 5-year stretch from 2000-2005, Hill played in, respectively, 4 games, 14 games, 29 games, 67 games, and 21 games. This is largely attributed to a persistent ankle injury that would quickly become the one thing that was lying between Hill and his potential.

In recent years with the Magic and Suns, Hill has proven to be both durable and productive, even into his late-30’s. I guess sitting on the sideline during your prime can possibly extend your career a little longer than most. With no news about that pesky ankle, Hill is still an integral part of the Suns, having exercised his option to play with them next season.

8. Cadillac Williams
The NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2005, already sported some injury baggage when he found his way to the NFL after suffering from two separate broken bones during his tenure at Auburn, but things were destined to get worse once he made it to the big leagues.

Cadillac was sidelined the bulk of the 2007 and 2008 seasons due to knee problems. Although he has been on the mend in recent years, given his past, the Bucs aren’t taking any chances with their backups. His recent health has proven promising, but a 6-year veteran running back with chronic knee problems is hardly a blue chip asset.

9. Chad Pennington
Here’s a helpful hint: if you’ve won comeback player of the year twice, you might want to reevaluate your regimen and playing style. Chad Pennington, the unlucky two-time recipient of that backhanded compliment, shoulder issues have been Pennington’s cross to bear for the latter half of his career after a promising start. Pennington’s biggest criticism has been his lack of arm strength, which can be attributed to almost annual shoulder issues stemming from a torn rotator cuff back in ’03. Throw in some hand fractures and ankle sprains and one questions the value of this leader when he can’t seem to find his way to the field for 16 games.

Singletary started the off-season with what most people would consider two back-up quarterbacks in Shaun Hill and Alex Smith (Who just reworked his contract to stay with the team) and so far has only added another in Damon Huard.  With no attempts made to acquire a young QBs with starting experience through either trade or free agency (namely Chris Simms, Brady Quinn, Derek Anderson, Matt Cassel, or Jay Cutler), and not much expressed interest in taking a QB high in the draft, it seems as if Singletary is handing the reigns of the offense over to Hill.

Singletary has said that it is going to be an open competition between Hill and Smith for the starting job.  However, it doesn’t seem likely at this point the first thing Smith is going to do after getting healthy is going to be winning the starting job from a guy that has a career QB rating of 90.4 and career 7-5 record with the organization (Opposed to a rating of 63.5 and a record of 11-19 for Smith).

But is this a bad thing? Hill has competed 64% of his passes as a 49er and has a 2:1 touchdown to interception ratio.  Granted he doesn’t have the arm strength one would like out of a starting QB but neither does Chad Pennington and look what his mix of leadership ability and football smarts brought to his team, same goes for Jeff Garcia who has been to 4 Pro Bowls.  Hill may not be our answer for the next decade, but he just may be the answer for the next two to five years, and until then the 49ers can save a bit of cap room by not signing a big name QB and building up their Offensive and Defensive lines.

He was great as a college QB over the last couple of years, but it seems that he lacks the size to compete at the next level.  Thanks to innovative new offenses such as the Wildcat, I feel that White will have a place in the league.  I have always liked watching him play at West Virginia and I hope he has a great career as a pro.  His effectiveness as an NFL player could hinge on which team picks him up in the draft.  Lets take a look at the best possible scenarios for White:

Miami Dolphins: The originators of the Wildcat offense would be the best fit for this guy.  They are also very thin at receiver, which could make White even more appealing.  Having White, Ronnie Brown, and Chad Pennington all on the field at the same time could be great for this young team.

Houston Texans: The Texans have Steve Slaton, White’s former Virginia teammate, a reunion of these two players could work in the NFL.  Also some help for Andre Johnson is needed in the Texans offense.  I like Owen Daniels and Kevin Walter, however the presence of White could take the offense to the next level.

Cincinnati Bengals: The Bengals could potentially lose both T.J. Houshmandzadeh and Chad Johnson this year, so why not take a chance on this guy.

Chicago Bears: Another team with a serious lack of depth at the receiver position.  Besides if they draft him he could probably be the starting QB on this team because Kyle Orton and Rex Grossman stink.

Detroit Lions: Why not?

That being said, I understand that busts happen. What I dispute are the reasons why they happen. I don’t believe it is simply a roll of the dice, fate, chance, luck, or any of their relatives, and I certainly don’t think busts are inevitable in most cases. If they were inevitable, and happened solely by chance and without warning, the same teams wouldn’t constantly be spared every single year. I think Bill Polian, Scott Pioli, or Bill Parcels would agree with me. Hey, look at that…Maybe your last name has to start with “P” to avoid being a bust magnet. No, there is definitely an art AND a science to player selection. Successful artists have natural talent in their craft, while scientists are skilled, trained, meticulous, and unbiased observers.  TALENT and SKILL, not fate and inevitability.

I’ve read comments on other draft sites like, “there is no such thing as a safe pick”. My contention is simple: there ARE safer players than others primarily because there are safer positions than others, especially at the top end of the draft.  I recently read, on yet another draft site, that just as many offensive linemen ”bust” as quarterbacks.  From an expectations standpoint, that may be true, but from a productivity and investment standpoint, that is simply false.  Let’s look at the facts…If the wrong FORTY million dollar quarterback comes into the wrong situation at the wrong time, he may fail to become a star within the allotted time frame (say three to four years), and probably gets benched or cut.  Best case, he gets traded for peanuts.  Worst case, he is out of the league, and ends up coaching junior college football somewhere in Texas.  Either way, the organization is out an obscene amount of money with little or nothing to show for it.  What’s worse, the team has to start that entire three to four year grooming process all over again.  That is not only wasted money, but a ridiculous amount of wasted time–the better part of a decade to be more precise.  Those Pro Bowl veterans who were in their primes when QB Joe Slick was drafted are now ready to retire.  You now have to rebuild the corps of the entire franchise, not just pick the RIGHT quarterback, if you want to contend for a title.  What a mess! With that much at stake, you’d better be right when picking a quarterback high.

If a THIRTY million dollar left tackle (less money–quarterback premium) comes along and fails to meet expectations to play that position, it is usually evident by the end of his first season, roughly (much less wasted time).  What happens next?  Do we send him packing to Tyler, Texas?  No, he just moves inside to guard (Robert Gallery, Pro Bowler Leonard Davis, and many others), or moves to the right tackle spot (countless examples).  The fall from grace is a much shorter distance for a lineman than for a quarterback.  It’s not like the Chargers could have salvaged its investment by asking Ryan Leaf to play linebacker.  The Raiders did salvage its investment in Gallery by moving him inside to guard where he has been largely effective.  Sure the player becomes overpaid until his contract is renegotiated, expires, he is traded, or is cut, but he still can help a team win games—unlike a benched multi-million dollar quarterback.  An offensive lineman is simply a position with a safety net, and I don’t think that can be disputed.

Finally, I have a theory about QB busts…I’ve watched for years as guys that get selected at the very top of the draft almost always have that “laser-rocket” arm. OVERRATED! “He can make all the throws” has been the mantra for draft gurus for years. Of course he can, Kyle Orton (a fourth rounder) can make all the throws. Obviously, I see the risk of taking a player high in the draft (or at any point really) who can’t get enough velocity on the ball to hit a twelve yard out on time. On the other hand, I’m quite certain that I have a better arm than Chad Pennington, yet he (not I) somehow won the AFC East this year with little help at wideout. In terms of being a successful NFL quarterback, I would not rate the guy who can throw the ball over 70 yards, and hits velocities in the 70 mph range, higher than the guy that can throw 60 yards, and hits 60 on the radar gun—unless he had better accuracy, football instincts, pocket presence, poise, and was a better decision maker. For this reason, I believe that Matt Stafford will not be successful in the NFL, and Sam Bradford will be (when he does come out). Stafford’s arm will not save him in the NFL. In fact, having a super-strong arm should be viewed more as a weakness by scouts, since it often becomes a crutch that young quarterbacks depend on more so than studying and reading defenses en route to making the right decisions.

In college, that strong arm often threw them out of trouble, and into big plays. In the NFL, against better defensive players, with less time to throw and interpret information, smaller passing lanes and much smaller windows to throw into, that amazing arm and all those bad habits only lead to disaster.  That is an all too common scenario, and is the test that many of these Herculean QB’s will have to face.  That test, and the eventual result, represents the sink or swim phase in the development of those strong-armed talents—how quickly he learns, how thick his skin is, and how he overcomes adversity.  If he walks through the fire with his confidence intact, you have yourself a championship quarterback.  If not, Tyler, Texas.

With a guy like Stafford, who will definitely face that challenge, I am not comfortable with the risk at the very top of the draft. We are watching that test in progress right now, with Jamarcus Russell, for example. Next year will be his make or break season. Without a huge step forward, his future in the NFL is bleak. Eli Manning is an example of a player who took that test and passed, en route to a Super Bowl victory, but his pedigree and character provided evidence that he would likely succeed. Russell was a much bigger risk at the time of his selection. It’s no surprise to me that he remains unproven.

I think talent evaluators should focus first on a quarterback’s behaviors, such as: eye discipline, read progression and decision making, poise, pocket presence, accuracy, football instincts and awareness, as well as his study habits.  If a prospect measures up there, now spend the time to evaluate and compare all those impressive tangibles.  I believe that there would be far fewer “busts” to debate.

I don’t claim to be a Lions fan, but for the sake of all those who are, I sincerely hope that Detroit passes on Stafford, and makes the SAFER decision by selecting a left tackle. Of course, that’s just one man’s opinion. What do you think?