When you consider the best individual Super Bowl performances of all-time, names like Joe Montana, Timmy Smith, and Doug Williams come to mind. But not everyone has great experiences during Super Bowl week. In fact, for some, its a downright awful few days.

Granted, there are a few situations (Raiders center Barret Robbins going AWOL days before Super Bowl XXXVII, for example) we cant really include on a list like this. But some, we can. Here are the Five players who were sure that if they had the chance, would undoubtedly do their Super Bowl weeks a little differently the second time around.

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5. Thurman Thomas, Super Bowl XXVI, 1992

Though Thomas is an NFL Hall of Famer, he was 0-4 in Super Bowls and is the subject of one of the more infamous and embarrassing big game snafus. As the legend goes, throughout the 91 season, Thomas would put his helmet on the 40-yard-line during pre-game warm-ups as a superstitious good luck charm. Yet, when he did it prior to the kickoff of Super Bowl XXVI, the helmet was moved for Harry Connick Jr.s singing of the Star Spangled Banner. A frantic Thomas spent minutes searching for his helmet and missed the first two plays of the game. Hed rush for just 13 yards in a 37-24 loss to the Redskins.

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4. Jerramy Stevens, Super Bowl XL, 2006

Days before his Seahawks took on the heavily favored Steelers in the Super Bowl in Detroit, Stevens told reporters, "The story of Jerome Bettis returning to his hometown is heartwarming, but it's going be a sad day when he doesn't walk away with that trophy." Though it was a harmless enough comment, it got Steelers linebacker Joey Porter riled up just enough to bark back, "A guy running in and out on special teams shouldn't be sayin' things like that." The soft-spoken Stevens suddenly became the focus of the rest of Super Bowl week, dropped three crucial passes in the game, and his Seahawks lost 21-10. And yes, in the end, Bettis walked away with "that trophy."

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3. Adrian Awasom, Super Bowl XLII, 2008

Yes, the Giants won the game. But in this era of 24-hour media scrutiny, handlers, and constant micro-managing, for any player to get a DUI two days before the Super Bowl is absolutely inexcusable. Awasom was sent home prior to the Giants upset of the Patriots, did not get to experience the greatest upset in Super Bowl history, and is currently not on an NFL roster. (Insert your own joke about how not Awasom that is here.)

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2. Eugene Robinson, Super Bowl XXXIII, 1999

On the morning before the Super Bowl, Eugene Robinson was presented the Bart Starr Award by a religious group for his upstanding morals and character. That very evening, the Falcons cornerback was arrested for offering an undercover cop posing as a prostitute $70 for oral sex. Oopsie daisy! He was bailed out of jail just in time to get burned on the first deep pass of the game, a Rod Smith 80-yard touchdown pass from John Elway. The Broncos beat the Falcons 34-19. Eugene Robinson never won another Bart Starr Award.

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1. Stanley Wilson, Super Bowl XXIII, 1989

Already suspended twice by the league for substance abuse earlier in his career, Wilson a fullback for Cincinnati was found by his position coach, Jim Anderson, in his hotel bathroom the night before the Super Bowl, high on cocaine. A 1999 Cincinnati Enquirer article described the scene, "The player was sweating and shivering. White powder flecked his nose and upper lip. The devil was back, for good." Wilson was left off the active roster for the game and kicked out of the league forever. The Bengals lost to the 49ers the next evening.

Three Questions with Super Bowl Champion, Ronde Barber

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Ronde Barbers had a crazy few months. After starting the season 9-3, his Bucs lost the final four games of the season and missed the playoffs. Monte Kiffin, his longtime defensive coordinator, announced he was leaving to join his sons staff at the University of Tennessee. And then, two weeks after the season, team ownership fired coach Jon Gruden and GM Bruce Allen, and hired Raheem Morris a 32-year-old with just two years of NFL position coach experience as the new head coach of the Bucs. He spoke with us while doing the rounds for Gatorades "G" campaign.

Whats being a Super Bowl champion do for a players career?

I won a Super Bowl ring (in 2002) in the middle of my career, so it only made me hungrier. I want to win more, and I would have loved to have been playing for another one this year. A lot of great players NFL legends never won a Super Bowl, so to say that Ive done it reached the pinnacle is definitely something I value. That Super Bowl victory defines me, both here in the city of Tampa and around the league. My role in that NFC Championship Game in Philly, my role in that Super Bowl over Oakland those are my career highlights. When I look back on it years from now, those are the moments Ill remember and cherish most.

Imagine someone just landed here from planet Mars and had never played football before. How would describe Warren Sapp?

Ah, its been a few years since I played with Warren, but the best way to define him is to watch him in a film session, breaking down game tape. We watched film as an entire defensive unit not just with the other guys at your position. So youve got 26 guys in a room an entire defense and a whole defensive coaching staff, and theres Warrens talking the entire and I mean entire time. If a guy misses a tackle or misses an assignment on film and it doesnt matter who, a rookie, a veteran Warren just calls him right out in front of everyone in the room and takes him to task for it. And its not a polite Cmon, its more than that. Its heated. He was always the first guy to open his mouth and spot a mistake. But heres the thing. Hed come at you, call you out hard, give it to you in front of the entire defense and you wouldnt mind. Because you knew all Warren Sapp wanted to do was win. And in a way, Warren being that way in those film sessions so demanding, so abrasive made us all want to be better football players. It inspired all of us to strive even harder for perfection. Thats Warren Sapp in a nutshell.

Last season, there was lots of negativity coming out of New York towards your brother Tiki. As he stood there in the Giants locker room after their Super Bowl win, with a microphone in his hand for The Today Show do you think he had any regrets?

Nope. Thats Tiki. Its how he approaches life. I know he might have come off as aloof, but thats just him. His decision to retire might have been shocking for many, but we knew that was coming. He didnt want to play football anymore. He didnt want to get beaten up every Sunday. The irony, of course, is that the Giants won the next season without him. But, did he have any regrets? No. Once hes done with something, hes done with it. He moves beyond and is on to the next thing.

Peter Schrager's weekly football column runs on Thursdays. You can read an archive of his columns here.

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