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"100 Greatest Players" on NFLN - (List is in original post) (1 Viewer)

:popcorn:

Half hour away from the Top 10. Cooking up a nice rib eye with all the fixins for the program.

I'm gonna go ahead and say I'll be shocked if Jim Brown is not #1. Eight rushing titles in 9 seasons. Would have dominated in any era. Put fear in the heart of defenders like no other player in NFL history.

Brown's claim to the title of greatest running back of all time is supported by statistics. In 118 career games, Brown averaged 104.3 yards per game and 5.2 yards per carry. None of the NFL's career rushing leaders come close to these spectacular totals. For example, Walter Payton averaged only 88 yards per game during his career with a 4.4 yards-per-carry average. Emmitt Smith averaged only 81.2 yards per game with a 4.2 yards-per-carry average. While both Peyton and Smith ultimately eclipsed Brown in total career rushing yards, it is arguable that their cumulative totals are as much a product of longevity and durability as they are of pure rushing ability.

The only top ten all-time rusher who even approaches Brown's totals, Barry Sanders, posted a career average of 99.8 yards per game and an outstanding 5.0 yards per carry. However, Barry Sanders' father, William, was frequently quoted as saying that Jim Brown was "the best I've ever seen."
I also would be a bit surprised if Jim Brown wasn't #1...but you never know.Montana, Unitas, and Rice have outside shots, I suppose.

Anyone else and I'd be stunned.

 
:thumbup:

Half hour away from the Top 10. Cooking up a nice rib eye with all the fixins for the program.

I'm gonna go ahead and say I'll be shocked if Jim Brown is not #1. Eight rushing titles in 9 seasons. Would have dominated in any era. Put fear in the heart of defenders like no other player in NFL history.

Brown's claim to the title of greatest running back of all time is supported by statistics. In 118 career games, Brown averaged 104.3 yards per game and 5.2 yards per carry. None of the NFL's career rushing leaders come close to these spectacular totals. For example, Walter Payton averaged only 88 yards per game during his career with a 4.4 yards-per-carry average. Emmitt Smith averaged only 81.2 yards per game with a 4.2 yards-per-carry average. While both Peyton and Smith ultimately eclipsed Brown in total career rushing yards, it is arguable that their cumulative totals are as much a product of longevity and durability as they are of pure rushing ability.

The only top ten all-time rusher who even approaches Brown's totals, Barry Sanders, posted a career average of 99.8 yards per game and an outstanding 5.0 yards per carry. However, Barry Sanders' father, William, was frequently quoted as saying that Jim Brown was "the best I've ever seen."
Personally, I rank Payton as the best RB of all time with Brown at #2. I've covered it in other threads, but it boils down to different eras and supporting casts on the opposite ends of the spectrum, as well as my belief that Payton was a superior all around back (running, receiving, passing, kicking, blocking). I realize most do not agree, and I'm fine with that. But that argument above is woefully incomplete in terms of telling the story.
 
List is getting updated in the original post in real time.

Steve Sabol and panelists analyze the list after this program from 10-11. :blackdot:

 
Have not paid attention to this until now. Naturally the first thing I did once I saw 11-100 was compose my list of 1-10 without looking at anything else. Came up with 9 no-brainers - Jim Brown, Jerry Rice, Joe Montana, Johnny Unitas, Don Hutson, Reggie White, Lawrence Taylor, Walter Payton and Peyton Manning? What obvious player am I missing?

Looking over those that did not make 11-100, surely not Paul Krause or Bob Hayes??

ETA: Waiting for Bobby Layne to weigh in.

 
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Have not paid attention to this until now. Naturally the first thing I did once I saw 11-100 was compose my list of 1-10 without looking at anything else. Came up with 9 no-brainers - Jim Brown, Jerry Rice, Joe Montana, Johnny Unitas, Don Hutson, Reggie White, Lawrence Taylor, Walter Payton and Peyton Manning? What obvious player am I missing?

Looking over those that did not make 11-100, surely not Paul Krause or Bob Hayes??

ETA: Waiting for Bobby Layne to weigh in.
You Missed D1ck Butkus :blackdot:
 
Have not paid attention to this until now. Naturally the first thing I did once I saw 11-100 was compose my list of 1-10 without looking at anything else. Came up with 9 no-brainers - Jim Brown, Jerry Rice, Joe Montana, Johnny Unitas, Don Hutson, Reggie White, Lawrence Taylor, Walter Payton and Peyton Manning? What obvious player am I missing?

Looking over those that did not make 11-100, surely not Paul Krause or Bob Hayes??

ETA: Waiting for Bobby Layne to weigh in.
You Missed D1ck Butkus :blackdot:
Doh! Processing error. Thought he was #11.
 
No way...Jim Brown > Jerry Rice :wall: ...I disapprove, but I guess it's only 1 spot

The had a strange way of voting though...it just means Rice got more 10's than Jim Brown did...not necessarily that most voters think Rice deserved #1.

 
Uh, what is Peter King doing in there? A couple NFL execs, NFL Films Godfather and Peter freakin King.

 
The more I think about it...Rice at #1 is pretty solid.

When you think #1 RB of all time, you have a little argument for Payton or Sanders...but for #1 WR, there's no doubt. Thats gotta be worth a little extra.

 
Montana ???
I agree with the perplexity of this one. Montana is in the Marino/Elway category. The fact that Steve Young stepped in and SF didn't miss a beat says a lot. Montana = generally overrated. I'll blame it on his going to Notre Dame.
 
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The more I think about it...Rice at #1 is pretty solid.When you think #1 RB of all time, you have a little argument for Payton or Sanders...but for #1 WR, there's no doubt. Thats gotta be worth a little extra.
I agree. There's something to be said about a guy being #1 all time at his position and it ain't even close. I still do question the "best all around NFL player" even being a WR since they just aren't as integral and don't have to deal with the core challenges of the HEART of the team guys (QB, LB, RB), but he was truly dominant all time.
 
Huge gap between Reggie and Bruce seems a little off for me.

Love the top 3.

Barry needs to be higher

 
Huge gap between Reggie and Bruce seems a little off for me.Love the top 3. Barry needs to be higher
Not when you consider Reggie had his 198 sacks in only 232 games whereas it took Bruce Smith 279 games for his 200 sacks.
 
Huge gap between Reggie and Bruce seems a little off for me.Love the top 3. Barry needs to be higher
I agree. I don't have too many issues with the list but I have Barry > Payton > Brown. I would switch Lewis and Butkus. I would also put Moss above every receiver not named Rice and Hutson. I don't really like Manning in the top 10 but I can see why he would be there.
 
Barry sanders and Lt2 wayyyyyyyyyyy to low, really LT in the 60s?

and Barry not in top 10? mmmmmkkkkkkk, they may have had some right, but this list is wayyyy off in my book. just my opinion.

Rice or Montana at #1 was a given.

 
Have not paid attention to this until now. Naturally the first thing I did once I saw 11-100 was compose my list of 1-10 without looking at anything else. Came up with 9 no-brainers - Jim Brown, Jerry Rice, Joe Montana, Johnny Unitas, Don Hutson, Reggie White, Lawrence Taylor, Walter Payton and Peyton Manning? What obvious player am I missing?

Looking over those that did not make 11-100, surely not Paul Krause or Bob Hayes??

ETA: Waiting for Bobby Layne to weigh in.
I didn't make the list? WTF's records was Unitas breaking left and right.Not enough drinkers on that list anyways. Eff em.

 
Huge gap between Reggie and Bruce seems a little off for me.Love the top 3. Barry needs to be higher
I agree. I don't have too many issues with the list but I have Barry > Payton > Brown. I would switch Lewis and Butkus. I would also put Moss above every receiver not named Rice and Hutson. I don't really like Manning in the top 10 but I can see why he would be there.
Brown > Barry smply because he's the only RB in history to average 100+ yards per gameMoss is fine where he is Butkus > Lewis because of how short his career was (He was so dominant that I'd bet money he would have had as many pro-bowl/all-pro selections as lewis had he been able to play longer)
 
Huge gap between Reggie and Bruce seems a little off for me.

Love the top 3.

Barry needs to be higher
I agree. I don't have too many issues with the list but I have Barry > Payton > Brown. I would switch Lewis and Butkus. I would also put Moss above every receiver not named Rice and Hutson. I don't really like Manning in the top 10 but I can see why he would be there.
Brown > Barry smply because he's the only RB in history to average 100+ yards per gameMoss is fine where he is

Butkus > Lewis because of how short his career was (He was so dominant that I'd bet money he would have had as many pro-bowl/all-pro selections as lewis had he been able to play longer)
Ray Lewis shouldn't be punished for his extreme longevity. He is in his 15th season and still playing at an all pro level this season and made plays in 3 separate games this season to clinch games for the Ravens. Ray has been elite for nearly twice as long as Butkus and should be above him by now.
 
Huge gap between Reggie and Bruce seems a little off for me.Love the top 3. Barry needs to be higher
I agree. I don't have too many issues with the list but I have Barry > Payton > Brown. I would switch Lewis and Butkus. I would also put Moss above every receiver not named Rice and Hutson. I don't really like Manning in the top 10 but I can see why he would be there.
Brown > Barry smply because he's the only RB in history to average 100+ yards per gameMoss is fine where he is Butkus > Lewis because of how short his career was (He was so dominant that I'd bet money he would have had as many pro-bowl/all-pro selections as lewis had he been able to play longer)
Barry average 5 yards less per game against significantly superior athletes in a much more competitive league in a decade that statistically was harder to rush in with much less surrounding talent.Butkus has 1 more pro bowl than Lewis and the same number of all pros in their first 9 years. Does that 1 pro bowl counterbalance the next 7 years of extremely high quality of play that Lewis has had? Not to mention the greater difficulty of making an all pro team in the modern NFL.If you don't like Moss' attitude that is one thing - but no way are Alworth and Berry better or greater than Moss.
 
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They left Paul Hornung off?

Good to know the NFL doesn't hold a grudge.
Who would you drop from the list to add Hornug ?
I'd say there are plenty of candidates in the bottom 20th percentile, but making it one-for-one by position, Ernie Nevers only played five years. Iron man, as important as Red Grange at the gate, but honestly, if he didn't have that one 40 point game, how many would have remembered him?Hornung was an incredible quadruple threat - running, catching, throwing, kicking. The year he set the scoring record (176 points - LT2 broke it 46 years later), he also passed for two TDs. He led the league in scoring three years in a row, and then after that, was the lead blocker for a guy who finished 1st or 2nd in rushing yards five straight years.

Def one of the greatest all-around players because he excelled at so many different things. The guy was a winner.

But we know we why he's not on that list. It all goes back to the suspension.

 
Took this from another board:

Lewis is in at #18 on the top 100. Obviously, **** Butkus will place in the top 10. I'm still shaking my head.

I like the way Bill James did the Hstorical Abstract. He ranked players in terms of both peak and career value.

**** Butkus played just 119 NFL games over 9 seasons. He played 0 playoff games despite playing with Gale Sayers (who also belongs on no career value lists based on 68 career games) for most of his career.

Things I see in Ray that I can't see evidence of in Butkus:

1. The ability to lift those around him to a higher level of play (Butkus' teams had a record of 48-74-4 (.397 winning percentage vs. .526 for Ray). Since 2000, Lewis' teams have a career winning percentage of .581). If I try to do the same for Butkus, the best I can do is break off his first 4 seasons where the Bears played .527 ball.

2. Post-season success (0-0 vs. 8-5). The Ravens' 8-5 playoff record over Lewis' 14 seasons is excellent but doesn't even begin to tell the story. The Ravens have thee greatest road record in the history of NFL playoff football (6-3, the Panthers are 4-2). Here are the road playoff records of the teams with the most playoff success:

Cowboys: 9-14

Raiders: 3-11

Steelers: 4-9

Patriots: 7-9

Indy: 4-8

Packers: 7-12

Redskins: 7-12

Giants: 6-14

Broncos: 3-8

Dolphins: 3-10

Browns: 3-14

49ers: 2-10

Vikings: 6-15

Not one of those has managed to win 44% of their road playoff games). So let's get this straight the absolute # of road wins is impressive, not just the winning percentage.

Every single one of those wins was keyed by the Ravens defense and Ray Lewis was the most significant figure. Defense travels well.

The 6-3 record doesn't include the Ravens only game at a neutral site (SB XXXV).

3. Longevity at a high level

I don't think any one of these alone would be an indication that Butkus wasn't as great as Ray, but in the face of all 3, I'd have to have evidence that Butkus was a significantly superior individual contributor to believe he was as good as Ray in terms of his effect on the team or his defense. None of their relative awards, honors, or the stats provide a compelling argument that Butkus was better at his peak, let alone for his career.

 
Even just comparing their 1st 9 seasons (the length of Butkus' career)

Butkus:119 games, 22 interceptions, 8 Pro Bowls, 6 All Pro Selections (5 1st team selections), 117 Approximate Value, High Season of 17 and three seasons over 15, 0 Playoff Appearances.

Ray: 128 games, 20 interceptions, 7 pro bowls, 7 All Pro Selections (5 1st team selections), 128 Approximate Value, High Season of 22, five seasons of over 18, 3 playoff appearances, 1 Super Bowl win, 1 super bowl MVP.

At the very least you would say that Ray ties Butkus in their 1st 9 seasons. Although I would give the edge to Ray. The fact that Ray is in his 6th season since then and has added 5 pro bowls, 2 1st team all pro selections, and 3 more playoff appearances (including 3 road playoff wins) I think it is very easy to consider Ray as better.

 
Brown > Barry smply because he's the only RB in history to average 100+ yards per game
Poor argument IMO. Brown played with several HOFers, and regularly played behind multiple Pro Bowl blockers, neither of which were true for Sanders. He also played in a completely different era, which makes it an apples to oranges comparison when simply using stats with no adjustments.
 
Huge gap between Reggie and Bruce seems a little off for me.

Love the top 3.

Barry needs to be higher
I agree. I don't have too many issues with the list but I have Barry > Payton > Brown. I would switch Lewis and Butkus. I would also put Moss above every receiver not named Rice and Hutson. I don't really like Manning in the top 10 but I can see why he would be there.
Brown > Barry smply because he's the only RB in history to average 100+ yards per gameMoss is fine where he is

Butkus > Lewis because of how short his career was (He was so dominant that I'd bet money he would have had as many pro-bowl/all-pro selections as lewis had he been able to play longer)
Barry average 5 yards less per game against significantly superior athletes in a much more competitive league in a decade that statistically was harder to rush in with much less surrounding talent.Butkus has 1 more pro bowl than Lewis and the same number of all pros in their first 9 years. Does that 1 pro bowl counterbalance the next 7 years of extremely high quality of play that Lewis has had? Not to mention the greater difficulty of making an all pro team in the modern NFL.

If you don't like Moss' attitude that is one thing - but no way are Alworth and Berry better or greater than Moss.
Ray had 1 more all pro selection in is 1st 9 years. And yes it much harder now to get one of the 2 all pro ILB/MLB spots. Before the 1970 merger there was only 14 teams and it was much easier.
 
Huge gap between Reggie and Bruce seems a little off for me.

Love the top 3.

Barry needs to be higher
I agree. I don't have too many issues with the list but I have Barry > Payton > Brown. I would switch Lewis and Butkus. I would also put Moss above every receiver not named Rice and Hutson. I don't really like Manning in the top 10 but I can see why he would be there.
Brown > Barry smply because he's the only RB in history to average 100+ yards per gameMoss is fine where he is

Butkus > Lewis because of how short his career was (He was so dominant that I'd bet money he would have had as many pro-bowl/all-pro selections as lewis had he been able to play longer)
Barry average 5 yards less per game against significantly superior athletes in a much more competitive league in a decade that statistically was harder to rush in with much less surrounding talent.Butkus has 1 more pro bowl than Lewis and the same number of all pros in their first 9 years. Does that 1 pro bowl counterbalance the next 7 years of extremely high quality of play that Lewis has had? Not to mention the greater difficulty of making an all pro team in the modern NFL.

If you don't like Moss' attitude that is one thing - but no way are Alworth and Berry better or greater than Moss.
Ray had 1 more all pro selection in is 1st 9 years. And yes it much harder now to get one of the 2 all pro ILB/MLB spots. Before the 1970 merger there was only 14 teams and it was much easier.
I was only considering 1st team all pros (as listed on PFR).
 
Even just comparing their 1st 9 seasons (the length of Butkus' career)Butkus:119 games, 22 interceptions, 8 Pro Bowls, 6 All Pro Selections (5 1st team selections), 117 Approximate Value, High Season of 17 and three seasons over 15, 0 Playoff Appearances. Ray: 128 games, 20 interceptions, 7 pro bowls, 7 All Pro Selections (5 1st team selections), 128 Approximate Value, High Season of 22, five seasons of over 18, 3 playoff appearances, 1 Super Bowl win, 1 super bowl MVP. At the very least you would say that Ray ties Butkus in their 1st 9 seasons. Although I would give the edge to Ray. The fact that Ray is in his 6th season since then and has added 5 pro bowls, 2 1st team all pro selections, and 3 more playoff appearances (including 3 road playoff wins) I think it is very easy to consider Ray as better.
:thumbup:
 

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