The NFL recently came out with its list of the top 100 NFL players of all time.
http://top100.nfl.com/?module=HP_cp2
NFL junkies will argue about it until the next list, and I am no exception.
First off, this is one rare time when I am glad the experts got to decide and not the fans. I normally see experts as no-nothing pinheads, but the fans put way too many current stars on the list. True football fans should learn about the tradition going back to the beginning when Walter Camp invented the forward pass, the scrimmage, and downs.
My only problem with the experts is that too many of them will not consider special teams players. This is wrong. Great players change the way an entire game is played, and that includes offense, defense, and special teams. Steve Tasker, Ray Guy, Jan Stenerud (the only special teams player in the Hall of Fame), Shane Lechler, Morton Anderson, Gary Anderson, Devon Hester, Mike Nelms, Billy “White Shoes” Johnson (the greatest dancer in NFL history), and Mel Gray should not be dismissed.
So this list is the top 100 offensive and defensive players.
I do not believe Super Bowl rings should play a role. Trent Dilfer has a ring and Dan Marino does not.
Even wins and losses can be misleading because some great players played on awful teams. That makes their achievements even more remarkable. I think of Fran Tarkenton, Barry Sanders, Dick Butkus, and Brian Urlacher.
Now for the individual disagreements.
Jerry Rice should not have been # 1, no how, no way. Top 5, yes, but # 1.
Football is a brutal game, often compared to war. Jerry Rice, with all due respect, plays a “finesse” position. I want my best player to either have blood on his hands or be inflicting pain on an opponent.
I personally would have had Jim Thorpe at # 1 because he played 4 different sports, but maybe that makes him the all time greatest athlete and not the all time greatest football player.
Therefore, if not Thorpe, Jim Brown deserved the top spot. Watch the film of him. He barreled over people. He was what football is all about.
Jerry Rice came to a system, that was already in place. The 49ers had 2 Super Bowl rings when he arrived. In fact, they were the defending champions coming off a 15-1 season.
Yes, his almost 200 touchdowns scored are far ahead of everyone else. Yet quarterbacks have thrown for more than twice that.
I would have put Rice below Jim Brown, Joe Montana and Johnny Unitas.
I might have put Unitas over Montana, but that is not a biggie. Lawrence Taylor should have been a few spots lower. In fact, I would have put Mean Joe Greene above LT and Reggie White.
Sam Huff, Fran Tarkenton, Ed Reed, Tony Dorsett, and Ernie Nevers should have been higher.
Ted Hendricks should have been higher because he was not only an amazing linebacker but an equally fantastic kick blocker.Marcus Allen was one of the most complete backs in terms of running, catching passes, and blocking.
Randy Moss affects the entire game just by being on the field. He should be higher because defenses have t figure out everything differently to factor him in.
Mike Singletary and Earl Campbell on sheer toughness should have been higher, along with Jim Otto.
Ladanian Tomlinson should have been ranked much lower. He played with Drew Brees and Philip Rivers. They were a past first team.
Eric Dickerson could have been a bit higher, and Ray Nitschke much higher, perhaps top 25.The same goes for Chuck Bednarik and Raymond Berry.
Tom Brady should have been ranked lower. Yes he has the rings, but I do not put him above Dan Marino or John Elway, both who should have been top 20. Elway got to 3 Super Bowls early on with little help.
Favre could have been higher for durability alone.
I am stunned that Dan Fouts and Jackie Slater were left off this list. Shannon Sharpe could have merited being on here. I would have added John Randle and Randall McDaniel. Steve Wisniewski could have eked on.
Lynn Swann, Cliff Branch, Andre Reed, and Cris Carter all were left off a list that only had 8 receivers.
As for quarterbacks, Jim Kelly absolutely belongs on this list. Dan Marino came to a team that had just been to the Super Bowl with David Woodley. Buffalo was miserable, and Kelly turned them around.
The list had only 37 defensive players. Joe Klecko merits consideration for the New York Sack Exchange.
Also, how does a man play 26 seasons and not make the list. George Blanda was the ultimate lunch pail guy long before Brett Favre, Darrell Greene and Jackie Slater did 20 years.
Anyway, I am sure I left out many people.
That is why they the games, and that is why we watch the games.
eric
Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ Atlanta Falcons
(Falcons by 8.5, they cover)
Miami Dolphins @ Baltimore Ravens
(Ravens by 5.5, they win but fail to cover)
Chicago Bears @ Buffalo Bills
(Bears by 3, Bills win outright)
New Orleans Saints @ Carolina Panthers
(Saints by 6.5, they win but fail to cover)
New England Patriots @ Cleveland Browns
(Patriots by 4.5, they cover)
New York Jets @ Detroit Lions
(Jets by 4, they cover)
San Diego Chargers @ Houston Texans
(Chargers by 3, they cover)
Arizona Cardinals @ Minnesota Vikings
(Vikings by 8, they win but fail to cover)
New York Giants @ Seattle Seahawks
(Giants by 7, they win but fail to cover)
Kansas City Chiefs @ Oakland Raiders
(Raiders by 1, they cover)
Indianapolis Colts @ Philadelphia Eagles
(Eagles by 3, Colts by outright)
Dallas Cowboys @ Green Bay Packers
(Packers by 7.5, they win but fail to cover)
Pittsburgh Steelers @ Cincinnati Bengals
(Steelers by 5, they win but fail to cover)
eric
To call Jerry Rice a “finesse” player does a serious disservice both to him and the position of WR. In the NFL, the closest thing we have to pure Finesse players are CBs. Deone Sanders – now he was finesse. Rice took a lot of big hits in his career. You don’t catch that many passes without take a lof of hits. Rice was not the biggest, fastest, or most naturally gifted athlete, but he was famously the most driven, determined, and heartful. His workout routine was reknowned, with players from every team and position meeting him in the off-season to build their stamina, strength, and agility.
Rice’s longevity in the league is amazing enough, and on a team with among the consistently toughest schedules ever, but he is considered the greatest to ever play the game because he was the smartest, toughest, and he had the most heart.
JMJ
The GTL’s NFL Picks — Week 9, 2010…
Previous Week (Week 8): 8-5 Year To Date: 65-52 All-Time (2006 Through 2010 Combined Record To Date): 398-248 Well, well… slowly but surely I seem to have been making a bit of a comeback with my picks. After putting three straight .500 weeks of p…
Clarification is needed.
I am not saying receivers are sissies. Steve Smith of the Carolina Panthers is one tough hombre. He caught a touchdown pass, broke his arm on the play, and used his other arm to pound his chest as he was being walked off the field.
Yet the reason why receivers can play so long is because despite occasionally getting clocked over the middle, they have plenty of uneventful plays.
With offensive linemen, every single play is a collision. With running backs, most plays are collisions, and it is one against several.
Jim Brown did not just have to take on Sam Huff. He had to take on an entire defense. Running backs break down because guys like Earl Campbell, Rodney Hampton, and other bruisers take a pounding.
Jim Brown represents what football is about more than Jerry Rice. Jerry Rice was great, but football is about knocking guys senseless. That was Jim Brown.
eric