Posted on 09/14/2005 2:23:26 PM PDT by One Proud Son
QUARTERBACKS: (1) Johnny Unitas (2) Dan Marino (3) Joe Montana RUNNING BACKS: (1) Jim Brown (2) Walter Payton (3) Barry Sanders WIDE RECEIVERS: (1) Jerry Rice (2) Don Maynard (3) Randy Moss DEFENSIVE LINEMAN: (1) Joe Greene (2) Howie Long (3) Randy White LINEBACKERS: (1) Dick Butkus (2) Jack Lambert (3) Mike Singletary DEFENSIVE BACKS: (1) Ronnie Lott (2) Paul Krause (3) Ken Houston
That is an amazing statistic. He was also a pretty decent quarterback too when pressed into service, wasn't he?
With McMahon on the sidelines...
And in 1981, the Texas legislature was controlled by Democrats. What a boneheaded thing to do for a state legislature to list a sports figure in the same light as those other great Americans.
They won because they understood their role. They didn't lose the game for their teams, at least in the Superbowl years. Marino was a great passer, but the offense was geared to him. He appeared in one Superbowl game and couldn't win. I always questioned Marino's judgement and leadership ability. Marino was about personal achievements and amassing individual stats. He was a loser.
Archie single handedly won several games. Favre has the ability to raise a team's level of play to win. That's the key distinction.
I'm a defense man so here goes my top defensive players
1) Dick Lane. A player who ended people's careers with his hits. His hits were so nasty that the league had to make special rules about the kinds of tackles one could make, banning his trademark clothesline.
2) "Dick Butkus is a special kind of brute whose particular talent is mashing runners into curious shapes" - Dan Jenkins in Sports Illustrated
3)Lawrence Taylor. Ask Joe Theisman why he's on my list.
4)"Mean" Joe Green , the monster of the steel curtain. Dwight White should be #5 but you can't seperate men who stood side-by-side.
And soon to be added...
Derrick Brooks. NFL’s best linebacker the last 10 years and a great man off the field. How many LB's can drop back into coverage on a WR?
How can anyone leave off Lawrence Taylor who redefined the outside linebacker position. He is the best ever.
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I have never quite understood the Taylor is the best ever claim. To me he looks like Wilbur Marshall if Marshall had played in NYC rather than Chicago and DC.
You can't have a quarterback list and leave Sonny Jurgenson off. He's probably had more TD passes of exactly 80 yards than any other quarterback in history.
And let's not forget DB Pat Fischer of the St. Louis Cardinals. That little guy had more courage and more impact per cubic inch than just about anybody, Ronnie Lott included.
Lawrence Taylor, defensively, has had as big an impact as any player I've ever seen," former Raiders coach John Madden said. "He changed the way defense is played, the way pass-rushing is played, the way linebackers play and the way offenses block linebackers."
If you're going to have Jim Brown on the list, you've also got to have Earl Campbell.
I would have to put Marino over Unitas even without the Super Bowl.
Elway is #4 on that list as well...
for the RBs, I think it should be Brown, Payton and then a tie between Sanders and Sayers, because both stopped playing earlier in their careers. Although Brown did that as well, he was better than either one.
For the WRs, its Jerry Rice all the way. He isn't top 3, but Art Monk NEVER gets enough recognition.
DBs will have an addition in about 10 years if the saftey for the Ravens keeps it up.
Comparing Butkus and Taylor, however, is like comparing apples and oranges. One was the greatest middle linebacker ever, and the other was the finest outside. Both were intimidating and forced teams to change their game plans. Both, along with every other linebacker on this list, had outstanding instincts, toughness and a desire to get to the ball. Some had prototype size and speed, while others were too small or even too slow on the stopwatch. But the bottom line was always production.
1a. Dick Butkus / Bears
He was another defensive lineman versus the run and the best inside run-stuffer ever. Had a great knack for reading plays and smelling out screens. Meaner than a junkyard dog and had receivers who went over the short middle hearing footsteps. Had great anticipation and fine range versus the run for one so large, until his knees got really bad and he had to play in a limited area. Always tackled like a vise.
1b. Lawrence Taylor / Giants
Until Taylor came along, nobody thought of outside linebackers as pass rushers first. Taylor had great explosiveness off the line, a tremendous closing burst and an uncanny knack for the pass rush. He always seemed to turn in and flatten out at just the right time. When he was not causing fumbles with his shocking hits, he was a master at stripping the ball. His combination of speed, explosive strength and athleticism were uncanny, and he had such great instincts that his poor practice habits and preparation never were much of a factor until late in his career. Like Butkus, he played through unbelievable pain and almost never slowed down.
Can't say Favre is the greatest, but he's definitely top 10.
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So you claim Favre is clearly better than at least five of:
1. Graham
2. Montana
3. Starr
4. Bradshaw
5. Marino
6. Unitas
7. Luckman
8. Tarkington
9. Baugh
10. Kelly
11. Staubach
12. Aikman
13. Young
14. Tittle
15. Fouts
I wonder which of those five you would put him before and I could name others.
I saw Marshall dominate a game. I never saw Taylor do that. I am not sure that Taylor was the best LB on the team he played on.
He was a one diminisional pass rushing DE. You either run at them or pass to the spot the vacated. His one talent was he was very fast. You had to run at him or pass quickly into the spot he vacated.
Until Taylor came along, nobody thought of outside linebackers as pass rushers first
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This is certainly not true.
You left out Brady. Three Superbowl wins and 2 MVPs in those games. Unfortunately, Brady deosn't get the credit he deserves on a team with no "superstars." I don't think it is too early to put him among the top five. Unitas should be one or two.
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