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NFL's Top 100 players of all time...

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bunnyfubbles said:
And Rice should be #1. He's hands down the best player at his position, by a long shot. It doesn't matter that there are slightly more important positions to a team, its not even close how much more accomplished he is compared to everyone else.
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Barry Sanders is one of my all time favorite players but even I will admit that some of the guys he made miss and look absolutely silly probably wouldn't even make it to a team's defense roster in today's NFL and that Sanders likely wouldn't be anywhere near as good.
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Rice started four years before Sanders, by your reasoning he should be even more outclassed by modern players than Sanders would be.

I think only the average skill of the NFL player has risen, but the greats are and would still be the greats if it all happened again differently somehow.
 
I'm surprised not too see Steve Largent's name on the list. He certainly wasn't the most athletic player, but what he did with the skills he had was amazing.

"When Largent retired, he held all major NFL receiving records, including: most receptions in a career (819), most receiving yards in a career (13,089), and most touchdown receptions (100). He was also in possession of a then-record streak of 177 consecutive regular-season games with a reception."
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bunnyfubbles said:
lol no way. Peyton Manning's physical and mental skill sets would have him raping in grandpa NFL.

Sorry, but you can't mesh the two eras and say one is better than the other. In fact your argument works against you because with time the NFL has become vastly more popular with far more people trying to play it and thus expanding the talent pool and pushing the performance envelope.

I could argue that the greats of old looked greater because they were playing against worse average competition.

And Rice should be #1. He's hands down the best player at his position, by a long shot. It doesn't matter that there are slightly more important positions to a team, its not even close how much more accomplished he is compared to everyone else.
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Sure, comparing across eras is hard, but Peyton isn't the best QB ever, he isn't in the top-5, and he certainly isn't one of the 10 best players to set foot on the field.

Bart Starr:
Five championships, a 105 QB rating in the playoffs, one of the highest YPA's ever. He led the league five times in passer rating (only Steve Young has done it more) and guys like Montana and Unitas only did it twice.

In the playoffs he had the lowest TD-INT ratio ever (1.44) and, remember, he played in an era when 80 QB ratings were the norm, yet his postseason stats are better than Brady's, Manning's, Marino's, Young's, Montana's, or really anyone. Ever.

His 7.85 YPA is 8th best ever. He surpassed an 8.2 YPA six times in his career. As good as Manning is, he's only done that twice. In a league that favors receivers, passing, and offense.

Clutch? Star is the least intercepted QB in postseason history, he threw the game-winning touchdown in two different Super Bowls and was brilliant when he needed to be.

Please. Starr is a million times better than Brady, Manning, Marino, Elway, or whoever else you want to trot out. It isn't even close.

We can go through the reasons that Montana, Staubach, Baugh, and Graham are also better than Manning, but enlighten me on why Manning is better than Starr first.


As for Rice, it's a silly argument. Rice is an amazing talent. He is the 2nd most dominant receiver ever and the most dominant of the modern era. His accomplishments are unmatched, etc, etc. Unfortunately, he was a receiver and, while super-talented guys like him are fun to watch (and great players), they aren't what make football teams great.

Rice joined a 49ers team that was already very good. Yes, he definitely put them over the top, but if he had joined, say, the 2009 Rams his impact would have been minimal. And that's the rub with great receivers. When the team is great, they're great. When the team is mediocre or bad, receivers fade into obscurity. Just look at Randy Moss. He has been part of the two highest scoring offenses in history. He also has never won a Super Bowl and, when he has been on crappy teams, his impact has been next to nothing.

This is perfectly exemplified by the Tom Brady / Peyton Manning effect. Both of them take no-name receivers and make them look like superstars. The minute those guys get removed from the team, they sink back to being obscure afterthoughts.

So, yes, Rice is a great talent, but he isn't the best NFL player ever. Not by a mile.
 
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While I'm a defense guy ( LT #3 yes) I have to still say most fans are insane with the rankings. The top ten NFL players according to the fans are ALL OFFENSEIVE players?!?!? Emmit Smith over LT? or Reggie White? that is just crazy. And how the hell is Brett Favre #6? over Elway and Marino and JIM BROWN?!? Brett " I can't make up my mind" Favre over the greatest running back to play the game? Some of those fans are crazy.
 
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Bushwicktrini said:
While I'm a defense guy ( LT #3 yes) I have to still say most fans are insane with the rankings. The top ten NFL players according to the fans are ALL OFFENSEIVE players?!?!? Emmit Smith over LT? or Reggie White? that is just crazy. And how the hell is Brett Favre #6? over Elway and Marino and JIM BROWN?!? Brett " I can't make up my mind" Favre over the greatest running back to play the game? Some of those fans are crazy.
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Yup.

Reggie White and LT are two of the five greatest players ever. Come on, Reggie's nickname was the Minister of Defense.... how can he NOT be super awesome ? 🙂
 
Bushwicktrini said:
While I'm a defense guy ( LT #3 yes) I have to still say most fans are insane with the rankings. The top ten NFL players according to the fans are ALL OFFENSEIVE players?!?!? Emmit Smith over LT? or Reggie White? that is just crazy. And how the hell is Brett Favre #6? over Elway and Marino and JIM BROWN?!? Brett " I can't make up my mind" Favre over the greatest running back to play the game? Some of those fans are crazy.
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"Offense sells tickets; Defense wins championships."

I agree about Reggie. He's probably my all time favorite player.
 
My second favorite is on the list too (Earl Campbell). I think he should be higher as well. Why? Because Earl Campbell kicks ass, that's why.
 
I love these arbitrary ranks and how fanatics get butthurt over them. Seriously, throw a dart at the top players all same shit.
 
IndyColtsFan said:
Looks like the fans and NFL pretty much agree on who holds 20/21 respectively. :awe:
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I can't really argue that one, maybe he should be in the mid-teens, but his stats tell only half of the story. Brady's poise under pressure is nothing short of legendary. And unless you watched him as close as a fan would, you wouldn't expect others to see it that way, I guess. 😎
 
geno said:
I can't really argue that one, maybe he should be in the mid-teens, but his stats tell only half of the story. Brady's poise under pressure is nothing short of legendary. And unless you watched him as close as a fan would, you wouldn't expect others to see it that way, I guess. 😎
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Joe Montana was by far the coolest under pressure. You could not shake the guy.
 
BeauJangles said:
Please. Starr is a million times better than Brady, Manning, Marino, Elway, or whoever else you want to trot out. It isn't even close.
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Wow, ICF's mancrush with Manning pales in comparison to your mancrush with Starr. Oh, by the way, Manning has more than twice as many passing yards as Starr in fewer seasons. Manning has a better completion percentage. Manning has well over twice as many TDs, and a TD-int ratio of 2.04 to Starr's 1.10. Manning has been named NFL MVP a record 4 times to Starr's one. Star's career QB rating is 80.5, Manning's is 95.5. Manning has 4 games with a perfect QB rating to Starr's 0. Manning has 10 games with at least 400 yards passing, including 2 postseason games, to Starr's 0. Manning has 9 Pro Bowl selection to Starr's 4. I could keep going, but I think you get the point. Starr is underrated for sure, but you're absurd if you think he's "a million times better" than the quarterbacks you named.
 
JujuFish said:
Wow, ICF's mancrush with Manning pales in comparison to your mancrush with Starr. Oh, by the way, Manning has more than twice as many passing yards as Starr in fewer seasons. Manning has a better completion percentage. Manning has well over twice as many TDs, and a TD-int ratio of 2.04 to Starr's 1.10. Manning has been named NFL MVP a record 4 times to Starr's one. Star's career QB rating is 80.5, Manning's is 95.5. Manning has 4 games with a perfect QB rating to Starr's 0. Manning has 10 games with at least 400 yards passing, including 2 postseason games, to Starr's 0. Manning has 9 Pro Bowl selection to Starr's 4. I could keep going, but I think you get the point. Starr is underrated for sure, but you're absurd if you think he's "a million times better" than the quarterbacks you named.
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:thumbsup:
 
I see my old friend, Terry "I can throw an interception as well as any quarterback" Bradshaw is at #50. (#22 in fan rankings)
He was a shit-ton of fun to watch back in his heyday...and as a Steelers fan, often frustrating as hell too...
 
The fan rating is obviously skewed to smiley affable players. Barry Sanders is the obvious #1. He made me go OMG that's impossible almost every single time he ran the ball. He just happened to play for one of the worst NFL teams.
 
I would say Jerome Bettis should be there, if Tony Dorsett is. More yards and TDs career-wise.

But these lists mean nothing. Fans voted Ed Reed in the top 50 all time, c'mon now. Great player but certainly not top 50 all time.
 
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