THUMPER
Papa
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How do you rank "best" or "greatest" players? What criteria do you use? Most productive? Most influential? Biggest impact? Most exciting to watch? Most popular? Most wins/titles? Guys you liked? Most intimidating? Most versatile? Most athletic? Players you've seen play? Best looking? What do you use, how do you measure and rank who are the greatest players of all-time?
For many it is just a "feel" for who they were. For others there is a combination of production, longevity, influence, etc. Some go by what the consensus is, who do MOST people (experts) believe are the greatest players. For some it is who they believe they could justify, in other words, can you defend your ranking.
It is very difficult to compare players from different eras because the game has changed so much. As great as Otto Graham was (IMO the greatest QB ever) his number totals don't compare with Marino's or Favre's. How do you compare the impact of a guy like Ernie Nevers or Bronko Nagurski with Jim Brown or Emmitt Smith? Most people never saw Nevers or Nagurski play (heck most of you never saw Jim Brown play) so how could we know what impact they had on the game? We go mostly by what the "experts" say or by what their contemporaries said about them at the time.
I've made a lot of lists over the years of who I felt were the greatest players of all-time. I've made lists by decade. I've put together my all-time ultimate team, guys I though could play together, but even that is pure fantasy on all kinds of levels.
The point is, anyone can come up with a list and they all have their own criteria for who the included and where they ranked them. To me it is always interesting to try and figure out what that criteria is and if it is something I should consider.
IMO opinion the greatest single player in NFL history was Sammy Baugh. He was an all-pro at 3 different positions and some of his punting records STILL stand. He was the best punter, best QB and one of the best DBs in the league when he played. He was a skinny guy yet he played for 16 seasons at a time when a knee injury usually meant the end of your career. It was also a very brutal game back then but he survived and thrived in it. He won 2 championship games and lost 3.
I chose Baugh because of a combination of factors:
1. Excellence - He was the best in his day at 2 positions and one of the best at a 3rd. He also led the league in passing as a rookie and made all-pro that year.
2. Versatility - Played 3 positions. Led the league in INTs as a DB with 11 in 1943.
4. Longevity - Played 16 seasons and was highly productive in most of them. He made the Pro-Bowl in his next to last season.
5. Production - Retired as the all-time leader in passing & Punting.
6. Influence on the game - He & Sid Luckman changed the way the game was played and made passing an "acceptable" way to move the ball. They were the precursors to the modern QB.
7. Durability - To play that long in that era was astounding! If I'm not mistaken, he held the record for games played when he retired as well.
8. Popularity - He was easily one of the most recognizable players in football. His "side-arm" style and nickname of "Slingin Sammy" Baugh made him a household name and even today people know about him even though he retired in 1952.
9. Winner - Baugh led his team to 5 NFL Championship Games and won 2 of them. He won a championship his rookie year
10. Leadership - Baugh was the leader on his team and inspired his team. He was tough and ornery and could cuss with the best of them but his team trusted him and looked to him.
I never got to see Baugh play (I ain't THAT old!) and that is really the only criteria I would use that he doesn't meet, but from talking with those who did he was an amazing player. I've seen NFL films specials on him as well and his numbers speak for themselves.
Others to consider:
Jim Brown
Otto Graham
Jerry Rice
Emmitt Smith
Lawrence Taylor
Each meets some of the same criteria as Baugh but just not to his level.
Well, that's my opinion on the subject. :toast:
For many it is just a "feel" for who they were. For others there is a combination of production, longevity, influence, etc. Some go by what the consensus is, who do MOST people (experts) believe are the greatest players. For some it is who they believe they could justify, in other words, can you defend your ranking.
It is very difficult to compare players from different eras because the game has changed so much. As great as Otto Graham was (IMO the greatest QB ever) his number totals don't compare with Marino's or Favre's. How do you compare the impact of a guy like Ernie Nevers or Bronko Nagurski with Jim Brown or Emmitt Smith? Most people never saw Nevers or Nagurski play (heck most of you never saw Jim Brown play) so how could we know what impact they had on the game? We go mostly by what the "experts" say or by what their contemporaries said about them at the time.
I've made a lot of lists over the years of who I felt were the greatest players of all-time. I've made lists by decade. I've put together my all-time ultimate team, guys I though could play together, but even that is pure fantasy on all kinds of levels.
The point is, anyone can come up with a list and they all have their own criteria for who the included and where they ranked them. To me it is always interesting to try and figure out what that criteria is and if it is something I should consider.
IMO opinion the greatest single player in NFL history was Sammy Baugh. He was an all-pro at 3 different positions and some of his punting records STILL stand. He was the best punter, best QB and one of the best DBs in the league when he played. He was a skinny guy yet he played for 16 seasons at a time when a knee injury usually meant the end of your career. It was also a very brutal game back then but he survived and thrived in it. He won 2 championship games and lost 3.
I chose Baugh because of a combination of factors:
1. Excellence - He was the best in his day at 2 positions and one of the best at a 3rd. He also led the league in passing as a rookie and made all-pro that year.
2. Versatility - Played 3 positions. Led the league in INTs as a DB with 11 in 1943.
4. Longevity - Played 16 seasons and was highly productive in most of them. He made the Pro-Bowl in his next to last season.
5. Production - Retired as the all-time leader in passing & Punting.
6. Influence on the game - He & Sid Luckman changed the way the game was played and made passing an "acceptable" way to move the ball. They were the precursors to the modern QB.
7. Durability - To play that long in that era was astounding! If I'm not mistaken, he held the record for games played when he retired as well.
8. Popularity - He was easily one of the most recognizable players in football. His "side-arm" style and nickname of "Slingin Sammy" Baugh made him a household name and even today people know about him even though he retired in 1952.
9. Winner - Baugh led his team to 5 NFL Championship Games and won 2 of them. He won a championship his rookie year
10. Leadership - Baugh was the leader on his team and inspired his team. He was tough and ornery and could cuss with the best of them but his team trusted him and looked to him.
I never got to see Baugh play (I ain't THAT old!) and that is really the only criteria I would use that he doesn't meet, but from talking with those who did he was an amazing player. I've seen NFL films specials on him as well and his numbers speak for themselves.
Others to consider:
Jim Brown
Otto Graham
Jerry Rice
Emmitt Smith
Lawrence Taylor
Each meets some of the same criteria as Baugh but just not to his level.
Well, that's my opinion on the subject. :toast:
