I just stumbled across this trying to do some other research, but the Sporting News has come out with its list of the “100 greatest football players of all time”. I’ve attached the link to the site and a listing of the Top 30 right under it. It’s interesting with at least a few surprises. Oh … and I screamed like a schoolgirl upon seeing Joe (Cool) Montana as their highest ranked QB. And two of my favorite Bears in the Top 10. Suh … weeeeeeeeeeet ….. ness! Enjoy!
https://archive.sportingnews.com/nfl/100/
1. Jim Brown
2. Jerry Rice
3. Joe Montana
4. Lawrence Taylor
5. Johnny Unitas
6. Don Hutson
7. Otto Graham
8. Walter Payton
9. Dick Butkus
10. Bob Lilly
11. Sammy Baugh
12. Barry Sanders
13. Deacon Jones
14. Joe Greene
15. Gino Marchetti
16. John Elway
17. Anthony Munoz
18. Ray Nitschke
19. Night Train Lane
20. John Hannah
21. Gale Sayers
22. Reggie White
23. Ronnie Lott
24. Jim Parker
25. Merlin Olsen
26. O.J. Simpson
27. Dan Marino
28. Forrest Gregg
29. Roger Staubach
30. Jack Lambert
Looking at their top 30 makes me realize how I limit myself to thinking of offensive players when I rank football players. I like seeing guys like Butkus and Night Train being listed, and Deacon and Nitschke and Lambert. Awesome. Also interesting (and good) to see so many old timers. Thanks Wally
It comes as no surprise that Sporting News generates a list that goes beyond the headlines. By my count there are 16 guys (give or take depending on interpretation) on that list who are handicapped by their position when it comes to ‘winning a game.’ We would be hard-pressed to find any headlines that contain John Hannah, Forrest Gregg, or Jim Parker – and I don’t mean that as a cut on them. How many average sports fans are going to really understand the contributions of those three.? It’s not like we look at the box score and see stats for: Correct execution of the blocking scheme on a screen pass, or Correct execution of the blocking scheme on a draw play. No we see: rushing attempts, rushing yards, pass attempts…yada, yada, yada. A great job by TSN to look beyond those who make the highlight reels.
Stats are not a pure indicator. They can only be given relevance when put in context. What I mean by this is – many of us on the Bench know Al Zemaitis. I had the chance to see one Penn State game when Al played. It was his senior year (5th) against Purdue. At the time the Boilermakers were in the top ten of the nation in total and passing offense. I was looking forward to seeing if Al could get a pick or two. I watched the game through the lens of Al Zemaitis. That is on every Purdue snap I watched only what Al was doing. Midway through the second quarter it was obvious what Purdue’s plan was: send a decoy out wide, force Zemaitis (playing a zone) to cover the receiver, send the receiver 20-25 yards down field, and then throw under the coverage. By the end of the day two passes were thrown at the receiver Al defended. One was thrown out of bounds, and the other Al deflected. His line for the day – one deflection. PSU won, and although I don’t have the numbers at my disposal they held Purdue significantly UNDER their averages (yards and points). How much did Al affect that game. Most are going to look at the stats and think – what was Zemaitis doing all game? Was Purdue taken out of their comfort zone? Obviously the rest of the defense came up big. In the end – Al was All-Big 10 first team. Yet his numbers (interceptions, deflections, and tackles) were down significantly from the previous year, but his impact was not overlooked.
By the way – Sporting News publishes a FREE daily online paper. It is great. Check it out: https://today.sportingnews.com/sportingnewstoday/20090414/?sub_id=twpD4LskEW1e&folio=CGI
I get this delivered to my email every day. And yes it is free.
Casey, your point is very well-taken … esp when it comes to football. I think when it comes to linemen, LB’s and others playing positions where there aren’t a lot (or any stats), you’ve got to rely on things like: how many times All-Pro and even anecdotal information from coaches and scouts because often the best evaluation of a player’s contribution comes from their peers, the opponents and others who had to game plan to stop them, avoid them, etc.
Your example of Al Z is a perfect illustration of that. In that game, his territory was simply off limits. Now that’s value and evidently his abilities were well recognized by the Big 10.
My only bone of contention with the top 30 is that it does not include Sam Huff. That ol’ West Virginny boy neutralized #1 on the list to the point that Huff’s Giants won more championships than did Brown’s Browns in their mutual time.
Pete – Great Point! And exactly what I am talking about. Where is the friggin’ stat for neutralizing the opponent’s best weapon?
Roger Staubach is the 7th QB – Am I counting correctly? Seems that I remember getting hassled for putting Staubach in my top five, and I didn’t include Otto Graham and Sammy Baugh because I couldn’t honestly comment on them.
Re: Otto Graham; he NEVER lost a playoff game – in the old AAFL or in the NFL when the Browns moved to that league. I think he was 7-0 in CHAMPIONSHIP games. That is one of the most phenomenal records in ALL of sports. Sammy Baugh was one of the best, if not THE best, 2 way players ever, leading the league in rushing, passing, and interceptions. They don’t grow ’em like THAT at TCU anymore.
Casey, if you look at quality of play while in the league, Roger the Dodger was a GREAT QB … but his career was relatively short due to the Navy commitment. That’s probably why he’s falls off Top 5 on many lists … he was kinda like the Gale Sayers of QBs. But he was great with the Cowboys, no doubt.
As a Newbie, I am always searching online for articles that can help me on this subject. Thank you!
You know – I am inclined to delete the above comment because it is obviously spam. But then again I love wetting a line and I do own a Penn Reel.