The Athletic's Greatest 100 NFL players

Or something is wrong.

Strahan isn't on the list. It has been solid and entertaining overall, though.

-

He was head and shoulders above anyone who played during his career. I get the argument for Brady, but Brown was more dominant, game-in and game-out.

As best quarterback considering both Brady and Manning played in an era where the rules were literally changed to benefit and protect them.

You can also make a case for LT being number 1 as the greatest defensive player and one of the singularly most transformative players in nfl history.

1.LT-The only player on the list to completely change the game.

2. Jim Brown

3-Brady

4-Montana

5-White

6-Peyton

7-Rice

1A Jim Brown
1B LT
1C Brady
4 Montana
5 P. Manning
6 Reggie White



7 Jerry Rice

and everyone else is fighting for spots on the podium. He is the most decorated and gifted player of the group left.

Peyton Manning should not be in this conversation. Ronnie Lott should.

#1 is LT as the most dominant player of his era and one who forced offenses to change, thus changing the game both on the field and financially. #2 is Brown, who you could make a strong argument for as #1.

Where's Eli? :)

In comment 15350459 bw in dc said:

Quote:

and everyone else is fighting for spots on the podium. He is the most decorated and gifted player of the group left. Peyton Manning should not be in this conversation. Ronnie Lott should.

Rice is the most gifted of this group??

LT and Brown say hello...

are all way overrated. Different rules have inflated their stats.

These lists are nonsense.

I put them above the rest because I think they would be great in any system and any era. One of the most incredible things is Brown never missed a play.

Then
PM
TB
JM: I think Steve Young taking over shows how good the system and talent was on that team.
JR: Certainly great but I never saw him as the best ever.

In comment 15350492 speedywheels said:

Quote:

In comment 15350459 bw in dc said: Quote: and everyone else is fighting for spots on the podium. He is the most decorated and gifted player of the group left. Peyton Manning should not be in this conversation. Ronnie Lott should. Rice is the most gifted of this group?? LT and Brown say hello...

...and decorated together. Yes.

Rice's physical skills plus his individual production plus his team accomplishments are really unrivaled.

Is last in my opinion, and it's not close. Brady, Peyton, Brown, LT, Montana, White, and Rice. Montana should be third, then Brown and LT, but fuck him.

one on D, one on O. Neither could be stopped in their day.

My guess order falls something like this:

7 Peyton Manning
6 Reggie White
5 Jim Brown
4 Joe Montana
3 LT
2 Jerry Rice
1 Tom Brady

In comment 15350571 Del Shofner said:

Quote:

one on D, one on O. Neither could be stopped in their day.

Rice had 209 TDs. Who the hell stopped him?

#2 - LT
#3 - Jerry Rice
#4 - Brady
#5 - Montana
#6 - Reggie White
#7 - Manning

In comment 15350572 NYGgolfer said:

Quote:

You're really gonna question how Peyton Manning snuck into a "heady" group?

In comment 15350577 bw in dc said:

Quote:

In comment 15350571 Del Shofner said: Quote: one on D, one on O. Neither could be stopped in their day. Rice had 209 TDs. Who the hell stopped him?

I'm not with those who thinks Rice is low on this list or doesn't belong. I'd put him maybe 4 or 5. Behind Petyon but ahead of Montana - we sure as hell stopped him.

In comment 15350437 Big Blue '56 said:

Quote:

1.LT-The only player on the list to completely change the game. 2. Jim Brown 3-Brady 4-Montana 5-White 6-Peyton 7-Rice

This works for me too. I might put Peyton above Reggie.

I think-being that he just won his 7th Lombardi & the current world that we live in in that the latest is the greatest-TB take the top spot, though I wouldn't place him there. Jim Brown...from all I've heard, he's one of the-if not THE-greatest who ever stepped on the football field. Rice is up too & of course LT.

If I had to guess how it shakes out:
1) TB12
2) Brown
3) Rice
4) LT
5) P. Manning
6) White
7) Montana

In comment 15350673 SFGFNCGiantsFan said:

Quote:

I think-being that he just won his 7th Lombardi & the current world that we live in in that the latest is the greatest-TB take the top spot, though I wouldn't place him there. Jim Brown...from all I've heard, he's one of the-if not THE-greatest who ever stepped on the football field. Rice is up too & of course LT. If I had to guess how it shakes out: 1) TB12 2) Brown 3) Rice 4) LT 5) P. Manning 6) White 7) Montana

You're probably right about Brady. So, mixing a guess as to what's likely with some personal opinion -


1) Brady
2) Brown
3) LT
4) Peyton
5) Rice
6) White
7) Montana

I think last year wraps up any argument about Brady. He’s the best player ever.

Man, there’s a thread a few years ago where I put my head squarely up my butt about Brady being done.

If anyone ever wants to embarrass me, that’s a good one to drag out.

christian, in fairness, I think a lot of us said that. Remember when BB was asked about benching TB after a KC MNF game in '14? Pats ended up winning it all.

&-if we're being truthful-he wasn't exactly Tom Terrific last year in the playoffs. There's been obvious slippage. I'm curious to see how he plays this year, loaded cast & all. He's 44. I don't care if he eats 50 avocados a day...Father Time is undefeated.

I would have ranked him higher than Montana. Probably some other players too. Montana is deservedly HOF but in the top 7 players ever? Not in my opinion.

Del, I've been reading each article & I don't believe Pace is on this list. And if he was, he would have been listed by now. They had Munoz @ 12.

In comment 15350704 Del Shofner said:

Quote:

I would have ranked him higher than Montana. Probably some other players too. Montana is deservedly HOF but in the top 7 players ever? Not in my opinion.

Pace not listed. Others who missed:

Steve Largent,
Troy Polamalu,
Randall McDaniel,
Bill George,
Emlen Tunnel,
Rosey Brown,
Jerome Bettis,
Red Grange,
Jerry Kramer,
Jim Taylor,
Larry Csonka,
Dan Fouts,
Richard Sherman,
Paul Krause,
Warren Sapp,
Sam Huff,
Steve Hutchinson,
Willie Roaf.

In comment 15350713 SFGFNCGiantsFan said:

Quote:

Del, I've been reading each article & I don't believe Pace is on this list. And if he was, he would have been listed by now. They had Munoz @ 12.

right - Munoz, there's another. Nothing against Joe but I think this is somewhat biased in favor of the QB position. Brady and Peyton, sure.

Was Joe Montana a better football player than Frank Gifford? Dick Butkus? Barry Sanders? Again - he's HOF without a doubt, but top 7?

In comment 15350723 Stan in LA said:

Quote:

Pace not listed. Others who missed: Steve Largent, Troy Polamalu, Randall McDaniel, Bill George, Emlen Tunnel, Rosey Brown, Jerome Bettis, Red Grange, Jerry Kramer, Jim Taylor, Larry Csonka, Dan Fouts, Richard Sherman, Paul Krause, Warren Sapp, Sam Huff, Steve Hutchinson, Willie Roaf.

Thanks. Without having followed this closely, I can safely say I disagree with whatever criteria were used. Definitely some top 100 players on there.

Hate Sapp, but he's top 100.

In comment 15350698 christian said:

Quote:

I think last year wraps up any argument about Brady. He’s the best player ever.

He's clearly the most accomplished. Which carries a lot of weight.

But as a football player with athletic attributes like speed, quickness, strength, mobility, jumping, etc, Brady is so far behind the guys like LT, Rice, Brown, White, etc it's really not even funny.

Personally, I don't think he's in the same class as Montana as a QB. Montana could beat you out of the pocket and on the move. Brady offers NONE of that.

Would keep the qbs separate.

LT in a landslide

In comment 15350737 bw in dc said:

Quote:

In comment 15350698 christian said: Quote: I think last year wraps up any argument about Brady. He’s the best player ever. He's clearly the most accomplished. Which carries a lot of weight. But as a football player with athletic attributes like speed, quickness, strength, mobility, jumping, etc, Brady is so far behind the guys like LT, Rice, Brown, White, etc it's really not even funny. Personally, I don't think he's in the same class as Montana as a QB. Montana could beat you out of the pocket and on the move. Brady offers NONE of that.

I’d argue that Brady accomplishing what he has without those skills is the reason he’s the greatest.

Is tough for me to grasp. Considering both were similar pass-rushing beasts from the DT spot and Page is the only other Defensive MVP besides LT. Maybe Donald gets by him eventually but that’s one I disagree with based on their career as of today. Not to mention the other great DTs outside of Greene. Olsen, Lilly, White… they were disrespected by that Donald ranking. And I say this as a huge Donald fan.

Jerry Rice deserves all the respect in the world. His dominance relative to position is unreal. Gretzky/Rivera-esque, probably even more impressive honestly.

But if you ask every team in the league if they could choose between Jerry Rice and Reggie White, with both of those players guaranteed to replicate their career impact in today’s league, I’m pretty sure that around 25+ teams would take White. He didn’t quite have Rice’s longevity but he was a beast for plenty of years and was the best defensive player and dominant performer on the ‘96 Packers at the age of 35. And he simply had a bigger impact in their prime imo.

The Reggie vs. Rice argument is why I have trouble putting Rice #1. I think Brady/Brown/LT should be the top 3, and probably Rice after that.

I can just tell you guys that Jim Brown is going to be #1. (Not saying you guys are wrong-- What the actual right answer is is entirely subjective.) -- but I've seen lists like this before. It's always Jim Brown. Brown is on that very short list of top tier athletes EVER, which includes: Jordan, Ruth, Ali, Brown, and Gretzky. Now, might they give it to Brady because he has 7 super bowls now and hence nearly TWICE as many as the next QB? Maybe. But I don't think they will. I'm not sure about the rest of the list, but it's gonna be Brown #1.

In comment 15350768 christian said:

Quote:

He's clearly the most accomplished. Which carries a lot of weight. But as a football player with athletic attributes like speed, quickness, strength, mobility, jumping, etc, Brady is so far behind the guys like LT, Rice, Brown, White, etc it's really not even funny. Personally, I don't think he's in the same class as Montana as a QB. Montana could beat you out of the pocket and on the move. Brady offers NONE of that. I’d argue that Brady accomplishing what he has without those skills is the reason he’s the greatest.

He a great player but the rules just provide too much protection where it seems like QBs are not playing the same game as the other 22.

In Rice's timed speed with today's emphasis on accuracy. He obviously did not time well, but had break away speed on the field.

In comment 15350768 christian said:

Quote:

In comment 15350737 bw in dc said: Quote: In comment 15350698 christian said: Quote: I think last year wraps up any argument about Brady. He’s the best player ever. He's clearly the most accomplished. Which carries a lot of weight. But as a football player with athletic attributes like speed, quickness, strength, mobility, jumping, etc, Brady is so far behind the guys like LT, Rice, Brown, White, etc it's really not even funny. Personally, I don't think he's in the same class as Montana as a QB. Montana could beat you out of the pocket and on the move. Brady offers NONE of that. I’d argue that Brady accomplishing what he has without those skills is the reason he’s the greatest.

Not that he wasn’t in the running for overall #1 anyway, but when he did again outside of New England this becomes a slam dunk. Brady #1.

Rice is greatest offensive non-QB. LT greatest defensive. That order makes no difference.

Whatever with the rest...

I know exactly what website I’m on, and I rank LT higher, but I feel like Reggie clearly has a case. LT being so wild and reckless made him consistently banged up which is annoying as hell when you study his performance. It’s what made him so good, he actually kept getting faster to the very inch before contact with the ball carrier which is rare and probably played a role in him being banged up so much. But Reggie has the longevity edge for sure, was the better pure pass rusher, and was a hell of a physical specimen himself.

I know why LT is consistently ranked better, and I agree. His skillset was amazing. But just wondering if any of you are brave enough to say Reggie > LT on this site.

In comment 15350815 Osi Osi Osi OyOyOy said:

Quote:

I know exactly what website I’m on, and I rank LT higher, but I feel like Reggie clearly has a case. LT being so wild and reckless made him consistently banged up which is annoying as hell when you study his performance. It’s what made him so good, he actually kept getting faster to the very inch before contact with the ball carrier which is rare and probably played a role in him being banged up so much. But Reggie has the longevity edge for sure, was the better pure pass rusher, and was a hell of a physical specimen himself. I know why LT is consistently ranked better, and I agree. His skillset was amazing. But just wondering if any of you are brave enough to say Reggie > LT on this site.

It's not a crazy POV at all. White was the steadier player over a longer period of time. He had 12 seasons with 11 or > sacks. I mean, that's prolific. And finished with nearly 200 sacks. His combination of size, speed and power is pretty much unmatched.

LT was just more spectacular and was doing more with less by taking on much bigger men. I always wondered how much greater LT would have been if he wasn't killing himself off the field...

was greater than LT.

But it ultimately falls short if you saw them both actually play...

In comment 15350704 Del Shofner said:

Quote:

I would have ranked him higher than Montana. Probably some other players too. Montana is deservedly HOF but in the top 7 players ever? Not in my opinion.

Ogden becoming the face of “the modern LT” hurt Pace. Walter Jones having a clearly better 2nd half of his career also hurt Pace. Tony Boselli probably being the one guy who could challenge Munoz had he stayed healthy also hurt Pace.

I totally get the Pace mention that you made, although I think you’re crazy if you rank him above Montana. The Mike Martz offense with all those amazing skill position players doesn’t work without having the rock that was Pace protecting the QB. Pace is also the guy who invented or atleast popularized the term “pancake block” when he was in college.

I read the scouting reports and general thoughts on Ogden vs. Pace during their early years very recently. In general, Pace at his most dominant was probably the most dominant LT who ever lived due to the obvious physicality. But Odgen just knew how big and strong he was and made the NFL look like a piece of cake due to how easy he was. That consistency is why he is ranked so high and Pace seems to be forgotten.

Walter Jones had Steve Hutchinson right next to him when he became “the man”. Hutchinson is the best Guard I’ve ever seen. I think Walter Jones is the man, even if my namesake tore him up that one game, but I definitely think his legacy was helped so much by who was right next to him. There’s a reason that nobody ever mentions Shaun Alexander’s name unless we talking Dayne.

Number Seven.

With 2 great QB's running it to perfection. Put him on any other team and he's Isaac Bruce or Andre Reed. Not a slouch, but certainly not top 5.

On another team, and they would be just as great.

I think you have to at least put Rice above Reed and Bruce. He was definitely way better than those guys. But I do agree he wouldn’t have had anything near the career he had if he had been elsewhere. I agree with everything else you said— those other guys (LT, Brown) would be great on ANY team. They were transcendent players. Rice I think still was one of the all time great WRs but I don’t think he’s THE GOAT WR by any means, so the fact so many people say he’s the greatest football player ever or even some say the greatest athlete is just absurd to me.

For instance I don’t see what anyone could legitimately say to “prove” Rice was better than, say, Randy Moss and Calvin Johnson in their primes. Those guys were bigger, faster, stronger, more athletic, and still incredible route runners with incredible hands ( Moss especially I put over everyone). You can cite numbers and awards all you want— what Randy Moss did in 2007 is what he would’ve been doing for 10 years if he’d been drafted by New England. Jerry Rice having Walsh and Montana and that supporting cast of offensive weapons (and a great defense) would’ve been the equivalent of Moss being on the 2007 Patriots offense his entire career. Rice was great, but he was literally in the greatest situation of all time for a WR for basically his entire career. Imagine Calvin Johnson or Moss on those 80s 9ers teams? I think they would’ve out-produced what Rice did.

Another guy I think of in this conversation is Marvin Harrison— he absolutely benefitted 1000% by playing on those colts teams with Manning, and I have no idea how so many people have the nerve to put him in top 5-10 greatest WRs of all time. I joked with my friend one time that if Ike Hilliard and Amani Toomer had been on those Colts teams they would’ve had identical careers to Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne. Now, maybe that’s an exaggeration lol and Harrison is a bit better than a 100% healthy prime Hilliard, but not by a whole lot IMO— just imagine what a prime Hilliard and Toomer would’ve done on those colts teams. Toomer at the very least would’ve been a HOFer for sure.