Throwback Thursday: The 10 Greatest

In 2010, NFL Network counted down the Top 100 Players in the history of the NFL. Here's a look back at the top 10 of that list.

1.   Jerry Rice

2.   Jim Brown

3.   Lawrence Taylor

4.   Joe Montana

5.   Walter Payton

6.   Johnny Unitas

7.   Reggie White

8.   Peyton Manning

9.   Don Hutson

10. Dick Butkus

It's really impossible to argue any top-whatever list. Let alone this list. These are always subjective. And, beauty is always in the eye of the beholder. 

Here's how the Flea Flicker sees the top-10 players in the history of the league:

1.   Jim Brown

2.   Jerry Rice

3.   Lawrence Taylor

4.   Sammy Baugh

5.   Don Hutson

6.   Otto Graham

7.   Johnny Unitas

8.   Reggie White

9.   Joe Montana

10. Peyton Manning

Sammy Baugh was #14 on NFL Network's list.

Otto Graham was #16.

I don't really like that half of the spots are taken by quarterbacks but I couldn't really help it. I don't like that sort of dependence on one position in a team sport but quarterback is the most important position in that sport. 

In my opinion three players truly changed the way that the game is played. Don Hutson, Sammy Baugh, and Lawrence Taylor. I'm not sure how Baugh can't be part of any top-10 list but that's just me. 

Graham led the Cleveland Browns to the title game in all ten seasons that he played. He won 7 of those title games. That's one of the most incredible stats in professional football history. 

Butkus was a fantastic football player. One of the best in league history. The problem that I have with him in the top-10 is that it can be argued that he wasn't even the best middle linebacker of the 1960s. Some consider Ray Nitschke the better player. In Butkus' favor, he didn't have anywhere near the talent around him that Nitschke had. 

I'd love to see linemen like Jim Parker and John Hannah higher on these lists. Linemen are football players too. We just love stats so much that we too often ignore the players that don't produce any.