The Athletic is counting down their 100 best players in the history of the National Football League. The NFL 100. Their most recent reveals are their best ten players in the history of the league. The Top 10.
10. Dick Butkus
9. John Unitas
8. Walter Payton
7. Peyton Manning
6. Joe Montana
5. Reggie White
4. Lawrence Taylor
3. Jerry Rice
2. Jim Brown
1. Tom Brady
That’s an outstanding group of football players.
A lot has been made of Tom Brady’s seven Super Bowl wins. A lot should be made of his fabulous success. It took him 21 years to lead teams to seven titles. It took Otto Graham 10 years to lead teams to win seven titles. Graham never played a professional football season that didn’t end in a title game appearance. Some might naysay the four AAFC titles. The Browns romped through the NFL as soon as they entered the league in 1950. The Browns would’ve challenged for NFL titles if they’d entered the league in 1946. It can be argued that it’s easier to play quarterback today than it was in Graham’s day. It’s certainly safer. Quarterbacks today are protected in the pocket. They are protected before they throw. They are protected after they throw. They are protected in practice. They are protected as soon as they get off the bus. They throw to un-assaulted receivers and the offenses of today flood the field with the maximum of eligible, un-assaulted receivers. A quarterback as stationary as Brady might’ve found little fun in the 1940s and 1950s. He’s such a feisty guy. He’d probably have found a way.
I’m not trying to make light of what Brady has done. He’s one of the greatest players that the league has ever seen. It just feels like his anointment as the very best is without question. It isn’t. Has he changed the game or his position as Lawrence Taylor did? Was he ever so much better than the rest of the players at his position as Jerry Rice or Jim Brown? One of the curiosities of Brady’s career is that the years that he won the league’s MVP (2007, 2010, 2017) the Patriots didn’t win Super Bowls. Two of those years, he lost in the Super Bowl. I’m not sure what exactly that says. Perhaps it says that Tom Brady at his very best wasn’t the only thing that was needed for his team to win it all.
I like some combination of Jim Brown, Lawrence Taylor, and Jerry Rice at the top of any All-Time Greatest list.
I think that my Top 10 Players in the history of the game might include the following (in no particular order):
Otto Graham
Tom Brady
John Unitas
Alan Page
Aaron Donald
Reggie White
Jerry Rice
Don Hutson
Jim Brown
Jim Parker
Pre-Super Bowl Era Tracker:
Steve Van Buren
Jim Otto
Mike Ditka
Fran Tarkenton
Elroy Hirsch
Lenny Moore
Willie Davis
Willie Brown
Bobby Layne
Buck Buchanan
Bulldog Turner
Mel Hein
Leo Nomellini
John Mackey
Paul Warfield
Bobby Bell
Marion Motley
Joe Schmidt
Raymond Berry
Ray Nitschke
Bart Starr
Herb Adderley
Lance Alworth
Chuck Bednarik
Gale Sayers
Dick “Night Train” Lane
Sid Luckman
Jim Parker
Forrest Gregg
Gino Marchetti
Bronko Nagurski
Bob Lilly
Merlin Olsen
Sammy Baugh
Deacon Jones
Don Hutson
Otto Graham
Dick Butkus
John Unitas
Jim Brown
Of the 100 players on the list, 40 played at least a portion of their career before the first Super Bowl. There have been 55 seasons that ended with a Super Bowl (even though a couple weren’t called that at the time). There were 46 seasons that didn’t end with a Super Bowl. There were fewer teams in those years. There were fewer players and many of those players played offense, defense, and special teams. They rarely came off the field. All of that is to say that 40 is a strong number. Most lists like this have such a recency bias that they’re meaningless. I appreciated that the Athletic writers that put this list together resisted that bias.
Despite that appreciation, I still don’t get Brett Favre being a spot ahead of Sammy Baugh.
A recap of the previously revealed players:
100-21:
100. Derrick Brooks
99. Dermontti Dawson
98. Steve Van Buren
97. Jim Otto
96. Mike Ditka
95. Fran Tarkenton
94. Elroy Hirsch
93. Mike Singletary
92. Lenny Moore
91. Willie Davis
90. Willie Brown
89. Bobby Layne
88. Darrell Green
87. Champ Bailey
86. Buck Buchanan
85. Bulldog Turner
84. Mel Hein
83. Leo Nomellini
82. Kellen Winslow
81. John Mackey
80. Willie Lanier
79. Mike Haynes
78. Roger Staubach
77. Ted Hendricks
76. Art Shell
75. Paul Warfield
74. Bobby Bell
73. Marion Motley
72. Adrian Peterson
71. Mel Blount
70. Marshall Faulk
69. Terry Bradshaw
68. Charles Woodson
67. Gene Upshaw
66. Earl Campbell
65. Joe Schmidt
64. Walter Jones
63. Raymond Berry
62. Ray Nitshke
61. Bart Starr
60. Jonathan Ogden
59. Junior Seau
58. Herb Adderley
57. Mike Webster
56. Rob Gronkowski
55. Lance Alworth
54. Chuck Bednarik
53. Gale Sayers
52. Jack Ham
51. LaDanian Tomlinson
50. Dick “Night Train” Lane
49. Steve Young
48. Sid Luckman
47. Randy White
46. Tony Gonzalez
45. Larry Allen
44. Bruce Matthews
43. Drew Brees
42. Jim Parker
41. O.J. Simpson
40. Eric Dickerson
39. Ed Reed
38. Randy Moss
37. Jack Lambert
36. Forrest Gregg
35. J.J. Watt
34. Gino Marchetti
33. Bronko Nagurski
32. Alan Page
31. Bob Lilly
30. Merlin Olsen
29. Emmitt Smith
28. Deion Sanders
27. Barry Sanders
26. Rod Woodson
25. John Hannah
24. Aaron Donald
23. Sammy Baugh
22. Brett Favre
21. Aaron Rodgers
20. Bruce Smith
19. Ronnie Lott
18. Dan Marino
17. Ray Lewis
16. Deacon Jones
15. John Elway
14. Joe Greene
13. Don Hutson
12. Anthony Munoz
11. Otto Graham
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