NFL.com's All-Time Top 100

[BearsFan1974]

NFL.com released a list of the Top 100 players of All-Time. The list is at http://top100.nfl.com/ .

 

The Bears on the list are:

5. Walter Payton

10. Dick Butkus

19. Bronco Nagurski

22. Gale Sayers

33. Sid Luckman

48. Red Grange

58. Mike Singletary

59. Mike Ditka

 

Certain people who have played for the Beloved Bear have been ommitted from the list. The one that strikes me as amazing that he is not on the list is Dan Hampton. He was the heart and soul of the greatest defense ever and he's not in the top 100 of all time? Yet they throw Joe Namath who is the most overrated player in the history of the NFL if not sports at 100.

 

You can argue stats and numbers, then Richard Dent who is not on the list either. By no means should the name I am about to mention be on the list, it's just a comparison to Namath to prove how overrated Namath was...Jay Cutler has comparable number to Namath. Cutler should NOT be on the list...I'm just proving my point that neither should Namath.

 

They named Jerry Rice #1. You can argue the fact that he had 2 HOF QB's tossing him the rock.

 

 

 

[Daventry]

NFL.com released a list of the Top 100 players of All-Time. The list is at http://top100.nfl.com/ .

 

The Bears on the list are:

5. Walter Payton

10. Dick Butkus

19. Bronco Nagurski

22. Gale Sayers

33. Sid Luckman

48. Red Grange

58. Mike Singletary

59. Mike Ditka

 

Certain people who have played for the Beloved Bear have been ommitted from the list. The one that strikes me as amazing that he is not on the list is Dan Hampton. He was the heart and soul of the greatest defense ever and he's not in the top 100 of all time? Yet they throw Joe Namath who is the most overrated player in the history of the NFL if not sports at 100.

 

You can argue stats and numbers, then Richard Dent who is not on the list either. By no means should the name I am about to mention be on the list, it's just a comparison to Namath to prove how overrated Namath was...Jay Cutler has comparable number to Namath. Cutler should NOT be on the list...I'm just proving my point that neither should Namath.

 

They named Jerry Rice #1. You can argue the fact that he had 2 HOF QB's tossing him the rock.

 

I guess lists like these will always cause arguments, but Jerry Rice and Lawrence Taylor over Walter Payton? I would have definitely put Walter over those guys, especially LT, does character not count at all? What an embarrassment he has been. I have to admit though that the list seems pretty fair...

 

[Connorbear]

NFL.com released a list of the Top 100 players of All-Time. The list is at http://top100.nfl.com/ .

 

The Bears on the list are:

5. Walter Payton

10. Dick Butkus

19. Bronco Nagurski

22. Gale Sayers

33. Sid Luckman

48. Red Grange

58. Mike Singletary

59. Mike Ditka

 

Certain people who have played for the Beloved Bear have been ommitted from the list. The one that strikes me as amazing that he is not on the list is Dan Hampton. He was the heart and soul of the greatest defense ever and he's not in the top 100 of all time? Yet they throw Joe Namath who is the most overrated player in the history of the NFL if not sports at 100.

 

You can argue stats and numbers, then Richard Dent who is not on the list either. By no means should the name I am about to mention be on the list, it's just a comparison to Namath to prove how overrated Namath was...Jay Cutler has comparable number to Namath. Cutler should NOT be on the list...I'm just proving my point that neither should Namath.

 

They named Jerry Rice #1. You can argue the fact that he had 2 HOF QB's tossing him the rock.

I think an arguement could be made for Hampton but no way would I put Dent in the top 100. He wasn't close to Hampton and the 'Danimal' would barely make it in my opinion.

 

Peace

[jason]

I have a problem with Jim Brown > Walter Payton.

 

Jim Brown benefitted from the fact that he was simply a different kind (read: size and speed) of player for that generation. He was a big RB for TODAY'S game, much less in the 50s.

 

Payton would have absolutely obliterated the league in which Brown played.

[BearsFan1974]

I think an arguement could be made for Hampton but no way would I put Dent in the top 100. He wasn't close to Hampton and the 'Danimal' would barely make it in my opinion.

 

Peace

 

I agree Danimal was far superior of a leader and player than Dent. The point I was trying to make was if you going to put someone as overrated as Namath in the Top 100, Hampton HAS TO BE ON THIS LIST because he was the man on that '85 D!! Namath DOES NOT nor does Dent. However, Dent deserves the list more than Namath.

[BearsFan1974]

I have a problem with Jim Brown > Walter Payton.

 

Jim Brown benefitted from the fact that he was simply a different kind (read: size and speed) of player for that generation. He was a big RB for TODAY'S game, much less in the 50s.

 

Payton would have absolutely obliterated the league in which Brown played.

 

 

This argument is one that gets driven into the ground. I feel Payton was far superior than Brown. He was an all-around player. The fan vote put #34 @ # 3 and #32 @ #9. Did I confuse ya?...lol

It's the same argument with Sanders and Smith. What if Sanders had Smith's line? What if Sanders had...What if worms had machine guns? Birds wouldn't f**k with 'em...that's what...lol

 

I don't put much stock in the fan vote because of the media. It's a lot easier to see what going on with Manning or Favre then it was to see what was going on with Luckman across the country. Manning was #5 and Favre was #6...Luckman...not in the top 100 of the fan vote.

[defiantgiant]

I can see Jerry Rice being #1. Nobody's ever come close to Jerry Rice's records for receptions, receiving yards, or TDs. I don't think anybody's going to get close, either.

 

Isaac Bruce was about 7500 yards short of Rice when he retired. T.O. just moved into second place ahead of Bruce, but even if he were to start putting up 100 yards a game, EVERY game, he wouldn't break Rice's record until Game 1 of the 2015 season. He'd be 41. I don't think that's happening.

 

Same thing for touchdowns. That record's a little more reachable, but the #2 guy (T.O. again) is 48 touchdowns behind Rice. Again, he'd probably need 4 or 5 more seasons of top-level production to catch Rice. That's not happening.

 

Marvin Harrison retired more than 400 receptions short of Rice. The closest active player is (again) T.O. and he's almost 500 receptions short.

 

So it seems pretty clear that T.O.'s not going to be the one to catch Rice, and I don't know that any other active player is going to do it either. But suppose there's some up-and-coming receiver like AJ Green, some guy who isn't in the league yet but is going to be the next big thing. Let's suppose AJ has a nice long career - say 15 years, playing until he's 38. He'll need to put up 104 catches for 1527 yards and 13-14 touchdowns every year for his whole career to pass Jerry Rice. He'd need to average 6.5 catches for 96 yards and a TD per game and NEVER miss a game in 15 years. That's ridiculous.

[BearsFan1974]

I can see Jerry Rice being #1. Nobody's ever come close to Jerry Rice's records for receptions, receiving yards, or TDs. I don't think anybody's going to get close, either.

 

Isaac Bruce was about 7500 yards short of Rice when he retired. T.O. just moved into second place ahead of Bruce, but even if he were to start putting up 100 yards a game, EVERY game, he wouldn't break Rice's record until Game 1 of the 2015 season. He'd be 41. I don't think that's happening.

 

Same thing for touchdowns. That record's a little more reachable, but the #2 guy (T.O. again) is 48 touchdowns behind Rice. Again, he'd probably need 4 or 5 more seasons of top-level production to catch Rice. That's not happening.

 

Marvin Harrison retired more than 400 receptions short of Rice. The closest active player is (again) T.O. and he's almost 500 receptions short.

 

So it seems pretty clear that T.O.'s not going to be the one to catch Rice, and I don't know that any other active player is going to do it either. But suppose there's some up-and-coming receiver like AJ Green, some guy who isn't in the league yet but is going to be the next big thing. Let's suppose AJ has a nice long career - say 15 years, playing until he's 38. He'll need to put up 104 catches for 1527 yards and 13-14 touchdowns every year for his whole career to pass Jerry Rice. He'd need to average 6.5 catches for 96 yards and a TD per game and NEVER miss a game in 15 years. That's ridiculous.

 

I agree with you. Rice was a great receiver. What made him an amazing receiver was Montana and Young throwing him the ball. He is rightfully #1. The name of the game is scoring TD and nobody has done it more.

[madlithuanian]

I have no issue w/ Brown over Walter. My dad swears Brown was the best he's even seen, but Payton was his favorite. If he didn't choose to get paid for acting, he probably would have shattered the reecord books.

 

But LT and Rice over Payton is a joke. The failure is with the grading system. The way they did it was by position, so by default, everyone prettymuch agrees with Rice at the best WR, where for RB and QB there are too many to choose from.

 

 

 

I have a problem with Jim Brown > Walter Payton.

 

Jim Brown benefitted from the fact that he was simply a different kind (read: size and speed) of player for that generation. He was a big RB for TODAY'S game, much less in the 50s.

 

Payton would have absolutely obliterated the league in which Brown played.

 

[madlithuanian]

He's a receiver and isn't on every play. He also had Montana and Young throwing to him.

 

Payton and Brown are more deserving.

 

 

 

I can see Jerry Rice being #1. Nobody's ever come close to Jerry Rice's records for receptions, receiving yards, or TDs. I don't think anybody's going to get close, either.

 

Isaac Bruce was about 7500 yards short of Rice when he retired. T.O. just moved into second place ahead of Bruce, but even if he were to start putting up 100 yards a game, EVERY game, he wouldn't break Rice's record until Game 1 of the 2015 season. He'd be 41. I don't think that's happening.

 

Same thing for touchdowns. That record's a little more reachable, but the #2 guy (T.O. again) is 48 touchdowns behind Rice. Again, he'd probably need 4 or 5 more seasons of top-level production to catch Rice. That's not happening.

 

Marvin Harrison retired more than 400 receptions short of Rice. The closest active player is (again) T.O. and he's almost 500 receptions short.

 

So it seems pretty clear that T.O.'s not going to be the one to catch Rice, and I don't know that any other active player is going to do it either. But suppose there's some up-and-coming receiver like AJ Green, some guy who isn't in the league yet but is going to be the next big thing. Let's suppose AJ has a nice long career - say 15 years, playing until he's 38. He'll need to put up 104 catches for 1527 yards and 13-14 touchdowns every year for his whole career to pass Jerry Rice. He'd need to average 6.5 catches for 96 yards and a TD per game and NEVER miss a game in 15 years. That's ridiculous.

 

[bschmaranz]

I guess lists like these will always cause arguments, but Jerry Rice and Lawrence Taylor over Walter Payton? I would have definitely put Walter over those guys, especially LT, does character not count at all? What an embarrassment he has been. I have to admit though that the list seems pretty fair...

Some could argue that LT coulda been #1 had he not had those character issues. Did you see the guy play? Once in a generation talent.

[defiantgiant]

He's a receiver and isn't on every play. He also had Montana and Young throwing to him.

 

Payton and Brown are more deserving.

I don't think you can argue that Rice was purely a product of Montana and Young. He was a phenomenal route runner and he was famous for beating double coverage...those don't have anything to do with the quarterback. In fact, if anything, having a guy who can run great routes and make catches when he's doubled will make your quarterback look better. On the other hand, clearly receivers benefit from having great QBs. It's a chicken-and-egg problem - there's no way to say whether Rice helped his QBs more than they helped him.

 

That said, I don't think anybody would argue that Rice was a system receiver. In fact, he was so dominant in college that they built their system around him. Check out this old film of Mississippi Valley State running what they called the "Satellite Express". Right away, the formations look really weird - you'll see three or four receivers in a stack or bunch formation to one side, and one guy split to the other. That one guy is Jerry Rice. He was such a threat that he drew double- and triple-teams on every single play, so MVSU just put four receivers to the other side and threw it to the uncovered guy every play. When teams finally did single-cover Rice, he'd burn them.

 

I mean, I'll agree that Payton and Brown were obviously doing it all themselves, much more so than Rice. But running back is just a more do-it-yourself position. There's no top-10 list for the best quarterbacks at handing it off. And if greatness means getting the ball every snap with no help from anybody, then clearly the #1 spot belongs to Barry Sanders. Brown and Payton had less help than Rice, but Sanders had less help than anybody I can think of, and it's not even close.

 

Let's put it this way - if they had picked Payton or Brown over Rice, I'd probably think it was a good pick. But I can't come up with a strong argument AGAINST picking Rice, either. When you're choosing between the 4 or 5 best players to ever suit up, it's just a really close call.

[madlithuanian]

I make no bones about it...Rice is probably the best WR ever... And in consideration for best ever. But only consideration. I just take what Brown and Payton did as tougher given both their individual circumstances.

 

Part of the RB job is to be a WR, and a blocker. Overall, I think it's the toughest position in terms of physicality...and when talking football, physicality is where it's at.

 

- and I agree that Sanders was probably the best pure runner...although my father disagrees and says it's Sayers. But Sanders wasn't as complete as Walter.

 

I'm going to stand strong and not back down. The best player ever is Walter Payton.

 

I don't think you can argue that Rice was purely a product of Montana and Young. He was a phenomenal route runner and he was famous for beating double coverage...those don't have anything to do with the quarterback. In fact, if anything, having a guy who can run great routes and make catches when he's doubled will make your quarterback look better. On the other hand, clearly receivers benefit from having great QBs. It's a chicken-and-egg problem - there's no way to say whether Rice helped his QBs more than they helped him.

 

That said, I don't think anybody would argue that Rice was a system receiver. In fact, he was so dominant in college that they built their system around him. Check out this old film of Mississippi Valley State running what they called the "Satellite Express". Right away, the formations look really weird - you'll see three or four receivers in a stack or bunch formation to one side, and one guy split to the other. That one guy is Jerry Rice. He was such a threat that he drew double- and triple-teams on every single play, so MVSU just put four receivers to the other side and threw it to the uncovered guy every play. When teams finally did single-cover Rice, he'd burn them.

 

I mean, I'll agree that Payton and Brown were obviously doing it all themselves, much more so than Rice. But running back is just a more do-it-yourself position. There's no top-10 list for the best quarterbacks at handing it off. And if greatness means getting the ball every snap with no help from anybody, then clearly the #1 spot belongs to Barry Sanders. Brown and Payton had less help than Rice, but Sanders had less help than anybody I can think of, and it's not even close.

 

Let's put it this way - if they had picked Payton or Brown over Rice, I'd probably think it was a good pick. But I can't come up with a strong argument AGAINST picking Rice, either. When you're choosing between the 4 or 5 best players to ever suit up, it's just a really close call.

 

[lemonej]

There is a reason why lists like this are compiled,strictly to create a buzz but IMO the guy that is the best all-time is Sammy Baugh and if you look up his stats from when he played Qb,punter and DB tells me that he was on the field quite a bit and able to affect the games in 3 different ways. In many ways he ended up being a very mean old cuss but looking at archival footage and reading his bio tells me he was a helluva a player and coming from a huge Walter Payton and Jim Brown fan I think he was better. Again players from different eras are always going to be slighted by current fans.