Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

The greatest 44 Players of All Time.

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • The greatest 44 Players of All Time.

    11 on Offense. Defense. Kick/Punt. Return. That's 44. Tought task.

    Who are they?

    I'll go first with an OLB:

    Taylor, Lawrence. My favourite player, ever.

    (born February 4, 1959, in Williamsburg, Virginia), commonly referred to as LT, is a retired Hall of Fame American football player. Taylor played his entire professional career as a linebacker for the New York Giants in the National Football League (NFL). He is often considered to be one of the greatest defensive players in the history of football, and has been called the greatest defensive player of all time by media members, former players, and coaches.

    After an All-American career at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC), Taylor was drafted by the Giants with the second overall selection in the 1981 NFL Draft. Although controversy surrounded the selection due to Taylor's contract demands, the two sides quickly resolved their issues and Taylor won several defensive awards after his rookie season. Throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, Taylor was a disruptive force at outside linebacker, and is widely considered to have changed the pass rushing schemes, offensive line play, and offensive formations used in the NFL. Taylor produced double-digit sacks seasons consecutively from 1984 through 1990, including a career high of 20.5 in 1986. He also won a record three Defensive Player of the Year awards and was named the league's Most Valuable Player (MVP) for his performance in the 1986 season. He was named first-team All-Pro in each of his first nine seasons and a key member of the Giants' defense, nicknamed "The Big Blue Wrecking Crew", that led New York to Super Bowl XXI and XXV victories. During that time Taylor and fellow linebackers Carl Banks and Hall of Famer Harry Carson gave the Giants linebacking corps a reputation as one of the best in the NFL.

  • #2
    I nominate Reggie White for defense. I think he'd be somewhere in the top 11 defenders of all time.
    Formerly known as JustinHarrell.

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: The greatest 44 Players of All Time.

      Originally posted by Tarlam!
      11 on Offense. Defense. Kick/Punt. Return. That's 44. Tought task.
      Good topic, but shouldn't it be 11 on offense, 11 on defense, 1 kicker, 1 punter, 1 punt return, 1 kick return? Maybe like 1 coverage guy. I don't think anybody could name 11 punt coverage guys.


      QB Joe Montana
      RB Jim Brown
      RB Walter Payton
      WR Jerry Rice
      WR Don Hutson
      TE Kellen Winslow
      OT Anthony Munoz
      OT Art Shell
      OG Forrest Gregg
      OG John Hannah
      OC Mike Webster

      DE Reggie White
      DE Deacon Jones
      DT Bob Lilly
      LB Lawrence Taylor
      LB Ray Nitschke
      LB Dick Butkus
      LB Mike Singletary
      CB Deion Sanders
      CB Herb Adderley
      S Ronnie Lott
      S Rod Woodson (CB also)

      K Morten Anderson
      P Ray Guy
      KR Brian Mitchell
      PR Deion Sanders
      COV Steve Tasker
      "There's a lot of interest in the draft. It's great. But quite frankly, most of the people that are commenting on it don't know anything about what they are talking about."--Ted Thompson

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: The greatest 44 Players of All Time.

        Originally posted by HarveyWallbangers
        Originally posted by Tarlam!
        11 on Offense. Defense. Kick/Punt. Return. That's 44. Tought task.
        Good topic, but shouldn't it be 11 on offense, 11 on defense, 1 kicker, 1 punter, 1 punt return, 1 kick return? Maybe like 1 coverage guy. I don't think anybody could name 11 punt coverage guys.


        QB Joe Montana
        RB Jim Brown
        RB Walter Payton
        WR Jerry Rice
        WR Don Hutson
        TE Kellen Winslow
        OT Anthony Munoz
        OT Art Shell
        OG Forrest Gregg
        OG John Hannah
        OC Mike Webster

        DE Reggie White
        DE Deacon Jones
        DT Bob Lilly
        LB Lawrence Taylor
        LB Ray Nitschke
        LB Dick Butkus
        LB Mike Singletary
        CB Deion Sanders
        CB Herb Adderley
        S Ronnie Lott
        S Rod Woodson (CB also)

        K Morten Anderson
        P Ray Guy
        KR Brian Mitchell
        PR Deion Sanders
        COV Steve Tasker
        '

        Nice list although I'd have Sayers instead of Payton. Night train Lane instead of Sanders. Mean Joe Greene or Alan Page instead of Bob Lilly.
        Maybe Conrad Dobler or Alex Karras might make the list.

        Comment


        • #5
          That list is hard to argue with.

          The only one that sticks out is Bob Lily, he was really good for a long time, but he wasn't dominant like the other defensive players on the list.

          Don't know if Montana is better than old timers like Otto Graham & Y.A. Tittle.

          Comment


          • #6
            Originally posted by Harlan Huckleby
            That list is hard to argue with.

            The only one that sticks out is Bob Lily, he was really good for a long time, but he wasn't dominant like the other defensive players on the list.

            Don't know if Montana is better than old timers like Otto Graham & Y.A. Tittle.
            Or Johnny Unitas!

            Comment


            • #7
              Dick Butkus & Jim Brown were by far the best players I ever saw.
              Who Knows? The Shadow knows!

              Comment


              • #8
                I'd take Sanders over Payton. The best players I've seen are Reggie,Rice,LT and Montana. I'm 34.
                Pass Jessica's Law and keep the predators behind bars for 25 years minimum. Vote out liberal, SP judges. Enforce all immigrant laws!

                Comment


                • #9
                  Johnny Unitas was a better QB than Joe Montana, IMO.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    These lists are always so impossible - comparing guys from different eras. The physical differences are always so huge. They did a hockey one a few years back, and Bobby Orr finished second - even though there's no doubt there are a mess of defensemen who followed him that did what he did, and better. And arguably (barely though) the most dominant player ever, Mario Lemieux, finished fourth...

                    Having said that, hats off to HW for giving us a list to pick apart :P

                    QB is of course tough, but Montana is hard to argue with. Have to give a nod to Manning though...and I also like the idea of Night Train.

                    DT is tough as well - so hard to judge that position. But you have to give Sapp a look. Like him or not, he's got longevity, and has been playing at a high level for some time.
                    --
                    Imagine for a moment a world without hypothetical situations...

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: The greatest 44 Players of All Time.

                      Originally posted by HarveyWallbangers
                      Originally posted by Tarlam!
                      11 on Offense. Defense. Kick/Punt. Return. That's 44. Tought task.
                      Good topic, but shouldn't it be 11 on offense, 11 on defense, 1 kicker, 1 punter, 1 punt return, 1 kick return? Maybe like 1 coverage guy. I don't think anybody could name 11 punt coverage guys.


                      QB Joe Montana
                      RB Jim Brown
                      RB Walter Payton
                      WR Jerry Rice
                      WR Don Hutson
                      TE Kellen Winslow
                      OT Anthony Munoz
                      OT Art Shell
                      OG Forrest Gregg
                      OG John Hannah
                      OC Mike Webster

                      DE Reggie White
                      DE Deacon Jones
                      DT Bob Lilly
                      LB Lawrence Taylor
                      LB Ray Nitschke
                      LB Dick Butkus
                      LB Mike Singletary
                      CB Deion Sanders
                      CB Herb Adderley
                      S Ronnie Lott
                      S Rod Woodson (CB also)

                      K Morten Anderson
                      P Ray Guy
                      KR Brian Mitchell
                      PR Deion Sanders
                      COV Steve Tasker
                      Good list Harve.

                      Forrest Gregg was a RT, not a G. He did make All-Pro one year at G because of an injury to Kramer. 44 is a pretty good number, why not pick extra players on O, D, ST and have a 50 man roster?

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        I was thinking about Bob Lilly, thought it would be fun to highjack the thread and call for a Caucasion Hall of Fame. The White Men of Granite.

                        Ummm, the list could easily be filled with the old time greats. To make it more interesting and challenging, lets just consider players since 1970.

                        QB Joe Montana
                        RB Larry Czonka
                        RB John Riggens
                        WR Steve Largent
                        TE Tony Gonzalez (Hispanics are white enough for our purposes)
                        T Anthony Munoz
                        C Mike Webster
                        G Dan Dierdorf

                        S John Lynch
                        LB Jack Hamm
                        LB Ted Hendricks
                        DE Mark Gastineau
                        T Dan Hampton


                        Good lord, I can't even think of a single corner back. A little help!

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          The only one I can think of ever is the one just drafted by the Browns. I think his name is Eric Wright and am pretty sure he's white. Other than that I have never seen any white CB ever.
                          Draft Brandin Cooks WR OSU!

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            How about 2007 HOF inductee Roger Wehrli?
                            Played from 1969-1982.

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Edited to avoid thread jacking
                              Formerly known as JustinHarrell.

                              Comment

                              Working...
                              X