Along With Butkus, Best Players I've Ever Seen

[The Shadow]

But we shouldn't kid ourselves that athletes really mean it when they smile and wave at those who take their records.
There was one star athlete who did not engage in this ritual: Jim Brown. In the early 1980s, as Walter Payton and Franco Harris approached the NFL all-time rushing record he then held, Brown made no pretense of rooting for them. "He can break the record at his convenience because he has the cooperation of his organization," Brown said of Harris. "That's not a feat by my standards. It has nothing to do with overall performance." When Harris was shown the door by Pittsburgh and signed for a final stat-padding season with Seattle, Brown openly derided him. As Payton dragged out his career, Brown sniped that Sweetness was "just hanging around" to break his record. At one point, Brown, who was approaching age 50, threatened to return to the NFL to improve his numbers if Payton or Harris got the record -- and Jim Brown being Jim Brown, he might have pulled it off. Today, Brown is down to eighth all-time in rushing, and as far as I could determine, he never has pretended not to be ticked off about it. Brown still holds the all-time record for yards per carry at 5.2 and is the sole rusher in NFL history to average more than 100 yards per game. I think it would be just as well if no one ever threatened those marks.

[Rastak]

I like Jim Brown. He was on NFL network a couple years ago and they were debating celebrations and Brenston Bucker says "it's fun, the people love it" or something like that and Jim Brown says "A 300 pound man shaking his behind on tv. How dignified is that? It used to be about playing, not it's about all kinds of bafoonery" or something like that.


Damn, Buckner just looked at him like WTF? Funny as hell.


Jim Brown was outstanding. He quit before I was old enough to appreceate his game.


edit: And yea you are right he cared, he was the guy who challenged Franco Harris to a footrace as he approached Payton's record.

[Bretsky]

I think Barry Sanders was the best player I've ever seen.

[Rastak]

I think Barry Sanders was the best player I've ever seen.

I'm not a huge Sanders guy, he was a top tier guy but he isn't the best I ever saw. Some of the best I ever saw......

OJ Simpson
Eric Dickerson
Alan Page
Dick Butkus
Joe Greene
Jerry Rice



In college, my alltime favorites are Ricky Bell and Archie Griffin.

[retailguy]

Lawrence Taylor

Deacon Jones

[RashanGary]

Brett Favre
Jerry Rice
Barry Sanders
Payton Manning
Reggie White
Deion Sanders
John Elway
Randy Moss

[Harlan Huckleby]

Re: Along With Butkus, Best Players I've Ever Seen

Jim Brown. In the early 1980s, as Walter Payton and Franco Harris approached the NFL

If Thompson was worth a damn maybe we'd see some running backs like this in Green Bay. But no. No. Little frickin munchkins.

[Harlan Huckleby]

Favre, Payton, White are the greats I've seen play.

[The Shadow]

Young pups!
The trite 'man among boys' phrase has become overused and watered down.
Yet Brown, whose career I only followed from 1960 on, WAS the real deal.
No running back I've seen in the years that followed ever approached his greatness. Sayers came closest - but was a distant 2nd. Simpson, Sanders, Payton, Dickerson, and Smith were excellent players - but did not approach what I saw with my own two eyes in Cleveland.
Butkus I followed from his rookie year all the ay through. Best defensive player I've ever seen; he was a veritable force of nature. The only player I ever saw that inspired genuine fear in the opposition. An unstoppable force till the knees finally gave way.
He, and Brown, seemed to transcend the game.

[Rastak]

Young pups!
The trite 'man among boys' phrase has become overused and watered down.
Yet Brown, whose career I only followed from 1960 on, WAS the real deal.
No running back I've seen in the years that followed ever approached his greatness. Sayers came closest - but was a distant 2nd. Simpson, Sanders, Payton, Dickerson, and Smith were excellent players - but did not approach what I saw with my own two eyes in Cleveland.
Butkus I followed from his rookie year all the ay through. Best defensive player I've ever seen; he was a veritable force of nature. The only player I ever saw that inspired genuine fear in the opposition. An unstoppable force till the knees finally gave way.
He, and Brown, seemed to transcend the game.

Nice list Lamont. Black Magic was my favorite back of all time and I didn't see him as much as I wished I had. Same with Brown. I was awful young.

Butkus was great, Page was unbelieveably quick as a DT. Merlin Olson was something to watch too. Mean Joe Greene. Jack Lambert.

[HarveyWallbangers]

I think Barry Sanders was the best player I've ever seen.

I'm not a huge Sanders guy, he was a top tier guy but he isn't the best I ever saw.

I agree. Too many carries where he got 0 or 1 yards. He wasn't a guy that would take it up into the hole when you needed a couple of yards. Most exciting RB ever? Hell yeah.

I still rank Jim Brown as the best RB of all-time. Watch him and tell me he doesn't look like a guy who could play in today's game.

I'd actually go with Walter Payton as the second best all-around RB. I also think Marshall Faulk is underrated when talking about the best RBs of all-time.

[HarveyWallbangers]

Butkus I followed from his rookie year all the ay through. Best defensive player I've ever seen; he was a veritable force of nature. The only player I ever saw that inspired genuine fear in the opposition. An unstoppable force till the knees finally gave way.
He, and Brown, seemed to transcend the game.

I've heard some say Nitschke was better than Butkus, and Nitschke even made the all-decade team (or whatever team it was) over Butkus at that time. Why do you think Nitschke won those accolades back then, but now Butkus is seen as the better player? Watching the old film, it sure looked like Nitschke was every bit the terror that Butkus was.

[Bretsky]

I think Barry Sanders was the best player I've ever seen.

I'm not a huge Sanders guy, he was a top tier guy but he isn't the best I ever saw.

I agree. Too many carries where he got 0 or 1 yards. He wasn't a guy that would take it up into the hole when you needed a couple of yards. Most exciting RB ever? Hell yeah.

I still rank Jim Brown as the best RB of all-time. Watch him and tell me he doesn't look like a guy who could play in today's game.

I'd actually go with Walter Payton as the second best all-around RB. I also think Marshall Faulk is underrated when talking about the best RBs of all-time.

I've always felt Barry Sanders are Waltar Payton were the top that I had remembered

I never saw Jim Brown so I'm not comfortable with where to rate him

[Rastak]

I think Barry Sanders was the best player I've ever seen.

I'm not a huge Sanders guy, he was a top tier guy but he isn't the best I ever saw.

I agree. Too many carries where he got 0 or 1 yards. He wasn't a guy that would take it up into the hole when you needed a couple of yards. Most exciting RB ever? Hell yeah.

I still rank Jim Brown as the best RB of all-time. Watch him and tell me he doesn't look like a guy who could play in today's game.

I'd actually go with Walter Payton as the second best all-around RB. I also think Marshall Faulk is underrated when talking about the best RBs of all-time.

I've always felt Barry Sanders are Waltar Payton were the top that I had remembered

I never saw Jim Brown so I'm not comfortable with where to rate him

What about Eric Dickerson? He flamed out quick but damn, in his prime I'd take him over Sanders. As for Payton, I still say he's the second best back to play for the Bears.....

[The Shadow]

I think Barry Sanders was the best player I've ever seen.

I'm not a huge Sanders guy, he was a top tier guy but he isn't the best I ever saw.

I agree. Too many carries where he got 0 or 1 yards. He wasn't a guy that would take it up into the hole when you needed a couple of yards. Most exciting RB ever? Hell yeah.

I still rank Jim Brown as the best RB of all-time. Watch him and tell me he doesn't look like a guy who could play in today's game.

I'd actually go with Walter Payton as the second best all-around RB. I also think Marshall Faulk is underrated when talking about the best RBs of all-time.

I've always felt Barry Sanders are Waltar Payton were the top that I had remembered

I never saw Jim Brown so I'm not comfortable with where to rate him

What about Eric Dickerson? He flamed out quick but damn, in his prime I'd take him over Sanders. As for Payton, I still say he's the second best back to play for the Bears.....

I concur; watched entire careers of both Sayers & Payton.