big daddy russ
01-18-2006, 06:13 PM
Me and a buddy of mine started talking about the best of the best in NFL history. He's a die-hard Dallas fan, and said that Dallas has the best all-time lineup of QB's, RB's, and the single best OL of all-time. I couldn't bring much of an argument of the best OL of all-time, but I disagreed on the other two. Meanwhile, my girlfriend said it's a meaningless, dorky argument while I maintain that it's a vital one in the course of American History.
We basically lined up the players we considered all-time greats who spent at least two great years (or one in the case of Jim Thorpe... don't think he ever played for a team more than a year) on a team, lined each franchise against each other and gave bonus points for players who had a few great seasons.
So what does the downlow think? My picks are in order.
Best Quarterbacks:
I thought the Boys were farthest off with their QB's. The Niners and Skins, IMO, are head and shoulders above everyone else.
49ERS (I've got them as my #1)
1. Joe Montainya
2. Steve Young
3. Y.A. Tittle
4. John Brodie
REDSKINS (#2)
1. Sammy Baugh
2. Joe Theismann
3. Sonny Jurgensen
4. Billy Kilmer
5. Eddie LaBaron
Bonus points for Doug Williams and Mark Rypien.
COWBOYS (#3, etc.)
1. Aikman
2. Staubach
3. Meredith
Bonus points for Danny White.
PACKERS
1. Brett Favre
2. Bart Starr
3. Arnie Herber
Bonus points for Cecil Isbell, Don Majkowski, and the guy hwo made Herber and Isbell stars, Don Hutson.
COLTS
1. Johnny U
2. Peyton Manning
3. John Elway (they can claim him for a couple of hours, right?)
Bonus points for Jim Harbaugh and Bert Jones. Negative points for letting go of Elway.
Best Running Backs:
This was a little tougher. You look up and down the roster of these RB's and all these teams are stacked, but there's no way I could bet against the Bears. All those years of all those great backs... the 'Boys got a late start in this department. Also had to put all of the Browns' hard-nosed runners ahead of Dallas, but not by much.
DA BEARS:
1. Walter Payton
2. Gale Sayers
3. Red Grange
4. Bronco Nagurski
5. George McAfee
6. Sid Luckman (was actually a QB for the Bears, but led the team in rushing during five of his 12 years in the league... was a TB in college... hardly ever threw the ball... ran a revised version of the T-Formation that had been outdated two decades earlier... the predacessor to the Wing T)
BROWNS (the real franchise plays in Baltimore nowadays):
1. Jim Brown
2. Jim Thorpe
3. Marion Motley
4. Leroy Kelly
5. Dante Lavelli
Bonus points for Ernest Byner and Jamal Lewis.
COWBOYS:
1. Emmitt
2. Dorsett
3. Don Perkins
4. Moose Johnston (he WAS an all-time great as a FB)
5. Calvin Hill
Bonus points for Herschel Walker and Walt Garrison.
Switching gears, these are just the best OL UNITS, not the all-time offensive linemen paired together.
Early- to mid-60's Packers (led by Forrest Gregg, Jim Ringo and Jerry Kramer)
Early- to mid-90's Cowboys (led by Nate Newton, Mark Stepnoski and Larry Allen)
Mid- to late-70's Raiders (led by Art Shell and Gene Upshaw)
Best backfield ever:
Early 50's Browns-
QB Otto Graham
TB Dante Lavelli
FB Marion Motley
Early- to mid-90's Cowboys
QB Aikman
TB Emmitt
FB Moose
Early 60's Giants
QB Y.A. Tittle
HB/WR Frank Gifford
HB/WR Joe Morrison
FB Alex Webster
Late 50's/Early 60's Packers
QB Bart Starr
RB Paul Hornung
RB Jim Taylor
Early-70's Dolphins
QB Bob Greise
TB Mercury Morris
FB Larry Csonka
Mid-50's Lions
QB Bobby Layne
TB Doak Walker
FB Bob Hoernschemeyer
Early- to mid-80's 49ers
QB Joe Montana
TB Roger Craig
FB Tom Rathman
Those are all the ones I can think of. I still think the Browns had the best backfield ever, but the Cowboys are close behind.
We basically lined up the players we considered all-time greats who spent at least two great years (or one in the case of Jim Thorpe... don't think he ever played for a team more than a year) on a team, lined each franchise against each other and gave bonus points for players who had a few great seasons.
So what does the downlow think? My picks are in order.
Best Quarterbacks:
I thought the Boys were farthest off with their QB's. The Niners and Skins, IMO, are head and shoulders above everyone else.
49ERS (I've got them as my #1)
1. Joe Montainya
2. Steve Young
3. Y.A. Tittle
4. John Brodie
REDSKINS (#2)
1. Sammy Baugh
2. Joe Theismann
3. Sonny Jurgensen
4. Billy Kilmer
5. Eddie LaBaron
Bonus points for Doug Williams and Mark Rypien.
COWBOYS (#3, etc.)
1. Aikman
2. Staubach
3. Meredith
Bonus points for Danny White.
PACKERS
1. Brett Favre
2. Bart Starr
3. Arnie Herber
Bonus points for Cecil Isbell, Don Majkowski, and the guy hwo made Herber and Isbell stars, Don Hutson.
COLTS
1. Johnny U
2. Peyton Manning
3. John Elway (they can claim him for a couple of hours, right?)
Bonus points for Jim Harbaugh and Bert Jones. Negative points for letting go of Elway.
Best Running Backs:
This was a little tougher. You look up and down the roster of these RB's and all these teams are stacked, but there's no way I could bet against the Bears. All those years of all those great backs... the 'Boys got a late start in this department. Also had to put all of the Browns' hard-nosed runners ahead of Dallas, but not by much.
DA BEARS:
1. Walter Payton
2. Gale Sayers
3. Red Grange
4. Bronco Nagurski
5. George McAfee
6. Sid Luckman (was actually a QB for the Bears, but led the team in rushing during five of his 12 years in the league... was a TB in college... hardly ever threw the ball... ran a revised version of the T-Formation that had been outdated two decades earlier... the predacessor to the Wing T)
BROWNS (the real franchise plays in Baltimore nowadays):
1. Jim Brown
2. Jim Thorpe
3. Marion Motley
4. Leroy Kelly
5. Dante Lavelli
Bonus points for Ernest Byner and Jamal Lewis.
COWBOYS:
1. Emmitt
2. Dorsett
3. Don Perkins
4. Moose Johnston (he WAS an all-time great as a FB)
5. Calvin Hill
Bonus points for Herschel Walker and Walt Garrison.
Switching gears, these are just the best OL UNITS, not the all-time offensive linemen paired together.
Early- to mid-60's Packers (led by Forrest Gregg, Jim Ringo and Jerry Kramer)
Early- to mid-90's Cowboys (led by Nate Newton, Mark Stepnoski and Larry Allen)
Mid- to late-70's Raiders (led by Art Shell and Gene Upshaw)
Best backfield ever:
Early 50's Browns-
QB Otto Graham
TB Dante Lavelli
FB Marion Motley
Early- to mid-90's Cowboys
QB Aikman
TB Emmitt
FB Moose
Early 60's Giants
QB Y.A. Tittle
HB/WR Frank Gifford
HB/WR Joe Morrison
FB Alex Webster
Late 50's/Early 60's Packers
QB Bart Starr
RB Paul Hornung
RB Jim Taylor
Early-70's Dolphins
QB Bob Greise
TB Mercury Morris
FB Larry Csonka
Mid-50's Lions
QB Bobby Layne
TB Doak Walker
FB Bob Hoernschemeyer
Early- to mid-80's 49ers
QB Joe Montana
TB Roger Craig
FB Tom Rathman
Those are all the ones I can think of. I still think the Browns had the best backfield ever, but the Cowboys are close behind.