The Crane Pool Forum

I dunno shit about the NFL anymores, but with the death of Jim Brown, I was surprised to learn that there isn't Willie Mays-like consensus that he was the greatest living NFL player.

I suppose that, if he was, then Tom Brady inherits the mantle, which kinda suxxx. But again, I dunno, and that's why I'm asking you to resolve the question.

The way the game is structured now, and even more so the way it's covered, makes it unlikely that anyone but a QB would be a consensus pick and, given that, Brady is almost certainly the choice.

Defensive players are so marginalized these days that they won't even bother following the discussion on Twitter.


Not a bad list though.

You want to accuse me of (adopted) hometown bias, you go ahead. Jim Brown was the best to ever suit up. At lacrosse, and football.

OE: Sorry missed the greatest LIVING player part

Gotta be Brady, but I refuse (abstain courteously) to click on his
name and hit submit. 'cause, ya know, fuck him!!

Fman99 wrote: ↑Fri May 19, 2023 8:35 pm You want to accuse me of (adopted) hometown bias, you go ahead. Jim Brown was the best to ever suit up. At lacrosse, and football.

Manhasset HS on Long Island, so he's a local claim for a bunch of folks here.

Polamalu

I certainly had Troy in the picture when I med this list.

Barry Sanders... O.J. ...

Edgy MD wrote: ↑Fri May 19, 2023 11:43 pm I certainly had Troy in the picture when I med this list.

He was a good player and from all accounts a great person off the field

kcmets wrote: ↑Fri May 19, 2023 9:14 pm Gotta be Brady, but I refuse (abstain courteously) to click on his
name and hit submit. 'cause, ya know, fuck him!!

I feel the same way.
I was going to say I'd have to hold my nose if I voted for him. But I'm afraid the stench would seep through.
So, I'll go "other".

Later

Nobody is more clearly the greatest at his position to me than Jerry Rice (although I wouldn't argue too hard with anybody who'd pick Taylor for that reason), so I voted that way.

I asked a real football fan or two and they suggested that it's Brady hands down, as much as they don't like the guy, but I'm looking now and Rice is leading the poll.

How about them 'Niners, though, with three candidates for all-time greatness whose careers were largely conteporaneous?

I confess that I didn't include Barry Sanders because I thought the guy was no longer living. Am I confusing him with another great Lions player?

Edgy MD wrote: ↑Sat May 20, 2023 3:42 pm
I confess that I didn't include Barry Sanders because I thought the guy was no longer living. Am I confusing him with another great Lions player?

Probably Bobby Layne. Layne's dead. Or maybe you got him mixed up with Alex Karras, another great and dead Lion. Walter Payton's also dead, but he was a Bear.

Terry Bradshaw has four Super Bowl Championship rings - the same as Montana and second to Brady among quarterbacks.
I know at least one person here (ahem, Cooby) would vote for him, if she's not voting for Mean Joe Greene.

My "other" vote goes to recent Hall of Fame inductee Joe Klecko - the only player ever to make all-pro at three different positions.

Later

Cooby is already on record.

Seriously? Klecko for greatest living NFL'er?

Thread.

Jumps.

Shark.

I thought about Rice as far as a 'further above his positional peers' kind of angle - though none of his above votes are mine.
(nor are any of the above votes mine as I feel scarcely qualified to answer).

Walter Payton is the died young running back you're probably thinking of in place of Sanders

The whole idea behind a best-ever question should ideally be kept separate from rooting interests and single number comparisons.
'How many rings has he got?' has become the ESPN-acized standard for answering this type of question which, to me, identifies
that as the one Not to copy.

It depends on how you define great.
And everyone has their own criteria for that.
I was pointing out the number of rings thing because it is very team dependent. A wide receiver won't be as successful with a terrible quarterback throwing to him. A running back might have fewer yards playing behind a bad offensive line. So I looked to the defense.
So I look at teammate independent achievements.

If he were still alive, I would have voted for punter Ray Guy.

Later

Just stop it.

There's no friggin' measure by which Joe Klecko is the greatest living NFL player.

He's also not the only player to make All-Pro at three different positions.

Unless the measure is greatest NFL players whose last names are Klecko.

MFS62 wrote: ↑Sat May 20, 2023 3:58 pm =

My "other" vote goes to recent Hall of Fame inductee Joe Klecko - the only player ever to make all-pro at three different positions.

I don't wanna beat a dead horse here but Klecko's not even the greatest living Jet, and it's not even close.

If Joe Namath never happened, the Jets become the sorriest NFL franchise of the Super Bowl era. (They might be anyway.)

Fman99 wrote: ↑Fri May 19, 2023 8:35 pm You want to accuse me of (adopted) hometown bias, you go ahead. Jim Brown was the best to ever suit up. At lacrosse, and football.

OE: Sorry missed the greatest LIVING player part

The Brown argument is pretty much the Babe Ruth argument - guys have come along since with bigger numbers, but he dominated in his own time more so than they did.

If I were starting a 'greatest still-living Jet' thread, and I'm not, I think
I'd start out with Curtis 'my-favorite' Martin.

I suppose Namath deserves a 1-a or something because he's Joe f'n
Namath but geez not Joe Klecko.

kcmets wrote: ↑Sun May 21, 2023 5:06 pm If I were starting a 'greatest still-living Jet' thread, and I'm not, I think
I'd start out with Curtis 'my-favorite' Martin.

I suppose Namath deserves a 1-a or something because he's Joe f'n
Namath but geez not Joe Klecko.

I'd start with Darrell Revis.