I readily admit that I am getting out of my depth here, because I follow sports only casually, so, I will use this opportunity to be educated....
When I think of Saban and Jordan as GOATs, I place then there not only because of their talent and ability, but also their impact on the game.
Rice is certainly one of the top receivers ever, but did he have the impact on football that Jordan and Saban had on basketball and college football? ... I'll hang up and listen.
When NFL Network did their countdown to 100 Greatest Players of All-Time several years back, he was #1. Rice set records in an era when DBs could still play some actual defense against the pass. His 10 year stretch from '86 to '95 is about as dominant for his position as any other player during such a stretch in NFL history, except maybe Jim Brown.
And just like Saban and Jordan, you dig into their performances on the biggest stage. In the NFL, that's the Super Bowl. Look at his first three SB games. His fourth was at the age of 40, and it was actually still better than what his closest challenger for best in his position (Randy Moss) accomplished in his prime SB appearance.
Every other position in the NFL there can be some debate as to who was the best (though I'd say Tom Brady may very well have closed that debate for QBs). For receiver, there's no real debate.
We may have gone away from the point of this thread...but in short, Rice is closer to the Jordan/Saban level of his trade than Brees is to him. And Rice had that same obsessive compulsive trait as those two.
Tracking a Fed Ex cargo jet from Lafayette to Tuscaloosa....Something to do with an elephant..
"One morning I shot an elephant in my pajamas. How he got in my pajamas, I don't know.
Then we tried to remove the tusks. The tusks. That's not so easy to say. Tusks.
You try it some time. As I say, we tried to remove the tusks. But they were embedded so firmly we couldn't budge them.
Of course, in Alabama the Tuscaloosa, but that is entirely ir-elephant to what I was talking about"
Thanks for the info. And, I tend to agree about Brady. There was always a question as to whether Brady made Belichick or vice versa. The argument could be made that Belichick was not Belichick before he had Brady... on the other hand, Brady wasn't considered that much before Belichick. However, based on this year, it appears we are getting closer to the answer.
True, but you can say the same about so many accomplished athletes/coaches. Is Saban really one of the greatests, or does his top recruiting class going on something like 10 years make him so great? Brady or Bellichek? Jordan/Kobe or Phil Jackson? Brees or Sean Peyton? Staubach or Tom Landry? Lawrence Taylor or Bill Parcels/Bill Bellichek? Montana or Walsh?
I think each benefits from the other, and those who end up being at the top of their games usually know how to recognize and understand when there is a player/coach at their disposal to give them that extra push over the top.
Brady wasnt anything other than a mid level draftee. He started after Bledso got injured and never looked back.
Brady currently has some of the best wide receivers in history and an all world tight end. Hes not without a lot of great support. Hes also been in the presence of greatness at New England.
Bottom line he gets his glory but hes had always had more weapons than others. Thats not a knock on him just acknowledging Moss, Gronk, along with Cooks to name a few in New England
I know this is a hill you enjoy dying on, but while Brian Mitchell is definitely one of the best return men in NFL history, he is not a clear #1. In fact, there's much debate to be had I'm sure as to who the Top 3 or 5 would be, and with what criteria to use (example, Deion Sanders was not a full-time return guy, but possibly still Top 3-5 greatest PR guys in NFL history).
There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)