(UPDATED WITH Nos. 1-10)
Since y’all won’t be game planning or breaking down film during this bye week, you might have time to watch the NFL Network unveil its top 10 players of all-time at 6 p.m. today.
Steve Young came in at No. 81 on the network’s top-100 list and Ronnie Lott just missed appearing in tonight’s series finale, checking in at No. 11. Mike Singletary, by the way, was listed at No. 57.
Other players who at least had a pit stop in San Francisco include Larry Allen (No. 95), O.J. Simpson (No. 40) and Deion Sanders (No. 34).
So far, Joe Montana and Jerry Rice haven’t appeared. I’m guessing they’re top-10 material. Just a hunch.
The
network’s list was compiled by current and former NFL coaches, players
and front-office personnel, media members, Hall of Fame voters and
league historians.
They did a good job of including old-timers on
the list — there is a natural tendency to favor modern-day players since,
really, who actually saw Sammy Baugh sling it?
Like most sports
geeks, I love these subjective lists and the endless arguments they
inspire — Steve Van Buren over Tony Dorsett? Mel Hein, huh? — and I
also love these NFL Network productions.
Its America’s Game
series, one-hour documentaries on each Super Bowl champion, is
brilliant. Even my wife enjoys watching them and she still doesn’t know
what constitutes a first down.
Hulu.com has the first 42 America’s Games. Click here for nearly two days of unproductivity, um, I mean, enjoyment.
Here’s the NFL Network’s list of the greatest players from No. 100-11:
100. Joe Namath
99. Michael Strahan
98. Lee Roy Selmon
97. Derrick Brooks
96. Mel Hein
95. Larry Allen
94. Lenny Moore
93. Sam Huff
92. Michael Irvin
91. Fran Tarkenton
90. Kurt Warner
89. Ernie Nevers
88. Ed Reed
87. Elroy “Crazylegs” Hirsch
86. Willie Davis
85. Marcus Allen
84. Joe Schmidt
83. Norm Van Brocklin
82. Ted Hendricks
81. Steve Young
80. Troy Aikman
79. Emlen Tunnell
78. Bruce Matthews
77. Tony Dorsett
76. Art Shell
75. Darrell Green
74. Marion Motley
73. Ozzie Newsome
72. Jonathan Ogden
71. Paul Warfield
70. Marshall Faulk
69. Bobby Bell
68. Mike Webster
67. Kellen Winslow
66. Willie Brown
65. Randy Moss
64. Herb Adderly
63. Jim Otto
62. Randy White
61. LaDainian Tomlinson
60. Jack Ham
59. Mike Ditka
58. Steve Van Buren
57. Mike Singletary
56. Gene Upshaw
55. Earl Campbell
54. Forrest Gregg  
;
53. Willie Lanier
52. Eric Dickerson
51. Bart Starr
50. Terry Bradshaw
49. Mike Haynes
48. Red Grange
47. Ray Nitschke
46. Roger Staubach
45. Tony Gonzalez
44. Mel Blount
43. Alan Page
42. John Mackey
41. Rod Woodson
40. O.J. Simpson
39. Gino Marchetti
38. Lance Alworth
37. Jim Thorpe
36. Raymond Berry
35. Chuck Bednarik
34. Deion Sanders
33. Sid Luckman
32. Jim Parker
31. Bruce Smith
30. Dick “Night Train” Lane
29. Jack Lambert
28. Emmitt Smith
27. Merlin Olsen
26. Bob Lilly
25. Dan Marino
24. John Hannah
23. John Elway
22. Gale Sayers
21. Tom Brady
20. Brett Favre
19. Bronko Nagurski
18. Ray Lewis
17. Barry Sanders
16. Otto Graham
15. Deacon Jones
14. Sammy Baugh
13. Joe Greene
12. Anthony Munoz
11. Ronnie Lott
10. Dick Butkus
9. Don Hutson
8. Peyton Manning
7. Reggie White
6. Johnny Unitas
5. Walter Payton
4. Joe Montana
3. Lawrence Taylor
2. Jim Brown
1. Jerry Rice
Comments are closed.