Who is the single greatest NFL player ever?

Question

Who is the single greatest NFL player ever?

Answer 1

Sweetness

Answer 2

Walter Payton or Sweetness nuff said

Answer 3

Brett Favre.  He has broke so many records that I can be nearly 500 Million Percent sure no one else will break!

Answer 4

Yes-Walter Peyton-great

But we also think John Elway!

Answer 5

Joe Montana... that's a cool guy right there

Answer 6

Jim Thorpe

Answer 7

Deion Sanders!!!

Answer 8

That is probably the hardest single question I've seen on here.....Sorry I can't make that determination. You get a star though.

Thumbs down???This question is impossible to answer.

Answer 9

their are best at every position, but you can compare a QB to a LT exactly...but ive herd its a qb driven team, so ill say the man who did everything without top players around him, he played 4 the packers and was an iron man who threw the most TD ever QB:Brett Farve

Answer 10

I do believe that you can answer that question, at least based on position. I'm not sure you can compare quarterbacks to cornerbacks and so on. I, however, don't plan on arguing greatest defensive players as it's difficult to go back that many years.

However, as far as offensive players go, you have to at least consider players such as Walter Peyton, Emmitt Smith, Tom Brady, Brett Favre, Jerry Rice. Those are my more recent "greatest ever" picks. In no certain order, all of these players really do have an argument for being the greatest ever.

I understand that I left Peyton Manning off of the list. Get over it.

Answer 11

Slingin' Sammy Baugh.

I wouldn't be surprised if you've never heard of him, but that's because he's a throwback from the 60-minute days, i.e. iron man football.

While his greatest legacy is as a QB for the Washington Redskins from 1937-1952 (during which time he became the most prolific passer in NFL history leading the league in passing 5 times; 2 of his records still stand), he also excelled as a defensive back and as a punter. Perhaps the greatest demonstration of his dominance in all of these aspects was the fact that in 1943, he led the league in passing, punting, and interceptions. Keep in mind that his passing accomplishments occured in the era where the forward pass was still being implemented as a regular strategy (meaning he threw the ball a lot less than today's QBs). Furthermore, he still holds the career record for avg punt distance (45.1 yds)  as well as the individual season mark (51.4 yds in 1940). He was also the first NFL player to intercept four passes in one game (in a game where he threw 4 TDs no less). Baugh led the 'Skins to 2 NFL championship victories (1937, 1942) while losing in 3 more (including the 1940 game, which saw the Skins get crushed 73-0 by the Chicago Bears).

The amazing thing about Baugh's stats is that he did it in era where there was little QB protection (once the defender got free they could hit the QB all they wanted, even if they didn't have the ball), tackling at the knees was the standard, and there was less padding which often lead to players having to play through some fairly severe injuries (broken bones, dislocated joints, etc).

To have dominated as consistently as he did in that era, while simultaneously excelling in all facets of the game, imo, qualifies him as the greatest NFL player ever.

Answer 12

ill tell you who woulda been... sean taylor

Answer 13

Eric Dickeson

Answer 14

Jerry Rice. Everyone else has competition at their position. No one else is named as the best WR.

Answer 15

The only way to answer that question honestly is you would have to ask in what position. Since the great ones are great in one position where as another one is great in his position. A tight end can be the greatest but can not be a quarterback. The only way you can make that call is the player would have to be great in every position in football then and only then could he be called the greatest player in the NFL

Answer 16

There is no answer to this question because no one player can carry the load all by himself. Jerry Rice and Walter Payton and everyone else that is listed on this question had a great team around them that helped them become the player they were. If greatness was determined by one player then the Detroit Lions would have been dominate because of Barry Sanders(who was left off of this list for some reason). Archie Manning would have taken the Saints to a super bowl every year if it was determined by one player. Dan Marino never won a super bowl but he was a great player and hes not on this list. What about Jim Kelly, qb of the bills he went to 4 super bowls and lost all of them but does that make him a terrible player and not get mentioned on this list?

Answer 17

Jim Brown by far. look up the highlights

Answer 18

JERRY RICE! He is the best player of all-time in terms of production, longevity, and career accomplishments and it’s not very close. Rice played for 20 seasons. Just to give a proper indication of how dominating Rice was throughout his career, consider his lead in the record-books. The difference between Rice and Chris Carter (second on the receptions list) is 448 receptions. The difference between Rice and Tim Brown (second on the receiving yardage list) is 8,000 yards. Those are just receiving statistics. Rice’s dominance goes beyond receivers. Rice has 32 more touchdowns than any WR or RB in NFL history. He has 2,000 more total yards than any other WR or RB in NFL history. He also holds all of the major playoff and Super Bowl records by a receiver. His dominance in individual statistics is second to none and it’s not even close. If team success is your preference, Rice paced the San Francisco 49ers to three Super Bowl victories. He was the Super Bowl MVP in 1988, the NFL Offensive Player of the Year in ’87 and ’93, and the MVP (PFWA) in ’87. The number of truly great wide receivers in NFL history is nowhere near the number of great running backs, quarterbacks, and offensive lineman. No player in NFL history dominated his position more astonishingly. The difference between Rice and the second best WR of all-time is vastly more definitive than the difference between the top two players at any other position.

Answer 19

Walter "Sweetness" Payton best of all time.

R.I.P. Sweetness

Answer 20

Jerry Rice. Now I know people are going to say how can a Wide receiver be a the greatest ever but look at all the Quarterbacks he made better(Joe Montana, Steve Young, Jeff Garcia, Rich Gannon). All of those guys made the pro bowl while he was there as a wide receiver. Look at the records he put out of reach no one will ever do the things he did as a wide receiver. I believe he is the G.O.A.T of the NFL. Always and Forever.

Answer 21

It is probably impossible to give one single answer, but if I had to give five:

(random order)

Tom Brady; will have at least 5 rings before he retires.

Joe Montana; led the 49ers to many super bowls, set many personal recs

Walter Payton; 16k rushing yards,10 seasons with 1k+ rush yards

Jim Brown;retired with the following records: single season yards (1,863), career yards (over 12k), rush TD's (106) and total TD's (123),and others.

Jerry Rice;The best player,statistically, to ever play.

Answer 22

Depends on your preference.

Offense, defense, QB, etc...

I'm going to go with Joe Montana.  QBs have it tough, and even though he had Jerry Rice I'm going to give him the award.

Answer 23

Roger Staubach . QB for the cowboys 1969-1972!

Answer 24

Johnny Unitas! Hands down.  He won the greatest football game ever played!  December 28, 1958 NFL Championship Game between the Baltimore Colts and the New York Giants.  

Stats:

Led Colts to 1958, 1959 NFL crowns, Super Bowl V victory. . .All-NFL six seasons, Player of Year three times . . .MVP three times in 10 Pro Bowls. . . Completed 2,830 passes for 40,239 yards, 290 TDs. . .Threw at least one TD pass in 47 straight games. . .Had 26 games over 300 yards passing