Originally posted by jones49:Originally posted by Kalen49ers:Originally posted by OnTheClock:
It's the off-season. It's slow. This afternoon I was thinking about how we as 49ers fans are lucky to have so many players (at least in my opinion) that were the best to ever play the game at their position.
I'm curious as to what your selections would be as the best to ever play at each position. Post your picks in the following format as I do mine:
QB - Joe Montana
RB - Barry Sanders
WR - Jerry Rice
TE - Tony Gonzalez
OG - Randall McDaniel (tough choice, Larry Allen had six 1st-team All Pros, McDaniel had nine)
OT - Anthony Munoz
C - Bruce Matthews
DT - Reggie White
DE - Bruce Smith
ILB - Ray Lewis
OLB - Derrick Thomas
CB - Darrell Green
S - Ronnie Lott
K - Morten Andersen
P - Ray Guy
Coach - Bill Walsh
I'd replace Barry Sanders with Jim Brown.
Yeah I love Barry Sanders and he's the best I've seen in my time but if anybody thinks that Jim Brown isn't the best RB ever, they don't know s**t about football. He is arguably the best football player in history.
Many people might agree with you, but just as many will disagree. It's arguable for many reasons, really. Take your pick. Two very different eras. It's not debatable that the league was demographically far, far different, the competition being inferior to that of the modern era. Some of Jim Brown's records were broken by Walter Payton. He was the best of his day, but of all-time, I have to respectfully disagree.
What Sanders accomplished, and what I believe he would have even further accomplished had he continued on, make me consider him the best for what he did when he was out there. He was the team. Teams game-planned for the guy and still could do nothing as he blew by them for 2053 yards in 1997, on a terribly mediocre team that would never have even sniffed the post-season without his services.
Sanders had four straight 1500+ rushing yard seasons, and never rushed for less than 1100+ yards in his career. In the modern era, Barry Sanders still would have had more career rushing yards and receiving yards even if he had not played his last season in the league.
Brown in 9 seasons: 12312 rushing yards, 2499 receiving yards.
Sanders in 9 seasons: 13778 rushing yards, 2632 receiving yards.
I do not rate Sanders above Brown without reason. I think had Sanders existed in Brown's time, he'd have crushed Jim's numbers.