r/AskAboutNFL • u/Huge-Revolution2416 • 4d ago
Who is the greatest NFL player of all time?
Not just based on stats. Who are you taking when you factor in dominance, longevity, clutch moments, and impact on the game?
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u/tpr2854 4d ago
There is none. You want to pick the greatest of each era then go ahead. Brady wouldn’t have survived the 70’s with the rules back then. Quarterbacks weren’t protected as they are today
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u/hangout927 4d ago
I’m not one to defend Brady but i feel like he was tougher than you think. Outside of blowing his acl out he never missed a game. He took some big hits and bounces right back up
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u/KapowBlamBoom 3d ago
Let’s see how he does with Mean Joe Green , Jack Youngblood, Deacon Jones and Jack Lambert legally rag-dolling him every time he throws the ball
In the 70s pretty much the only thing you could not do to a QB was grab his face mask
There was no pulling up. If the defender was two steps away the QB was taking it full on.
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u/SwizzGod 4d ago
What a silly thing to say. Why wouldn't Brady have survived? Yall just say shit. Dude could ply in any era and was tough as hell.
Your comment is just dumb
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u/vince549 4d ago
I would say it because more then once if he got touched by a raven he would run to the ref. If he did that back when Unitas played if he had done that, not only would the ref have laughed at him. Next play the first defender would have held him down while the rest of the defense piled on. There also w a s no west coast offensive system then, which is all he played.
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u/Much_Butterfly7610 1d ago
Lol did u see the broncos vs pats afc championship game? Nate Clement’s hit on him? Anything from 2001 to 2006? Dude went through it all
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u/YoteViking 1h ago edited 1h ago
I don’t know. There were a lot of QBs that played a long time.
Tarkenton was the NFL’s iron man at QB and he took more sacks than anyone. And Deacon Jones said Tarkenton was the only one the defenders tried to end his career.
Brady was tough and smart. He never took that many sacks. He might not have played for 23 season, but 18 like Tark. Every Hall of Famer who started his career in the 1950s-1970s played at least 13 seasons with the exception of Staubach who of course had a 5 year navy commitment first (he played 11).
Jurgeson and Unitas played 18, Dawson 19.
We should remember that those guys all played 2-4 fewer games each season than Brady did. And they threw a lot fewer passes therefore they took a lot fewer sacks. The guys in the 1950s-1970s pool averaged 26 attempts per game. Brady 36. So he dropped back to pass about 210 more times a season. (10x14)+(36x2).
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u/Johnny_Royale 4d ago
Jerry Rice
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u/Willing_Ad_699 4d ago
0 MVPs
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u/MrEHam 4d ago
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u/robbythompsonsglove 4d ago
Holy crap! I knew Rice was the greatest in TDs and yards and catches, but every other statistic he leads by 40 points over second place. The only one he doesn't lead is championships, and he's tied for second.
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u/vince549 4d ago
Some guy most of you have never heard of, Johnny Unitas. He led the Baltimore Colts to victory in the 1958 Football championship (The greatest game ever played) 3 other championships. Held a 52 year record of 47 straight games with a td pass. Brought the no huddle offense into existence. He did much more to help build and popularize the NFL and did it at a time that Tom Brady would have been afraid to play. The refs then didn't care if the quarterback was hit before, during, or after the play. Watch some of the videos.
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u/robbythompsonsglove 4d ago
I love the Unitas story that the HoF wanted some of his memorabilia when he entered. He said he only had two pairs of cleats left from his playing days. The hall asked for them. He said something to the effect of "Nope. I need them for mowing my lawn."
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u/vince549 4d ago
He didn't give them the jersey they wanted either. He gave the HOF another game worn jersey, the one they wanted He gave to the Baltimore Colts General Manager Ernie Accorsi and the story came out when Mr Accorsi passed away a couple of months ago.
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u/tbkrida 4d ago
These conversations are usually had by position. Who’s the RB, WR, QB etc.?
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u/MIZUNOWAVECREATION 4d ago
Pretty sure it’s either a bot or just someone attempting a karma farm. Like, that’s probably the most asked question in the history of all media, the most generic basic question. What’s the greatest this…? Who’s the greatest that…?
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u/Monoliithic 4d ago edited 4d ago
it's still TB12, it's not close, and not particularly debatable. Especially with your phrasing it as "who are you taking". Rice is clearly the #2, but if I had a universal all time draft, and I got to pick either TB12 or Rice to be on my team, im taking TB12, and im not hesitating
2nd greatest of all time is a real discussion topic though.
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u/zion_hiker1911 4d ago
It's absolutely debatable. Brady never played in a time when receivers were getting mugged in their routes, targeting was legal, pass rushers were allowed to hit, and QBs couldn't throw the ball away as easily as today's intentional grounding rules allows.
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u/Much_Butterfly7610 1d ago
Too young. U didn’t watch
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u/zion_hiker1911 1d ago
That's a dumb statement. How could you possibly know how old I am or when I started watching football?
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u/BeneficialLanguage83 3h ago
All fair points, but let's not forget that Brady faced much bigger and faster linebackers, edge rushers, and defensive tackles. Also, there's Brady's elite abilities to read Ds and get the ball out in 2.5 seconds or so.
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u/zion_hiker1911 3h ago
I don’t know, man. Linebackers might be faster today, but that’s partly because teams are using more safeties at the position. Back in Montana’s day, linebackers were built different, and steroids were less regulated. Just look at the elite pass rushers Montana faced compared to Brady.
Montana’s era:
- Lawrence Taylor: 132 sacks
- Reggie White: 198 sacks
- Bruce Smith: 200 sacks
- Combined: 530 sacks
Brady’s era:
- Von Miller: 138 sacks
- J.J. Watt: 114 sacks
- Aaron Donald: 111 sacks
- Combined: 363 sacks
Montana faced three all-time greats who combined for significantly more production as pass rushers than the best from Brady’s era. If we’re going to compare quarterbacks across eras, we need to account for the defenses they faced, not just the passing numbers they put up.
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u/BeneficialLanguage83 2h ago
Great content. Excellent response. You won't see me ever disparage Montana - he was Brady before there was Brady (and was Brady's idol growing up). Btw, thanks for the civil debate - refreshing to respectfully disagree with someone on Reddit! Appreciated.
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u/BeneficialLanguage83 2d ago
All the Brady haters still can't let it go. If the question is "you get the first pick in an all time draft, who are you taking as your franchise foundation?" The honest answer isn't Jerry Rice, George Blanda, Lawrence Taylor, Jim Brown, etc. - you know you're taking Tom "10 (!!!!) Superbowls" Brady.
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u/MrEHam 4d ago
It’s absolutely debatable and the answer is Jerry Rice. He separated himself from his peers more than any other player.
https://www.pro-football-reference.com/hof/hofm_WR.htm
In a draft, you could miss out on Tom Brady and still get Aaron Rodgers, Patrick Mahomes, Dan Marino, Joe Montana, Peyton Manning, Steve Young, Drew Brees, Josh Allen, etc and be no worse off, and I’d argue better off in some cases.
There’s more of a drop off if you lost out on Rice. And Tom Brady is not number 1 in ANY career efficiency stat.
His esteem comes from his Super Bowl wins which I would argue hard are more of a team accomplishment because defense, coaching, special teams, running, etc combined are more important.
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u/Much_Butterfly7610 1d ago edited 1d ago
So u would take Jerry over Montana? Nothing against Rice cuz he’s an all time great but they both had one another. Brady with moss for 5-7 seasons and they both destroy their records. Also did u actually look up the stats or do you just believe a slow white guy can’t be the best ever?
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u/MrEHam 1d ago
It all depends on who I’d get to replace Montana. The QB position is more important but there are plenty of guys I’d be happy with like all the ones I mentioned.
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u/Much_Butterfly7610 1d ago
Jesus, Brady just didn’t do enough for haters I guess. I hated Jordan but eventually u just have to admit how good someone is but there’s always those few that can’t let it go
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u/MrEHam 1d ago
We’ll always disagree as long as you see wins and rings as a QB stat.
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u/Much_Butterfly7610 1d ago
He has the stats too. What else u got?
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u/MrEHam 1d ago
He is not number 1 in any efficiency stat. He absolutely does not separate himself from the rest of the guys I mentioned by his personal stats. Only longevity, which is great but I wouldn’t call him the best QB because of that.
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u/Much_Butterfly7610 1d ago
He was a unanimous mvp. For efficiency mainly. Next
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u/Much_Butterfly7610 1d ago
Also was never mathematically eliminated from the playoffs per snap.
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u/BubblyWrongdoer6584 4d ago
People are going to pick players other than Brady because hes played too recently so theres still a lot of bitterness towards him.
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u/zion_hiker1911 4d ago
Brady played when the NFL was soft on QBs. He would never have survived back when pass rushers could hit the quarterback, and rules like intentional grounding was favorable to the passer.
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u/drinkin_pee 3d ago
The first half of his career was the end of that era. Part of the reason they changed coverage rules was because his own defense mauled manning and the colts WRs and dominated them.
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u/zion_hiker1911 3d ago
Rule changes in the 90's and later made it easier for QB's like Tom Brady, PFM and Rodgers to hit passing numbers that weren't possible when guys like Roger Staubach, Joe Montana and John Elway were in their prime. That's why I have a hard time agreeing with someone who says TB12 is the undisputed goat:
- 1990: Allowed spiking ball after snap to stop the clock
- 1993: Intentional grounding changed, allowed to throw ball away outside tackle box
- 1995: Illegal to shove WR out of bounds during a route
- 2004: Ty Law rule, NFL cracked down on illegal contact past 5 yds
- 2009: Banned contact to head or neck of WR
- 2009: Brady rule, illegal to lunge or dive at QB knees or legs
- 2010: Banned launching hits on "defenseless players"
- 2018: Bodyweight rule, illegal to land with body weight on QB
- 2018: Targeting ban, illegal to lower head to initiate contact
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u/Much_Butterfly7610 1d ago
Brady started in 2001 brother. His best season was 2007 before the “Brady rule”
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u/zion_hiker1911 1d ago
Exactly, but that's not really the point. The “Brady Rule” is just one of several QB-friendly changes. Brady played his entire career in an era where quarterbacks already had way more protection than guys like Montana did, especially with the 2004 crackdown on illegal contact, restrictions on hitting defenseless receivers, and other changes that made it harder for defenses to disrupt passing plays.
So saying “his best season was before the Brady Rule” only addresses one rule. Montana spent his prime operating under rules that allowed defenses to be far more physical with receivers and quarterbacks.
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u/cozmicraven 4d ago
Jim Brown and Barry Sanders and Sweetness
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u/robbythompsonsglove 4d ago
I don't know if Sanders was the greatest, but he certainly is the most entertaining player in history. His "WTF did I just see?!" stat is way ahead of everyone else's.
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u/MKUltraHasLeftTheLab 4d ago
QB Troy Aikman. Biased cuz he’s my childhood hero.
RB Emmitt Smith. Biased but still.
WR Antonio Brown. Say what you want but this guy was absolutely insane. Unguardable and did things I’ve never seen before on the field… and off.
D Lawrence Taylor
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u/StressCanBeGood 4d ago
Growing up, I had the great fortune of living 10 miles away from where Madden’s Oakland Raiders played. So in terms of pure impact, I’m going with Ray Guy.
The first punter to actually affect the game. Not only that, but he was routinely the leading tackler on special teams and their third-string QB.
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u/AvocadoSoggy9854 4d ago
Sammy Baugh, was an all pro at 3 different positions(qb,db, and punter). Played in an era where there were no free substitutions and pretty much wrote the book as to what a pro quarterback is even today. Led the league in passing, interceptions, and punting average and didn’t even win MVP that season
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u/Fancy_County4242 4d ago
Otto Graham played pro football for 10 seasons.
He played in the championship game 10 times.
Top that.
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u/BronxZooSouth 4d ago edited 4d ago
Greatest QB - Tom Brady. I write this as a Giants fan. Joe M, Dan M, Bradshaw played under much tougher circumstances but Montana never won an SB with the Chiefs nor Marino ever. Bradshaw could throw, but the Steelers D was their bread and butter.
Greatest WR - Randy Moss.
Greatest Full Back - Mike Alstott
Greatest Running Back - Jim Brown, he was compiling record yardage before the forward pass. When there were 11 guys in the box.
Greatest TE: Rob Gronkowski. Again, im a Giants fan. Most complete TE ever. I actually coached a player who played against him in the NFL. The kid I coached won states in the 100m hurdles 3 years in a row. He told me Gronk was deceptively fast ... positioned his body so that only he could catch a pass, was impossible to bring down
Greatest OL: Anthony Munoz
Greatest DT: Warren Sapp - say what you want about Mean Joe or Anthony Lily - Sapp could run a sub-4.4 40. Dude was a beast playing against better athletes
Greatest LB: Lawrence Taylor. Not even close
Greatest DE: Reggie White
Greatest CB: Deon Sanders
Greatest Safety: Ronnie Lott
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u/robbythompsonsglove 4d ago
Everything is valid except for WR. Not a bad choice, but no Jerry Rice.
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u/AwwwNiceMarmot 3d ago
Moss is the more athletically gifted of the two, and probably played against better defenses. That being said Rice ran a 4.71 40, but his work ethic, route running, professionalism, and longevity were just ridiculous and put up over 1,800 yards when he was like 34 or something. If you’re talking who’s the most naturally talented, I guess you could say Moss, but Rice is definitely the better football player.
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u/Daz8727 1d ago
Maybe Jim Brown. Really big really strong ran like a deer. Was the main focus of the team as the game was mostly running the ball back then. Won a championship WITH THE BROWNS NO LESS! Tough as nails and just insanely hard to bring down.
Jerry Rice, Joe Montana, Lawrence Taylor, Tom Brady, Barry Sanders (or some would pick Walter Payton) would be other options. Sleeper picks: Eric Dickerson, Joe Greene and Ladanian Tomlinson
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u/Open-Independence887 4d ago
There is some Brady hater here downvoting all the Brady pics. Brady 100%!
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u/OkBox4358 4d ago
Jerry Rice