Taylor left the '89 game early, in an ambulance, so yeah, no stats. And why are you only noting the sacks? In the '87 game LT got an interception and returned for a TD. Rice fumbled as easy TD. Your critique of the NFL's annointed #3 is laffable.

interesting list, for all time rookie team. happy to see mel hein listed.
http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap200000 ... ookie-team

Um krym the 1986 playoffs are for the 1986 season. I noted those as the 1986 playoffs and noted the interception.

All I said was that the Giants' defense shook up the 49ers more than anyone else's.
Rice benefited greatly from having the best QB ever as his own, and during their primes.
LT is the greatest defensive player and he probably had the greatest coaching pair ever, Parcells and Belichick.

To me, the greatest ever should be someone who either fundamentally changed the game or to have been so dominant that you have to think of him as decades ahead of his time. In the NFL, I usually name Jim Brown. That said, in today's pass-happy offenses, it's hard for me to think of a runningback as the greatest ever. The fact that Brown was a ball-carrying fullback shows how much the game has changed.

Rice and LT have good cases because of how much better they are than #2 at their position. Naming a QB is tricky because there are a lot who have a legitimate case for various reasons (Montana, Unitas, Marino, etc.)

But QB is significantly more important to the game (at least the modern game) than any other position. As for LT greatest he's a good candidate. But he's not the best defensive player of all time even at his position. That's pretty clearly Reggie White.

but not the TD. And, really? You're going to be insufferable about the dates? You know which game I meant.

I wouldn't say Reggie and LT even played the same position. I know a lot of the time they were doing the same thing, rushing the passer, but 3-4 OLB and 4-3 DE are not the same thing.

Pulling out the homer card again, but I think Walter Payton too often gets snubbed in these conversations. For 10 straight years the Bears essentially had three plays, Payton left, Payton right, and Payton up the middle. Those teams were terrible and had no threats besides Payton, it was the worst era in Bears history, and yet he still ended up crushing Brown's rushing mark. Brown and Smith both played on dominant teams. Also Brown and Sanders both quit, largely because they didn't want to take the beating of being a running back anymore. Payton played for 13 years and only missed one game. And as I mentioned earlier he was also kind of the blueprint for modern, multi-purpose backs. I wouldn't argue he's the greatest at RB or in general, but I do think too many people put Brown above him without too much thought. I'd probably put them tied at #1, Sanders at 1.5, then a bunch of other guys.

But QB is significantly more important to the game (at least the modern game) than any other position. As for LT greatest he's a good candidate. But he's not the best defensive player of all time even at his position. That's pretty clearly Reggie White.

Brown largely got his rushing numbers in 12-game seasons, though (and then 14 games for his later career). Payton was great and I almost always put him at #2, but he just wasn't as dominant as Jim Brown. Also Brown was a multi-purpose back (especially for the era). Playing on a terrible team is a double-edged sword as far as evaluating stats.



QB is definitely the most important position to the modern game, but it's a fallacy to assume it will always be so. All it takes are rule modifications and everyone will scramble to get some dominant backs. However, I do think QB has been the most important position most of the time. I just don't think you can come up with a single clear choice for top QB.

That said, LT was generally considered better than White. However, as an Eagles fan, I'm ok with someone differing. (RIP Jerome Brown).