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Something worth noting is the list itself of the top100 players in NFL history. Pull up that site. Not surprisingly pretty much all the players who played in the 50's and before don't even rank in the fans poll. Kinda sad in a way as it's obvious most of the people who vote in the poll are younger fans.
Well, we'll see what happens later on this evening! Am also looking forward to everyone's opinions as well.
Something worth noting is the list itself of the top100 players in NFL history. Pull up that site. Not surprisingly pretty much all the players who played in the 50's and before don't even rank in the fans poll. Kinda sad in a way as it's obvious most of the people who vote in the poll are younger fans.
Well, we'll see what happens later on this evening! Am also looking forward to everyone's opinions as well.
I noticed that too, DoubleH is absolutely correct in his observation, and I was going to mention as well. The problem is that NFL Films came into prominence in 1962, and prior to this, most of the film footage was provided from old newsreels. NFL Films, thus can be credited or blamed, depending on the perspective of the generation of fan.
I remember reading Arthur Donovan's book "Fatso" about the NFL during this period, and he said something revealing: when he started playing in 1960, there was no such thing as player's agents, yet, right after the 1958 championship game they began to appear, and then exploded in his last season, in 1961. He said that after 1962, 'even the third string defensive backs' had them on the Baltimore Colts. It makes perfect sense, now thinking about this poll, and the fan vote vs the official vote, how incredibly NFL Films was able to take the 1958 championship game popularity, and leverage it into the burgeoning television medium.
The term "recency bias" exists for that exact reason. I don't think this is limited just to this countdown, anytime you are dealing with a sample size that expands over decades, and in some cases centuries, the most recent items in the sample usually have a pretty definable edge in the mind of the voters, for a variety of reasons.
Just a "heads up' to let people know that right after the top 10 is revealed (which will be 9 p.m. eastern), there will be a one hour round table discussion afterwards regarding the 100 names. Should prove interesting as there are several players that IMO should be in, am not sure who will be involved in the discussion itself.
When you are talking about the best of the best, there will always be arguments. I really bombed on my picks, but I was lucky to see Jim Brown and Johnny Unitas play (yea, I'm old all right!) so I know what type of impact the two of them had (along with Vince Lombardi) in regards to the popularity of the game, past and present. Before they came into the NFL, the most popular sport was baseball. Those three men changed it to football.
I think the reason the selection committee went with Jerry Rice is that he simply was so dominant at his position that every other wide receiver who played in the NFL was so far behind him stat wise that there is absolutely no doubt who the best receiver was. He owns nearly all the pass receiving records that there can be, but the most important one is total pass receptions is 1549. The next one behind him is Marvin Harrison, who retired with 1102. His 208 touchdowns and 22, 985 total reception yards are way, way ahead of anyone else. And then there is ultimate respect by his peers and the writers; 13 time pro bowl, and voted all pro 11 times. Truly impressive stats.
When you are talking about the best of the best, there will always be arguments. I really bombed on my picks, but I was lucky to see Jim Brown and Johnny Unitas play (yea, I'm old all right!) so I know what type of impact the two of them had (along with Vince Lombardi) in regards to the popularity of the game, past and present. Before they came into the NFL, the most popular sport was baseball. Those three men changed it to football.
I think the reason the selection committee went with Jerry Rice is that he simply was so dominant at his position that every other wide receiver who played in the NFL was so far behind him stat wise that there is absolutely no doubt who the best receiver was. He owns nearly all the pass receiving records that there can be, but the most important one is total pass receptions is 1549. The next one behind him is Marvin Harrison, who retired with 1102. His 208 touchdowns and 22, 985 total reception yards are way, way ahead of anyone else. And then there is ultimate respect by his peers and the writers; 13 time pro bowl, and voted all pro 11 times. Truly impressive stats.
Congratulations to Jerry Rice!
I agree completely, DoubleH. There have been RBs that have surpassed Brown's stat total, but no one is going to threaten Rice's cumulative figures any time soon. He played at a high level for 18 seasons. Even for the Raiders, in SB XXXVII, he caught 5 catches plus a TD, as a 39 year old man. The 1987 season stands out because it was strike-shortened, and he still hauled in 22 TD passes in 12 games.
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