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It's all good for fan-boys (and girls!) to pump up their favorites, but sometimes you have to put things in perspective in terms of the times. We can't hold all past performances to the standards of the day...and yet, Jim Brown still tops the list.
Jim Brown was playing against inferior competition.
If Brown was a Packer, they may have played in 8 championship games.
The Packers had three offensive linemen be inducted in the HOF, that would be Forrest Gregg, Jim Ringo, and Jerry Kramer. Cleveland had one, that would be Gene Hickerson.
The Packers had three offensive linemen be inducted in the HOF, that would be Forrest Gregg, Jim Ringo, and Jerry Kramer. Cleveland had one, that would be Gene Hickerson.
Ummm...again, no offense to those who are fans of other teams, but you are selling Cleveland a bit short:
Joe Thomas
Jim Brown
Paul Brown
Joe DeLamielleure
Len Ford
Frank Gatski, OL
Otto Graham, QB
Lou Groza OL/K
Gene Hickerson, OL
Leroy Kelly, RB
Dante Lavelli, WR
Mike McCormack, OL
Bobby Mitchell, WR/HB
Marion Motley, FB
Ozzie Newsome, TE
Paul Warfield, WR
Bill Willis, OL
I realize these are not all OL, but hey, it's more than one!
It's all good for fan-boys (and girls!) to pump up their favorites, but sometimes you have to put things in perspective in terms of the times. We can't hold all past performances to the standards of the day...and yet, Jim Brown still tops the list.
Pretty good list.. I mean, I sit there and look at Thurman Thomas and kinda go "How can you put someone who loses their helmet at the Super Bowl on the list?" but..
I do think AP and Barry Sanders should be higher.
Bo.. Ugh.. That's tough. We saw what he was, but such a short career. But, this is to my point on Barry Sanders a bit.. If Barry hadn't retired early.. If we're giving credit for what 'could have been' instead of what was.. Then.. I honestly have to say that Barry would be at the top.
That being said.. Someone mentioned Brown busting off a 60 yard run and then 40 yards on 19 other carries.. You know what? That was Barry as well, to an extent. I remember the 1991 playoffs. Detroit vs Washington. He busted off a 23 yard run early in the game, then picked up 21 yards on 10 more carries before.. They just stopped using him for some reason. I always respected Wayne Fontes as a coach, and never quite understood why he never got another opportunity.. but.. The way he moved away from Sanders in that game.. The game was close until after the half.
And, you know what? Credit to the writer for putting OJ on there. Regardless of what he did after his career.. He certainly was one of the best running backs the game has ever seen.
His playing days were before my time but I watched enough NFL films to witness his greatness. Tough S.O.B. I would have to agree with others. One of the all-time greatest RB's that carried the ball. R.I.P.
Ummm...again, no offense to those who are fans of other teams, but you are selling Cleveland a bit short:
I don't do a great job of proofreading my posts, but to clarify that statement I made, I should have added the following==
" With those three offensive linemen and with Bart Starr, one of the smartest qb's in the history of the NFL, I'll bet Jim Brown would have REALLY stacked up stats. And I'm not critical of the Browns O-line, it's just that the Packers had a line that was simply the best. Head coach Vince Lombardi knew about offensive lines, remember he was part of that offensive line that Fordham University had in the 1930's, in College Football lore they were referred to as the "The Seven Blocks Of Granite."
You have a great list of past players in the history of the Browns organization. Later this weekend I'm going to add to it.
I don't do a great job of proofreading my posts, but to clarify that statement I made, I should have added the following==
" With those three offensive linemen and with Bart Starr, one of the smartest qb's in the history of the NFL, I'll bet Jim Brown would have REALLY stacked up stats. And I'm not critical of the Browns O-line, it's just that the Packers had a line that was simply the best. Head coach Vince Lombardi knew about offensive lines, remember he was part of that offensive line that Fordham University had in the 1930's, in College Football lore they were referred to as the "The Seven Blocks Of Granite."
You have a great list of past players in the history of the Browns organization. Later this weekend I'm going to add to it.
Thank you, sometimes you do have to wonder what could have been...
You have a great list of past players in the history of the Browns organization. Later this weekend I'm going to add to it.
Speaking of offensive linemen, I didn't list Lou Groza. I should have, his nickname was "The Toe." But he also was Otto Graham's main man at left tackle. 9 time pro bowler, 6 time 1st team all pro. another of the "greatest Generation.', saw service in World War II in the Phillipine Islands. Otto Graham's favorite lineman by a long shot, Jim Brown once referred to him as "a fortress." Finished his career with 1364 points which stood as an NFL record until George Blanda passed him in 1972 (?).
Back to Jim Brown, some notes on his college career. The results of the 1957 Heisman Trophy winner---
1. Paul Hornung
2. Johnny Majors
3. Tommy McDonald
4. Jerry Tubbs
5. Jim Brown
Paul Hornung played for Notre Dame and in 1956 they went 2-8. Hornung was a qb, running back, and a kicker. There was a 15 year span in that era that a Notre Dame player would be a winner in 5 years during that span.
Johnny Majors did not play in the NFL at all, played one year in the CFL for the Montreal Alouettes, then went into coaching.
Tommy McDonald had a very productive career after college, played 13 seasons in the NFL for 5 different clubs and was voted in the NFL HOF by the Veterans committee several years ago.
Jerry Tubbs. Played 10 seasons in the NFL, 8 with Dallas. Not an all pro but a good football player.
Jim Brown. Put up solid numbers for Syracuse, in the 1956 Cotton Bowl he was a one man team against TCU. TCU won 28-27, Brown scored 3 touchdowns and kicked 3 extra points, the 4th attempt was blocked.
Jim Brown finishing 5th. Disgraceful. At that time there were no AA players who were Heisman trophy winners.
I can't deduct anything from Brown's utter-dominance in which he tore through opposing defenses, just because he had a relatively shorter career than the other greats. After all, the next two greatest running backs in NFL history had even shorter careers; Bo Jackson and Gayle Sayers.
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