The second installment of the NFL Networks 100 Greatest NFL Players list aired last night with players 90 – 81. The more and more I watch this series the more and more I love it. No quips about this installment. I feel like everyone is where they should be. The next list of players 80 – 71 will air on the NFL Network September 16th at 9pm EST.
90. Kurt Warner presented by Nick Bakay
All I know is that Super Kurt better be in the Hall of Fame, first ballot in six years. Quickest release, second to only Dan Marino.
89. Ernie Nevers presented by Steve Hirdt
I don’t know much about this old school cat. But if he’s on this list he’s got my respect. Gonna wikipedia him right now.
88. Ed Reed presented by Hines Ward
I love this dude! He enjoys the game and you see the genuine fun and love he has for it when he plays. Best ballhawk I’ve seen in my lifetime.
87. Crazylegs Hirsch presented by Michael Maccambridge
The OG of Deep Threat receivers.
86. Willie Davis presented by Bobby Mitchell
I’ma young buck so I don’t know all my history. Pardon me. But if he makes this list he’s got my respect and all my wikipedia attention.
85. Marcus Allen presented by Matt Millen
Had no clue dude played fullback for brief stints in college and the NFL. Ultimate team player.
“Football was the greatest labratory in the world. you could examine whether you have the quit in you or the fight in you.” – Marcus Allen
84. Joe Schmidt presented by Jerry Glanville
Tougher than a motherfucker!
83. Norm Van Brocklin presented by Sonny Jurgensen
You gotta love the old school picks.
82. Ted Hendricks presented by Howie Long
You can’t tell me this guy is not an Oakland Raider to the core. I tried to find the clown face pic of him, but I couldn’t.
81. Steve Young presented by Mike Holmgren
Reckless abandon + A Law Degree from BYU = Steve Young…that should sum it up.
The NFL network is going once again. I already love their Top 10 lists that they’ve been doing for a while now. But now they’re stirring the pot like never before with their 100 greatest football players of all-time. I’m sure the list will have some people ranked lower than what they should be and higher than they should be. The concept of the show is cool because the show has a narrator but the player also has a presenter, ala the Hall of Fame.
It aired this past Friday night at 10pm EST. I have no clue why the hell it comes on a Friday night so damn late. That can’t be good for ratings, but DVR is in most households so I guess it’s cool. I’m going to update this regularly as their reveal their list. So Here’s the first installment of 100-91
Football season is getting under way very soon. We’ll actually it’s been under way. The NFL preseason started on August 6th and most high schools across the U.S. started playing games this past weekend. Ok, who am I kidding, preseason NFL football sucks and the average fan doesn’t watch the high school sports showcase on ESPN during Friday nights. The real football starts one NCAA football opens their regular season with the NFL regular season getting underway the following week.
My question is which one is better, NFL or NCAA football?
The NFL increasing the regular season to 18 games is a progressive move towards the future. A future that doesn’t include the NFL as America’s most popular sports league. Progressive for another league to take the NFL’s place.
It was just a preseason game but it got an 8 rating. Last night opened the 2010 Football season with the 2010 Hall of Fame game played yesterday when the Dallas Cowboys faced the Cincinnati Bengals.
VY is my dude. I like em, I root extra hard for him too. Not sure if my over enthused cheering for VY is because he is a black quarterback or because he’s a “running QB”. Either way, I want to see him succeed in the NFL. Notice I didn’t say I want to see him succeed in life?
I think as fans, bloggers, reporters, etc. we tend to ignore the fact that these players are human beings. We not only put them on a pedestal but we help them get on it and make sure we’re there to catch them in case they fall. But why do we do that? We turn our heads to off field incidents as long as their play on the field remains superstar-esque.
I just watched Vince Young fall off his pedestal and I’m not helping his black ass back up. As much as I’m a fan and I want to help, I just can’t. Let me take that back, I don’t want to help him up. Am I being too harsh? Naw, not really. When you watch the video below you will see why VY ain’t getting no love from me.
The charge Vince is facing is nowhere near as bad as the video looks. He’s only facing a class C misdemeanor and could face a fine of $500. I know Vince is human and will make mistakes but this is inexcusable. Just when VY had bounced back from suspected suicide attempt, a season and a half long benching, and a WAS on the heels of a redemptive return to the spotlight last season winning 8 of the last 10 games and going to the Pro Bowl as a replacement player. Now it seems as if Young is back to where he started.
Commissioner Roger Goodell doesn’t play around with the “Shield” and with video footage of VY’s assault I say he gets no less than a four game suspension. Vince Young’s selfish actions not only hurt himself costing him a few game checks and endorsements, but more importantly he hurt his team. Quarterback is the most important position on the football field. The QB is the team leader, face of the franchise, must be mature and very smart. It looks as if the Titans will not have their star QB for a few games, because he swore up and down that there was an I in quarterback when their wasn’t.
Say what you want to say about Chad Ochocinco. Call him a selfish, obnoxious wide receiver, etc. But don’t call him a jerk, a lazy bum or someone without a heart. I personally don’t think he’s a selfish and obnoxious wide receiver. The only people that think so are most likely insecure, football traditionalist, and people that forget football is a GAME.
Either way, say what you like about this man, but he does have a heart. Just watch this video and see.
It’s my hope that the NFL does something for the child’s mother and gets them back on their feet. Nevertheless, this was a great jester by Chad and the NFL.
Yeah, yeah. I know we’re a week late, but there were more pertinent things to discuss last week. This is literally a dead week for football, since the NFL Combine isn’t until next week. Recruiting season is over. There will be no football news unless there’s a huge surprise. So I have to get creative this week. Tell me if you agree with our top commercials from this year’s Super Bowl.
For the full breakdown of Super Bowl XLIV ads quarter by quarter check out AOL Fanhouse Super Bowl Ads page.
Bud Light: Light House
Very funny and creative. You’re typical beer commercial during the Super Bowl.
Is Tim Tebow the greatest player to ever play college football? Who knows? Some would say yes, some would say no. The more important question is can Tim Tebow be Tim Tebow in the NFL? The league is another beast compared to college with faster, stronger, and smarter players. Defenses are more sophisticated, and they spend HOURS at a time dissecting offenses whereas in college where they can only practice a few hours a day compared to all day in the NFL.
Tebow is a winner
One thing you can’t say is that the kid does not win. He’s done it at every level. You can’t deny that, you can’t say it was the system, or he was lucky etc. No! He’s balled out, you don’t win for seven years in a row without being outstanding.
Listen to the legend that is Tebow. Two-time Florida Mr. Football (Florida high school Player of the Year), Parade All-American, he once finished a game in high school with a broken leg, state championship as a senior, Lebron James like high school coverage from ESPN and Sports Illustrated, labeled him as “The Chosen One” before he ever chose which college he’d attend.
In college, he scored on his first play ever, he helped his team win a national championship as a freshman, he won the Heisman trophy in his first year as a starting quarterback, won a second national championship in his second year as a full-time starter, had a plaque of a his famous speech after the Ole Miss loss placed outside the stadium….WHILE HE WAS STILL IN SCHOOL….and he broke the SEC touchdown record that was formerly held by Herschel Walker. A lot of people have accolades, but few know how to be great and win, but Tebow has this figured out.
Tebow under the microscope
Another thing you can’t call Tebow is a punk. He doesn’t back down from challenges. Most people in Tebow’s position wouldn’t have played in the Senior Bowl. Tebow played in the Senior Bowl this past weekend. He was scrutinized along with the other top seniors this year who chose to play.
I tried to find a better word for scrutinize, but I couldn’t. Either way, scrutinize isn’t the word for what’s being done to Tebow. He’s being evaluated as if he’s a black quarterback in the 60’s that no one secretly wants to succeed. Now, I know everyone is evaluated harshly, because these players are six and seven figure investments. These scouts and GMs are essentially financial advisers for the owners, fans, taxpayers, etc. If you are wasting and losing peoples money as a scout or GM, then you can be sure you’ll lose your job if you don’t give good investment advice. So it’s understandable the level at which they scrutinize these kids, and it’s also understandable why you evaluate someone as a mid-round talent compared to an early round talent. The later you are drafted the less money you are paid, the less money you are paid, the more money for the company you have saved.
These scouts and GMs are essentially “well-paid skeptics” so they have to error on the side of caution. I mean, people have families to feed, why risk picking someone like Wes Welker in the third round when he’s clearly not even going to cut it in the league? Right? Yeah, every three years after a draft you can easily pick out the busts, the booms, and those 10k gold elephants in the room that went unnoticed.
I say all that to say this. Tebow is going to be scrutinized, because he’s going to cost a ball club a lot of money, and it’s a toss up right now of whether or not he’ll be worth that money or not. He didn’t play great this past weekend in the Senior Bowl, 8 for 12 for 57 yards and two lost fumbles. They say his release is too long, his footwork sucks, his mechanics are off, and he is not accurate at all. Duh, I could have told you that a long time ago. My personal opinion is that Tebow is gamer not a tester. He will pass the eye ball test, but when it comes to the quarterback and the speed test he will fail those. He’s not prototypical, because he wasn’t taught to be prototypical at Florida or his high school, Nease. He’s not fast, nope, no Michael Vick burners in Tebow’s calves, sorry. Quick? eh, jury is still out, I’d say no. Is he a winner? Absolutely!
BOOM OR BUST
I think Tebow will succeed in the NFL. Note, that I didn’t say as a QB. I’m not sold on Tebow as a QB to be honest with you. I want to say he’ll win, if given the chance, but I just don’t know. I mean hell, you’d like to think that Sam Bradford and Jimmy Clausen are sure things in the NFL, but no one really knows. Ben Roethlisberger was drafted after Eli Manning and Philip Rivers and Ben has two Super Bowl rings and is the better QB right now at this point in their careers. You could error on the side of caution with Tebow and make him an H-back. He’s sure to succeed right? No one freaking knows? If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it right? Let Tebow see what he can do as a quarterback for three years, because it’s going to take at least that much time for him to get accustomed to the NFL game. Philip Rivers and Aaron Rodgers sat for a while and look how good they turned out. If the three year experiment doesn’t work, then have Tebow switch to a new position. Another thing people need to realize Tebow is going to bust his ass to succeed. He’s not just going to go out there and expect a starting job be given to him. I mean, damn near anyone that works hard enough in this country and puts their mind to something can achieve it if they have the proper tools to do so. Tebow has the tools: size, good arm strength, played QB for the past six years, and will have NFL coaching.
The one thing that surprises me is that how good and coach-able a player Tebow is referred as that he’s not been openly willing to accept a position change. I’d figure Tebow would be saying, I’ll play any position that I can play to continue playing the sport I love. His pride seems to be a little Eric Crouch-ish. Scott Frost had no problem switching to play safety for the Jets, he just couldn’t cut it. Crouch just quit once he couldn’t get his way. Antwan Randle El had not problem going from full-time QB to WR. I just hope Tebow’s pride doesn’t get in the way of furthering his career and helping the team that drafts him. He doesn’t seem like a quitter or sore loser, but I don’t know, I didn’t think Crouch would retire.
I still think black QBs are scrutinized unfairly, whether it’s done consciously or subconsciously. It still happens and if you don’t believe me, I’d more than happy to argue you down until I make you feel like your six years old. I do find it odd that Tebow is receiving the same scrutiny as if he was a Michael Vick or a Vince Young. It just goes to show that GMs and scouts may see color in the background, but all they really see is an owner, fans, dollars and job security in the foreground.
I’ll stand by my statement that Tebow will succeed in the NFL. Success, defined as last longer than the four year average NFL career. Anytime you can make 350k plus for four or more years doing something you love is always going to be considered a success in my book. Slow release, inconsistent accuracy, bad footwork, wins football games, and more importantly wins championships. Yep, sounds like bad tester but a great gamer to me.
My boys at Edthesportsfan.com got a spirited debate together which they let me get in on. The debate….Top 10 Receivers in the NFL. Yours truly left Reggie Wayne off the list. Am I crazy, maybe? I just feel that Peyton is insanely important and can make any receiver look good. Reggie came into this league as a border line #2 wideout and he has emerged into a bona-fide star. But how much of that star power is truly him? Either way, great topic and an even better read.
Ohhhhhhhhhhhh how we love to debate here at Ed The Sports Fan lol…this will be fun, I promise you.
So Kenny, B-Lew, and I were talking recently about who the best wide receivers were in football, especially in seeing how much has changed from just a year ago when we did this list. See, we’ve done this before, and this doesn’t have just my biased opinion on the best. So, we brought in a couple of consultants to give us 5 varying opinions on the best flankers, split ends, and slot receivers in the league.
