All Time Top 3 at Each Position

I came up with these the other day. Thought I'd share 'em.

QB

1. Dan Marino - His Dolphins were never a good enough team to bring him a title, but simply put, Marino is the greatest pure passer the NFL has ever seen.

2. Johnny Unitas - This guy revolutionized how dominant a position QB can be, and triggered the start of more pass-orientated offenses. His pin-point passing won him 3 MVP's and brought the Colts their first two titles.

3. Otto Graham - Otto is the Bill Russell of the NFL. He led the Browns to 10 straight championship games and won 8. No QB has ever won more. He was a great passer and a very efficient scrambler too.

RB/FB

1. Jim Brown - Brown retired, holding almost every rushing record in history. His speed and size made him nearly unstoppable, and single handedly dominated the league for a decade.

2. Emmitt Smith - He has the most rushing yards and TD's in history, along with an MVP and Superbowl MVP. He's about as good as it can ever get at RB.

3. Barry Sanders - This guy tore up every opposing run defense, whilst playing around very mediocre talent in Detroit. With a more solidified line and passing attack, he would've been close to the GOAT.

WR

1. Jerry Rice - For me, Rice is the GOAT. The records he has, the clutch performances and all the rings make him an amazing force. Montana would've been a much lesser player without Jerry.

2. Don Hutson - he caught three times as many passes for three times as many TD's as anyone in the first 25 years of the NFL.

3. Marvin Harrison - Arguably the greatest route runner of all time and already owns 10 WR records. His SB two years ago completed his legacy.

TE

1. John Mackey - As a combination of a blocker, receiver and clutch team player, no TE really comes close.

2. Tony Gonzalez - The greatest receiving TE of all time and has set all his records on an avergae KC team, at best. I sure hope he can get a SB before he's done. Or at least a playoff win.

3. Shannon Sharpe - A sure fire HOF'er, who was Elway's go-to-guy in back-to-back SB titles.

Offensive Line

1. Antohony Munoz - Made 11 straight All Pro teams and PB's, and took Cincy to a SB. Greatest blocker, ever.

2. Orlando Pace - This could be Rams homerism, but no LT has ever dominated the position as much as Pace did, 8 seasons in a row. The guy was the anchor of the greatest ever NFL offense.

3. Jonathan Ogden - 11 Pro Bowls, a Superbowl title and a totally complete run and pass protector.

Defensive Line

1. Deacon Jones - Surely the greatest pass-rushing DE of all time.

2. Joe Greene - Greene dominated the DT position and bullied opposing blockers for over a decade. 4 SB titles isn't too bad either.

3. Reggie White - The most complete DE to have played the game.

LB

1. Lawrence Taylor - Maybe the DGOAT. Taylor was a total force with the Giants and his MVP-level play helped them to a Superbowl in '91.

2. Ray Lewis - Most athletic LB perhaps in history and his fear-factor play was the rock of the league's #1 defense for years.

3. Dick Mutkus - Was such a complete LB against run and pass and is just another HOF'er to have played defense in Chicago.

Secondary

1. Deion Sanders - Love him or hate him, no player has ever been better in coverage and reading opposing QB's than Deion. He's also the one person in history to have a Superbowl and World Series title.

2. Rod Woodson - He would cause turnovers, make clutch tackles and is headed to the HOF in 5 months time.

3. Ronnie Lott - Most complete S ever. Brutal hitter, shutdown corner and a terrific cover safety. Yet another key part of SF's dominance of the time.

Special Teams

1. Adam Vinatieri - 4 SB's, 3 SB's decided with his boot and the greatest clutch kicker of all time.

2. Devin Hester - I don't care if he's really only returned kicks/punts for 2 seasons - No returner has ever done what Hester has done. Taking the opening kickoff of SB XLI to the house is just the tip of the iceberg.

3. Sammy Baugh - Owns the highest season punt average ever with 51.4, in 1940.

Coaches

1. Vince Lombardi - The mastermind that won the first ever Superbowl game. His legacy was rewarded when they named the trophy after him.

2. Paul Brown - No coach has won 4 straight title in two different leagues.

3. John Madden - A truly brilliant football mind who is still the face of the best days the Raiders have seen to date.

good post,I have a couple of different choices,I can't have a list of defensive players without Jack Youngblood on it and the wide receivers list I would put Isaac Bruce before Harrison,they are very close sort of a 1a-1b kind of thing but since we are Rams fans Isaac gets the nod here. I look forward to everyone elses opinions.

Pretty good list! Only thing I would want on there is Isaac Bruce above Harrison, I really believe Bruce is the better all time WR, and I think Joe Montana has to be in the top 3. Now I've never been able to see too much video of him or Marino and all that, but Montana's got fantastic numbers AND wins. Of course it's up in the air, and everybody sees it differently.

And for LB #3... never heard of Dick Mutkus... lol.

I find it hard to evaluate players that I never saw, so my list is essentially 1975-present.

QB
Dan Marino
Joe Montana
Peyton Manning

RB
Walter Payton
Marshall Faulk
Barry Sanders

WR
Jerry Rice
Randy Moss
Isaac Bruce

TE
Kellen Winslow
Tony Gonzalez
Dave Casper

OT
Anthony Munoz
Jackie Slater
Jonathan Ogden

OG
John Hannah
Larry Allen
Gene Upshaw

C
Dwight Stephenson
Mike Webster
Jim Langer

DE
Bruce Smith
Reggie White
Jack Youngblood

DT
Randy White
Alan Page
Joe Greene

OLB
Lawrence Taylor
Andre Tippett
Derrick Brooks

MLB
Mike Singletary
Ray Lewis
Jack Lambert

CB
Mike Haynes
Darryl Green
Deion Sanders

S
Ronnie Lott
Ed Reed
Ken Houston

K/P
Ray Guy (P)
Mark Moseley (K)

KR
Devin Hester
Rick Upchurch
Duante Hall

HC
Don Shula
Tom Landry
Bill Walsh

Quote:

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Originally Posted by AvengerRam

TE
Kellen Winslow
Tony Gonzalez
Dave Casper

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I hope you mean Kellen Winslow Sr. :D

It's so hard to narrow down each position to only 3 but here goes.

Quaterback
-----------
Joe Montana
Bart Starr
Roger Staubach

Runningback
-----------
Jim Brown
Eric Dickerson
Marshall Faulk

Wide Receiver
------------
Jerry Rice
Isaac Bruce
Randy Moss

Tightend
------------
Kellen Winslow
Tony Gonzalez
Shannon Sharp

Offensive Tackle
-------------
Jackie Slater
Anthony Munoz
Orlando Pace

Offensive Guard
--------------
John Hannah
Gene Upshaw
Forrest Gregg

Center
---------------
Mike Webster
Jim Otto
Tom Mack

Defensive End
--------------
Deacon Jones
Reggie White
Carl Eller

Defensive Tackle
---------------
Randy White
Alan Page
Joe Greene

Outside Linebacker
----------------
Lawrence Taylor
Andre Tippett
Jack Hamm

Middle Linebacker
------------------
Dick Butkus
Ray Lewis
Jack Lambert

Cornerback
-----------------
Lester Hayes
Darryl Green
Mel Blount

Safety
----------------
Ronnie Lott
Ed Reed
Troy Polamalu

Kicker/ Punter
--------------
Ray Guy- Punter
George Blanda- kicker (Had to get him in there some how)

Kick Returner
--------------
Travis Williams
Devin Hester
Dante' Hall

Headcoach
-------------
Vince Lombardi
Don Shula
Bill Belichick (that hurt)

-Hard to leave out Tom Landry, Bud Grant, George Allen, Hank Stram, Chuck Noll, Bill Walsh.

Quote:

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LB

1. Lawrence Taylor - Maybe the DGOAT. Taylor was a total force with the Giants and his MVP-level play helped them to a Superbowl in '91.

2. Ray Lewis - Most athletic LB perhaps in history and his fear-factor play was the rock of the league's #1 defense for years.

3. Dick Mutkus - Was such a complete LB against run and pass and is just another HOF'er to have played defense in Chicago.

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Taylor? Ok. Greatest WILL ever.
M(B)utkus? Certainly. Greatest MIKE ever

Lewis? Ehh, I'm not sold.

Yes, Lewis is probably in the top 3 of all-time MIKEs (along with Butkus and one of either Lambert, Nitchske, or Singletary). But he's not one of the top 3 LBs all-time when including all LBs. Lewis is great, no doubt. However, he has benefited by spending his entire career surrounded by greatness. He has stood next to Peter Boulware, Jamie Sharper, Edge Hartwell, Adalius Thomas, Terrell Suggs, and Bart Scott......all in their prime. He's always had monster loads in front of him soaking up blockers......Siragusa, Adams, McCrary, Burnett, Gregg, Weaver, Douglas, Kemoeatu, Ngata. And if that weren't enough, the secondary behind him has always been outstanding......Reed, McAlister, Rolle, Woodson, etc.

Again, Lewis is great, but I think the greatness around him has given him a boost. Standing alone, I'm not sure he is one of the 3 greatest LBs of all time.