Hello Gridiron fans, after the success of various players ranking projects on the basketball PC board, I want to try to get something similar going on the football board. Those of you who've been on the basketball PC board are no doubt aware of a project there where we are ranking the greatest players in history. We're going to do something similar here, but with some notable differences. Most notably, because it's so hard to compare players who play different positions in football, we're not going to do that right now. The details:
Position by Position: We're going to go through each position type 2 at a time to come up with a community list for each.
Level of specification: We're only going to go so far in the precision, for example all linebackers will compete with each other.
Voting Method: Because it would be too time consuming to have a thread for each spot in the rankings, we're going to do determine our rankings by having people send in their lists. There is a catch though: The real purpose here is have great discussion, so if you're not contributing to the discussion, your list will not count. Not trying to be elitist or a hardass here, this is supposed to be a forum for everyone, not just experts, and I want to encourage anyone who's really into football to participate. However, I'm also not going to have a lot of sympathy for someone who comes on and just gives their list, or just promotes their favorite players, or for that matter completely ignores certain eras of football.
The Process: We'll create a stickied thread for a position which will stay up for a designated period of time (current plan two weeks). The entire purpose of that thread is to discuss. Bring things you think are insightful, relevant, interesting, etc, respond to other things people say, ask questions you'd like opinions from knowledgeable posters about. People are welcome to post lists, but they are not official, and as said, someone who does nothing but that isn't bringing us much. For the last portion of that period, voting will open via PM's to me (or whoever is running the thread). Totals will then be tallied, and the results will be announced. Then we will move on to the next positions.
How to Evaluate Players: This is largely going to be left up to you the voter for your own list. I would like to give some guidance though.
First off, this is a "Best" list more than a "Greatest" list. What that means is you are not evaluating off the field impact, historical influence, or only how dominant a guy was next to his peers. At the same time, be hesitant to simply write off guys from previous generations. Don't just go with the whole "given the modern players superior weight training and equipment, they win". That's simply no fun. Don't go too far with extrapolation ("if Bronko Nagurski were around today he'd be 7 feet tall and 400 pounds of muscle!"), but make sure you're not holding a guys shoes against him.
Feel free to ask questions on this thread. This initial post will be edited to include links to the positional threads.
Second, how you weight peak vs longevity is up to you. But please be consistent in your own list, and don't get irritated when someone disagrees with you. There is no right answer here.
Third, this is not simply an NFL ranking. You can use years in other leagues, even college, in evaluating a player. However, make sure you adjust for competition. It's fine to use Herschel Walker's time in the USFL for added longevity, and you could even argue it was his true peak, but don't just say "He rushed for 2400 yards, he must be the best ever!". College likewise, you don't get points for being the best college player ever, but if you think a guy in that college year played good enough to thrive in the pros you can count it up to what it'd be worth in the pros.
Completed votes:
Wide Receivers
Linebackers
2007 RealGM Football All-Time Ranking Project
2007 RealGM Football All-Time Ranking Project
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Doctor MJ
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2007 RealGM Football All-Time Ranking Project
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Doctor MJ
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J.Kim wrote:We're supposed to sign up for this?...
I thought it was just a post your rankings, provide clear explanation, and your vote will count - type of thing...
Yeah, actually there's no need to sign up. Process will be: You send me your list, and if I remember your participation, you're in, if not, I'll check up on you. Basically: I don't want this to be a closed voting pool, anyone who's contributing can vote.
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Doctor MJ
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Nowak I PMed you, post here if you did not get it or thought you had responded to me.
Just to be clear though, re-read the earlier posts on this thread. I'm not accepting lists yet, and I'm only going to accept lists from those who participate in discussion.
Just to be clear though, re-read the earlier posts on this thread. I'm not accepting lists yet, and I'm only going to accept lists from those who participate in discussion.
Getting ready for the RealGM 100 on the PC Board
Come join the WNBA Board if you're a fan!
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