The 150 Best Players in NFL History, Finale

Part 15 is here.

Only 20 to go – Jim Brown has a sizeable lead, will he hold on and finish as the top player ever?

Approximate Value, games, value/game are the numbers.

20. Paul Krause 181 226 .801, between Chuck Bednarik and Bob Lilly, currently #9 overall, Eddie Meador is gone.

19. Bruce Matthews 182 296 .615, between Emmitt Smith and Ronnie Lott, currently #28 overall, Jim Tyrer is gone

18. Lawrence Taylor 182 184 .989, between Andy Robustelli and Tom Brady, currently #4 overall, Richie Petitbon is gone

17. Junior Seau 185 268 .690, between Doug Atkins and Drew Brees, currently #15 overall, another Charger, Antonio Gates, gets bounced

16. Merlin Olsen 185 208 .889, between Tom Brady and Anthony Munoz, currently #6 overall, knocks off Lenny Moore

15. Jim Marshall 188 282 .667, between Walter Payton and Doug Atkins, currently #15 overall, knocks off Ken Riley

14. Derrick Brooks 190 224 .848, between Tom Brady and Merlin Olsen, currently #6 overall, knocks Art Shell off the list

13. Rod Woodson 193 238 .811, between Derrick Brooks and Merlin Olsen, currently #7 overall, knocks off Bart Starr. 

12. Carl Eller 195 225 .867, between Bill George and Andy Robustelli, currently #3 overall, knocks off Isaac Bruce

11. John Elway 203 234 .867, behind only Jim Brown.  Charles Woodson gets bounced.

10. Johnny Unitas 206 211 .976, he goes in right ahead of Elway as the new number two. Darrell Green is off the list

9. Bruce Smith 216 279 .774, goes in third, ahead of Elway, Aeneas Williams is off.

8. Alan Page 216 218 .991, new number two, Gary Zimmerman is off

7. Dan Marino 216 242 .893, new number three, knocks off Brian Dawkins

6. Ray Lewis 222 228 .974, new number two.  James Lofton is gone

5. Reggie White 222 232 .957, new number three. Mike Kenn is off the list

4. Peyton Manning 235 224 .1049, guess who just passed Jim Brown?  Mike Webster’s off the list

3. Fran Tarkenton 240 246 .976, new number two. Tim Brown is bounced.

2. Jerry Rice 250 303 .825, new number three. Randall McDaniel is out.

1. Brett Favre 254 302 .841, new number two. Don Maynard’s gone.

And we’re done.  240 players analyzed – it’s only a regular season analysis; if you say this underrates post season and further underrates Super Bowl, giving excessive weight say, to Takenton where it helps him and depressing the places where it hurts – that’s a fair observation.

But when it comes to regular season football – I’m willing to sign my name to the following list.

1.       Peyton Manning

2.       Brett Favre

3.       Fran Tarkenton

4.       Jerry Rice

5.       Jim Brown

6.       Ray Lewis

7.       Reggie White

8.       Alan Page

9.       Dan Marino

10.   Johnny Unitas

11.   Bruce Smith

12.   John Elway

13.   Bill George

14.   Carl Eller

15.   Andy Robustelli

16.   Lawrence Taylor

17.   Tom Brady

18.   Derrick Brooks

19.   Rod Woodson

20.   Merlin Olsen

21.   Anthony Munoz

22.   Steve Young

23.   Jack Ham

24.   Chuck Bednarik

25.   Paul Krause

26.   Bob Lilly

27.   Marshall Faulk

28.   Walter Payton

29.   Jim Marshall

30.   Doug Atkins

31.   Junior Seau

32.   Drew Brees

33.   Mean Joe Greene

34.   Dan Fouts

35.   Barry Sanders

36.   Joe Montana

37.   Joe Schmidt

38.   Mike Singletary

39.   Gino Marchetti

40.   LaDainian Tomlinson

41.   Ted Hendricks

42.   Warren Moon

43.   Marvin Harrison

44.   Ken Anderson

45.   Emmitt Smith

46.   Bruce Matthews

47.   Ronnie Lott

48.   Jack Lambert

49.   Leo Nomellini

50.   Tony Gonzalez

51.   Terrell Owens

52.   Jack Youngblood

53.   Emlen Tunnell

54.   Nick Buoniconti

55.   Ernie Stautner

56.   Jim Ringo

57.   Bobby Bell

58.   Brian Urlacher

59.   Randy Moss

60.   Herb Adderly

61.   Michael Strahan

62.   Lem Barney

63.   Yale Lary

64.   Isiah Robertson

65.   Alex Karras

66.   Zach Thomas

67.   Julius Peppers

68.   Jimmy Johnson

69.   Willie Davis

70.   Rickey Jackson

71.   Norm Van Brocklin

72.   Willie Brown

73.   Chris Hanburger

74.   Edgerrin James

75.   Larry Grantham

76.   Randy White

77.   Deion Sanders

78.   Sam Huff

79.   Ron Yary

80.   Henry Jordan

81.   Champ Bailey

82.   Johnny Robinson

83.   Night Train Lane

84.   Warren Sapp

85.   Roger Staubach

86.   Rosey Brown

87.   Bob Griese

88.   Ray Nitschke

89.   Paul Warfield

90.   Chuck Howley

91.   Donovan McNabb

92.   Mel Blount

93.   Mel Renfro

94.   Jason Taylor

95.   Ronde Barber

96.   Chris Doleman

97.   Terry Bradshaw

98.   Bobby Boyd

99.   Dick Butkus

100.                        Ed Reed

101.                        Randall Cunningham

102.                        Raymond Berry

103.                        Tony Dorsett

104.                        Reggie Wayne

105.                        Jim Otto

106.                        Jim Taylor

107.                        Len Dawson

108.                        Gene Upshaw

109.                        Ron McDole

110.                        Mike Haynes

111.                        Bobby Layne

112.                        Buck Buchanan

113.                        Ricky Watters

114.                        Franco Harris

115.                        Jim Kelly

116.                        Thurman Thomas

117.                        John Hannah

118.                        Willie Wood

119.                        Lee Roy Jordan

120.                        Maxie Baughan

121.                        Derrick Thomas

122.                        Michael Irvin

123.                        Willie Lanier

124.                        Steve Largent

125.                        Sonny Jurgensen

126.                        Ken Houston

127.                        John Hadl

128.                        John Brodie

129.                        Mick Tingelhoff

130.                        Drew Bledsoe

131.                        Deacon Jones

132.                        Boomer Esiason

133.                        Jim Parker

134.                        Bill Bergey

135.                        Dan Hampton

136.                        Marcus Allen

137.                        Cornell Green

138.                        Joe Fortunato

139.                        Lance Alworth

140.                        YA Tittle

141.                        Steve McNair

142.                        Curtis Martin

143.                        Russ Washington

144.                        Jim Hart

145.                        Lemar Parrish

146.                        Vinny Testaverde

147.                        Dave Krieg

148.                        Willie Roaf

149.                        Roman Gabriel

150.                        Charley Taylor