100-91 is here. The next ten air on the NFL Network tonight - so I'm still looking to get ahead of them with this post. As with the first ten, I'll add in their picks for comparison once I watch the show.
90.Jack Youngblood DL 71-84 Rams
-Beats out the players most similar – Jason Taylor and Warren Sapp. (NFL Net picked Kurt Warner; he's not on the list. Maybe Top 250. Who did almost make the list from those Ram teams was Torry Holt, he and Orlando Pace would both be Top 125).
89. Sam Huff LB 56-79 Giants/Redskins
-Went with Huff over the shorter career of Butkus, and over the Giant of another era Carson. (NFL Net took Ernie Nevers. Not on the list).
88. Paul Krause DB 64-79 Vikings
-81 picks, 6 touchdowns. (NFL took Ed Reed. He is not on my list - is he better than Tim McDonald? Also not on my list, but I'm just sayin'.)
87. Cris Carter WR 87-02 Vikings
-1100+ catches, 130 touchdowns (Crazylegs Hirsch. Neither he nor Waterfield makes my list)
86. Chris Doleman DL 85-99 Vikings
213 arts, 150.5 sacks.(Willie Davis - he's not on my list. )
85. Sammy Baugh QB/P 37-52 Redskins
-You won’t see Jim Thorpe or Sid Luckman, or Bronco Nagurski on the list – that’s a hard decision and one that I really went back and forth on, but the pre 1950s players just become impossible to evaluate beyond how exponentially greater in athleticism, and, pretty clearly, football skill, are modern players. I don’t hate you if you have Red Grange on your list – but you won’t see him here. I see football and basketball as similar; you would not expect to find more than 3 or 4 pre 1950s players on a list of the top 100 basketball players of all time. At some point, the sheer quantum difference in bigger/faster/stronger has to play a role in our evaluation. (NFL took Marcus Allen, who is on my list and significantly higher.)
84. Alex Karras DL 58-70 Lions
-John Randle’s his top comp. He’d be in the top 150. If you swapped them, saying I was swayed by Karras's celebrity in the way I wasn't by Butkus, I wouldn't object. (NFL took another Lion instead, Joe Schmidt. Not on my list.)
83. Tony Dorsett RB 77-88 Cowboys
-Curtis Martin’s his top comp – and Martin is solidly ahead of Dorsett on this list; career value is important, particularly in a game like football where, to stay healthy and productive, you are really bucking the numbers. (NFL - Norm Van Brocklin, who was in my previous ten.)
82. Don Maynard WR 58-73 Jets
-Isaac Curtis is his top comp, and that’s an underrated guy; let’s make the rest of this list about Isaac Curtis. All hail King Curtis! (NFL - Ted Hendricks. On my list and much, much higher.)
81. John Brodie QB 57-73 Niners
-There weren’t too many QB in the 60s better than Brodie; his ’65 was superlative, led the league in completion percentage, yards, and TD passes. The first of 4 Niner QB on the list. (NFL - Steve Young. They took a Niner too; he's on my list and a good bit higher.)
I don't know when the next episode is - but if I find out ahead of time, I'll beat it with the next ten on my list. It's a week from Thursday. Lots of time. Very helpful.
