NFL Top-10: #6 Jim Brown and #5 Reggie White

6) Jim Brown

Probably the most dominant player of all time, Jim Brown slides to sixth on my list because of the era in which he dominated.  Saying that he was a man amongst boys is an understatement.  He routinely ran through multiple tacklers on a single play and was maybe the fastest man in the league.

With a miraculous 5.2 career yard per carry average, Brown ran for more yards per game (104.3) than anyone else that has ever played by over four yards per contest.  His career total of 12,312 yards came in an era in which the NFL played just twelve games a season for the first four years of his career and fourteen games for the last five.  Just imagine what he could have done playing in this era with nine 16-game seasons, or if you do the math, twenty-six extra games.  Using his per game averages to project out, Brown could have rushed for over 15,000 yards, currently good enough for fourth on the all-time yardage list.

Brown also tallied three MVP awards and led the league in rushing six times, never finishing outside the top four.

I’ve established the sheer dominance of Brown, and comparing eras is a difficult task.  But I can’t place him higher on this list simply because he was the Wilt Chamberlain of his era, a whale in a fish bowl, an athlete at least a generation ahead of his time.  The game is so much harder, so much more physical and demanding now, that I believe our modern players’ accomplishments are ultimately more impressive.

#6 Jim Brown

5) Reggie White

198 sacks in 15 seasons.  In other words, 13 sacks is what the Minister of Defense did in an average year, all while stuffing the run and being the unquestioned leader of every defense he played on.  He was the strongest lineman in the league when he played, blasting through double teams as if two middle-schoolers were impeding his path to the quarterback.

Many will say that Lawrence Taylor was the more dominant player, but White actually averaged more sacks per game, all while being a standout run defender and occupying two and three blockers.  Taylor was dominant at the one thing he did; White dominated everything he did.  The twice-named Defensive Player of the Year (eleven years apart mind you, 1987 and 1998) was an immoveable object and a constant presence in the backfield for all but his final season with the Panthers.  White made thirteen consecutive Pro Bowls, finished first or second in the league in sacks five times, and was an eight-time First Team All-Pro.

White was the same guy every time he stepped on the field: focused, dominant, unstoppable, and passionate.  As the highest-ranked defensive player on my list, White goes down as the greatest defensive player of all-time.

#5 Reggie White

--from @AdamHocking

(first image from jerytest4.netai.net, second from flickr.com)