Greatest Player In Franchise History | RP-29's Blog

Who is the greatest player in franchise history?

ESPN's SportsNation posted polls for all 32 NFL franchises and here's current results:

[results sorted by most-consensus to least-consensus]

TEAMPOSPLAYER

VOTE

LionsRBBarry Sanders95.2%BroncosQBJohn Elway91.9%DolphinsQBDan Marino90.7%BrownsRBJim Brown87.5%GiantsLBLawrence Taylor85.3%PatriotsQBTom Brady84.1%RavensLBJamal Lewis83.7%BearsRBWalter Payton81.2%TexansWRAndre Johnson72.2%PackersQBBrett Favre71.5%JetsQBJoe Namath62.1%ColtsQBPeyton Manning57.4%49ersQBJoe Montana55.0%SeahawksWRSteve Largent52.1%BengalsOLAnthony Munoz51.8%CowboysRBEmmitt Smith51.5%ChargersRBLaDainian Tomlinson50.6%EaglesDEReggie White50.4%RaidersRBMarcus Allen49.0%BuccaneersLBDerrick Brooks45.1%JaguarsRBFred Taylor44.3%PanthersWRSteve Smith42.2%SteelersQBTerry Bradshaw42.0%RamsRBMarshall Faulk40.1%ChiefsLBDerrick Thomas39.5%TitansRBEarl Campbell34.9%FalconsCBDeion Sanders33.7%VikingsQBFran Tarkenton33.4%BillsDEBruce Smith32.5%SaintsQBArchie Manning31.5%CardinalsCB**** Lane29.7%RedskinsCBDarrell Green27.3%

POS

QTY

QB10RB9LB4WR3CB3DE2OL1

Most suprising was that Johnny Unitas, widely regarded as one of, if not THE greatest QB of all time, wasn't even chosen as the greatest QB on his own team. Unitas only got 40.4% of the votes for Colts' greatest player.

I was also suprised that Deion Sanders got only 33.7% of the votes for the Falcons while the consistently underachieving jailhouse dirty bird Michael Vick managed 20.8% of the vote.

The 4.8% of people who didn't vote for Barry Sanders just wanted to be different. Therefore, assume about 5% of those polled here are also voting for Bugs Bunny on November 4th.

Comments (6) Add A Comment

August 6, 2008 10:58 AM ET

Report Abuse | QUOTE

I guess I have to call the Cardinals CB "Night Train" Lane.

RP-29

Oshkosh , WI

Total Comments (647)

August 6, 2008 11:26 AM ET

Packers:

1. Brett Favre
2. Bart Starr
3. Paul Hornung
4. Ray Nitschke
5. Jim Taylor

PackersLP21

Titletown, WI

Total Comments (14517)

August 6, 2008 11:58 AM ET

71.6% Brett Favre, QB (1992-2007)
13.1% Bart Starr, QB (1956-71)
5.3% Reggie White, DE (1993-98)
4.4% Ray Nitschke, LB (1958-72)
2.6% Don Hutson, WR (1935-45)
2.0% Paul Hornung, RB (1957-66)
0.4% Jim Taylor, FB (1958-66)

August 6, 2008 12:01 PM ET

That's one heck of a list.

The Lions have been in the league since 1930 and only have one guy, Barry Sanders, who you could make a legitimate case is better than even one of those guys.

August 6, 2008 12:07 PM ET

Even more pathetic is the Cardinals, whose top franchise vote getter Night Train Lane was third on the Lions list and played one more season with Lions than he did with the Cardinals.

August 21, 2008 11:37 PM ET

Lions - Billy Sims
Broncos - John Elway (agree)
Dolphins - Dan Marino (agree)
Browns - Jim Brown (agree)
Giants - Lawrence Taylor (agree)
Patriots - Stanley Morgan/Steve Grogan/Drew Bledsoe/Tom Brady
Ravens - Jamal Lewis (agree)
Bears - Walter Payton (agree)
Texans - David Carr
Packers - Brett Favre (agree)
Jets - Mark Gastineau/Richard Todd/Freeman McNeil/Wesley Walker
Colts - John Unitas
49ers - Joe Montana/Ronnie Lott/Roger Craig/Jerry Rice
Seahawks - Jim Zorn/Steve Largent
Bengals - Ken Anderson
Cowboys - Tony Dorsett/Danny White/Drew Pearson/Ed Jones
Chargers - Dan Fouts/Kellen Winslow/Chuck Muncie/Wes Chandler
Eagles - Harold Charmichael/Wilbert Montgomery
Raiders - Jim Plunkett/Marcus Allen/Ray Guy
Buccaneers - Doug Williams/Kevin House
Jaguars - Fred Taylor (agree)
Panthers - Steve Smith (agree)
Steelers - John Stallworth/Joe Greene/Jack Lambert/Mel Blount
Rams - Eric Dickerson/Jack Youngblood
Chiefs - Len Dawson
Titans - Earl Campbell (agree)
Falcons - William Andrews/Steve Bartkowski/Mike Kenn
Vikings - Fran Tarkenton/Carl Eller/Ron Yary
Bills - Joe Ferguson/Joe Cribbs/Thurman Thomas/Andre Reed/Jim Kelly
Saints - George Rogers/Archie Manning
Cardinals - Jim Hart/Pat Tilley
Redskins - John Riggins/Joe Theismann/Art Monk/Russ Grimm/Dexter Manley