hondo in seattle Posted June 20, 2022 Share Posted June 20, 2022 Babe Ruth is the most dominant professional athlete in major American sports history. When he hit 54 homers in the 1920, the next best guy - a star in his own right - only hit 19. Babe was hitting at another level: a staggering 184% better than the next greatest long ball hitter that year. The next year, the story was pretty much the same: Babe was 146% better than the next biggest star. But what about football? The NFL doesn't have a Babe Ruth. Brady is great because he's been one of the top 5 QBs in the league since our own star QB, Josh Allen, was in kindergarten. Yet Brady was never - statistically anyway - far and away the best QB in the league in any particular season. Not the same way Babe was. There are, though, two NFL players who do come to mind when I think about dominance. You've got to go back a few years back to the time when the best athletes became RBs and defenses were designed to stop & destroy those backs. In 1973, OJ had 75% more yards than the next best RB. Ten years earlier, Jim Brown had 70% more yards than the #2 guy. Both these guys were transcendent, mind-boggling talents. In Brady's most dominant season, 2007, he only finished with 8.7% yards more than the next best guy. Brady might be the GOAT. But in their prime, OJ and Jim Brown were more dominant. 3 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starr Almighty Posted June 20, 2022 Share Posted June 20, 2022 There's plenty of players you can pick from but since football is a contact sport, they usually don't dominate for an entire career. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt_In_NH Posted June 20, 2022 Share Posted June 20, 2022 Babe Ruth won 7 World Series, I think you need to have the team success. No comment on who that might be. The year the Pats were 16-0, Brady's numbers were decent. 50 TD's,. 4 INT's or something. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg S Posted June 20, 2022 Share Posted June 20, 2022 4 minutes ago, Starr Almighty said: There's plenty of players you can pick from but since football is a contact sport, they usually don't dominate for an entire career. Brady has. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allen2D̶i̶g̶g̶s̶TBD Posted June 20, 2022 Share Posted June 20, 2022 Preseason Nathan Peterman 3 1 9 1 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewEra Posted June 20, 2022 Share Posted June 20, 2022 (edited) Serena. Edit: oops. Sorry I didn’t follow the rules Edited June 20, 2022 by NewEra 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starr Almighty Posted June 20, 2022 Share Posted June 20, 2022 3 minutes ago, Greg S said: Brady has. Check his 2000 -2006 stats and get back to me. You are thinking Superbowls but not his stats as a player. He had decent stats his 1st 6v years he was nowhere near dominant 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H2o Posted June 20, 2022 Share Posted June 20, 2022 I almost think you have to go one for offense and one for defense. Offense is Barry Sanders, hands down, in my book. His lowest yardage total for his career was 1,115 yards and he did that in 11 games that season, 1993. He was the entire Detroit Lions offense, people knew he was going to get the ball 20+ times a game, and they still couldn't stop him. He singlehandedly carried them to the Playoffs 5 times pretty much. He probably could have played at a high level another 4 years at least and would still be the all time leading rusher more than likely if he had done so. Defense, though this may hurt some feelings, to me is Reggie White. As a DE he eclipsed 100 tackles 4 times, with the highest total being 133 (those are LB #'s), and was 2 tackles away one season from a 5th. He could destroy your QB, blow up your running game, and would maul any OL'man you put in front of him. He was a true game wrecker, especially in his prime. 4 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg S Posted June 20, 2022 Share Posted June 20, 2022 I would add OJ's 1973 season. 2,003 yards rushing in just 14 games is a record that will never be broken. 2 minutes ago, Starr Almighty said: Check his 2000 -2006 stats and get back to me. You are thinking Superbowls but not his stats as a player. He had decent stats his 1st 6v years he was nowhere near dominant You got me on the stats but with Brady I am going off just winning games. He was the driving force behind the Pats dynasty. 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. WEO Posted June 20, 2022 Share Posted June 20, 2022 14 minutes ago, hondo in seattle said: Babe Ruth is the most dominant professional athlete in major American sports history. When he hit 54 homers in the 1920, the next best guy - a star in his own right - only hit 19. Babe was hitting at another level: a staggering 184% better than the next greatest long ball hitter that year. The next year, the story was pretty much the same: Babe was 146% better than the next biggest star. But what about football? The NFL doesn't have a Babe Ruth. Brady is great because he's been one of the top 5 QBs in the league since our own star QB, Josh Allen, was in kindergarten. Yet Brady was never - statistically anyway - far and away the best QB in the league in any particular season. Not the same way Babe was. There are, though, two NFL players who do come to mind when I think about dominance. You've got to go back a few years back to the time when the best athletes became RBs and defenses were designed to stop & destroy those backs. In 1973, OJ had 75% more yards than the next best RB. Ten years earlier, Jim Brown had 70% more yards than the #2 guy. Both these guys were transcendent, mind-boggling talents. In Brady's most dominant season, 2007, he only finished with 8.7% yards more than the next best guy. Brady might be the GOAT. But in their prime, OJ and Jim Brown were more dominant. Brady has had to compete agaisnt far better athletes all over the field, not just other QBs. Yet he has dominated for many years, still well ahead of the field (in QB terms) at age 44 a year ago. Ruth faced a bunch of ham and Eggers most of the time. He looks like he was taking BP in those old films. A far superior athlete in Barry Bonds had to subsequently get jacked on steroids to hit more HRs than Ruth because he was regularly facing far better starters and closers (didn't really exist in Ruth's day) than existed in Ruth's day. Ruth doesn't get 30 HR facing pitchers of Bonds's heyday. Curt Schilling, Pedro, Glavine, Maddux, Smoltz (on one team!), Clemens......Randy Johnson would have destroyed Ruth. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wppete Posted June 20, 2022 Share Posted June 20, 2022 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. WEO Posted June 20, 2022 Share Posted June 20, 2022 10 minutes ago, Starr Almighty said: Check his 2000 -2006 stats and get back to me. You are thinking Superbowls but not his stats as a player. He had decent stats his 1st 6v years he was nowhere near dominant how many NFL players "started" to dominate after 3 SBs/6 seasons-----and continued do so for 15 more years? get back to me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaenon Posted June 20, 2022 Share Posted June 20, 2022 Lawrence Taylor Post-season Von Miller Offense: Karlos Williams, scored a TD every game and only could stop himself, no one else could. 1 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hondo in seattle Posted June 20, 2022 Author Share Posted June 20, 2022 4 minutes ago, H2o said: I almost think you have to go one for offense and one for defense. Offense is Barry Sanders, hands down, in my book. His lowest yardage total for his career was 1,115 yards and he did that in 11 games that season, 1993. He was the entire Detroit Lions offense, people knew he was going to get the ball 20+ times a game, and they still couldn't stop him. He singlehandedly carried them to the Playoffs 5 times pretty much. He probably could have played at a high level another 4 years at least and would still be the all time leading rusher more than likely if he had done so. Defense, though this may hurt some feelings, to me is Reggie White. As a DE he eclipsed 100 tackles 4 times, with the highest total being 133 (those are LB #'s), and was 2 tackles away one season from a 5th. He could destroy your QB, blow up your running game, and would maul any OL'man you put in front of him. He was a true game wrecker, especially in his prime. Yeah, I love watching Barry's ankle-breaking moves. He was an absolute freak of nature. But, IMHO, he was not in the same category as Jim Brown and OJ. In Barry's very best season, he finished with 22% more yards than the next-best back. That's really good - but not as dominant as OJ's or Brown's peak seasons. It's true that defenses knew he'd get the ball 20+ times a game and they still couldn't stop them - but that was true of OJ and Brown, too. And Barry played in the 1990s when NFL defenses had evolved to stop the run more than the pass. Still, I think Barry would be a supernatural force in today's NFL. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wppete Posted June 20, 2022 Share Posted June 20, 2022 5 minutes ago, Kaenon said: Lawrence Taylor Post-season Von Miller Offense: Karlos Williams, scored a TD every game and only could stop himself, no one else could. Yeah most feared has to be Lawrence Taylor. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ALLEN1QB Posted June 20, 2022 Share Posted June 20, 2022 Babe Ruth = Tom Brady. The Goat is just that the Greatest of all time baby !! 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Milanos Milano Posted June 20, 2022 Share Posted June 20, 2022 5 minutes ago, ALLEN1QB said: Babe Ruth = Tom Brady. The Goat is just that the Greatest of all time baby !! Talent wise, I’m not convince Brady is better than Allen. Brady has had some very complete teams in his tenure. He is a great QB for sure, but I would not give him the GOAT title. When Allen throws the ball, your eyes pop off the screen. I never got that feeling watching Brady throw the ball. Brady was a surgeon, very good at his craft, but he never made you go wow, nobody can do that. I think even deep down, Brady knows that. Which is why he holds a lot of respect towards Josh, you can see that in the way he teases him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Milanos Milano Posted June 20, 2022 Share Posted June 20, 2022 If Allen keeps piecing things together, I’m fairly confident he will be the GOAT. I feel bad for Josh already, he’s been screwed out of 1 super bowl already by bad coaching. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gobills404 Posted June 20, 2022 Share Posted June 20, 2022 2 minutes ago, IronMaidenBills said: If Allen keeps piecing things together, I’m fairly confident he will be the GOAT. I feel bad for Josh already, he’s been screwed out of 1 super bowl already by bad coaching. He needs to learn that the key to winning 7 superbowls is playing mediocre in the playoffs and motivating your defense. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4merper4mer Posted June 20, 2022 Share Posted June 20, 2022 (edited) Very different sports. Ruth transformed baseball and in a way all of sports. Sports position in society pre-Ruth was not the same as it was once he came along. In that way he will never have a peer no matter how much the Pats fans regulars and others would like to say it. I’d say Ruth benefits from being “the first”, but he also was a major outlier from everyone else. The fact that his anomalous nature holds up after a century is telling. I’m not sure anyone modern sports can ever reach that. Candidates are easier to find in sports outside of football and I feel Gretzky is by far the closest. The hoops arguments are tougher due to the different positions, I could see Russell, Jordan and some others making a case but all are debatable. In football you’d have to consider Brown, Brady, LT and Rice IMO but the singular nature of their roles makes it tough to compare them to Ruth. Others: Joe Louis, Don Bradman, Bobby Jones, Mark Spitz. Pele could be considered if soccer qualifies as a sport as could and Glenn Howard if curling is a sport. Edited June 20, 2022 by 4merper4mer 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Milanos Milano Posted June 20, 2022 Share Posted June 20, 2022 3 minutes ago, gobills404 said: He needs to learn that the key to winning 7 superbowls is playing mediocre in the playoffs and motivating your defense. Brady is the guy that has your daughter home by 12. Allen is the guy that tells you I will bring her back when I feel like it, and has her sneaking out of the house. Then when you decide to go on vacation, does dirty things in your bed. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. WEO Posted June 20, 2022 Share Posted June 20, 2022 16 minutes ago, IronMaidenBills said: Talent wise, I’m not convince Brady is better than Allen. Brady has had some very complete teams in his tenure. He is a great QB for sure, but I would not give him the GOAT title. When Allen throws the ball, your eyes pop off the screen. I never got that feeling watching Brady throw the ball. Brady was a surgeon, very good at his craft, but he never made you go wow, nobody can do that. I think even deep down, Brady knows that. Which is why he holds a lot of respect towards Josh, you can see that in the way he teases him. How many great WRs and RBs did Brady play with in NE over nearly 2 decades? Bills are a pretty complete team, no? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Milanos Milano Posted June 20, 2022 Share Posted June 20, 2022 1 minute ago, Mr. WEO said: How many great WRs and RBs did Brady play with in NE over nearly 2 decades? Bills are a pretty complete team, no? Brady definitely made WRs serviceable, but his style of QBing wasn’t anything spectacular. BB schemed in such a way that turned Brady’s surgical style of play into a game of keep a way with a competent defense. The Bills are a complete team, and coaching ruined a super bowl that was snatched away from Allen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nextmanup Posted June 20, 2022 Share Posted June 20, 2022 (edited) When I think of a football player who was utterly dominant in his prime, like "look at this guy, no one can stop him," one of the first names I think of is Lawrence Taylor. The guy was a defensive wrecking machine who on some nights couldn't be controlled. I never saw him, but from what my dad always mentioned, Jim Brown would be another. Edited June 20, 2022 by Nextmanup 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Milanos Milano Posted June 20, 2022 Share Posted June 20, 2022 (edited) I never once thought that Brady was unbeatable, it always felt we had to do everything right to stop the BB-Brady combo because of the surgical attack. They were just a good fit. Edited June 20, 2022 by IronMaidenBills 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. WEO Posted June 20, 2022 Share Posted June 20, 2022 2 minutes ago, IronMaidenBills said: Brady definitely made WRs serviceable, but his style of QBing wasn’t anything spectacular. BB schemed in such a way that turned Brady’s surgical style of play into a game of keep a way with a competent defense. The Bills are a complete team, and coaching ruined a super bowl that was snatched away from Allen. lol...ok 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Milanos Milano Posted June 20, 2022 Share Posted June 20, 2022 1 minute ago, Mr. WEO said: lol...ok Allen with BB and they likely win more than 7 SBs. BB with Allen last year and we likely win a super bowl. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PonyBoy Posted June 20, 2022 Share Posted June 20, 2022 23 minutes ago, IronMaidenBills said: Talent wise, I’m not convince Brady is better than Allen. Brady has had some very complete teams in his tenure. He is a great QB for sure, but I would not give him the GOAT title. When Allen throws the ball, your eyes pop off the screen. I never got that feeling watching Brady throw the ball. Brady was a surgeon, very good at his craft, but he never made you go wow, nobody can do that. I think even deep down, Brady knows that. Which is why he holds a lot of respect towards Josh, you can see that in the way he teases him. It was Brady's accuracy almost every freaking throw forever that made me shake my head so many times. He was just ridiculously on target for any type of throw. Led his backs perfectly timed in the flat, deep balls, out throws, blitzed etc...He was like the Greg Maddux (MLB) of quarterbacks. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starr Almighty Posted June 20, 2022 Share Posted June 20, 2022 (edited) 45 minutes ago, Mr. WEO said: how many NFL players "started" to dominate after 3 SBs/6 seasons-----and continued do so for 15 more years? get back to me Jerry Rice says Hello Edited June 20, 2022 by Starr Almighty 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Milanos Milano Posted June 20, 2022 Share Posted June 20, 2022 (edited) 2 minutes ago, PonyBoy said: It was Brady's accuracy almost every freaking throw forever that made me shake my head so many times. He was just ridiculously on target for any type of throw. Led his backs perfectly timed in the flat, deep balls, out throws, blitzed etc...He was like the Greg Maddux (MLB) of quarterbacks. Yep, it’s why I call him the surgeon. He was precise and deadly with what average talent he possessed in the traditional sense. If Brady had Allen’s profile, we are likely talking about GOAT and never again beaten records. Brady truly was the Gregg Maddux of the NFL. What a fantastic comparison pony boy. Edited June 20, 2022 by IronMaidenBills Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Milanos Milano Posted June 20, 2022 Share Posted June 20, 2022 I consider Allen to be the Randy Johnson of the NFL and Brady is the Gregg Maddux. Johnson would just brutally overpower you, but Maddux was the surgeon. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwight in philly Posted June 20, 2022 Share Posted June 20, 2022 Easy , Jim Brown.. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Punching Bag Posted June 20, 2022 Share Posted June 20, 2022 1 hour ago, Greg S said: I would add OJ's 1973 season. 2,003 yards rushing in just 14 games is a record that will never be broken. You got me on the stats but with Brady I am going off just winning games. He was the driving force behind the Pats dynasty. Cheating was the driving force and the Director of Spying and Cheating retired (supposedly, though since salaries of consultants and staff do not need to be reported not necessarily true. Billi-cheat never told a truth when he could tell a falsehood). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Milanos Milano Posted June 20, 2022 Share Posted June 20, 2022 For me it’s Barry Sanders. He played on an absolutely brutal team with an Oline that stunk. Nobody blew away stage quite like he did, was an instant highlight reel after reel. Just pure wtf moments. An absolutely gifted athlete. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eSJayDee Posted June 20, 2022 Share Posted June 20, 2022 (edited) I saw OJ play. He was definitely the best RB at the time, but he wasn't head over shoulders better than a few others. Jim Brown was before my time, but from what I understand, he was like a man amongst boys. Just dominant. Statistically at least, there was a receiver before the proliferation of the forward pass who far exceeded the output of any others. I think it was Don Hudson of GB, but again, that was before my time. I'll add Walter Payton was IMO the best player of his era. He might not have exceeded others excessively statistically speaking, but he was great at everything - running, catching, blocking, punting. Anything. Edited June 20, 2022 by eSJayDee I thought of something further Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Milanos Milano Posted June 20, 2022 Share Posted June 20, 2022 Imagine if we had Barry Sanders on this team with Allen. I mean, that just isn’t fair. If you would have put Barry Sanders on the Dallas team with their Oline and we aren’t even having this discussion because it would be indisputable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoyBatty is alive Posted June 20, 2022 Share Posted June 20, 2022 1 hour ago, Mr. WEO said: Brady has had to compete agaisnt far better athletes all over the field, not just other QBs. Yet he has dominated for many years, still well ahead of the field (in QB terms) at age 44 a year ago. Ruth faced a bunch of ham and Eggers most of the time. He looks like he was taking BP in those old films. A far superior athlete in Barry Bonds had to subsequently get jacked on steroids to hit more HRs than Ruth because he was regularly facing far better starters and closers (didn't really exist in Ruth's day) than existed in Ruth's day. Ruth doesn't get 30 HR facing pitchers of Bonds's heyday. Curt Schilling, Pedro, Glavine, Maddux, Smoltz (on one team!), Clemens......Randy Johnson would have destroyed Ruth. Comparing any athlete from nearly 100 years ago to more modern athletes is, frankly a worthless meaningless activity. Any pro athlete , in almost any sport from the 1920s would get destroyed by current athletes and it wouldn't even be close. Randy Johnson would have destroyed Ruth, I bet Sandy Koufax in his prime would have as well. 1 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PonyBoy Posted June 20, 2022 Share Posted June 20, 2022 18 minutes ago, IronMaidenBills said: I consider Allen to be the Randy Johnson of the NFL and Brady is the Gregg Maddux. Johnson would just brutally overpower you, but Maddux was the surgeon. Good comparable analogy in relation to the post. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billybrew1 Posted June 20, 2022 Share Posted June 20, 2022 Josh Allen. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beast Posted June 20, 2022 Share Posted June 20, 2022 (edited) 1973..... OJ Simpson had 850 yards more on the ground than his nearest competitor. If he gained 2 yards less per attempt he still would have led the NFL in rushing. Edited June 20, 2022 by Beast 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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