Tag: NFL 100 All-Time Team

Broncos QBs John Elway, Peyton Manning named to NFL 100 All-Time Team

Former Broncos quarterbacks John Elway and Peyton Manning were named to the NFL 100 All-Time Team on Friday evening.

Former Broncos quarterbacks John Elway and Peyton Manning were among 10 quarterbacks named to the NFL 100 All-Time Team on Friday evening, joining Joe Montana, Tom Brady, Brett Favre, Johnny Unitas, Otto Graham, Sammy Baugh, Roger Staubach and Dan Marino.

Elway was originally drafted by the Colts in 1983 but after being traded to Denver, he went on to spend his entire 16-year career with the Broncos. Elway helped Denver reach five Super Bowls, winning two of them in the late 1990s before retiring.

Elway earned nine Pro Bowl nods, a league MVP award and a Super Bowl MVP award during his time with the Broncos. A member of the 1990s All-Decade Team and the Broncos’ Ring of Fame, Elway was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2004. He now serves as the team’s GM.

Manning was also drafted by Indianapolis. After spending the first 14 years of his career with the Colts, Manning signed with Denver as a free agent in 2012. He went on to help the Broncos win the AFC West four-straight times and appeared in two Super Bowls with Denver, winning one of them.

A 14-time Pro Bowler, one-time Super Bowl MVP and five-time league MVP, Manning is a member of the NFL’s 2000’s All-Decade Team and the Colts’ Ring of Honor. He will be eligible for Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2021. He retired in 2016 as the game’s all-time leader in passing yards (71,940) and passing touchdowns (539).

Broncos outside linebacker Von Miller, cornerback Champ Bailey and tight end Shannon Sharpe were among the franchise’s snubs on the league’s all-time team. Elway and Manning are the only players on the list who spent notable parts of their careers in Denver.

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NFL 100 All-Time Team discredits itself by snubbing Drew Brees

Saints QB Drew Brees joined LaDainian Tomlinson, Darrelle Revis, and Julio Jones on the list of players snubbed by the NFL 100 All-Time Team

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Well, they did it. The NFL 100 All-Time Team “blue ribbon panel” threw an interception late in the fourth quarter, condemning the product it put out to be remembered as something only worth laughing at.

It’s because they left off Drew Brees. The best player in New Orleans Saints history is also one of the greatest players in the NFL’s history. He’s breaking everyone else’s records each week after a career spent beating his peers head-to-head.

Among his generation of quarterbacks, he trails only Tom Brady in prestige, and that’s because Brady was fortunate enough to play with a defense that carried him to several championships early in his career. Now that they’re both on the back nine, there’s no comparing who plays at a higher level.

In addition to Brady, here are the quarterbacks who did make the cut on the NFL 100 All-Time Team (listed in alphabetical order):

  • Sammy Baugh
  • John Elway
  • Brett Favre
  • Otto Graham
  • Peyton Manning
  • Dan Marino
  • Joe Montana
  • Roger Staubach
  • Johnny Unitas

Most of those names are no-brainers; Brady, Favre, Manning, Marino, and Montana among them. The others are shamelessly catering to nostalgia, hyping up an era of football that wasn’t as impressive as some want to remember it. In the case of Baugh, the voters used his stats on defense and special teams to justify his inclusion, which is hilariously awkward.

Let’s be clear: nobody in the history of the NFL has done more with less than Brees, including everyone on this list. Until Alvin Kamara and Michael Thomas rose to prominence in 2017, Brees had set the league on fire in New Orleans despite having shared the field with just one pass-catcher who earned a spot in the Pro Bowl (tight end Jimmy Graham). The Saints’ defensive personnel during Brees’ career is laughable, especially compared to the Hall of Fame-stocked units players like Brady, Manning, and Montana were able to lean on.

No, football was not better in the 1940’s — it was a sloppy, poorly-executed sport that hadn’t figured out important things like efficiency of movement or player safety just yet. Yes, it’s easier to pass in today’s game; that’s because decades of trail-and-error taught athletes the best ways to win. But those realities shouldn’t disqualify the best to ever do it from getting recognized for his accomplishments.

Overlooking the league’s all-time leader in passing yards and touchdowns thrown in favor of quarterbacks who played in an era where most players (offensive linemen and defenders included) weighed 230 pounds or less is ridiculous. Are we really going to look back fondly on an era that predated desegregation?

This exercise has been lambasted before, for making head-scratching decisions like leaving off the NFL’s all-time leader in receiving yards per game (Julio Jones), or the best running back of the 2000’s (LaDainian Tomlinson), or the best cover corner in NFL history (Darrelle Revis). But Brees’ exclusion stands out even more glaring than the rest, because there are too many facts, stats, and other quantifiable values to argue against it.

If the voters wanted to highlight an often-forgotten era of the game and remember some of its most talented players, then fine, do that. But be honest about it. In this case, the selection panel let their feelings get in the way of the facts, and it led to Brees getting disrespected yet again in his storied NFL career. Here’s hoping they come to their senses when their votes really mean something, like induction to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

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Ex-Chargers QB Ryan Leaf jokes about being snubbed from NFL 100 All-Time Team

Ryan Leaf is a treasure on social media.

Over the past month, a 26-person panel has been compiling a roster of the 100 greatest players and 10 greatest coaches in history to celebrate the NFL’s 100th season.

Throughout the process, there’s been some notable players earn the honors of being named to the team. But there have also been some that have been snubbed, which has ignited fires in the realms of social media.

Players that were deserving include former Chargers’ LaDainian Tomlinson and Antonio Gates. And then there’s one that wore the blue and gold at one point that believes he was snubbed.

Former Chargers quarterback Ryan Leaf, the No. 2 overall selection of the 1998 NFL draft and also one of the league’s biggest draft busts, went to his personal Twitter account to jokingly say that’s he disappointed he wasn’t among the finalists on the All-Time Team.

Leaf said that he was going to launch a support group to help other snubs, which included Geoff Schwartz and Terrell Owens.

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George Halas, Mike Ditka, Dan Fortmann latest Bears selected to NFL 100’s All-Time Team

Three new Bears were added to the NFL 100’s All-Time Team with head coach George Halas, TE Mike Ditka and OG Dan Fortmann.

Three more Chicago Bears have been selected to NFL 100’s All-Time Team, including a head coach, tight end and offensive guard.

When discussing the greatest coaches in NFL history, it’s impossible not to mention Papa Bear himself, George Halas. Not only would there not be an NFL without Halas, but he found success as head coach of the Bears. He led the Bears to six NFL championships (1921, 1933, 1940, 1941, 1946, 1963).

Halas, a two-time NFL Coach of the Year, is the second-most winningest coach in NFL history with a record of 318-148-31.

Mike Ditka was the first tight end voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and rightfully so. Before he led the 1985 Bears to glory, Ditka revolutionized the tight end position as a Bear.

Ditka, a two-time All-Pro and five-time Pro Bowler, became the first tight end to eclipse 1,000+ receiving yards in a season as a rookie in 1961, which also garnered him Offensive Rookie of the Year.

He also won an NFL Championship with the Bears in 1963 and also went on to win Super Bowl VI with the Cowboys.

Dan Fortmann was one of seven offensive guards chosen to the NFL 100’s All-Time Team, and he’s got quite the resume.

Fortmann won three NFL Championships with the Bears (1940, 1941, 1943). He was a 4-time First-Team All-Pro, 3-time Pro Bowler and a member of the 1930s All-Decade Team.

Broncos legend Shannon Sharpe snubbed from NFL 100 All-Time Team

Former Broncos tight end Shannon Sharpe was snubbed from the NFL 100 All-Time Team on Friday. He won three Super Bowls during his career.

Denver Broncos legend Shannon Sharpe was not among the five tight ends named to the NFL 100 All-Time Team on Friday evening. Instead, the league selected Mike Ditka, Tony Gonzalez, Rob Gronkowski, John Mackey and Kellen Winslow.

Sharpe isn’t the first former Bronco to get snubbed. Cornerback Champ Bailey, safety Brian Dawkins, defensive lineman DeMarcus Ware, linebacker Von Miller and running back Terrell Davis were all nominated but did not make the cut. NFL Network is yet to reveal which wide receivers and quarterbacks made the all-time team.

If former quarterback John Elway does not make the list, there’s a chance that the Broncos won’t have any representatives on the all-time team. That would be surprising given that Denver has made it to eight Super Bowls since 1970.

Sharpe won three Super Bowls during his career, two in Denver and one with the Ravens. The eight-time Pro Bowler and four-time first-team All-Pro is a member of the NFL’s 1990s All-Decade Team and the Broncos’ Ring of Fame. Sharpe ranks third in receiving yards (8,439) and third in receiving touchdowns (55) on Denver’s all-time list. He was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2011.

Ditka and Winslow were questionable selections over Sharpe.

Ditka made five Pro Bowls and won one Super Bowl as a player, totaling 5,812 receiving yards and catching 43 touchdowns in his career. Winslow was also a five-time Pro Bowler but did not win a Super Bowl. He totaled 6,741 receiving yards and 45 touchdowns in his career.

Sharpe’s 10,060 career receiving yards rank fourth in NFL history among tight ends. His 62 receiving touchdowns represent 19 more than Ditka’s total and 17 more than Winslow’s total.

Sharpe is ranked No. 3 on Broncos Wire’s list of the 100 greatest players in franchise history. Sharpe now stars alongside Skip Bayless on FS1 talk show Skip and Shannon: Undisputed, which airs on weekday mornings.

The complete team of 100 players and 10 coaches will be revealed on NFL Network on Friday, Dec. 27 in celebration of the league’s 100 years.

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Champ Bailey, Brian Dawkins named finalists for ‘NFL 100 All-Time Team’

Former Broncos defensive backs Champ Bailey and Brian Dawkins are finalists for the NFL’s all-time team.

Former Denver Broncos defensive backs Champ Bailey and Brian Dawkins have been named finalists for the “NFL 100 All-Time Team,” the league announced this week. Cornerback Willie Brown, who played in Denver from 1963-1966, was also named a finalist.

The NFL will announce which cornerbacks and safeties made the cut on NFL Network on Friday evening.

Bailey was voted to 12 Pro Bowls during his career and is a member of the NFL’s 2000s All-Decade Team and the Broncos’ Top 100 team. He spent 10 seasons in Denver.

Dawkins was voted to nine Pro Bowls during his career and is also a member of the NFL’s 2000s All-Decade Team and the Broncos’ Top 100 team. He only spent three seasons in Denver but he was one of the Broncos’ best defenders during that time.

Last week, DeMarcus Ware (defensive line) and Von Miller (linebacker) were finalists but neither of them made the team. Terrell Davis was a finalist at running back but he did not make the team, either.

The complete team of 100 players and 10 coaches will be revealed on NFL Network on Friday, Dec. 27 in celebration of the league’s 100 years.

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Bears legends Walter Payton, Gale Sayers named to NFL 100’s All-Time Team

Two Hall of Fame Bears running backs were named to the NFL’s All-Time Team.

As the NFL continues its celebration of its centennial season, they’re continuing to honor some of the greatest moments and players of the last 100 years.

It’s no surprise that two Chicago Bears — Walter Payton and Gale Sayers — were named to the team, considering their two of the best to ever play the game. But two other Bears Hall of Fame running backs, Bronko Nagurski and Red Grange, didn’t make the list.

Payton was among two running backs named unanimously to the All-Time team (Jim Brown was the other). Both Payton and Sayers also made the 75th edition of the All-Time list.

The 10 other running backs named to the NFL’s All-Time Team included Jim Brown, Earl Campbell, Dutch Clark, Erick Dickerson, Lenny Moore, Marion Motley, Barry Sanders, O.J. Simpson, Emmitt Smith and Steve Van Buren.