Adam Steele is back with a new entry into his Wisdom of Crowds series, and we thank him for it. Below are Adam’s thoughts.

We’re in the dog days of the offseason, so what better time for another Wisdom of the Crowds exercise? This time, Football Perspective readers will be voting on the greatest teams in NFL history. For the sake of accessibility, the rules will be even simpler than usual:

• List your top 25 team seasons of all time in numerical order (For example, the 2008 Lions)
• All teams from the NFL, AFL, and AAFC are eligible (Like the undefeated and untied 1948 Browns)
• Winning a championship is not required for inclusion (Hello, 2007 Patriots)
• Multiple seasons from the same dynasty are permitted (1975 and 1976 Steelers? Why not?)

Polls will be open for two weeks after this is posted. As always, comments and discussion are strongly encouraged. Let’s go!

Adam Steele is back to provide a recap for his Wisdom of Crowds project, and we thank him for it.

After two weeks of polling, we received 20 legal ballots and lots of great discussion. Thank you to everyone who participated! Let’s get straight to the results:

In this table you’ll see total points for each WR, average points per ballot, and the specific points distribution by each voter. I only ranked players who were listed on more than one ballot. Now you can compare your votes to others’ side by side!

To the surprise of absolutely no one, Jerry Rice is the runway winner for Greatest Wide Receiver of All-Time. He’s probably the only player in NFL history at any position that has no holes in his resume. Rice had a dominant peak, absurd longevity, holds every postseason record, and gave 100% effort at all times. He may very well be the greatest football player ever, period. [continue reading…]

Welcome to the antepenultimate section of the Grand List, in which I count down the top thousand players in pro football history (through 2019, when the countdown began). I have researched the game for decades, with thousands of hours of dedicated film study, obsessive attention to stats both common and obscure, and a frankly pathetic amount of literature consumed. So I would like to think my positions are well-grounded, having been based on thoughtful analysis and a great deal of attention to my own biases to try to account for my own blind spots. However, at the end of the day, I am still just one idiot on the internet making a list that I hope will engage people in friendly discussion about the game we love. All my time spent studying doesn’t make my opinion any more valid than the reader’s. Heck, I can think of a guy famed for his intellect who did plenty of studying at Harvard, and he’s a dunce.

Previous articles in the series

The Grand List, part 1: Includes honorable/special mentions and players 1000-990.
The Grand List, part 2: Includes players 989-965.
The Grand List, part 3: Includes players 964-940.
The Grand List, part 4: Includes players 939-901.
The Grand List, part 5: Includes players 900-876.
The Grand List, part 6: Includes players 875-851.
The Grand List, part 7: Includes players 850-810.
The Grand List, part 8: Includes players 809-780.
The Grand List, part 9: Includes players 779-750.
The Grand List, part 10: Includes players 749-700.
The Grand List, part 11: Includes players 699-650.
The Grand List, part 12: Includes players 649-600.
The Grand List, part 13: Includes players 599-550.
The Grand List, part 14: Includes players 549-500.
The Grand List, part 15: Includes players 499-450.
The Grand List, part 16: Includes players 449-400.
The Grand List, part 17: Includes players 399-350.
The Grand List, part 18: Includes players 349-300.
The Grand List, part 19: Includes players 299-250.
The Grand List, part 20: Includes players 249-200.
The Grand List, part 21: Includes players 199-150.
The Grand List, part 22: Includes players 149-101.

Onward we go.

[continue reading…]

It’s time for yet another entry in the Grand List, a countdown of the top 1000 players in pro football history, in one fool’s opinion. ^[1]Remember, this list stops after the first hundred years of the NFL. That means I didn’t consider 2020 in my rankings. When I finish the full list, I plan to re-post an update that includes the … Continue reading We’re getting to the part where more quarterbacks are showing up, which often means increased noise from those who disagree. ^[2]I kindly remind you to send all hate mail to deletesansreading@gmail.com. As a person who hates arguing but loves sharing ideas, I have only brought this nightmare on myself and accept my fate.

Previous articles in the series

The Grand List, part 1: Includes honorable/special mentions and players 1000-990.
The Grand List, part 2: Includes players 989-965.
The Grand List, part 3: Includes players 964-940.
The Grand List, part 4: Includes players 939-901.
The Grand List, part 5: Includes players 900-876.
The Grand List, part 6: Includes players 875-851.
The Grand List, part 7: Includes players 850-810.
The Grand List, part 8: Includes players 809-780.
The Grand List, part 9: Includes players 779-750.
The Grand List, part 10: Includes players 749-700.
The Grand List, part 11: Includes players 699-650.
The Grand List, part 12: Includes players 649-600.
The Grand List, part 13: Includes players 599-550.
The Grand List, part 14: Includes players 549-500.
The Grand List, part 15: Includes players 499-450.
The Grand List, part 16: Includes players 449-400.
The Grand List, part 17: Includes players 399-350.
The Grand List, part 18: Includes players 349-300.
The Grand List, part 19: Includes players 299-250.
The Grand List, part 20: Includes players 249-200.
The Grand List, part 21: Includes players 199-150.

Let’s get into it.

[continue reading…]