If you ask me, I'd have to say that it lies somewhere between Gretzky, Michael Jordan, and Wilt Chamberlain.
It's tough for one player to be utterly dominant in football due to the nature of the sport... and the same for Baseball. And the thing about Chamberlain is that he played in a completely different era of the NBA and kinda revolutionized the sport with his style. Gretzky's stats are utterly stunning, especially considering that he did it in what is basicly the modern NHL. Jordan was the complete package(unlike Gretzky). Offensive phenom, Defensive terror, and always took his game up to an even higher level when the game/title was on the line.
Thoughts?
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Joe Montana/Emmit Smith
Johnson/Jordon
Me and Tiger Woods
Could give two shits about hockey.
Emmitt Smith?? Puhhleeeassee! He wasn't even that dominant at RB in his own sport throughout time... Never mind dominant across all NFL positions or accross all sports throughout semi-modern time. Sure he has some nice stats, but he's a product of his environment. I could think of probably at least 5-10 other RB's who would have done as well or better than him if placed on that same team. There's probably like 3 or 4 active RB's in the league right now who are better than Emmitt was in terms of ability/talent and what they can do for their team(Strictly on the field).... they just don't have the Dallas Hogs blocking for them, with a hall-of-fame QB, a Battering ram for a FB, and a beefy roughneck WR/TE duo like Irvin and Novacek distracting the opposition and clearing out huge running lanes on the perimeter and in the deep secondary for them.
__________________ -2004.5 6MT G35 Coupe, Diamond Graphite/Graphite, Aero, Premium, Nav, Splash Guards, Aluminum Pedals, Z-Tube and K&N Air Filter, 3/8\" Motordyne Plenum Spacer -2001 Toyota Tacoma SR5 Stepside 5-Speed 4X4 with siderails, Tonneau Cover, Bed Liner, and Rain Guards -1990 Nissan 240SX SE 5-speed with some minor mods
Joe Montana/Emmit Smith
Johnson/Jordon
Me and Tiger Woods
Could give two shits about hockey.
Emmitt Smith?? Puhhleeeassee! He wasn't even that dominant at RB in his own sport throughout time... Never mind dominant across all NFL positions or accross all sports throughout semi-modern time. Sure he has some nice stats, but he's a product of his environment. I could think of probably at least 5-10 other RB's who would have done as well or better than him if placed on that same team. There's probably like 3 or 4 active RB's in the league right now who are better than Emmitt was in terms of ability/talent and what they can do for their team(Strictly on the field).... they just don't have the Dallas Hogs blocking for them, with a hall-of-fame QB, a Battering ram for a FB, and a beefy roughneck WR/TE duo like Irvin and Novacek distracting the opposition and clearing out huge running lanes on the perimeter and in the deep secondary for them.
Calm down Arty...
Ok... Fuck Smith(Mrs. Smith MMM)
How about Lynn Swann or Walter Payton?
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Whoa! Whoa! Pump the brakes kid...
Payton was in my mind as one of the most dominant NFL players when I made this post... but I was reluctant to mention him, because it's difficult for a football player to control a game singlehandedly. Usually a player of that caliber is at the QB position.
Lawrence Taylor used to dominate games from the Linebacker position in his crack days and entire teams would have to shift their focus to try to avoid him.
What Barry Sanders did was a thing of Beauty to behold despite the fact that he had nearly no supporting cast to proliferate his efforts... but him, being a running back, could be coralled and his team beaten due to the lack of ability from those other players around him.
By sport...
Here are a few:
NFL: Montana, Young, Brady, Barry Sanders, Payton, Jerry Rice, Lawrence Taylor, Night Train Lane, Butkus.
NBA: Abdul-Jabbar, Chamberlain, Jordan
NHL: Gretzky(Clearly he is the only one to care about here), Lemieux, Hasek, Brodeur, Orr, Sawchuk
MLB: Too many great names to list... Babe Ruth comes to mind due to his overall ability in general
If you ask me... it comes down to Gretzky and Jordan.... maybe Wilt Chamberlain if you're willing to consider the consequences of spanning such a large generation barrier.
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If you ask me, I'd have to say that it lies somewhere between Gretzky, Michael Jordan, and Wilt Chamberlain.
I'd have to say that Wilt was a much more dominant player of his times than MJ. Wilt is the reason why people need to release free throws behind the free throw line. There is no MJ rule in the NBA.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dizz
Joe Montana/Emmit Smith
Johnson/Jordon
Me and Tiger Woods
Could give two shits about hockey.
Emmit Smith??? Lay off the batu man!!! Emmit wasn't anything special without his all pro line which normally started 4 people on the Pro Bowl teams. Barry Sanders is a better back with a crappy line than Emmit with the all pro line.
Now Jim Brown was the man of his era. He did things no other man could do while having everyone on the other team hunting him.
Magic & MJ.........yeah pretty dominant. Again not as dominant as Wilt as they regularly played with other all pro caliber players. You can't make the same argument for Wilt, he did it all himself. Scoring all that points (and women) while being a marginally better free throw shooter than Shaq.......argument closed.
Tiger..........extremely dominant, but no more so than Arnie, Byron, Hogan, Casper, Watson, Norman, etc..... over a several year period. I say if he dominates the way he has for a couple more years, then he might bear consideration as being more dominant than Bobby. He's young & needs a bit more time.
Donny's dominance of the toilet in the clubhouse.............legendary. I hear tales even 3,000+ miles away down here in Hawaii. He just needs to light a match because there have been deaths reported in the restroom up to four hours after he's left.
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Now I'm just laid bad - G35Princess
R.I.P. MBC
Emmitt Smith always gets dogged. Sure, you could say he had help at fullback or OL, but the fact is, football is a team sport. All of the top RBs could not have done what they did without their supporting cast.
Personally, I'd put Emmitt right up there among the greats, but I wouldn't exactly call him dominant. Marshall Faulk in his prime made it look easy. Tomlinson is going to be a hall of famer. Larry Johnson is a freakin beast. But there has always been and always will be "dominant" backs. Barry Sanders, Jim Brown, Walter Payton, Jerome Bettis (again, in his prime) to name a few.
I think it's really difficult to pin-point A (as in one) dominant football player, because so much of the game revolves around the team, not the individual.
For basketball, I gotta agree with Wilt.
And I know you said major sports -- but Lance Armstrong -- enough said.
Donny's dominance of the toilet in the clubhouse.............legendary. I hear tales even 3,000+ miles away down here in Hawaii. He just needs to light a match because there have been deaths reported in the restroom up to four hours after he's left.
Dude, I don't know much about football. I only remember the names I hear from the highlight reels when I'm waiting for bball highlights.
I've never seen Wilt play, but I imagine his game to be as boring as Waq's.
I chose Magic(fuckin asshole) because he always gave the fans a show. I don't think anyone here would ever pass up a Bird/Johnson showdown on ESPN classic.
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Whoa! Whoa! Pump the brakes kid...
Emmitt Smith always gets dogged. Sure, you could say he had help at fullback or OL, but the fact is, football is a team sport. All of the top RBs could not have done what they did without their supporting cast.
Ken........Barry ran behind one of the worst lines in football. The D-line spent more time in the back field than his QB. Despite this Barry is a better back than Emmit. If Barry didn't retire early (really early when compared to Emmit), Emmit never would have caught him up in yards. If Barry ran behind the Dallas line.............wow.
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Now I'm just laid bad - G35Princess
R.I.P. MBC
Dude, I don't know much about football. I only remember the names I hear from the highlight reels when I'm waiting for bball highlights.
I've never seen Wilt play, but I imagine his game to be as boring as Waq's.
I chose Magic(fuckin asshole) because he always gave the fans a show. I don't think anyone here would ever pass up a Bird/Johnson showdown on ESPN classic.
Wilt was boring. He racked up some monstrous point totals.
Magic/Bird was always fun to watch. However everyone needs to realize that those two guys had really good team-mates. Many of them are hall of famers.
MJ only had Scottie and Wilt had no one watching his back. How good do you think Shaq would be without Penny, Kobe, or Wade? He would definitely rack up numbers and get some wins, but his game just wouldn't last with all of the beatings he would take over the course of the season. He's definitely the most dominant NBA player since MJ in his prime.
__________________
Now I'm just laid bad - G35Princess
R.I.P. MBC
Ken........Barry ran behind one of the worst lines in football. The D-line spent more time in the back field than his QB. Despite this Barry is a better back than Emmit. If Barry didn't retire early (really early when compared to Emmit), Emmit never would have caught him up in yards. If Barry ran behind the Dallas line.............wow.
You're right about that... but look at Priest Holmes. He did squat behind the Raven OL and has totally flourished under Vermeil and the Chiefs.
BTW, one of my favorite nicknames for Barry was from that commercial... "The half pint halfback, Barry Sandbag" Now I cant remember for the life of me what that commercial was for? LOL
Who Was the Most Dominant Player In Sport?
