Who's Better, Who's Best in Football?

Book excerpt: Who are the best quarterbacks in NFL history? How about running backs? Wide receivers? How can we objectively rate the performance of individual defensive players? And how can we make reasonable judgments about players at different positions and from different eras? Who is the greatest football player of all time? Jerry Rice? Lawrence Taylor? Jim Brown? Such are the questions pondered by pro football writer Steve Silverman late at night (and during the day). As statistician Elliott Kalb did with baseball, basketball, and golf, Silverman now takes the next step with Who’s Better, Who’s Best in Football?. Taking the analytical methods he developed over his years as a senior editor at Pro Football Weekly, he applies them to an evaluation of players going back to the earliest days of the NFL. The result is a fascinating ranking of the best of the gridiron, from legendary old-timers like Sammy Baugh to present-day superstars like Peyton Manning. Throughout, Silverman discusses the many considerations that must be made when comparing modern players with players of past eras and players at different positions. Including biographical essays on those top 75 players and detailed statistics for their playing careers, Who’s Better, Who’s Best in Football? is a must have for anyone who considers football to be more than just a game.