by Mark Browning

Created on: January 04, 2007   Last Updated: April 27, 2007

Time and again I hear TV commentators proclaim this player or that player as "one of the best guards/receivers/returners/etc. in the NFL." What foolishness! Of course they're "one of the best." It stands to reason that the starting center on any given team is one of the best thirty-two (or perhaps thirty-five). What does it take to be truly great? Before answering that, I'd like to look at what doesn't have to do with greatness.

Greatness has nothing to do with how much noise the player makes. Ray Lewis' greatness has nothing to do with his constant blustering, and Warren Sapp has continued to make a lot of noise long after he dropped from great to ordinary.
Greatness has nothing to do with "experts'" hype. At least 90% of the football writers and on-air personalities praise players not because of what that player actually does but because of what they've heard or who they're in the habit of praising. Look at the habit of praise for Brett Favre. Brett used to be extraordinary, but for the past two years he's been quite average. Does that stop the chattering class from continuing to extol his greatness and wringing their hands over whether he'll retire.
Greatness has only a little to do with statistics. Let's take a look at two tight ends in the AFC West: Antonio Gates and Tony Gonzalez. A couple of seasons back, Gates set the record for touchdowns by a tight end. He routinely scores more TDs than Gonzalez. Does that make Gates better? No, it only makes him score more touchdowns. In Kansas City, they've had goal-line hawks in Larry Johnson and Priest Holmes over the last five seasons. This year, LaDanien Tomlinson scored two touchdowns per game, diminishing the endzone opportunities for Gates. Does that mean that Gates has slipped? Not necessarily.
Greatness on defense should not be measured by sacks and interceptions. Last year, Ty Law led the AFC in interceptions but I certainly wouldn't nominate him as the top cornerback in the conference. A player who gets a sack and a half on average per game would be having a gaudy season and a probable trip to Hawaii, but we never hear about the three missed tackles and two blown coverages per game, do we?
Greatness has something to do with position but probably not what you think. I can see a quarterback or a running back as the greatest. On the other hand, I'd struggle to see a wideout in that area. Why? Even the best of them have a relatively limited impact on the game. Who are the elite wideouts over the past ten

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