The NFL is dominated by athletic marvels, whether it be dual-threat quarterbacks, unicorn left tackles, or physically imposing defensive ends. For instance, at linebacker, Ray Lewis and Brian Urlacher had prototypical size and speed and accordingly were among the best defensive players of the 2000s. On the other end of the spectrum, football players lacking ideal physical attributes are often overlooked despite strong production. Instead, it takes grit and perseverance to overcome these perceptions and still be a productive player – case in point, London Fletcher and Zach Thomas were both undersized, yet were two of the best linebackers of their era as contemporaries of Lewis and Urlacher; given their similar paths to great NFL careers, it is natural to compare the pair and ask:
The legendary Jerry Rice currently holds all the major NFL receiving records, whether it be receptions, yards, or touchdowns. However, turn the clock back to the end of the 1993 season and the record books looked very different – in particular, for receiving yards, the two names topping the charts were James Lofton (#1) and Steve Largent (#2). Despite very different playing styles, with Lofton being the speedster and Largent being the sure-handed pass-catcher, the duo were two of the most productive players of the 1980s; even with the explosion in passing statistics over the past couple of decades, they remain among the best receivers ever, thus prompting the comparison:
In recent years, the NFL has seen its share of star players who also excelled in basketball at the college level (e.g. Donovan McNabb and Terrell Owens), perhaps most notably at the tight end position (think Tony Gonzalez, Antonio Gates, Jimmy Graham, etc.). On the defensive side of the ball, a couple of dual-sport standouts who spent their Sundays terrorizing opposing quarterbacks were defensive ends Julius Peppers and Jason Taylor – both long and lanky with great athleticism, they were two of the best pass-rushers of the 21st century and each accumulated well over 100 career sacks, thus making for an apt comparison:
When a quarterback is drafted high in the first round, he is expected to become a franchise savior and turn around a team’s fortunes; though some of these lofty draft picks go on to become Hall of Famers (e.g. Peyton Manning and John Elway, to name a few), others are colossal busts (e.g. JaMarcus Russell, Ryan Leaf, etc.). Somewhere in-between these two extremes is the quarterback who does not quite become a superstar, but nevertheless has a very long and productive career as a starter with flashes of brilliance; two signal-callers in recent memory who fit this mold were Kerry Collins and Vinny Testaverde – neither was an all-time great, but both played nearly two decades in the NFL and had Pro Bowl seasons, retiring as among the most prolific passers in league history (which is certainly nothing to scoff at). Looking back on these two underrated, but productive quarterbacks, the comparisons lead to a natural question:
Who was better – Kerry Collins or Vinny Testaverde?
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