I can't see this at all - Atkinson made one All-Star team, and Baker made none. There is no way that anyone at the time thought either was as good as Grantham, who made 5 All-Star teams, played in 8 All-Star games, was 1971 team MVP, and was second-team All-time All-AFL. Here is Grantham's complete All-Star information: 1960 - AFL: 2nd team all-AFL 1960 - Associated Press: 1st team all-AFL 1960 - UPI: 2nd team all-AFL 1961 - AFL: 2nd team all-AFL 1961 - Associated Press: 1st team all-AFL 1961 - NY Daily News: 1st team all-AFL 1961 - Sporting News: 1st team all-AFL 1961 - UPI: 1st team all-AFL 1962 - AFL: 1st team all-AFL 1962 - Associated Press: 1st team all-AFL 1962 - UPI: 1st team all-AFL 1963 - Associated Press: 1st team all-AFL 1963 - Newspaper Ent. Assoc.: 1st team all-AFL 1963 - NY Daily News: 1st team all-AFL 1963 - UPI: 1st team all-AFL 1964 - AFL: 1st team all-AFL 1964 - Associated Press: 1st team all-AFL 1964 - Newspaper Ent. Assoc.: 1st team all-AFL 1964 - NY Daily News: 1st team all-AFL 1964 - UPI: 1st team all-AFL 1965 - Associated Press: 2nd team all-AFL 1965 - NY Daily News: 2nd team all-AFL 1965 - UPI: 2nd team all-AFL 1966 - NY Daily News: 2nd team all-AFL 1967 - Associated Press: 2nd team all-AFL 1967 - NY Daily News: 2nd team all-AFL 1968 - Associated Press: 2nd team all-AFL 1968 - NY Daily News: 2nd team all-AFL 1969 - NY Daily News: 2nd team all-AFL 1969 - Sporting News: 2nd team all-AFL 1969 - UPI: 2nd team all-AFL 1971 - UPI: 2nd team all-conf. Here is Atkinson's: 1968 - Newspaper Ent. Assoc.: 2nd team all-AFL Here is Baker's: ........ There's obviously no comparison.
Lance Mehl is the best Jet Linebacker of all time. Larry Grantham would be the closest to him. There is absolutely no comparison between Lance Mehl and Mo Lewis and I like Mo. But Lance was the better player.
Advances in training and nutrition can only partially offset the significant disparity in size, speed and strength between players of eras long past and those of today. While there were many players from the old days who could play in the modern era, many ( if not most) would not likely make the cut. In addition to the advances in training you noted, you may have neglected to consider that the current overall population (and the pool from which athletes are drawn) has expanded by 125 million people since 1960, the year that Grantham was drafted and by 175 million people from the time Larry was born. In 1938 (LG's DOB) the U.S. population was less than 43% of what it is today. An even more important consideration which you may have overlooked is the historical quantitative and qualitative impact that African-American athletes have had in the NFL. In 1938 (the year of Grantham's birth), the US African American population was only about 12.5 million whereas today it is about 40 million which represents an increase of more than 300%. The white population in 1938 was about 118 million whereas today it has roughly doubled to around 240 million. In 1960, however, only 12 percent of NFL athletes were black whereas today (and for most of the modern era) 70 percent of all NFL athletes are black. That means that the participation of black athletes in the NFL has increased by almost 500 percent and draws from a population talent pool that has tripled. I see these factors has as having a much greater impact than the also significant impact arising from advances in training/conditioning. While Grantham was a great player in his era, I just don't see how he could possibly played, much less excelled in the modern era as an outside linebacker.
I never saw Grantham play....... and I vaguely remember Mehl as being a great, but Mo Lewis was the best one that I can remember
George Washington or George W. Bush? Who was the better president? Based on the above post, it seems to me you would favor Bush because you never got to see Washington in action, presidentin'.
I voted Mo but that's cause he's the best Jet backer I personally got to see play... I never saw any of the other choices outside of Marvin.
Do you get the point I put forth in the post above yours? Forget about this linebacker poll for a moment. What if we have one for QBs? By your logic, you will only be able to vote for O'Donnell, Testaverde, Lucas, or Pennington. Screw Namath even if he was great. You didn't see him play.
He's was a pro bowler in 85 and an all pro in 86. Sigh...another jet great where we say "If only he could've stayed healthy"
Dude.....we ain't talkin PRESIDENTS here....in that case I would have done more research.......but in THIS CASE...MO LEWIS is my man!
I DO get your point sir........I respect your opinion.....maybe you're RIGHT! I just never saw the 60's guys....that's all
Some of us give them reasons, but most ignore those reasons. Lewis should not have such a huge lead over Grantham. It's not really a big deal, though. It's not like we are giving the winner of the poll an award or something.
Okay. As somebody who enjoys NFL history, poll results like this one are a pet peeve. I am always surprised when a person will show little respect to an athlete who played before that person was born, unless the guy is an absolute immortal like Babe Ruth, Ted Williams, Ty Cobb, Wilt Chamberlain, Joe Louis, Johnny Unitas, or Sammy Baugh.
OK................that's cool Cakes...you're ABOVE that I guess...I understand...no Disrespect But I would love to know about Grantham..........maybe some other poster can enlighten us
Grantham was a much more decorated player. He received All-AFL/All-NFL honors in 11 different seasons. 5 times he was consensus 1st-team choice. Lewis was 2 and 1. He was 1st team in 1998.
