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Jim Brown and Bo Jackson - In their prime

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I am a firm believer that all games change and that players of older generations cannot compete the same way in today's professional sports. Do you think Jim Brown or Bo Jackson could be two guys that would actually succeed today?

 

If you are follow hockey. Take the great #99 Wayne Gretzky - nobody will ever score 92 goals in a season ever again. Even if Wayne was in his prime today he still wouldn't put up 92.

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I am a firm believer that all games change and that players of older generations cannot compete the same way in today's professional sports. Do you think Jim Brown or Bo Jackson could be two guys that would actually succeed today?

 

If you are follow hockey. Take the great #99 Wayne Gretzky - nobody will ever score 92 goals in a season ever again. Even if Wayne was in his prime today he still wouldn't put up 92.

Depends on your question. If you timewarped Brown into an NFL game today, he'd get killed. Read "Talent is Overrated..." by Geoff Colvin, among others, to learn how we consistently evolve in training practices, from sports to music to chess to business to anything. If instead you timewarped a baby Brown, with the environment he grew up in, to today, and looked at his future football success as an adult... hard to say if he would have the drive to be the best, and have the same success.

 

Basically, any athlete from the past would get killed in my first scenario, I don't think it is even up for debate. The question is if they have the "it" to succeed in any era. HTH.

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Bo Jackson 6'1 227

 

Jim Brown 6'2 232

 

Obviously size would be no problem for either one. Both of them had great speed and power. Both had the right mindset for the game as well. They would destroy you. They enjoyed blowing by you for a long run or running over you for a short gain. Adrian Peterson is the closest comparison in today's game. Imagine Peterson with a little better burst and a tad quicker, you have Bo Jackson. Imagine AD with a little more power and determination, you have Jim Brown. Bo Jackson has arguably the fastest 40 time EVER! 4.12 is the mythical time?!

 

Obviously you can say that today's players are so much bigger and stronger, but Bo and Jim were bigger and stronger then, so they would be fine in today's game. There are alot of players from 1970 and before that physically would not be big enough for today's game, but then again, you never know. Don Hutson was by far the greatest wr of his time and he was 6'1 and only 185....Torry Holt is 6'0, 190?! I think athletes adjust to their enviroments. They are as good as the potential around them will let them be. By that I mean, if Jim Brown was playing today he could do everything that athletes today are doing, so there is no reason to think he couldn't be a star just as big as he was back then?!

 

Always a fun topic to discuss.

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people get to hung up on physical things. Heart and passion is what made jim brown and sweetness great, you could time warp them to any timeline and their drive for perfection would still make them the best of all time. Just look at jamarcus and see what physicality gets you with no heart

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people get to hung up on physical things. Heart and passion is what made jim brown and sweetness great, you could time warp them to any timeline and their drive for perfection would still make them the best of all time. Just look at jamarcus and see what physicality gets you with no heart

I agree, usually the big differnce in yesteryears player vs today is the physical aspects. Obviuosly today we are so much further along that guys are just bigger. That is why I talked about physical differences, which are very little. Bo and Jim were physically gifted, so they would dominate in any era. I did start my post with "both had the right mindset".

 

Basically what I'm saying is: I agree with you.

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Bo Jackson 6'1 227

 

Jim Brown 6'2 232

 

Obviously size would be no problem for either one. Both of them had great speed and power. Both had the right mindset for the game as well. They would destroy you. They enjoyed blowing by you for a long run or running over you for a short gain. Adrian Peterson is the closest comparison in today's game. Imagine Peterson with a little better burst and a tad quicker, you have Bo Jackson. Imagine AD with a little more power and determination, you have Jim Brown. Bo Jackson has arguably the fastest 40 time EVER! 4.12 is the mythical time?!

 

Obviously you can say that today's players are so much bigger and stronger, but Bo and Jim were bigger and stronger then, so they would be fine in today's game. There are alot of players from 1970 and before that physically would not be big enough for today's game, but then again, you never know. Don Hutson was by far the greatest wr of his time and he was 6'1 and only 185....Torry Holt is 6'0, 190?! I think athletes adjust to their enviroments. They are as good as the potential around them will let them be. By that I mean, if Jim Brown was playing today he could do everything that athletes today are doing, so there is no reason to think he couldn't be a star just as big as he was back then?!

 

Always a fun topic to discuss.

 

this :music_guitarred:

 

and Bo running a 4.12 - 40 yrd dash is a 4.12 - 40 yrd dash any time.

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people get to hung up on physical things. Heart and passion is what made jim brown and sweetness great, you could time warp them to any timeline and their drive for perfection would still make them the best of all time. Just look at jamarcus and see what physicality gets you with no heart

jerry rice was slow in his combine...........people did not think he would be a good wr.........who is laughing now

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Time warped into today's game, both Brown and Jaclson would have the advantage of today's training methods and would no doubt be stars of the game. Both were smooth powerful runners.

 

The best athletes that played football in recent times that I would classify as some of the best athletes ever were Bo Jackson and Deion Sanders, both of whom excelled in baseball as well. An oldtimer I would put in the same category based upon everything I have read would be Jim Thorpe who played football, baseball, and was Olympic decathlon champion. :cheers:

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Time warped into today's game, both Brown and Jaclson would have the advantage of today's training methods and would no doubt be stars of the game. Both were smooth powerful runners.

 

The best athletes that played football in recent times that I would classify as some of the best athletes ever were Bo Jackson and Deion Sanders, both of whom excelled in baseball as well. An oldtimer I would put in the same category based upon everything I have read would be Jim Thorpe who played football, baseball, and was Olympic decathlon champion. :cheers:

I thought I was the only Thorpe fan alive...he also won a trophy in dancing!

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BO JACKSON WOULD FREAKING DOMINATE! He was the greatest of all time.

 

I'm a Patriots fan and I have no "horse in this race" but nobody was as good as Bo.

 

He was 10 times better than Terrell Davis who had a similar power/speed style and faster and stronger than Chris Johnson the current 2000 yard back.

 

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BO JACKSON WOULD FREAKING DOMINATE! He was the greatest of all time.

 

I'm a Patriots fan and I have no "horse in this race" but nobody was as good as Bo.

 

He was 10 times better than Terrell Davis who had a similar power/speed style and faster and stronger than Chris Johnson the current 2000 yard back.

 

 

Bo was unique in that he had Chris Johnson's speed to go with Earl Campbell's strength. You young folks out there should read up on Campbell, he was something special in his brief stay in the NFL. CJ & Bo are the only two football players that everytime they carried the ball I hold my breath, waiting for something spectacular to happen. If my memory serves correctly, that last run on the Bo Jackson Highlights is when he broke his hip.

 

As far as Jim Brown is concerned, he may be the best ever. I did not see him play, but all accounts were that he was a monster on the field. Both would dominate in any era.

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Ok, Barry Sanders was the greatest pure runner I've ever seen. He was on a terrible team, with a poor line, frequently had to dodge guys in the backfield before he even got started forward, and would have likely run for 10,000 yrds more if he had Emmitt Smiths team around him. Barry could flat out play, anytime, anywhere. His talent was transcendent. Bo Jackson was similar in the talent level just being that much better than everybody else. 6'2/230 lb guys don't run 4.2 (or even sub 4.2) 40's AND carry that kind of power. Jim Brown was the same, but with even better moves than Bo. I like the comparison of Bo to Earl Campbell. For the games I've ever watched, nobody ran with the power and anger that Earl did. For those of who think the wouldn't be successful, imagine what these guys would be with modern training, therapy, diet and round the year regimens. I have no doubt that they would be as dominant today as they were in their primes.

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Old school Raider fan here... I like the comparison of Bo to a cross between Earl Campbell and Chris Johnson. Campbell was the most dominating runner I've ever seen, in his productive years. He flat out punished defenses. The Steelers finally figured out how to defense him, and pretty much told their entire defense to get a helmet on him every play. That was the only way to stop Earl. Bo was a somewhat smaller version of Campbell, but with blinding speed. Everytime he got the ball he was a threat to bust it. So you couldn't really catch him and pound him.

 

The Raiders game-planned an entire offense around him in 1990. Back then the Nation had a guy named Jay Schroeder at QB. This guy was a train-wreck. Picture the year Cutler had for the Bears and you've got Schroeder, just without Cutler's physical talent. The Raider offense in 1990 was pathetic, yet Bo Jackson and their defense got the team to the AFC Championship game. Bo went down in the semi-finals against Cincy and the next week the Raiders were executed in Buffalo. With Bo, that definitely would've been a closer game.

 

The thing we all loved the most about Bo was he had a mean streak. When he broke in with the Raiders he had a bad stuttering problem and shied from interviews. This made him seem curt and irrascible. But Bo was a bad dude. I remember an interview he did on a radio show a few years back. He was stuck in an aircraft, sitting on the tarmac waiting to take off, and was talking about opening up a can of whip-ass on someone. Classic Bo.

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Back in 1990 there was Sportscenter, but the media was nothing like it is now. The only way to see Bo play was if you were lucky enough to get the national game and the Raida's were in it. Just imagine him today. The run over Boz. Today that would be like a one on one smackdown of Ray Lewis. I am in NO WAY comparing Boz with Lewis. He was the new dude on the block at that time. Then he runs 90 yards on that MNF game and ran through the tunnel. Classic drama. I can still hear Al Michaels scream "and there goes Bo". Comes back from freakin' hip replacement to hit a home run in his first at bat for the ChiSox. For the young folks out there, Bo was also an All-Star outfielder for the Royals.

 

The baseball purists thought he had HOF potential if he just concentrated on baseball. The football purists thought he had HOF potential if he just concentrated on football. I'm glad I got to see him play both.

 

Ah yes, the legend. 90 yard scampers like it was nothing. Breaking bats over his knee and head. The Bo Knows commercials.

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People who focus on how athletes are "bigger" nowadays are missing the picture. Who cares if a Linebacker now has more muscles? Back in the day, football players were simply meaner. The game was harder. Watch some old film and see ball carriers get close-lined, with forearms to their throats. Observe the dirty play and cruel hits with so much less high tech padding than we have now. Concussions were treated like a headache and you just played on through. What you see today is getting so tame by comparison, with endless safety measures being added to the rule book. Jim Brown could dominate today, as he did then, by simply being the baddest mofo on the field.

 

"Make sure when anyone tackles you he remembers how much it hurts."

- Jim Brown

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People who focus on how athletes are "bigger" nowadays are missing the picture. Who cares if a Linebacker now has more muscles? Back in the day, football players were simply meaner. The game was harder. Watch some old film and see ball carriers get close-lined, with forearms to their throats. Observe the dirty play and cruel hits with so much less high tech padding than we have now. Concussions were treated like a headache and you just played on through. What you see today is getting so tame by comparison, with endless safety measures being added to the rule book. Jim Brown could dominate today, as he did then, by simply being the baddest mofo on the field.

 

"Make sure when anyone tackles you he remembers how much it hurts."

- Jim Brown

 

 

Don't worry, it's only a bruise...

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Both runners held the ball like a loaf of bread. They were awesome but on the highlights I have seen thats what i notice.

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Jim Brown would have been good... but he wouldn't outrun anyone ...Christian Okoye like he bascially was a man playing with boys

 

Bo would be unstopable - LT moves- CJ speed- AP power

 

still say Deon Sanders is the greatest athlete I've seen with Bo a close 2nd

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Jim Brown would have been good... but he wouldn't outrun anyone ...Christian Okoye like he bascially was a man playing with boys

 

Bo would be unstopable - LT moves- CJ speed- AP power

 

still say Deon Sanders is the greatest athlete I've seen with Bo a close 2nd

 

I think it is personal preference between Deion and Bo. I still put Bo ahead of Deion because Sanders was a terrible baseball player. PH duties was about all he was. HOF football player and other than say Mel Blount maybe the best cover guy ever. Couldn't tackle worth a lick so I rank Blount ahead of him.

 

Jim Brown could run pretty well in the open field. He was just so strong and could hit holes with the best of them. Led the league in rushing 8 of his 9 years in the league. Retired with a 5.2 ypc average. From what I've read, he is considered one of the, if not the best ever lacrosse players. Maybe he is the greatest athlete.

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Don't think I would classify Sanders as a " terrible baseball player." He was an average batter but once led the league in triples even though he never played an entire season, Was also far above average in stolen bases. I also remember him tracking down and catching balls in the outfield due to his speed that would have dropped in for extra bases with an average outfielder. As far as tackling, if the catch is prevented, there is no need for tackling. Besides that, most teams wpuld not throw in his direction much. :P

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Don't think I would classify Sanders as a " terrible baseball player." He was an average batter but once led the league in triples even though he never played an entire season, Was also far above average in stolen bases. I also remember him tracking down and catching balls in the outfield due to his speed that would have dropped in for extra bases with an average outfielder. As far as tackling, if the catch is prevented, there is no need for tackling. Besides that, most teams wpuld not throw in his direction much. :P

 

Perhaps I was a bit harsh with Neon Deion. He was an average player with speed as his greatest asset. I've never been a big fan of his and at times he resulted in boorish behavior: see water dumping on McCarver's head. As far as his abilities as a cover guy, awsome. Nobody threw his way and that allowed the other side to double team and create havoc. He literally took close to half a field out of play. It wasn't until later in his career that offenses would start to load up on his side and make him make a play off another DB's mistakes. They used to do that with LT. Once they figured out the best was to "neutralize" him was to go right at him. Going away from him allowed him to use his speed to run down plays.

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Perhaps I was a bit harsh with Neon Deion. He was an average player with speed as his greatest asset. I've never been a big fan of his and at times he resulted in boorish behavior: see water dumping on McCarver's head. As far as his abilities as a cover guy, awsome. Nobody threw his way and that allowed the other side to double team and create havoc. He literally took close to half a field out of play. It wasn't until later in his career that offenses would start to load up on his side and make him make a play off another DB's mistakes. They used to do that with LT. Once they figured out the best was to "neutralize" him was to go right at him. Going away from him allowed him to use his speed to run down plays.

 

in collage , Deon once played a baseball game (went 3-4 1hr, 2sb). Then on the same campus ... On the same day...(university of Virginia) won the 100, 200 & 400 THEN went back to the baseball field and led off the game with a HR ( 2-4 1SB) in game 2

 

if Deon concentrated on baseball only, ... He could have been a HOF'er IMO - just like Bo.

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