NFL: would you rather have Bo or Prime in his Prime?

[JustinCharge 2,397]

Bo Jackson or Deion Sanders. In their Prime.  Which would you rather have?

[listen2me 23 1,825]

Sanders and not really much of a question.  

[avoiding injuries 1,510]

In todays game, definitely Sanders. When was his peak, ATL, DAL or SF?

[bostonlager 2,664]

I'll take Bo 

[supermike80 1,803]

Which one supports a nuclear war?

[edjr 6,578]

OJ is my pick. No one could slash better. 

[kilroy69 1,216]

Bo and it is not even remotely close. 

[TBayXXXVII 2,483]

Am I getting degenerative hip Bo or perfectly healthy Bo?  Is Bo only playing football?  I'm guessing 2-sport / hip condition Bo, since that's what he was.  In that case, it's easy, I'm taking Sanders and not even close... especially in today's NFL.

 

If you're talking about which I'd rather have had in their day, yeah, still Sanders.  Bo was only there 10 games a year.

 

Fantasy world where I can have a perfectly healthy 1-sport Bo?  Back in the day, Bo.  Today?  Still Sanders.

[edjr 6,578]

3 minutes ago, kilroy69 said:

Bo and it is not even remotely close. 

NFL is real life, it is not fantasy football. 

Maybe you haven't noticed in the NFL, running backs are a dime a dozen. Not many lock down corners that are dynamic kick returners 

 

[Hawkeye21 2,382]

I'm taking a healthy Bo.  Tough choice though.

[edjr 6,578]

Career Touchdowns in the NFL

Deion sanders 22

Bo Jackson 18

Quote

Defensive back Deion Sanders played 14 seasons for 5 teams. He had 53 interceptions, 1 sack, and scored 22 touchdowns.

 

[kilroy69 1,216]

1 minute ago, edjr said:

NFL is real life, it is not fantasy football. 

Maybe you haven't noticed in the NFL, running backs are a dime a dozen. Not many lock down corners that are dynamic kick returners 

 

I have noticed that the NFL no longer has bell cow backs and he would be the best in the league. While sanders would have a healthy competition with other DBs in the league that would compare to him. 

 

Bo. All day. 

[TBayXXXVII 2,483]

1 minute ago, kilroy69 said:

I have noticed that the NFL no longer has bell cow backs and he would be the best in the league. While sanders would have a healthy competition with other DBs in the league that would compare to him. 

 

Bo. All day. 

So you're talking about someone like McCaffrey or Henry?  How'd that work out for Carolina and Tennessee?

[listen2me 23 1,825]

I like Bo and respect how incredible of an athlete he was.  But cmon.  1 did it in the NFL.  The other went off in spurts for a couple of injured seasons.   Lets get real.  

We are talking NFL football aren't we??  Wtf?

 

[TBayXXXVII 2,483]

2 minutes ago, listen2me 23 said:

I like Bo and respect how incredible of an athlete he was.  But cmon.  1 did it in the NFL.  The other went off in spurts for a couple of injured seasons.   Lets get real.  

We are talking NFL football aren't we??  Wtf?

 

Yeah, outside of going back to the 90's era and a mythically healthy/1-sport Bo, I don't see any rational argument to choose him over Deion.

[edjr 6,578]

16 minutes ago, listen2me 23 said:

I like Bo and respect how incredible of an athlete he was.  But cmon.  1 did it in the NFL.  The other went off in spurts for a couple of injured seasons.   Lets get real.  

We are talking NFL football aren't we??  Wtf?

 

    Some people are incapable of realizing the difference from fantasy football and real life on the field football. 

[listen2me 23 1,825]

Just now, edjr said:

    Some people are incapable of realizing the difference from fantasy football and real life on the field football. 

And I think people like Bo and dislike Deion.  Which is fine but we aren't talking feelers.  

The question could be framed a few ways.  But I see NFL in the title so thats how I answered.  

[Reality 3,097]

Deion is probably that best CB that ever played. Then, you add his return ability, off the charts. 

Baseball, they sort of cancel each other out.

I love Bo, he was incredible but, this argument is absurd. It's Deion.

[bostonlager 2,664]

Who was better on Tecmo Super Bowl?

 

/thread

[Fnord 2,051]

1 hour ago, Reality said:

Deion is probably that best CB that ever played. Then, you add his return ability, off the charts. 

Baseball, they sort of cancel each other out.

I love Bo, he was incredible but, this argument is absurd. It's Deion.

Deion was an unmatched cover corner, but good luck getting him to tackle anyone. It was a running joke even during his career.

Bo, had he remained healthy, would have had a shot at being the GOAT. He was Adrian Peterson with great receiving skills. Even today he'd be the best RB in the NFL.

[Reality 3,097]

15 minutes ago, Fnord said:

Deion was an unmatched cover corner, but good luck getting him to tackle anyone. It was a running joke even during his career.

Bo, had he remained healthy, would have had a shot at being the GOAT. He was Adrian Peterson with great receiving skills. Even today he'd be the best RB in the NFL.

Deion would shut down an entire half of the field, in his prime, they wouldn't throw his direction. He was better than prime Revis.

He also understood that being healthy and on the field was more important than getting ran over by somebody like Bo. He definitely made business decisions when it came to tackling.

And, Bo didn't remain healthy, and that's part of it.

[edjr 6,578]

26 minutes ago, Fnord said:

Deion was an unmatched cover corner, but good luck getting him to tackle anyone. It was a running joke even during his career.

Bo, had he remained healthy, would have had a shot at being the GOAT. He was Adrian Peterson with great receiving skills. Even today he'd be the best RB in the NFL.

Being the best RB in football is like being the best closer in baseball.  Easily replaced.  Dime a dozen

When was the last time the best RB in football won the Super Bowl? Or even a Pro Bowl RB?

Quote

There hasn’t been a Pro Bowl Running Back on a Super Bowl Winning team since 2013 (Marshawn Lynch)

 

 

[Reality 3,097]

1 minute ago, edjr said:

Being the best RB in football is like being the best closer in baseball.  Easily replaced.  Dime a dozen

When was the last time the best RB in football won the Super Bowl? Or even a Pro Bowl RB?

 

 

McCaffrey is gonna take care of that this year.

[edjr 6,578]

Just now, Reality said:

McCaffrey is gonna take care of that this year.

Hopefully Purdy stays healthy and Tua.

SF vs Miami will be a great SB

[listen2me 23 1,825]

26 minutes ago, Fnord said:

Bo, had he remained healthy, would have had a shot at being the GOAT. He was Adrian Peterson with great receiving skills. Even today he'd be the best RB in the NFL.

Ok.  Maybe.  But? His 2nd year in 10 games he avg 4.3 ypc with 25 yd long.  

Other years he had 600 900 yds with a long run of 88 92.  Like an 8th of his yards on 1 play.  

He was really great.  But his legend knows no bounds.   He is like a mythical creature at this point.   

[MDC 7,129]

Deion and it’s not close.

[MDC 7,129]

5 minutes ago, Reality said:

McCaffrey is gonna take care of that this year.

Sure he is.  

[RaiderHaters Revenge 4,237]

I voted Bo. Then read all this and realized it was only NFL. So it’s Sanders and it’s not even close. Bo was an insanely better baseball player and that takes more skill so that’s why I voted for him

[Blue Horseshoe 348]

5 hours ago, avoiding injuries said:

In todays game, definitely Sanders. When was his peak, ATL, DAL or SF?

 

I'd pick Sanders too, but his situation requires more context. In SF, he was surrounded by a Pro Bowl level defense. He had an elite D line plus Tim McDonald and Merton Hanks to cover for his flaws in the secondary In Dallas, he also had an incredible D Line, also the Cowboys O line was historic level, so they chewed up a lot of clock, keeping the defense fresh. And Darren Woodson could offer the kind of run support and flexibility that Sanders couldn't provide. In Atlanta, IIRC, he was opposite Tim McKyer, who was a top shelf CB with deep playoff experience for a while. 

Sanders, if he wanted to do it, could have played for 20 years, like Darrell Green. It's simply easier to find a player who can give you 70 percent of Bo Jackson's production compared to finding a player who can give you 70 percent of Deion Sander's impact. 

I'd say Sanders was in his absolute best during his short stay in SF. 

A more compelling question might be what would the Rod Woodson vs Deion Sanders comparison look like had Woodson not gotten injured. Woodson literally had an entire second career as a safety. After being probably the best overall all around cornerback of his timeline. ( With Sanders being noted as the "best pure cover corner") 

Bo Jackson would give you, if he wasn't injured, a good strong 3-4 seasons of elite prime. Sanders could give you a 20 year career, with about 12 of them at an elite Pro Bowl level. ( Even Darrell Green lost a step in his last 4-5 seasons) 

 

EDIT:  Sanders took a lot of risks, but it would have looked more unfavorably upon him had he had far worse teammates in his secondary. If he joined the 49ers, and their next best cover guys were Tyrone Drakeford and Dana Hall, well you can see how the long term impact would turn out. To be fair about it, Woodson spent his Steelers career with the vastly underrated Carnell Lake, which opened up a lot of freedom for Woodson to take more risks.