Best Green Bay Packer player EVER?

[Deleted member 6794]

Favre - had a collection of crap receivers , bad defense that kept him off the field or opposing teams tried to run as much clock as possible, running backs that liked to fumble, lots of interceptions, and wtf the guy one 60 percent plus of his games.

The Packers had a top 10 scoring defense during seven of Favre's 16 seasons (43.8) as the starter. Rodgers has had that benefit only twice in 11 years (18.2%).

 

[sschind]

Favre - had a collection of crap receivers , bad defense that kept him off the field or opposing teams tried to run as much clock as possible, running backs that liked to fumble, lots of interceptions, and wtf the guy one 60 percent plus of his games. Ted Hendricks was a monster on defense and deserves to be on list as much as white. Star era packers were they individually good or did they just make each other better. Yep Brett the best if you weigh all factors.

While I probably wouldn't vote for Favre as the BEST packer player ever I might vote for him as the most influential Packer player ever. Like most subjective lists it is almost impossible to pick one player out of so many as the best. All the players in the OP's poll and some others are worthy of consideration as the BEST.

As far as my vote for most influential it is somewhat related to the era they played in and the exposure they got. The NFL was simply to limited in scope in the pre Lombardi era for a guy like Hutson to be the most influential. For his time sure, you would get no argument from me but of all time. I don't think so. The Lombardi era you had Vince Lombardi who was bigger than the team and then you had the team. Lombardi was the glue that held it all together. Yes there were some great players and some influential ones but it was hard to say this one or that one was more so than any number of the the others. They were a team and almost as soon as you picked one guy you couldn't help but think "oh yeah, there was that other guy too"

Which Brings us to Favre. While I think Reggie was at least as much responsible for bringing the trophy home and the Packers back to respectability it was Favre who got the lions share of the credit and as QB probably deservedly so. He certainly got his share of the blame so why not the credit. More than that though he was not only a great Packer he was a great player and a well know and popular one. I'm not sure if there was a sports segment anywhere during his career that didn't include Favre in some way shape or form. The streak only added to that on a weekly basis. He not only was the face of the Packers, in many ways he was the face of the NFL. While we didn't have twitter the information age was starting to blossom and pretty much anyone who wanted to know anything about anyone could find the information relatively easily. The NFL started to rise in popularity before he came onto the scene but he certainly did his part of keep it rising. He may have been responsible for more people becoming fans, not only of the Packers but the NFL as a whole, than any other player. You loved the guy or you hated the guy but you knew the guy and you knew what he was doing every week, week in and week out.

It seems to me that Favre came around at the perfect time and had the perfect mix of ... well of everything. Things both in an out of his control. There were certainly others who would be in the discussion. Unitas, Namath, Montana, Starr, Manning Rice, Payton, Brown, Taylor, Janis (had to throw that in to see if anyone was still with me) and several others and like I said earlier its hard to pick the top one. You can argue for any number of players and I'd listen and maybe you might even convince me but If I had to pick one player who meant the most to the most people, Packer fan, non packer fan, NFL fan, non NFL fan, what have you I think I would have to go with Favre. There were better players but I'm not convinced there were more important ones.

As for the best Packer player ever...if you made me choose just one I guess I would have to go with Hutson but to pick any one of a couple of dozen just goes to show how lucky we are to be fans of this franchise.

 

[Mondio]

I would put Starr as most influential for the city, the team, the franchise, and one of the top in the entirety of the NFL. Favre helped with a revival of the Packers after a 30 year drought of Super Bowls, but this franchise was also loaded with life long fans all over the country and despite losing for a long time, had one of the strongest fan bases in the entire league . Favre just brought them extra juice but along with all these new fans, I wonder how many of them would stick with the team like they did thru 3 decades.

I never got to see Hutson, Starr etc. they all played their part and were all vital to the success of the team and franchise. It's hard for me to separate them out. But the QB sneak in the Ice Bowl has got to be one of the most dramatic instances in sports history.

4th down, used last time out, this was IT. There was no do over. On a drive that went almost 70 yards on a sheet of ice, it ended with the QB calling his own number and telling the coach is immortalized in NFL lore he was calling the play and went and won it.

I'm a little biased, but it's one of the greatest plays not only in Packer history, but in NFL history. It helped catapult the league and it's popularity, the weather, the call, the man. I know so many other things don't happen if all those other guys weren't great too, it's why I can't chose a "best", but I would choose that moment and that play as the best for this franchise. So if pressed, i'd have to lean towards Starr as being the greatest Packer.

and that's just considering what he did on the field, off the field? Well, his off the field accomplishments probably rival his sports greatness. Not many men can do that in their life.

 

[Wi. Mike now in Florida]

You have to remember years back there were only 14 games played in the regular season.
Maybe that's good or bad in your choice,

 

[Fat Dogs]

What a great list! I didn’t have the privilege to watch many of these legends so I voted Reggie because he is one of my all time favorites. Favre was amazing to watch and gave my life many joys but I also cursed him a lot when he did stupid crap. For all of his greatness, he deserves all of our hearts forever but not a spot in the top 5 on a list like this.

 

[LetzBreel]

Favre - had a collection of crap receivers , bad defense that kept him off the field or opposing teams tried to run as much clock as possible, running backs that liked to fumble, lots of interceptions, and wtf the guy one 60 percent plus of his games. Ted Hendricks was a monster on defense and deserves to be on list as much as white. Star era packers were they individually good or did they just make each other better. Yep Brett the best if you weigh all factors.

Ted Hendricks? Out of all the really good defensive players the Packers used to have (a long time ago), you pick Ted Hendricks? Whatever. As far as your choice of Favre, all I can really say is that I strongly disagree.

 

[Packer96]

I agree with inappropriate, but it has to be Starr. Hutson's era competition can't compare to the modern NFL. Starr's era called their own plays, player and coach. The Pack was in danger of collapsing when Lombardi came. Without Lombardi and Starr who knows what would have happened.

 

[swhitset]

No Brainer, just pick Brett Favre and move on

I gave you an agree just to try and balance all those red x’s lol... That being said, while I do think Favre was much better than many in here want to admit... I don’t think he was the definitive “greatest”.

 

[rmontro]

I'm not sure if there was a sports segment anywhere during his career that didn't include Favre in some way shape or form. The streak only added to that on a weekly basis. He not only was the face of the Packers, in many ways he was the face of the NFL.

Speaking of streaks, one of the big things that hurt the way people perceived Favre was his streak of ending his season on an interception. I don't even remember how many it was, I want to say it was eight seasons in a row, but I'm not sure. I remember people talking about it, and then sure enough, that season his last play would be an interception. To his credit, one reason this was possible because he usually made the playoffs.

I saw this the other day, and it surprised me a bit: Favre's interception percentage (3.3%) was actually less than Starr's (4.4%). That doesn't really tell me anything other than how much the game had changed during that time, but I still found it interesting. I firmly believe you can't compare quarterbacks from different eras.

Anyway, I'm a huge fan of both Starr and Favre, so no one should take offense. Facts don't hurt anybody.

The other thing that rubbed some people the wrong way was the way John Madden used to talk Favre up so much. It didn't bother me, of course, but I'm sure people around the country (who weren't Packer fans especially) got tired of it.

 

[TomBrownFan40]

I would put Starr as most influential for the city, the team, the franchise, and one of the top in the entirety of the NFL.

Indeed. Well put.

I saw a documentary about Lombardi (I think it was the A Football Life series) where they said Starr was the only player who could go toe to toe with Lombardi. Bart says in the piece that he told Lombardi, "Look, you want me to be a leader of this team. You can't be chewing me out all the time. " Lombardi did indeed relent.

I also remember when Bart first became a head coach. Everyone said he was too nice to be a coach. One of his longtime teammates (I think it was Kramer but, I'm not sure) said, "Bart is tough but, in a nice way." I actually believe he was a better coach than he's given credit for. He and Forrest Gregg had the bad fortune of coaching the team during the strikes, rival leagues, and holdouts crapola of the 80s.

 

[Deleted member 6794]

But the QB sneak in the Ice Bowl has got to be one of the most dramatic instances in sports history.

4th down, used last time out, this was IT. There was no do over. On a drive that went almost 70 yards on a sheet of ice, it ended with the QB calling his own number and telling the coach is immortalized in NFL lore he was calling the play and went and won it.

Just to clarify, Starr's sneak was on third down but the Packers were out of timeouts and wouldn't have been able to get another play off if the Cowboys stopped it.

 

[Mondio]

Thanks for the correction, I will walk around less stupid than when I started the day

 

[rmontro]

He and Forrest Gregg had the bad fortune of coaching the team during the strikes, rival leagues, and holdouts crapola of the 80s.

I'm probably naive, but I felt like Starr was just beginning to make some progress when he was let go. I guess that team just didn't have the horses.

I found this quote while checking out Starr's wikipedia page. I remember it now, after reading it, but I had forgotten it. I remember at the time being disappointed that it didn't work out, I had wanted to see how he would do:

"On January 13, 1984, Starr was named the head coach of the Arizona Firebirds, a proposed expansion team for the NFL. The NFL never granted the would-be ownership group of the Firebirds a team"

 

[gopkrs]

Starr had his chance as a coach of The Green Bay Packers. He did not do very well.

 

[sschind]

I would put Starr as most influential for the city, the team, the franchise, and one of the top in the entirety of the NFL. Favre helped with a revival of the Packers after a 30 year drought of Super Bowls, but this franchise was also loaded with life long fans all over the country and despite losing for a long time, had one of the strongest fan bases in the entire league . Favre just brought them extra juice but along with all these new fans, I wonder how many of them would stick with the team like they did thru 3 decades.

I never got to see Hutson, Starr etc. they all played their part and were all vital to the success of the team and franchise. It's hard for me to separate them out. But the QB sneak in the Ice Bowl has got to be one of the most dramatic instances in sports history.

4th down, used last time out, this was IT. There was no do over. On a drive that went almost 70 yards on a sheet of ice, it ended with the QB calling his own number and telling the coach is immortalized in NFL lore he was calling the play and went and won it.

I'm a little biased, but it's one of the greatest plays not only in Packer history, but in NFL history. It helped catapult the league and it's popularity, the weather, the call, the man. I know so many other things don't happen if all those other guys weren't great too, it's why I can't chose a "best", but I would choose that moment and that play as the best for this franchise. So if pressed, i'd have to lean towards Starr as being the greatest Packer.

and that's just considering what he did on the field, off the field? Well, his off the field accomplishments probably rival his sports greatness. Not many men can do that in their life.

Good point about the loyal fan base built up by the Lombardi era Packers but I would still contend that was more Lombardi and the Packers team more so, or at least as much as any one player.

That said, Starr's reputation both as a player and a person for his entire life and the respect he had earned from pretty much every single person who either knew him or knew of him says a lot. maybe says more than anything. When the entire body of a players life is taken into consideration I would probably be inclined to agree with you.

If I think of one man who embodies the spirit of what every fan wants his team to be and wants its players to be and be remembered for Bart Starr is that man. He was a winner. He was a great player. He was humble. He was honest. He was respectful and respected. He was, by all accounts a genuinely NICE person. I realize that nice seems to trivialize it but I think that is what makes it the perfect word to describe him. There are all sorts of other more forceful words one could use to describe him but IMO those words are exactly what he would not want people saying about him no matter how true they would be.

I don't think he was the greatest Packer player ever and I still think Favre, as a player reached across a wider range of Packer fans and non fans alike to draw attention to the team which is why I still maintain Favre was the more influential Packer. However, since you ended your post the way you did you wouldn't get any argument from me that, when all things considered, Bart Starr is the greatest Packer ever.

 

[rmontro]

Starr had his chance as a coach of The Green Bay Packers. He did not do very well.

That's true, but as I said, at the time he was let go I thought he was starting to figure things out. And as I also said, I was probably naive, I was still young. So when I heard he might get to coach an expansion team, I was interested in seeing how he would do. Being as I was a fan of the man. It's not like the Packers were doing anything. But it was not to be.

 

[Sanguine camper]

I voted for Hudson. He was a man among boys when you look at his highlight clips and dominant stats. Second place would be Rodgers. He makes plays no other qb in the nfl has ever made. Just rewatch that crazy throw to Janis in the playoffs vs Arizona. Third and fourth would be Gregg and Adderly. They were premier players who dominated their position for years in the league. Lombardi called Gregg the greatest player he ever coached. Deferring to Vince's judgement makes sense to me. Fifth would be Nitschke and sixth Reggie White. If Reggie had played his entire career in Green Bay, I'd rank him higher but he was only a Packer for 6 years. Farve could be awesome one game and then stink up the next one. He was the Babe Ruth of interceptions and choked too many times in the playoffs to be ranked in the top ten. Starr was tough as nails and clutch! I think he benefited from being on such a great team so I would rank him as number seven. Lofton was a great player on bad teams and put up incredible numbers for the time. I would put him at 8. Had Woodson played longer, he might be rated higher like Reggie but talk about a playmaker! No other Packer on defense routinely made so many game changing plays. No. 9 imho. Finally, don't forget about Sterling Sharpe. His 6 seasons were dominant and he was on his way to a first ballot hof career.

 

[Curly Calhoun]

No Arnie Herber? Adderley, Wood, Davis or Woodson? I admire Davis for not just his play but for standing with that group of elite athletes behind Ali as he defended his decision to resist the draft.

The long and short answer is all of the above and none of the above.

I'm glad someone gave Herb Adderley some love - He's often overlooked, but arguably the best corner in Green Bay's storied history. He was originally a running back, but at the time the Pack was loaded at the position, so Lombardi asked him to move to cornerback. What a great move that turned out to be.


I agree - There's so many great ones on the list, it's near impossible to pick just one.....For me, Adderley holds a special place in my heart. I loved watching him paly as a kid, and when I played High School football a few years later, I was a corner also, and was lucky enough to get jersey #26.....When I joined the Navy, the first ship I was assigned to had the hull number of my birth year (58), but my rack number just happened to be 26. Some things you just don't forget.

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[Deleted member 6794]

Farve could be awesome one game and then stink up the next one. He was the Babe Ruth of interceptions and choked too many times in the playoffs to be ranked in the top ten.

I still hold a small grudge against Favre for forcing his way onto the Vikings but I would never suggest he doesn't deserve to be in the top 10 of all-time Packers. There's no doubt he threw way too many interceptions but he was a great quarterback for the franchise for an eternity. In addition he was probably the most exciting player to ever wear the Green and Gold.

 

[HardRightEdge]

No Arnie Herber? Adderley, Wood, Davis or Woodson? I admire Davis for not just his play but for standing with that group of elite athletes behind Ali as he defended his decision to resist the draft.

The long and short answer is all of the above and none of the above.

I should have added Dave Robinson to the list. Robinson and Bobby Bell were the models for the modern OLB.

 

[gopkrs]

So many really great players have been Packers. But I think that Favre gets so many votes because he is the most recent.

 

[Deleted member 6794]

So many really great players have been Packers. But I think that Favre gets so many votes because he is the most recent.

I'm quite sure most Packers fans would agree that Rodgers is the most recent one.

 

[gopkrs]

I'm quite sure most Packers fans would agree that Rodgers is the most recent one.

But not the whole picture

 

[OldSchool101]

The Packers had a top 10 scoring defense during seven of Favre's 16 seasons (43.8) as the starter. Rodgers has had that benefit only twice in 11 years (18.2%).

That’s a compelling stat.

Rodgers is .500 winning a Super Bowl when having the support of a top 10 D.
Favre SB Win stat is .143 when supported with a top #10 D
As a comparison, Brady SB Win stat is .400 with a top 10 D and has had a eye popping 15/18 top #10 Defenses as a starting QB; Brady’s worst Defense ranked #17 and he missed the playoffs. Rodgers has only missed the playoffs 3 times.. with Defenses ranked in the bottom of the league at #22, #26, #22.

Rodgers has had just 2/11 and as you mentioned, Favre had a respectable 7/16 top 10 Defenses. As of now Rodgers is clearly in the drivers seat though and much will depend on the Defensive side of our equation going forward.
I have Rodgers as the third best behind Hudson and Starr and Aaron has some serious work cut out for Himself to get into the leaderboard conversation as far this poll. I have Favre and Reggie filling out the top 5.

 

[Pkrjones]

I should have added Dave Robinson to the list. Robinson and Bobby Bell were the models for the modern OLB.

IF the polling would've allowed more than 10 options many of these other players would've been included. I ONLY had 10 spots, and IMHO none of these "what about ..." guys were in consideration for THE BEST. That's not to say that they won't live on in Packer history forever because they should, and deserve to.