Exactly one month ago today we introduced our great little idea for a "March Madness" tournament. We introduced all 64 of the seedings in four different "regions" and then introduced each of the First Round match-ups for you to begin your voting.
Now, a month later, we've finally cut down the 64 all-time greats to just two: Jerry Rice and Barry Sanders. A No. 1 seed (and the top seed of the entire tourney) and a No. 2 seed in Sanders.
This could be the toughest match-up of the entire tournament; yes, tougher than deciding between picking Jim Brown and Barry Sanders in the Final Four. But, trust me, you made the right decision in Sanders. Sure, Brown was the most dominant runner of his era by far. But Sanders was the type of player who could have been dominant in any era, using his speed, shiftiness and quick feet to make every potential tackler miss. When arguing for Sanders, all I would have to mention is the team and offensive line he played behind.
I guess that previous paragraph kind of reveals who my vote will be going towards in this final match-up, which means yes, I'll be voting against the most productive wide receiver the NFL has ever seen.
I'll remind you all once one last time how to cast your votes:
Now, a month later, we've finally cut down the 64 all-time greats to just two: Jerry Rice and Barry Sanders. A No. 1 seed (and the top seed of the entire tourney) and a No. 2 seed in Sanders.
This could be the toughest match-up of the entire tournament; yes, tougher than deciding between picking Jim Brown and Barry Sanders in the Final Four. But, trust me, you made the right decision in Sanders. Sure, Brown was the most dominant runner of his era by far. But Sanders was the type of player who could have been dominant in any era, using his speed, shiftiness and quick feet to make every potential tackler miss. When arguing for Sanders, all I would have to mention is the team and offensive line he played behind.
I guess that previous paragraph kind of reveals who my vote will be going towards in this final match-up, which means yes, I'll be voting against the most productive wide receiver the NFL has ever seen.
I'll remind you all once one last time how to cast your votes:
1. Leave your picks in the comments section below this article (you can do so anonymously if you would like).
2. Leave your picks on our Facebook or Tumblr page.
3. Tweet us your picks @AllOutBlitz1
4. Email us your picks at benheck77@yahoo.com
5. Or you may even send us a text message at 443-988-8597.
Championship
1 Jerry Rice vs. 2 Barry Sanders
Rice: By far the greatest wide receiver this game has ever seen. His numbers are incomparable to the rest of the wideouts both current and past. With 22,895 career yards, Rice is nearly 7,000 ahead of the second-place Terrell Owens. Going to 13 Pro Bowls and named to 10 First-Team All Pro squads over his 21 seasons, there's no doubt Rice's records will stand for years to come. Have I mentioned that the Hall of Famer has 208 total touchdowns and won three Super Bowls with the San Francisco 49ers.
Sanders: In our humble opinion, we'd say Sanders is the greatest running back of all-time. Though historians would likely argue against that statement and say it's between Payton and Brown and stat geeks would say it's Emmitt Smith (solely based on his all-time yards and TD numbers). But, looking at the bigger picture: Is there really anyone who can compare? Barry has the best highlight reel-worthy runs, played behind one of the worst offensive lines in the league at the time, meaning he had little talent around him. Not to mention he's likely run for the most negative yardage in NFL history, but still managed 15,000+ yards for his career.
VOTE AWAY!
Note: We do not own the above images. No copyright infringement intended.
Championship
1 Jerry Rice vs. 2 Barry Sanders
Rice: By far the greatest wide receiver this game has ever seen. His numbers are incomparable to the rest of the wideouts both current and past. With 22,895 career yards, Rice is nearly 7,000 ahead of the second-place Terrell Owens. Going to 13 Pro Bowls and named to 10 First-Team All Pro squads over his 21 seasons, there's no doubt Rice's records will stand for years to come. Have I mentioned that the Hall of Famer has 208 total touchdowns and won three Super Bowls with the San Francisco 49ers.
Sanders: In our humble opinion, we'd say Sanders is the greatest running back of all-time. Though historians would likely argue against that statement and say it's between Payton and Brown and stat geeks would say it's Emmitt Smith (solely based on his all-time yards and TD numbers). But, looking at the bigger picture: Is there really anyone who can compare? Barry has the best highlight reel-worthy runs, played behind one of the worst offensive lines in the league at the time, meaning he had little talent around him. Not to mention he's likely run for the most negative yardage in NFL history, but still managed 15,000+ yards for his career.
Note: We do not own the above images. No copyright infringement intended.
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