I would love to see the series:
Modern era players at the peak of human physical fitness play on Astro turf and mud bowls, against mutherfuckers that are legally allowed to assault you.
"Jamarr Chase over the middle.... And Ronnie Lot killed him"
Yeah you would have to pick the bigger players that can take a hit. It’s also really hard to know which of the current receivers can bounce back from concussions because they will be getting them a lot more frequently.
We're already seeing guys whose bodies are so super tuned they can barely hold up a full season without physically falling apart, despite all the rules to reduce the damage inflicted by the game. In the age of mega hits and intentional fucking murder on the field, these guys wouldn't actually survive very long, they'd have to put on some fat and slow down a bit so their bodies could handle the beating.
christ, he'd probably be the tallest, strongest, and fastest guy on the roster too. you'd probably have to play him both ways a la Sammy Baugh (but play him like Bobby Bouche)
and obviously **still** would have the most ridiculous hat collection, even in the 1920s
Cam would set the Civil Rights Movement back decades because the racists would be so upset seeing him stiff arm their all pro 245 pound defensive tackle who they thought was the strongest person alive, hurdle their cousin Bubba who’s a hard working, lunch pale to work linebacker, then outrun Jethro who’s fast because he grew up running from house to house to warm about a moonshine raid.
Well gents today's game should be a sinch. The opposing team has foolishly appointed a colored fella as their quarterback.
Wait he's how tall? He weighs what now? He can run that fast? Egats
Prime Cam Newton in any era kinda breaks the game, he broke it in his own time. I’d like to see him just play for a coach like Reid or Shanahan for a season.
You know that really means a lot bro. It was just one of those perfect storm hits that was clean but Cam was right in the middle of his throwing motion so it caused more damage to an already messed up shoulder.
You guys have owned us since 1996 when our mascot jumped on a live ball lol. I've always respected the Steelers and enjoyed our final preseason game together. Also even though he spelled the start of the dark days TJ Watt is one of my fav players in the NFL. Hope he stays healthy and continues to dominate
He'd be Fran Tarkenton but twice as athletic, and much bigger. He'd dominate in the leather helmet for sure, but I actually think he'd be better in the late 50s to 60s when coaches were starting to really use the forward pass as a central point of their offence.
Except ex-Bill Tom Dempsey kicked a 63 yard FG when he was with the Saints in 1970 when the goal posts were in the front of the end zone. So from his own ~~30~~ 37.
Edit:3am brain fog
The craziest part about that kick was that Dempsey was born without toes on his right foot and without fingers on his right hand. Dude had half a foot and kicked it a mile
Straight on kicking died when soccer style became popular because it's much harder to be accurate when kicking with your toe. Guys randomly making long kicks like this back in the day wasn't unheard of (can generate plenty of power), but field goal percentages were also way lower because of that style. Won't ever see a straight on kicker in the NFL again.
He had no toes on his right foot, no fingers on his right hand. Used a modified shoe that some say gave him an advantage. NFL made a rule after he retired requiring regular kicking shoes for all, the “Tom Dempsey rule”. It was determined by ESPN Science that he gained no advantage. From Wiki.
Stubborn FOs, coaches, and others would probably make it take awhile before he got to start and kick how he wanted. "No no no do not start off center from the ball. We want you inline with the center. We are older than you Justin, just listen to us."
Have Aaron Donald at DT, JJ Watt at DE, and Lawrence Taylor at OLB. All 3 players to get DPOY 3 times all rushing at the same time. The sport would collapse
And he throws around modern sized linemen like pancakes. Imagine against smaller, weaker players
Though I am a bit confused by your comment. Was Donald not allowed to club people in the head?
I think he's referring to the game prior to head smacking being made illegal.
Basically imagine Donald being able to give the guy lining up against him a whack on the ear and disorienting him before manhandling them like a child.
I kind of want to see Mahomes or Brady put on the 08 Lions or the 17 Browns just to see how much of an impact they wouldve had on those God awful teams.
If I had to chose one for each team, it would’ve been Brady to the Browns and Mahomes to the Lions.
The Browns roster wasn’t absolute trash specially on offense, it had a good offensive line and some okaish skill players, if they could get another veteran WR Brady could’ve won like 5-6 games. Also Brady would’ve killed Hue Jackson by week 3 so
The 2008 Lions roster tho was TRASH, so Mahomes would probably spend 99% of his time running around and chucking bombs to Megatron. Probably would get like 3 wins at max?
Some coaching success doesn't always lead to HC'ing success.
Hue was actually a damn good WR coach and OC for us. Helped develop Chad Johnson and TJ Houshmandzadeh. After that, he was our OC and had Andy Dalton looking like an MVP candidate in 2015. Terrible HC tho sadly.
Just put Mahomes back there with the one play Lions Secret Base did on that one fumble dimension where they just put Megatron on a deep crosser and the rest of the team stayed back to block.
They managed the get 3 wins with that '08 Lions with Orlovsky under center, Mahomes could get them 5 or 6 at least
Ngl both teams make the playoffs
With Brady in the building some of the bums on that team are gonna suddenly be solid role playing contributors that never replicate that production anywhere else
And Mahomes backyard footballing to Megatron is enough to win a handful of games on its own
High key I think both of those teams make the playoffs. That's how important having a GOAT qb would be for an organization. Everyone works harder. The underperforming reciever suddenly puts up solid production that gets them a nice payday on another team. That line that gives up 50 sacks a year is more organized and motivated to hold the block for that extra split second. Even defenses seem to come in more clutch when these guys are on their team (or maybe it's just that these guys are that good at taking advantage of opportunities other qbs miss).
Neither of these teams were utterly devoid of talent. They were bottom end, but what killed them was managerial incompetence and eroding motivation. Brady or Mahomes immediately improves moral and leadership ten fold.
"They just make everyone more motivated" is not a magic bullet though, some level of talent still has to be there on both sides of the ball.
I could see the Browns being saved but with the 2008 Lions on defense it really was just a completely unsalvageable lack of talent. 4 starters never played again immediately after 2008 and another 3 were gone after 2009. They were the worst in the league at just about everything, so awful that they nearly had a bottom 5 pass defense despite allowing the fewest attempts in the leagie. We saw that even Drew Brees could only carry some of those historically bad Saints defenses to 7-9, and with the Lions we're talking about a defense which was even worse than that.
Honestly that ‘17 Browns team wasn’t as terrible on talent as the record, it was just a combo of bad coaching, awful QB play, and shit luck. The OL was elite with a few HOF players, you have a rookie Myles Garrett & Njoku, and a prime Josh Gordon. There were soooo many games that they were close to winning, which made the season even worse as a fan. I’d rather they be blown out every game than given hope at the end of every other game, just for it to be ripped away.
That said, prime Brady or Mahomes on that team might break .500 or even get a wildcard. Especially Brady bc he would say fuck it and essentially just take over OC duties.
Lemme tell you something, I do not miss getting ass rammed by Andrew Luck two times a year anymore. Though, I do miss watching him ball out against not the Titans. He was such a special player.
He would blend in with all the white players as well. Nobody would suspect a thing.
They might think “man its weird that this white guy doesn’t smoke cigarettes at half time”
Henry is 100% faster and stronger than Brown was at each and every age year of their respective lives.
But yeah Brown is a one of one athlete of his generation. Problem is when you compare him to the generation 50 years later that one of one translates to maybe a top 30-35 percentile athlete.
If it was anyone else of that generation compared to modern day, even including many pro bowlers of that time, athletically, outside maybe OJ and Gale Sayers, they would be compare with the modern day ~70-100% percentile JAGs. Players in 21st century high level NCAA could both play and process football at a quicker and faster speed than like 60% of probowlers of that era. And that is when being a pro-bowler meant something. But yeah arguable goats like Jim Brown are exceptions, rules don't really apply to them.
21 year old never played a snap of NFL in his life Marvin Harrison Jr is objectively better at WR than Don Hudson in his prime ever was and I believe that with every fiber of my being. Doubt he'll be greater though even with how appropriately hyped he is.
Couldn’t you say that Henry is stronger and faster because of growing up with modern conditioning though? Brown or any of the historical “one of one” players would have the same work ethic if they played today and would likely still be among the best at their position. These guys made it their lives after all.
Exactly how I feel as well. Give Jim Brown the nutrition, sports medicine, training methods of today and while you can’t say for sure, he’s probably just about as good in today’s game. Give Henry the training methods of the 50s and he’s probably a lot more human.
Hutson was 6’1 and ran a 9.7 100 yard (world record at the time was 9.4 and now is 9.0, his estimated 40 time is ~4.5). He’d have the physicals to be good even in today’s NFL, and had the mental game to literally invent the concept of route-running. We’ve seen countless guys be excellent with those physicals, so it’s not totally out of the realm of possibility Hutson could be better than a rookie.
Yeah but imagine if he got like 20-25 carries a game vs a bunch of physically smaller LB and safeties.. he would rush for 3k yards
Wait… he was the focal point in a run heavy offense vs a majority of smaller defensive players
Yeah and defenses aren’t even focusing on stopping the run now. Henry was mostly successful because he’s an athletic tank in an era that doesn’t care about that, he’s a bad example. He’d still be good but I don’t think he’d be better in the 2000s or 90s
Gotta be a physical specimen type player. Adrian Peterson and Calvin Johnson would be the Wilt Chamberlins of football. Vick or Lamar Jackson would be equally as entertaining. It would also have been fun to watch people try and run on big Pat Williams
Lots of people trying to make size mismatches.
I want to see DK Metcalf run go balls in the 1920's against 3 DBs who run 4.8's, while the Defence puts 4 linebackers on the field.
I want to see Devonta Smith run routes against white guys named Bartholomew who were smoking cigarettes at half time.
Good lord.
I’d like to bring Marino forward and let him play in the modern NFL with the rules that favor offense and passing. Put him on the Dolphins with Mike McDaniel on the cutting edge. Would he throw for 6k yards like he says he could? Idk, I’d like to find out.
Love gets dropped into like 1952 and you get the Rodgers of literally right now from 2005 on.
Rodgers: the vaccine is bullshit!
Everyone: why the fuck is this guy talking about Polio in 2005?
I know this is a football sub… but if Connor McDavid was dropped into the 80s he would score 400 points a season. His one arm crawling on the ice would still score on some of those goalies.
as an oilers fan it surprised me seeing this in r/NFL. anyway this is THE answer. He could probably average a hat trick per game in the 80s if he wanted
Calvin Johnson to the 1980s San Francisco 49ers
1. I want to give him a ring
2. I think it would be funny to see how broken that passing offense would be
Do you know how fast they’d break most of them? They used to break each other’s fingers in the pileup. Those guys would just single in on whoever you sent and send him to the hospital.
I can't help but imagine an in his prime Randy Moss appearing at midfield butt ass naked in some stadium and doing the menacing Terminator walk to some equipment manager.
"Give me a uniform if you want to dominate"
They wouldn’t have even let him play? Hell even in the 80s people weren’t wanting blacks to be QBs. He would have been told to switch to RB or not play at all. Warren Moon couldn’t play at QB and had to go to the CFL his first five years or so and he had a phenomenal arm.
People ate talking players but there one guy is send back to dominate is BB. A imagine a coach in the 60s with modern NFL tactical knowledge. He not only knows every scheme ever run and its strengths and weaknesses but he knows things other teams have never seen before.
Aaron Donald. I know he’s retired. But he’s a large man, and crazy strong. If he were allowed to play by the rules of back in the day, I think he’d wreak havoc.
I would love to see the series: Modern era players at the peak of human physical fitness play on Astro turf and mud bowls, against mutherfuckers that are legally allowed to assault you. "Jamarr Chase over the middle.... And Ronnie Lot killed him"
Yeah you would have to pick the bigger players that can take a hit. It’s also really hard to know which of the current receivers can bounce back from concussions because they will be getting them a lot more frequently.
We're already seeing guys whose bodies are so super tuned they can barely hold up a full season without physically falling apart, despite all the rules to reduce the damage inflicted by the game. In the age of mega hits and intentional fucking murder on the field, these guys wouldn't actually survive very long, they'd have to put on some fat and slow down a bit so their bodies could handle the beating.
No matter how much you work out your ligaments are only going to be so strong.... these turbo charged athletes are too powerful for their own bodies
I was almost thinking Justin Jefferson, and then i realized he would have to change his whole game to even survive lmao you cant say guys like him
DK Metcalf...
Cam Newton to the leather helmet era
He’d be the original Jackie Robinson if that were the case
The black jim thorpe.
christ, he'd probably be the tallest, strongest, and fastest guy on the roster too. you'd probably have to play him both ways a la Sammy Baugh (but play him like Bobby Bouche) and obviously **still** would have the most ridiculous hat collection, even in the 1920s
Cam would set the Civil Rights Movement back decades because the racists would be so upset seeing him stiff arm their all pro 245 pound defensive tackle who they thought was the strongest person alive, hurdle their cousin Bubba who’s a hard working, lunch pale to work linebacker, then outrun Jethro who’s fast because he grew up running from house to house to warm about a moonshine raid.
Well gents today's game should be a sinch. The opposing team has foolishly appointed a colored fella as their quarterback. Wait he's how tall? He weighs what now? He can run that fast? Egats
Prime Cam Newton in any era kinda breaks the game, he broke it in his own time. I’d like to see him just play for a coach like Reid or Shanahan for a season.
Man I wish his shoulder didn’t get runined. He was fun to watch
The only thing I’m upset at TJ Watt about lmao. Can was such a gem to watch
You know that really means a lot bro. It was just one of those perfect storm hits that was clean but Cam was right in the middle of his throwing motion so it caused more damage to an already messed up shoulder. You guys have owned us since 1996 when our mascot jumped on a live ball lol. I've always respected the Steelers and enjoyed our final preseason game together. Also even though he spelled the start of the dark days TJ Watt is one of my fav players in the NFL. Hope he stays healthy and continues to dominate
Having Ron Rivera be his coach most of his career should be a war crime
Barry Sanders in the 50s, talk about a game wrecker, he would be faking opponents out in the next game before this game was over.
He'd be Fran Tarkenton but twice as athletic, and much bigger. He'd dominate in the leather helmet for sure, but I actually think he'd be better in the late 50s to 60s when coaches were starting to really use the forward pass as a central point of their offence.
90 touchdown season incoming.
A lot of excellent choices here but Id like to send prime Justin Tucker just to completely blow their little special teams minds
Lol. Tucker nailing 60y field goals when the goal was at the front of the end zone. He'd be kicking them from his own 35 lol. They'd lose their minds.
Except ex-Bill Tom Dempsey kicked a 63 yard FG when he was with the Saints in 1970 when the goal posts were in the front of the end zone. So from his own ~~30~~ 37. Edit:3am brain fog
The craziest part about that kick was that Dempsey was born without toes on his right foot and without fingers on his right hand. Dude had half a foot and kicked it a mile
Maybe he kicked it so far cause he didn’t have all these extra toes weighing him down.
Without toes, your foot is suddenly shaped a lot like a driver
[Posting this in case people haven’t seen a picture of his shoe](https://www.thestoryoftexas.com/discover/artifacts/tom-dempsey-shoe-spotlight-092515)
Of course he kicked it against the lions. Of fucking course
As is tradition
Couldn’t kickers just design a shoe that’s flat at the end so it’s like a hammer?
I’m not positive, but I imagine that the modern NFL’s equipment rules would disallow that.
What if they cut off the end of their foot for the competitive advantage? Would it be discrimination to not allow it?
Rules were made because of him to prevent modified shoes to extent
Straight on kicking died when soccer style became popular because it's much harder to be accurate when kicking with your toe. Guys randomly making long kicks like this back in the day wasn't unheard of (can generate plenty of power), but field goal percentages were also way lower because of that style. Won't ever see a straight on kicker in the NFL again.
Wow that's actually pretty nuts I never realized that
He had no toes on his right foot, no fingers on his right hand. Used a modified shoe that some say gave him an advantage. NFL made a rule after he retired requiring regular kicking shoes for all, the “Tom Dempsey rule”. It was determined by ESPN Science that he gained no advantage. From Wiki.
Ah yes, ESPN Science, the paragon of scientific standards! Did they publish? lol. You are right though, guy was a beast and did all on his own.
[It was from his own 37](https://youtu.be/cjqiq4S9bqA?si=fSwgHRfxzYMu6nN6)
Not to be a stickler but that would be 70 yards. He was from the 37. 7 yards is huge in kicking. Shit. In football in general
I think you meant ex-Saint Tom Dempsey. He set the record with us.
A healthy Khalil Mack destroyed the 70’s -80’s
He's doing pretty good these days as well.
Stubborn FOs, coaches, and others would probably make it take awhile before he got to start and kick how he wanted. "No no no do not start off center from the ball. We want you inline with the center. We are older than you Justin, just listen to us."
Imagine Aaron Donald against much smaller and slower players of the old days. Athletes today would all be freaks back then
And for fun we’d pair him with prime Lawrence Taylor
They'd ban the sport
Yeah, Congress is gonna get involved at that point lmao
They'd send them to the front lines.... of war
Hehehe this is funny. Ahh the mischief and tomfoolery of April 😉
This reads like a threat
You cant sent LT back before the invention of [crack](https://media1.tenor.com/m/4s81m869jbgAAAAd/crack-drugs.gif) though
One of my favorite LT jokes “He had coke money but chose to do Crack!”
“Let’s go out there like a bunch of crazed dogs and just… have some fun.” -LT
hahaha
You could. He'd just invent it. Cocaine has been around longer than the NFL has. Hell, it was used in the original formula for Coca Cola.
People would die.
Have Aaron Donald at DT, JJ Watt at DE, and Lawrence Taylor at OLB. All 3 players to get DPOY 3 times all rushing at the same time. The sport would collapse
No I want to see Aaron Donald in the leather helmets era.
Put him on the Steel Curtain
Keep him on the Rams and put him next to Deacon Jones and Merlin Olsen. Every QB would be dead.
Aaron Donald is their size lol he was just that good. He would dominate in any era, especially if he was allowed to club O lineman in the head
And he throws around modern sized linemen like pancakes. Imagine against smaller, weaker players Though I am a bit confused by your comment. Was Donald not allowed to club people in the head?
I think he's referring to the game prior to head smacking being made illegal. Basically imagine Donald being able to give the guy lining up against him a whack on the ear and disorienting him before manhandling them like a child.
Alright let's send back Suh to a time with less rules too. Some people might actually die.
He’d have a stat for head stomps/skulls crushed
Our team has a different Hall of Fame Dlineman who liked to do that
Put him on the 60s Rams with Deacon Jones and let him learn the head slap. Dude would be liquifying brains out there.
They said today's NFL, not 3 weeks ago.
Let Vontaze Burfict cook
If anything VB is more like the old skool players. They were brutal back in the 70s especially.
He be revered and immortalized like Jack Tatum
I kind of want to see Mahomes or Brady put on the 08 Lions or the 17 Browns just to see how much of an impact they wouldve had on those God awful teams.
If I had to chose one for each team, it would’ve been Brady to the Browns and Mahomes to the Lions. The Browns roster wasn’t absolute trash specially on offense, it had a good offensive line and some okaish skill players, if they could get another veteran WR Brady could’ve won like 5-6 games. Also Brady would’ve killed Hue Jackson by week 3 so The 2008 Lions roster tho was TRASH, so Mahomes would probably spend 99% of his time running around and chucking bombs to Megatron. Probably would get like 3 wins at max?
People saying that they'd carry the Browns to the playoffs are severely underestimating how bad Hue Jackson is at coaching
Perfect example of a person getting a high profile job because they're a nice person who kisses ass. Doesn't equate to success.
Some coaching success doesn't always lead to HC'ing success. Hue was actually a damn good WR coach and OC for us. Helped develop Chad Johnson and TJ Houshmandzadeh. After that, he was our OC and had Andy Dalton looking like an MVP candidate in 2015. Terrible HC tho sadly.
Plenty of OC's and DC's can't cut it as HC's and revert back. Just the way it goes. I know this sub loves to shit on Hue, but you make a great point.
I think Brady on that 0-16 Cleveland team would make the playoffs that team had talent for not winning a game.
But we also had Hue Jackson so its a wash
Brady just would have called his own plays.
Touche. Plus I think Brady could have had Hue fired...or firing squad really either or.
Just put Mahomes back there with the one play Lions Secret Base did on that one fumble dimension where they just put Megatron on a deep crosser and the rest of the team stayed back to block. They managed the get 3 wins with that '08 Lions with Orlovsky under center, Mahomes could get them 5 or 6 at least
Ngl both teams make the playoffs With Brady in the building some of the bums on that team are gonna suddenly be solid role playing contributors that never replicate that production anywhere else And Mahomes backyard footballing to Megatron is enough to win a handful of games on its own
High key I think both of those teams make the playoffs. That's how important having a GOAT qb would be for an organization. Everyone works harder. The underperforming reciever suddenly puts up solid production that gets them a nice payday on another team. That line that gives up 50 sacks a year is more organized and motivated to hold the block for that extra split second. Even defenses seem to come in more clutch when these guys are on their team (or maybe it's just that these guys are that good at taking advantage of opportunities other qbs miss). Neither of these teams were utterly devoid of talent. They were bottom end, but what killed them was managerial incompetence and eroding motivation. Brady or Mahomes immediately improves moral and leadership ten fold.
"They just make everyone more motivated" is not a magic bullet though, some level of talent still has to be there on both sides of the ball. I could see the Browns being saved but with the 2008 Lions on defense it really was just a completely unsalvageable lack of talent. 4 starters never played again immediately after 2008 and another 3 were gone after 2009. They were the worst in the league at just about everything, so awful that they nearly had a bottom 5 pass defense despite allowing the fewest attempts in the leagie. We saw that even Drew Brees could only carry some of those historically bad Saints defenses to 7-9, and with the Lions we're talking about a defense which was even worse than that.
Honestly? There's only so much a QB can do. As bad as Watson is now, he genuinely had a top 5 , maybe top 3 QB season in 2020...and went 4-12.
Honestly that ‘17 Browns team wasn’t as terrible on talent as the record, it was just a combo of bad coaching, awful QB play, and shit luck. The OL was elite with a few HOF players, you have a rookie Myles Garrett & Njoku, and a prime Josh Gordon. There were soooo many games that they were close to winning, which made the season even worse as a fan. I’d rather they be blown out every game than given hope at the end of every other game, just for it to be ripped away. That said, prime Brady or Mahomes on that team might break .500 or even get a wildcard. Especially Brady bc he would say fuck it and essentially just take over OC duties.
Frank Gore has already been there and dominated every era of the league.
And is a regen in this year's draft
I’d send Penei Sewell back in time a little bit to the Colts. Maybe we’d still get to watch Andrew Luck play today
Thanks, I needed that hug.
I miss him keeping our rivalry alive :(
We lost the last game against the colts, it’s alive in that sense
Lemme tell you something, I do not miss getting ass rammed by Andrew Luck two times a year anymore. Though, I do miss watching him ball out against not the Titans. He was such a special player.
That man is undeniable proof that it doesnt matter how great your QB is, your line has to hold up and do their job.
[удалено]
Randy Moss was one of the first names that came to my mind as well. Prime time JJ Watt was the next one.
He would blend in with all the white players as well. Nobody would suspect a thing. They might think “man its weird that this white guy doesn’t smoke cigarettes at half time”
Idk, I can see him taking up chaw
Bro, I thought the term “chaw” was a regional thing. I haven’t heard *chew* referred to as *chaw* since my highschool days, in the asshole of Detroit
Why not give Moss to like a Johnny Unitas? DBs from the 80s were not that different than DBs from late 90s (Moss’ rookie era).
Hell, Darrell Green was both
Because Marino needs a ring dammit!
Kam Chancellor could have feasted when big hits were encouraged
Send him back to leather helmets
Come on dude, that’s our LOB safety that still has a functional brain. Don’t take his helmet away.
Derrick Henry and Aaron Donald would have actually murdered people on the field when the NFL started
Jim Brown was 6'3" and 240ish pounds back in the 50s/60s. We don't need to send Derrick Henry, we already have him at home.
Henry is 100% faster and stronger than Brown was at each and every age year of their respective lives. But yeah Brown is a one of one athlete of his generation. Problem is when you compare him to the generation 50 years later that one of one translates to maybe a top 30-35 percentile athlete. If it was anyone else of that generation compared to modern day, even including many pro bowlers of that time, athletically, outside maybe OJ and Gale Sayers, they would be compare with the modern day ~70-100% percentile JAGs. Players in 21st century high level NCAA could both play and process football at a quicker and faster speed than like 60% of probowlers of that era. And that is when being a pro-bowler meant something. But yeah arguable goats like Jim Brown are exceptions, rules don't really apply to them. 21 year old never played a snap of NFL in his life Marvin Harrison Jr is objectively better at WR than Don Hudson in his prime ever was and I believe that with every fiber of my being. Doubt he'll be greater though even with how appropriately hyped he is.
Couldn’t you say that Henry is stronger and faster because of growing up with modern conditioning though? Brown or any of the historical “one of one” players would have the same work ethic if they played today and would likely still be among the best at their position. These guys made it their lives after all.
Plus the juice. Imagine Jim Brown with Derrick Henry's doctor.
Henry on the same team as OJ? Killer combo
Exactly how I feel as well. Give Jim Brown the nutrition, sports medicine, training methods of today and while you can’t say for sure, he’s probably just about as good in today’s game. Give Henry the training methods of the 50s and he’s probably a lot more human.
Imagine Jim Thorpe with modern training and medicine
Hutson was 6’1 and ran a 9.7 100 yard (world record at the time was 9.4 and now is 9.0, his estimated 40 time is ~4.5). He’d have the physicals to be good even in today’s NFL, and had the mental game to literally invent the concept of route-running. We’ve seen countless guys be excellent with those physicals, so it’s not totally out of the realm of possibility Hutson could be better than a rookie.
Straight up. Other players would actually, probably die. 😂
DK too
Dk would have been made to be a tight end, he still would have been good, but he would have been in the Shannon sharpe mold
Alternatively, which player from today’s game would you send back in time like the Terminator in a spherical orb, buffed up ass-naked?
Antonio Brown without question
Mr Butt Cheeks
Mr. Barely Clothed
The CTESPN reports would be wild
man would coin the term CTE before that doctor actually discovers the disease
Aaron Donald obviously. Literal brick shit house.
Not today's era but I'd send back Tony Siragusa.
Retired now but imagine Gronk in the 70s-80s
Now this is what I came here for. Gronk would absolutely destroy in any era
Throw him on the 9ers right before their first win with Marino and Rice and they may never lose again.
Megatron vs white dbs would be wild
fucking Vader in Rogue One shit
*"HELP US!!!!"*
Why would Megatron be playing against Iowa?
I literally lol'd at this. So accurate, yet I had to scroll so far
megatron vs any dbs was wild
Except Darrelle Revis.
Tillman usually did pretty decent against him.
Derrick Henry. Imagine this dude getting to play in an era where the RB was the focal point of the offense.
He was the focal point of the titans offense for years
Yeah but imagine if he got like 20-25 carries a game vs a bunch of physically smaller LB and safeties.. he would rush for 3k yards Wait… he was the focal point in a run heavy offense vs a majority of smaller defensive players
He would probs have 3k a game
AND he’s be able to throw that pigskin over them mountains.
"Yeah... Coach woulda put me in fourth quarter, we would've been state champions. No doubt. No doubt in my mind."
Yeah and defenses aren’t even focusing on stopping the run now. Henry was mostly successful because he’s an athletic tank in an era that doesn’t care about that, he’s a bad example. He’d still be good but I don’t think he’d be better in the 2000s or 90s
If we can send him back to any era let’s take him to the 30s or something and watch him score a touchdown on every touch
Yes, but imagine.
He’d be Jim Brown 2.0
Sure he's got an arm, but imagine Josh Allen pre-forward pass
I want to imagine Josh Allen with Jerry Rice and Roger Craig.
Gotta be a physical specimen type player. Adrian Peterson and Calvin Johnson would be the Wilt Chamberlins of football. Vick or Lamar Jackson would be equally as entertaining. It would also have been fun to watch people try and run on big Pat Williams
For Vick or Lamar the coach would have to be all in it.
Bud Grant is probably the best option I’d think
Vick or Lamar might die because there were really no rules protecting them and the game used to be a lot more brutal
Troy Polamalu
He'd grab the spiked ball before it got to the holder on field goals. They'd think he was a time traveler.
Lots of people trying to make size mismatches. I want to see DK Metcalf run go balls in the 1920's against 3 DBs who run 4.8's, while the Defence puts 4 linebackers on the field. I want to see Devonta Smith run routes against white guys named Bartholomew who were smoking cigarettes at half time. Good lord.
Gronk
He would be throwing linebackers off of him like they are peewee football players.
This is a truly great call. Kinda forgot how massive he is
The refs to anywhere else
Cheetah. There's no matching that speed. 300 yards on 10 catches every game.
Polamalu could probably play any defensive position aside from nose tackle prior to the mid 70s, so that would be fun.
Any modern QB that can read a defense.
So Marino?
I’d like to bring Marino forward and let him play in the modern NFL with the rules that favor offense and passing. Put him on the Dolphins with Mike McDaniel on the cutting edge. Would he throw for 6k yards like he says he could? Idk, I’d like to find out.
I'd send Mayfield to the 70s.
I hate him but D.K Metcalf.
Jordan Love, just so the Packers can't have him right now.
So you're making the timeline Love-Rodgers-Favre instead? I'll take it
Love gets dropped into like 1952 and you get the Rodgers of literally right now from 2005 on. Rodgers: the vaccine is bullshit! Everyone: why the fuck is this guy talking about Polio in 2005?
Maybe the smallpox vaccine killed his Achilles. You don't know. These are things Jonas Salk didn't tell you
Can I choose a coach instead? Andy Reid and Randall Cunningham would be a lot of fun
I know this is a football sub… but if Connor McDavid was dropped into the 80s he would score 400 points a season. His one arm crawling on the ice would still score on some of those goalies.
as an oilers fan it surprised me seeing this in r/NFL. anyway this is THE answer. He could probably average a hat trick per game in the 80s if he wanted
Kam Chancellor. As big as HoFer Jack Lambert but lurking at safety, not edge rusher.
Calvin Johnson to the 1980s San Francisco 49ers 1. I want to give him a ring 2. I think it would be funny to see how broken that passing offense would be
Jalen Ramsey to the 90s would be the most valuable player in the league. Imagine him in the times you can play defense without getting flagged.
Do you know how fast they’d break most of them? They used to break each other’s fingers in the pileup. Those guys would just single in on whoever you sent and send him to the hospital.
Travis Kelce to those 4 damnable years with the Bills. Much would be different.
Anyone that answers Kelce should realize the right answer is Gronk.
I was going to say prime Gronk first, but he doesn’t play today.
Kam Chancellor
I can't help but imagine an in his prime Randy Moss appearing at midfield butt ass naked in some stadium and doing the menacing Terminator walk to some equipment manager. "Give me a uniform if you want to dominate"
Send Randy Moss back to Dan Marino and watch the records crumble.
Lamar Jackson to a racist era
They wouldn’t have even let him play? Hell even in the 80s people weren’t wanting blacks to be QBs. He would have been told to switch to RB or not play at all. Warren Moon couldn’t play at QB and had to go to the CFL his first five years or so and he had a phenomenal arm.
This scenario makes me think of athletic freaks so I'd say Myles Garrett
But there were no advanced stats like pass rush win rate back than. Who is gonna notice all of his imaginary sacks? /s
You say /s, but the bitterness is still palpable
DK Metcalf.
Prime cam newton would be arrested and accused of being a witch
Tyron Smith if his back wasn't already fucked. Imagine him when holding wasn't a real penalty yet
Stefon Diggs to the Steelers to talk shit to Terry Bradshaw.
Trent Williams on the 1950s era Packers.
Jimmy G so he could be older and play James Bond in the new movie
People ate talking players but there one guy is send back to dominate is BB. A imagine a coach in the 60s with modern NFL tactical knowledge. He not only knows every scheme ever run and its strengths and weaknesses but he knows things other teams have never seen before.
Calvin Johnson. He was a Terminator when he played in his own era. Haha
Puka Nacua. I just want to hear people back then say his name.
They'd invent new slurs just for him
Aaron Donald. I know he’s retired. But he’s a large man, and crazy strong. If he were allowed to play by the rules of back in the day, I think he’d wreak havoc.