Do rings validate greatness in the NFL?

It is the age old debate; if a player is great in the NFL does he have to win a championship to validate his greatness? The debate has continued and will continue for years, there are many great players that have played in the NFL and there are quite a few that have not won a championship. The biggest being Dan Marino, now for me Marino is a sure fire first ballot hall of famer with the career he had and I consider him to be one of the best to ever play the game at the quarterback position. The kicker is he never won a championship with the Miami Dolphins. For so many years there has been a stigma, specifically about quarterbacks not being able to win the big game. Do championships validate the greatness of the player or does the play on the field make the player great? If we are looking at that aspect think of the quarterbacks that have won championships in past Super Bowls Trent Dilfer, Brad Johnson, Mark Rypien just to name a few that are not household names for greatness. These are quarterbacks that did just enough to lead their team and win the big game, and they are not stat stuffers, they are not hall of fame candidates, but they have the ring does that validate them as great or just great for that time?

In my opinion the play on the field validates the greatness of a player. The fact is there are many players that have been drafted #1 overall but that player cannot control every position on the field. What truly makes a player great is giving his team every opportunity to win that championship, being the best at his position in every aspect from game play to film study. Players who are classified as ‘great’ change the face of their position they make things happen on and off the field. These men are leaders in every sense of the word and they put in the work to prove they will not settle for average or less than the best. These are players who in times carry their teams and motivate other players to step up and be better in order to win championships. There are many players that do not have rings but there are also many that have played the game and are considered some of the greatest of all time.

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By Sam Adams
Pro Football Fans Staff Writer