Greatness in sports is a funny thing. A lot of the time, people mistake longevity for greatness. They see a guy who has been "good" for years and say, "Hey that guy must be great!" There are a million examples of that phenomenon (stares hard in the direction of Thomas Jones and John Stockton, two players who were never top three at their position at any given time yet get remembered as great).
Almost as often, people mistake team success with individual greatness. Yeah, the Dallas Cowboys were a great team for a long time. But I'll say it flat-out: Troy Aikman was NOT a great quarterback (yes, I'm fully prepared to be flamed by people who disagree. He wasn't. I have spoken!).
What does make a player "great?" I believe that it's not just a matter of longevity (although that's certainly a relevant aspect) and team success (again, a factor to consider, but not the end-all-be-all), nor is it simply a matter of impressive stats (for example, despite his incredible stats, I have a hard time calling Terrell Davis "great" when other, lesser RB's saw success in the same system. Well, OK, maybe he was. But who cares? He was a Bronco!).
At the end of the day, I have to go with the legendary Supreme Court definition of hardcore porn... I might not be able to define it, but I know it when I see it.
And I'm seeing it right now, happening before our very eyes. And if we so much as blink, we might be unfortunate enough to miss it. Yeah, I'm talking about our "scatback" (remember that one?), Jamaal Charles.
We all know that JC is the man around here. But have you ever noticed that when most talk of JC there's always a "but?" (quit snickering, Tarkus)
"Yeah, Jamaal Charles is a stud, BUT he'll never hold up long enough."
"JC's the man, BUT he's always had to share carries. Not a true workhorse"
"Charles has played like an All Pro, BUT he was hurt in 2011 so he's got a lot to prove."
"Yeah he's a great player, BUT players at his position don't matter as much anymore."
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