It's hard to put him outside the top 10; but, he's 3rd, behind Barry Sanders and Jim Brown at his own position; maybe 4th if you ask a Cowboy fan. Then you have to throw in Rice, plus Brady and Montana (at least) among QBs and there have been great players at other positions as well. I am a Packer fan but I still loved to see him, and Gayle Sayers before him, running the ball. That said, Sweetness is reasonably in the bottom half of the top ten. No slight there, but let's be real.
Lifelong Bears fan of nearly 60 years here. Ive seen some great bears. WALTER PAYTON is my all time favorite. He lead by example with the competitive heart of a Grizzly Bear. Waler Payton never took a play off. A fierce competitor and a humble family man.
I'm a life-long Packers fan and if there is one thing I absolutely hate, it's Walter Payton running all over the Pack! He did it a lot when GB really sucked! He was a great player and a good man, and he died way too soon!
To have that talent yet be so humble is something we may never see again. He inspired so many of us to fight hard for what we believe in cannot be understated.
The toughest, most durable back the game has ever seen! I was blessed to have been able to watch him every Sunday growing up in the suburbs of Chicago! There will never be another like him. RIP
Walter was the MAIN reason why I wanted to play for Da Bears just so I could be on the field and run like him!!!! My childhood sports IDOL/HERO TOO!!!!!
IMO...the greatest football player of all time. Because he would fight for every inch. punish defenders. He blocked , caught out of the backfield , and was pure class on and off the field.
Payton could do it ALL , complete football player and the BEST RB in the history of the NFL ! And on top of all that a good and decent man of principles.
People don't realize how good he was. He played most of his career for very bad teams with bad quarterbacks, where he was literally the only offensive option. Other teams knew he was getting the ball, so they'd stack the box at the line of scrimmage. And they still couldn't stop him! Beyond that, he was never injured despite not being the biggest guy in the world. Durable beyond belief. I would agree with another commenter that Barry Sanders was the most electric back but Payton could do it all.
He fumbled 86 times in his 190 game career plus another 4 times in the playoffs. Far from never but watching every game he played as I grew up in Chicago in the 60s-70s I was surprised to see that number because it seemed like he never did fumble the ball and no way reflects his reliability as a running back. He did it all. Here is how he compared to some other great running backs in his era fumbles against attempts. This is just a comparison in how often they fumbled over how often they held the ball. Marshall Faulk 36F 2836 Att. .0126% Barry Sanders 41F 3062 Att. .0133% Earl Campbell 43F 2187 Att. .0196% Adrian Peterson 49F 3230 Att. .0151% Jim Brown 57F 2359 Att. .0241% Emmitt Smith 61F 4409 Att. .0138% OJ Simpson 62F 2404 Att. .0257% Eric Dickerson 78F 2996 Att. .0260% Tony Dorset 90F 2936 Att. .0305% Walter Payton 86F 3838 Att. .0224%
I'm from Chicago and old enough to remember Payton's early years. He had lots of runs called back due to holding penalties. If his blockers had been more disciplined, he would have had a lot more yards added on to his totals.
Unfortunately for Walter, his first seven seasons were spent carrying almost the entire weight of the Bear offense on his shoulders due to Chicago's seeming tradition of always having a substandard passing game. A championship quarterback, Bob Avellini clearly was not.
Saw him play against the Packers in 1980 in the famous, cocaine Chester Marcol touchdown game. Sweetness was a beast the whole game. Passed away way to young.
Mike Ditka was asked if Payton was the best running back ever. He replied: No - he was the best football player ever!" Comparisons are always subject to the whim of the observer, but remember that for many of his early seasons, Payton WAS the Bears. Except for him, they had almost no offence at all. If he had had Jim Brown's or Emmitt Smith's or Erik Dickerson's blockers in front of him, he might have gained 16,000 miles, not yards. And don't forget a couple more things. Emmitt Smith almost always ran out of bounds when he saw contact coming; Payton didn't avoid hits, he handed out hits. These three other runners were great players (though I think Jim Brown was, is and always have been vastly overrated, given that he played with easily the best team in the NFL for his entire career), but none of them had Payton's heart, head for community service, personality, and all the rest. And also don't forget that he was developing into a pretty good racing driver when he got sick. He wasn't called "Sweetness" for nothing.
I got to meet him numerous times. His son played baseketball near my school in illinois. Everytime his son played our school he would stand outside of the door and watch from a distance. Every time i saw him, I said "whats up, sweetness!" He always said hello and shook my hand.
Dude was incredible. For the bulk of his career, he was the only weapon the Chicago Bears had. Teams knew he was coming and they still couldn't stop him.
I was living in Japan in 1999 and I cried when I heard of his death! I grew up and watched the first 10 years of his career! I was shocked by his post career restlessness and wild lifestyle and also heard that Mike Singletary shared the gospel with Walter on his deathbed!!
In my opinion, the best there ever was. Punishing runner. Great receiver. Excellent blocker. Could also fill in as emergency quarterback, kicker, and punter.
8:21: The picture of Mayor Richard M. Daley is of Richard Senior, not his son, Richard Junior, who may have attended the funeral. Both were former Mayors of Chicago. Richard Daley Sr. past in the mid 70's.
Best all round football player ever. Could have played rushing LB, Cornerback, blocked like Orlando Pace, and actually PLAYED Quarterback for the Bears!! Has 9 TD passes, would have More in today’s game that is now resembling Canadian football
It was an honer to grow up in Chicago having him (Mr. Payton, a young Michael Jordan, Andre Dawson, Ryan Sandberg, Carlton Fisk and Herold Baines in the city. He would've loved a close friend of mine over 30 yrs, LaDainian Tomlinson, who loved Mr. Payton coming up whom played just like Walter. RiH...
He had the most tenacious mentality. He refused to be bested. He would initiate contact even being 100 lbs or more less than defenders. If he would have had a better team he would have tons more yards
Hands down Walter has always been my favorite running back, he was incredible.....ERIC DICKERSON said his first year in the league when he met up with Walter ...ERIC went over and introduced himself and said : Hello I'm Eric DICKERSON and Walter said : I KNOW WHO YOU ARE
Best all around running back to play the game imo. One thing the stats tend to ignore, are the players and coaches around the person in question. It is a team sport after all. There were a few years in his career where those other players and coaches, particularly on offense, were less than stellar.
Sweetness I don't think any athlete ever had a more apt nickname. The video talks about the way he moved his legs and his hips and his knees and so on. But it was his whole body the whole way he moved. I never saw anybody quite like him. Slippery does not begin to describe Walter Payton. He was one of the best . An argument could be made he was the Best On top of all that he was a class act and a good man. I understand the makers of this documentary want to record everything but I kind of wish they hadn't mentioned his slight bout with depression. I remember reading about it. He was just out of football for the first time in his life and he felt a little lost. But I don't think the depression lasted very long. What's funny is once he got dick he didn't ever seem depressed. It was almost like you had a purpose in life again. But then that's just my take
Simple answer, he was the best ever. He could run, receive, block, deceive defenses and pass. Plus he was the heart and soul of that Bears team. Only thing missing was Dikta giving him his shot at a Touchdown in SB XX, and Dikta now knows he failed him.
8:24 No “Sr.” The picture is of Richard J. Daley, not his son Richard M. Daley who was mentioned. Richard J. Daley died in December 1976, after Payton’s second year in Chicago.
There's way too much focus on Payton's final days, rather than his early career which you hear almost nothing about. Payton, was an absolute phenom in every phase of the game. These AI videos are becoming very annoying.
Yes, he's the greatest football player of all time. But it's really hard to take a video seriously when the voiceover says "over oney-two hundred yards". Do better, man
My favorite player growing up. I hope the information was somewhat accurate (from what I know, not quite). The pronunciation of names and statistics are off. Do better lazy A.I.
Second goat ,only Jim Brown was better RIP to both . 1Jim Brown 2 Walter Payton 3 OJ Simpson 4 Eric Dickerson 5 Barry Sanders 6 Adrian Peterson 7 Emmitt Smith 8 Earl Campbell 9 Tony Dorsette 10. LT .
For today he would be mid but for his time he was and is one of the best of all time. Kinda like the Micheal Jordan thing. Btw. He holding that ball like a loaf of bread. Let me get that.
Was pretty darn good. And I mean still better then Smith and many others that they compare by stats. Didn't have the best lines. Could Block steller and throw the pigskin. Return kicks and a excellent receiver. He could do a lot . Oh " by the way I am a die hard Packers fan. 🧀
Don't forget about the other lies Payton was always chasing Big Jim Browns record Jim left football early. And that's not the reason he was called Sweetness. It's because he bought new watches for the lineman to block for him so he could get the yardage. Do the research 😮
How great was he? He was so great Richard J Daley came back from the dead for his memorial service at Soldier Field. Need to work on those AI algorithms,
Did you ever get to witness Walter Payton play? You missed out if you didn't!
Yes, he was the greatest running back ever.
Great player and a great guy, fortunate to meet twice and have about 5 min to talk, a gentleman
I grew up watching him.
@bradjustad3527 amazing! How lucky you are!
Every Sunday on CBS Channel 2 in Chicago
My favorite player ever. RIP Walter.
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IMO THE BEST EVER....Too bad this is some CRAPPY AI narration
Arguably, the greatest football player ever.
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Agreed
No argument here!... Lucky enough to see him play
It's hard to put him outside the top 10; but, he's 3rd, behind Barry Sanders and Jim Brown at his own position; maybe 4th if you ask a Cowboy fan. Then you have to throw in Rice, plus Brady and Montana (at least) among QBs and there have been great players at other positions as well.
I am a Packer fan but I still loved to see him, and Gayle Sayers before him, running the ball. That said, Sweetness is reasonably in the bottom half of the top ten. No slight there, but let's be real.
@@paulpeterson4216 you know what they say about opinions.....
I'm an old man and I cried like a baby when I heard the news Walter passed away. Loved watching him play.
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He’ll always be the GOAT of all time! I cried the day he passed!
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Lifelong Bears fan of nearly 60 years here. Ive seen some great bears. WALTER PAYTON is my all time favorite. He lead by example with the competitive heart of a Grizzly Bear. Waler Payton never took a play off. A fierce competitor and a humble family man.
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I'm a life-long Packers fan and if there is one thing I absolutely hate, it's Walter Payton running all over the Pack! He did it a lot when GB really sucked! He was a great player and a good man, and he died way too soon!
To have that talent yet be so humble is something we may never see again. He inspired so many of us to fight hard for what we believe in cannot be understated.
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Remember watching all them Bear games in the 70’s and the 80’s.
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My favorite player ever. I do think Sanders was more electric , but I will still take Payton as the best overall back and complete player
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If Payton had played with the O Line Emmit Smith had in Dallas he would have rushed for 20,000 yards
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At least
You got that right.
Add in a QB and weapons that had to be defended besides him and it's well over 20k.
As a Cowboys fan and a big Emmitt fan, I agree with all 4 comments
Best football player I ever saw. He could do it all.
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The toughest, most durable back the game has ever seen! I was blessed to have been able to watch him every Sunday growing up in the suburbs of Chicago! There will never be another like him. RIP
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My all-time hero. He is my childhood idol. I wore #34 in highschool. In college, my older teammate wore #34 because his hero was Walter.
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Walter was the MAIN reason why I wanted to play for Da Bears just so I could be on the field and run like him!!!! My childhood sports IDOL/HERO TOO!!!!!
IMO...the greatest football player of all time. Because he would fight for every inch. punish defenders. He blocked , caught out of the backfield , and was pure class on and off the field.
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He was relentless. Best blocking running back ever. Incredible receiver. Threw a bunch of touchdowns. Never saw anything like him.
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And never will
Payton could do it ALL , complete football player and the BEST RB in the history of the NFL !
And on top of all that a good and decent man of principles.
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People don't realize how good he was. He played most of his career for very bad teams with bad quarterbacks, where he was literally the only offensive option. Other teams knew he was getting the ball, so they'd stack the box at the line of scrimmage. And they still couldn't stop him! Beyond that, he was never injured despite not being the biggest guy in the world. Durable beyond belief. I would agree with another commenter that Barry Sanders was the most electric back but Payton could do it all.
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Walter could do it all!!
Awesome player, and human being!!!
Thank you, Sweetness, for making all of us a little bit better. ❤
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He was a complete football player, He could do it all and he never fumbled the ball.
Rarely fumbled (Bears 1st series in Super Bowl XX is one of those rarities)
Ehhh... Love the guy hands down.. but he fumbled in the superbowl ,leading to 3 for the pats
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He fumbled 86 times in his 190 game career plus another 4 times in the playoffs. Far from never but watching every game he played as I grew up in Chicago in the 60s-70s I was surprised to see that number because it seemed like he never did fumble the ball and no way reflects his reliability as a running back. He did it all.
Here is how he compared to some other great running backs in his era fumbles against attempts. This is just a comparison in how often they fumbled over how often they held the ball.
Marshall Faulk
36F 2836 Att. .0126%
Barry Sanders
41F 3062 Att. .0133%
Earl Campbell
43F 2187 Att. .0196%
Adrian Peterson
49F 3230 Att. .0151%
Jim Brown
57F 2359 Att. .0241%
Emmitt Smith
61F 4409 Att. .0138%
OJ Simpson
62F 2404 Att. .0257%
Eric Dickerson
78F 2996 Att. .0260%
Tony Dorset
90F 2936 Att. .0305%
Walter Payton
86F 3838 Att. .0224%
I'm from Chicago and old enough to remember Payton's early years. He had lots of runs called back due to holding penalties. If his blockers had been more disciplined, he would have had a lot more yards added on to his totals.
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The man was a machine
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Unfortunately for Walter, his first seven seasons were spent carrying almost the entire weight of the Bear offense on his shoulders due to Chicago's seeming tradition of always having a substandard passing game. A championship quarterback, Bob Avellini clearly was not.
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Payton is the best football player ever.
No other player at that level of greatness
Was as complete
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He did so much even when the Bears were terrible
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Saw him play against the Packers in 1980 in the famous, cocaine Chester Marcol touchdown game. Sweetness was a beast the whole game. Passed away way to young.
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I’m so glad I lived through that era. Long live SWEETNESS! I loved watching him run. 😊
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Mike Ditka was asked if Payton was the best running back ever. He replied: No - he was the best football player ever!" Comparisons are always subject to the whim of the observer, but remember that for many of his early seasons, Payton WAS the Bears. Except for him, they had almost no offence at all. If he had had Jim Brown's or Emmitt Smith's or Erik Dickerson's blockers in front of him, he might have gained 16,000 miles, not yards. And don't forget a couple more things. Emmitt Smith almost always ran out of bounds when he saw contact coming; Payton didn't avoid hits, he handed out hits. These three other runners were great players (though I think Jim Brown was, is and always have been vastly overrated, given that he played with easily the best team in the NFL for his entire career), but none of them had Payton's heart, head for community service, personality, and all the rest. And also don't forget that he was developing into a pretty good racing driver when he got sick. He wasn't called "Sweetness" for nothing.
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Great running back, class act rest in peace sweetness .
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I got to meet him numerous times. His son played baseketball near my school in illinois. Everytime his son played our school he would stand outside of the door and watch from a distance. Every time i saw him, I said "whats up, sweetness!" He always said hello and shook my hand.
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Dude was incredible. For the bulk of his career, he was the only weapon the Chicago Bears had. Teams knew he was coming and they still couldn't stop him.
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Dude only missed one game in his entire career and it was only because the head coach decided to sit him.
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right, a deep thigh bruise which after he wore double thick thigh pads. Anyone who ever had a thigh bruise knows how much it shuts you down
And rushed for 275 yards against Minnesota
The best stat in the history of athletes
The answer is simple. Im 53, and Walter Payton is the best football player in my lifetime.
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I marveled at the hard work and dedication of that GREAT man! He wasn't perfect he was SWEETNESS!!!!
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There's a reason it's called the "Walter Payton MAN of the Year Award"
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Beyond good. Beyond great. He was a superlative talent.
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Everyone knew who was getting the ball and he still excelled.Walter and Barry were the best running backs I ever saw.
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I will attest to his greatness… I wasn’t a Bears fan but if they were on, I was always interested…. Sweetness was surreal!
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How the hell did he drop to a number 4 draft pick. Thank God he did so me and Bears fans could watch every game of his amazing career
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Wish you’d said more about his philanthropic work. Payton was the man not only on the field but off it as well.
True! Next vid will include that
I was living in Japan in 1999 and I cried when I heard of his death! I grew up and watched the first 10 years of his career! I was shocked by his post career restlessness and wild lifestyle and also heard that Mike Singletary shared the gospel with Walter on his deathbed!!
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In my opinion, the best there ever was. Punishing runner. Great receiver. Excellent blocker. Could also fill in as emergency quarterback, kicker, and punter.
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Walter Payton was an amazing player.
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walter was the best running back ever. I have watched football for over 50 years.
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Best FOOTBALL player ever.
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God bless you all!🙏
R.I.P. Sweetness❤
He was more than amazing.
He rushed for 277-yards on my 7th-birthday in 1977.
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Greatest overall running back.
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My uncle got to meet him before her passed way
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I wore my walter payton Halloween costume 3 years in a row when i was young
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The greatest football player of all time walter payton
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Pound for pound, and all-around skill and attributes, he's like Sugar Ray Robinson...the best
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8:21: The picture of Mayor Richard M. Daley is of Richard Senior, not his son, Richard Junior, who may have attended the funeral. Both were former Mayors of Chicago. Richard Daley Sr. past in the mid 70's.
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Best all round football player ever. Could have played rushing LB, Cornerback, blocked like Orlando Pace, and actually PLAYED Quarterback for the Bears!! Has 9 TD passes, would have
More in today’s game that is now resembling Canadian football
Insane!
It was an honer to grow up in Chicago having him (Mr. Payton, a young Michael Jordan, Andre Dawson, Ryan Sandberg, Carlton Fisk and Herold Baines in the city. He would've loved a close friend of mine over 30 yrs, LaDainian Tomlinson, who loved Mr. Payton coming up whom played just like Walter. RiH...
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Not only was he the greatest running backs, his pranks at training camp were legendary.
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He had the most tenacious mentality. He refused to be bested. He would initiate contact even being 100 lbs or more less than defenders. If he would have had a better team he would have tons more yards
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Hands down Walter has always been my favorite running back, he was incredible.....ERIC DICKERSON said his first year in the league when he met up with Walter ...ERIC went over and introduced himself and said : Hello I'm Eric DICKERSON and Walter said : I KNOW WHO YOU ARE
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Best all around running back to play the game imo. One thing the stats tend to ignore, are the players and coaches around the person in question. It is a team sport after all. There were a few years in his career where those other players and coaches, particularly on offense, were less than stellar.
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He was the most complete running back ever.
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Greatest RB to ever grace a football field! Better football player
I likely have the most extensive collection of Walter Payton cards in the world. Started it back in 77.
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One of the greatest at his position to ever carry the rock.
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He did it all with no Fear …. And oh, by the way, he was the greatest, running back to ever touch a football 💯
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I shouldn't say never but you'll never see another running back like walter ever in football
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Best football player ever!
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I still have the poster from the game when he broke Jim Brown's record. It was against the Saints.
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Will you please do a video on how good Sean Taylor actually was to inform these younger people
@michaelmorsejr5827, you got it!
Not only was Payton a great player, he was hot!
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Greatest running back ever.
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One of the greats for sure . He only lacked speed , if he had breakaway speed he could be considered in the goat convo .
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The greatest player ever on greatest team ever 85 bears
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Sweetness
I don't think any athlete ever had a more apt nickname. The video talks about the way he moved his legs and his hips and his knees and so on.
But it was his whole body the whole way he moved. I never saw anybody quite like him. Slippery does not begin to describe Walter Payton.
He was one of the best . An argument could be made he was the Best
On top of all that he was a class act and a good man.
I understand the makers of this documentary want to record everything but I kind of wish they hadn't mentioned his slight bout with depression.
I remember reading about it. He was just out of football for the first time in his life and he felt a little lost. But I don't think the depression lasted very long.
What's funny is once he got dick he didn't ever seem depressed. It was almost like you had a purpose in life again. But then that's just my take
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BEST!
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complete player freakish strength
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Simple answer, he was the best ever. He could run, receive, block, deceive defenses and pass. Plus he was the heart and soul of that Bears team. Only thing missing was Dikta giving him his shot at a Touchdown in SB XX, and Dikta now knows he failed him.
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And Ditka gave the Frig the ball in 05’ thus denying Sweetness a Super Bowl TD. I have a Walter Payton bobble head gracing the shelf over my TV.
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The real best ever, if he had a decent offense line in the 1970s he would have had even more records
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How good? Actually? The best ever.
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#1 greatest to play the sport of American football in the history of Earth. Imagine if he had dedicated himself to playing defense
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Tomlinson actually broke his record for TD passes … by 1 I think. But it’s a different game now
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Wait…..how was Daley (shown in video) there? Daley died in 1976.
Raised from the dead
Best complete running back imo.. all tools.
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You showed a picture of Mayor Richard Daley Sr. Instead of Jr.
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8:24 No “Sr.” The picture is of Richard J. Daley, not his son Richard M. Daley who was mentioned. Richard J. Daley died in December 1976, after Payton’s second year in Chicago.
Richard J. Daley the former mayor of Chicago died in 1976 . He couldn’t have attended Walters funeral in 1999!
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The AI voice is bad. Don't write numbers to make it better, 1,390 should be one thousand three hundred ninety. You are welcome.
😂. Come on!
A travesty not getting him a TD in the Superbowl.
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Didn't he play a bunch of fourteen game seasons?
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Only 3 seasons, the league went to the 16 game schedule in 1978
There's way too much focus on Payton's final days, rather than his early career which you hear almost nothing about. Payton, was an absolute phenom in every phase of the game.
These AI videos are becoming very annoying.
Will have to do another video
Yes, he's the greatest football player of all time.
But it's really hard to take a video seriously when the voiceover says "over oney-two hundred yards". Do better, man
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Tighten iup
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My favorite player growing up.
I hope the information was somewhat accurate (from what I know, not quite). The pronunciation of names and statistics are off.
Do better lazy A.I.
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Second goat ,only Jim Brown was better RIP to both . 1Jim Brown 2 Walter Payton
3 OJ Simpson 4 Eric Dickerson 5 Barry Sanders 6 Adrian Peterson 7 Emmitt Smith 8 Earl Campbell 9 Tony Dorsette 10. LT .
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No other running back in NFL history carried his team to the playoffs........
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Does his Liver matter? Does his father and his liver matter?
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For today he would be mid but for his time he was and is one of the best of all time. Kinda like the Micheal Jordan thing. Btw. He holding that ball like a loaf of bread. Let me get that.
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💪👀👍
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Was pretty darn good. And I mean still better then Smith and many others that they compare by stats.
Didn't have the best lines. Could Block steller and throw the pigskin. Return kicks and a excellent receiver.
He could do a lot .
Oh " by the way
I am a die hard Packers fan. 🧀
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Most of his career he had a below average line in front of him.
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Don't forget about the other lies Payton was always chasing Big Jim Browns record Jim left football early. And that's not the reason he was called Sweetness. It's because he bought new watches for the lineman to block for him so he could get the yardage. Do the research 😮
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How great was he? He was so great Richard J Daley came back from the dead for his memorial service at Soldier Field. Need to work on those AI algorithms,
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