Absolutely, you cant annoint someone as the greatest of all time or something great without giving it some time first. Greatness is everyones minds only hold up to a test of time. As far as great running backs go, there have only been 3 in the last 20-30 years. Those are Payton, Sanders, and Smith. All of the rest pale in comparison until their careers end and we at least have 5 years to reflect on their careers before induction into the hall of fame. Many players are on their way and there have been some no brainers that were hall of famers while still playing like Jerry Rice. I do believe that LT will end up in the hall of fame but we need a full body of work before we can make that judgement.

A great question would be if Tiki Barber makes the HOF. Is his body of work incomplete. Gayle Sayers played 6 years and was inducted but is Barber really in Sayers league, probably not. We shall see what happens.

Its not only players, its teams. USC was the greatest of all time before they even finished their season against Texas with a loss. Mainstream media has tarnished the games by trying to compare who/what is the GOAT. Its nice water cooler debate but the media has an obligation to the past to respect previous accomplishments. I dont believe they do this. In the end, I think they take alot away from the past by erronously placing too much emphasis on the present. As a result, the present becomes discredited also. I guess its fun to compare the present to the past, however when you have 24 hour sports networks, youd think they could have more factual reporting, more positive stories, more real analysis, and more focus on every team instead of individuals, negative stories, and opinion. Who really cares about Lee Corso or Kirk Herbstreet's predictions, they mean nothing, they arent really experts, and in most cases their opinions are less than yours or mine. I enjoy the Ron Jaworski NFL matchup type shows where they breakdown film, thats the way ESPN used to be. The films dont lie, thats how you determine greatness. Not from some sap that plays fantasy football and follows espn gametracker while hes at work on sunday.