QUARTERBACKS

Dan Fouts: 43,000+ yards, more than 50 300 yard games, and many other 
passing records.  Greatest pure passer the game has ever seen, and no one 
hung tougher in the pocket than Dan Fouts.  Great competitor.

Dan Marino: 1990's version of Fouts...Great competitor, and great passer.


 RUNNING BACKS

Jim Brown: Rushed for over 12,000 yards in only NINE seasons.  Averaged 5.2
YPC for his CAREER.  Made people miss, and when they didn't, he ran OVER them.  
Greatest runner of all time.

Larry Csonka: Prototype fullback.  Big, mean, and nasty.  PREFERRED to 
run over people.  Would actually seek out someone to run over rather than 
find a hole.  Had his nose broken seven times at least, and had a spirit 
that would never, ever quit.  Would block like a wrecking ball for Brown.

Barry Sanders:  As elusive in the open field as OJ simpson, but far less 
susceptible to injury.  Carries the Lions year after year, and has a heart 
like a lion when the chips are down.

Eric Dickerson:  Great all around runner.  Carried BAD Rams teams in the mid 80's, 
and set the all time rushing yardage mark for a single season, 2105 yards.


WIDE RECEIVERS

Lance Alworth: Bambi.  Had speed to burn, and could run for days.  Had 
hands like a cotton ball, and dropped VERY few balls.  Greatest of the 
deep threats, he could strike at any time, from anywhere.

Wes Chandler: In a strike shortened 1982 season, received over 1000 yards 
in only 9 games.  Very quick, and ran good routes, and had good hands.  
Like Alworth, a bolt of Charger lightning with deep speed.

Fred Biletnikoff: Old number 25 had hands like glue (even without the stickum!), and ran
precision routes.  Never had great speed, but was always in the right place on third down.

Charlie Joiner: Longevity personified.  Played more than 17 seasons, and quietly led the NFL
in lifetime catches for a long time.  Had good speed, and great instinct. A class
act with style.

James Lofton: Until Jerry Rice (whom I refuse to have on my team) eclipsed Lofton, Lofton
led the NFL in career yardage receiving.  Played many great years in Green Bay, and had a couple
of great years with the Bills, too.  He had speed to burn, but could run the precision routes,
too.  A great asset.


TIGHT ENDS

Kellen Winslow: Redefined the position.  At 6'5" and 250 pounds, was big 
and bruising, but could also run deep with any cornerback, and was a 
threat to score every time he touched the ball.  Cornerstone of the Air 
Coryell offense in the late 1970's early 1980's in San Diego.

Keith Jackson: Winslow for the 1990's.  Big and punishing, but with soft hands, and good
speed.  Is a perennial All-Pro for whomever he plays.  Has a tendency to become a QB's
"favorite target."

Todd Christensen: Succeeded Dave Casper in Oakland.  Quietly had a great career, catching 
many balls in the clutch to preserve the Raider's "Commitment to Excellence."


OFFENSIVE LINEMAN

Mike Webster: Anchored the great lines of the Steelers in the 1970's.   
Small for the position, but immensely strong and quick, he was the 
prototype lineman in an emerging era of "bigger is better".  he could 
play today, and still be the best in the league.

Kent Hull: Stalwart center for the great Bills teams of the 1990's.
Big and strong, but quik as well, with good instincts.  

Dwight Stephenson: Protected Dan Marino for many years, especially in 1984, when Marino was only sacked
seven times in the entire season.  Stephenson was responsible for a lot of that.  A perennial
All-Pro during his career.

John Hannah:  Some say the greatest lineman in the history of the game, 
including me.  Had running back speed, Tackle strength, and guard 
mobility.  Could drive block on a run better than anyone EVER, and could 
pull faster than some of the backs he blocked for.  Anchored the Pats 
line for many years.

Russ Grimm: Member of the famous Hogs from the 1980's.  Huge guard, more 
a guard in a tackle's body, Grimm could nevertheless run around the end 
while pulling with great effectiveness, although his inside blocking was 
his strong point.  Great pass blocker as well.

Doug Wilkerson: Was for Dan Fouts what the 1984 Dolphins line was for Dan Marino.
Superb pass blocker, he kept many tackles from reaching Fouts.  A pioneer in Air Coryell's
offense.

Anthony Munoz:  Many have labeled him the greatest, and their argument 
has merit.  A superb pass blocker with the speed to run block as well, 
and even hands to catch passes, Munoz could do it all.  He played in 
obscurity in Cincinnati his whole career, but distinguished himself not 
only with fine play, but great sportsmanship and gritty determination as 
well.

Joe Jacoby:  Another of the famous Hogs, Jacoby defined the inside, run 
blocking tackle.  When he stood, the sun almost was eclipsed, but he 
could pass block as well, containing the likes of Lawrence Taylor and 
Chris Doleman for years in Washington.


DEFENSE


DEFENSIVE LINE

Deacon Jones:  Through NFL Films, it was shown that Deacon Jones had 26.5 
sacks in 1964, when the season was only 14 games.  Jones was fast, 
strong, ruthless, and smart.  He could devour blockers with an ease that 
defies logic.  Greatest pass rusher the game has ever seen.

Bruce Smith: Anchor of the Bills' defense in the Super Bowl years, he 
could singlehandedly dominate a game.  Can play the run as well as pass 
rush, and will make tackles most others will miss.  Great speed, and 
great smarts, both on and off the field.  Team leader.

Leslie O'Neal: The great Chargers pass rusher.  Led the league in sacks four times.
Immensely quick, with great strength.  A true asset.

Merlin Olsen:  Member of the Fearsome Foursome with Deacon Jones in the 
1960's for the Rams.  Anchored the middle with great tenacity and 
strength, and provided leadership as well.  Ferocious tackler, he will 
plug holes faster than Drano opens them.

Joe Greene: Leader of the Steel Curtain in the 1970's.  Some say the 
greatest tackle ever, and I might agree.  No one could run by him, and 
his pass rushing skills are legendary.  Not a lot of sacks, but many, 
many times he pressured the QB into a bad throw, or an incomplete.  Would 
always step it up a notch when it most counted.

Howie Long: A Raider through and through, mean and tough.  With Alzado, roughed up AFC West
Quarterbacks for many years.  Long is intelligent, too, though, and could play
the run quite well, and read a developing play like no other.  A good leader.


LINEBACKERS

Dick Butkus:  Is there REALLY any other choice?  A tad violent, but 
strong, speedy, and utterly without fear.  Smart, too, but never let that 
get in the way of hardnosed football in the dirtiest of conditions.  Hit, 
and got hit, harder than any linebacker ever.  A great, great player.

Junior Seau:  Leads a Charger team that was never known for defense, but 
now is one of the best in the league, thanks to him.  He will make 
tackles where no tackles existed.  Recorded 20 or more three times in a 
season, and throws his body around with abandon.  Very strong, and very 
fast, he can also cover receivers very well.  

Jack Lambert: Also a part of the Steel Curtain, his toothless grimace was 
feared throughout the league.  Played hard, and tough, but clean.  Run 
defended very well, and although his pass coverage skills were not the 
best, he could play the field uncommonly well.  #58 was also a leader, 
and would singlehandedly fire up a team with a great hit, or with a 
fantastic play.  Like Greene, would up his play a notch or two when the 
chips were down.

Sam Huff: "The Man in the Middle" for the Giants in the 1950's and 60's.  Great,
intelligent player with good instincts and a mean streak.  A real anchor
for a team's defense.

Lawrence Taylor: I hate the sonofabtich, but ya gotta admit, he can play.
Fast, furious, and a great pass rusher.

Jack "Hacksaw" Reynolds: This guy got pissed after losing a college game, and went out
in the parking lot with a hackswa, and cut someone's car in half.  If that ain't
perfect linebacker mentality, I don't know what is.


SECONDARY

Ronnie Lott:  Prototype Safety.  Fast, hardhitting, and not easily 
fooled.  Lott led the 49er teams of the mid 80's with a great brand of 
football.  Can intercept passes and tackle equally well, which is unusual 
in a safety.

Kenny Easely: Seahawks great.  VERY fast, and could hit as hard as 
anyone, even Lott.  Poached well, often picking off passes where no one 
expected him to be.  His coverage skills were not outstanding, but he 
made few mistakes, and would wreak havoc in the secondary, using his 
speed.

Steve Atwater: Broncos head hunting safety can still hit as hard as a
rhino on the rampage.  Good speed for coverage, too. 

Deion Sanders: The guy you love to hate, but no one in the league, 
possibly ever, was more of a threat to score every time he touched the 
ball, whether covering and intercepting passes, running back kicks, or 
just simply playing offense *he plays both ways*.  His coverage skills 
are outstanding, as is his sense of where the ball is, and his speed.  
He tackles poorly, but that's why you hire guys like Easely and Lott!

Mike Haines: The Patriot/Raider great could cover anyone, even such great 
receivers as Casper, Alworth, Chandler, and Swann.  He wasn't lightning 
quick, like Sanders, nor as flashy, but most games, you didn't hear his 
name mentioned often, or the receiver's he was covering.  Nothing ever 
happened on his side of the field, so there was nothing to mention.  A 
true great cornerback.

Lester Hayes: "Da Molester", as he was known, would get in your face, and not
let you alone till the final gun.  A character on the field, Hayes would always
be in that exaggerated crouch of his, with the towel hanging down from his belt like
some absurd tail.  A true original.

Gill Byrd: Played for Charger teams not known for their defense, but still became the
all-time interception leader.  Fast, canny, and strong, Byrd always lived up to his #1
draft pick status.


KICKERS
Kicker:
Morton Andersen: For him, 45 and in is a chip shot.  Incredible accuracy 
and distance.  Once kicked a 58 yarder that landed 30 feet up in the 
net.  Clutch kicker, with an astounding % of made field goals each year.

Punter:
Rohn Stark: Left footed kicker who can launch satellites each time he 
kicks.  Led the league in average 7 times, and is always near the top.  
Played mostly in obscurity in Baltimore/Indianapolis, but real football 
fans know his name as a perennial all-star and Pro-Bowler.



COACH

Don Shula.  Pure class, and more wins than anyone else...nuff said.