Obviously, this team is made up of football players that never played for the Vikings. It can also go without saying that they are players that I loved watching play football. The one thing that isn't obvious is that I limited them to players that played in my lifetime. Seeing as I'm quite fond of football's past that ruled out a lot of players that I really liked. Players like Dutch Clark, Don Hutson, Glenn Presnell, Sammy Baugh, Mel Hein, Bulldog Turner, Ace Parker, Bill Dudley, Marion Motley, Bill Willis, Ollie Matson, Night Train, Jim Brown, a whole slew of Baltimore Colts like Lenny Moore, Gino Marchetti, Raymond Berry, Jim Parker, Art Donovan, and, of course, John Unitas. Seriously, if I had been born a decade earlier I might've ended up a Colts fan.
Quarterback
Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers
Rodgers is on this team probably more for his Cal days than his NFL days. I feel like I watched him grow into the quarterback that he is today. Despite what the scouts and NFL decision-makers say, you could see the brilliant NFL quarterback in that college quarterback. Watch the 2004 USC game. Best college quarterbacking I've ever seen.
Rodgers is on this team probably more for his Cal days than his NFL days. I feel like I watched him grow into the quarterback that he is today. Despite what the scouts and NFL decision-makers say, you could see the brilliant NFL quarterback in that college quarterback. Watch the 2004 USC game. Best college quarterbacking I've ever seen.
Running backs
Walter Payton, Chicago Bears
Walter Payton, Chicago Bears
LaDanian Tomlinson, San Diego Chargers/New York Jets
Marshall Faulk, Indianapolis Colts/St. Louis Rams
I watched Payton shred the Vikings defense for 275 yards in 1977. It was painful but amazing. I learned a lot about my appreciation for football that day. Tomlinson could do it all on the football field. He sealed his place on this team with the man he is off the field. Especially the work he's done and the place he's created for dogs. As a San Deigo State running back, Faulk walked by as I waited to enter Cal's Memorial Stadium in 1993. Off the field, he's the size of your average high school back. On the field, he's a giant. He could hurt a defense in so many ways.
Marshall Faulk, Indianapolis Colts/St. Louis Rams
I watched Payton shred the Vikings defense for 275 yards in 1977. It was painful but amazing. I learned a lot about my appreciation for football that day. Tomlinson could do it all on the football field. He sealed his place on this team with the man he is off the field. Especially the work he's done and the place he's created for dogs. As a San Deigo State running back, Faulk walked by as I waited to enter Cal's Memorial Stadium in 1993. Off the field, he's the size of your average high school back. On the field, he's a giant. He could hurt a defense in so many ways.
Receiver
Jerry Rice, San Francisco 49ers/Oakland Raiders/Seattle Seahawks
Larry Fitzgerald, Arizona Cardinals
Steve Smith, Sr., Carolina Panthers/Baltimore Ravens
When Steve Smith got me thinking about this team I immediately had Fitzgerald paired with him. How could I forget Jerry Rice? I'm a Cris Carter honk so I was always jealous of the Hall of Fame quarterbacks that Rice had throwing to him. It didn't seem fair. Rice wasn't just a great receiver. He was one of the greatest football players to ever step on a field. And he worked so hard to get there. Fitzgerald is the best pass catcher since Carter. I guess that he paid attention when he was the Vikings ball boy in the late 1990s. Smith is simply a blast to watch play football.
Larry Fitzgerald, Arizona Cardinals
Steve Smith, Sr., Carolina Panthers/Baltimore Ravens
When Steve Smith got me thinking about this team I immediately had Fitzgerald paired with him. How could I forget Jerry Rice? I'm a Cris Carter honk so I was always jealous of the Hall of Fame quarterbacks that Rice had throwing to him. It didn't seem fair. Rice wasn't just a great receiver. He was one of the greatest football players to ever step on a field. And he worked so hard to get there. Fitzgerald is the best pass catcher since Carter. I guess that he paid attention when he was the Vikings ball boy in the late 1990s. Smith is simply a blast to watch play football.
Tight end
Tony Gonzalez, Kansas City Chiefs/Atlanta Falcons
A Cal guy! Gonzalez was a double treat in college. He was fun to watch play football. He was just about the only fun thing on those football teams. He was also fun to watch play basketball.
A Cal guy! Gonzalez was a double treat in college. He was fun to watch play football. He was just about the only fun thing on those football teams. He was also fun to watch play basketball.
Tackles
Jonathan Ogden, Baltimore Ravens
Joe Thomas, Cleveland Browns
I often felt like Ogden won his matchups before the game even started. I was a Thomas fan for life when he went fishing on draft day.
Joe Thomas, Cleveland Browns
I often felt like Ogden won his matchups before the game even started. I was a Thomas fan for life when he went fishing on draft day.
Guards
Larry Allen, Dallas Cowboys/San Francisco 49ers
John Hannah, New England Patriots
Allen was simply a beast. He was too strong for any man, any group of men, in front of him. I didn't know much about offensive line play in the 1970s, I still really don't, but I knew that Hannah was really good.
John Hannah, New England Patriots
Allen was simply a beast. He was too strong for any man, any group of men, in front of him. I didn't know much about offensive line play in the 1970s, I still really don't, but I knew that Hannah was really good.
Center
Alex Mack, Cleveland Browns/Atlanta Falcons
Another Cal guy. He won the prestigious William V. Campbell Trophy while at Cal. The "academic Heisman."
Another Cal guy. He won the prestigious William V. Campbell Trophy while at Cal. The "academic Heisman."
Defensive ends
Reggie White, Phialdelphia Eagles/Green Bay Packers/Carolina Panthers
LeRoy Selmon, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
My fondest/worst memory of White was when the Vikings decided it might be a fine idea to have Cris Carter chip him. I didn't think that a man could fly like that. It was a terrible decision and White was a fantastic football player. Selmon was too good to play on a team that was so bad. It didn't take long for that terrible team to be relevant due to a defense led by Selmon.
LeRoy Selmon, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
My fondest/worst memory of White was when the Vikings decided it might be a fine idea to have Cris Carter chip him. I didn't think that a man could fly like that. It was a terrible decision and White was a fantastic football player. Selmon was too good to play on a team that was so bad. It didn't take long for that terrible team to be relevant due to a defense led by Selmon.
Defensive tackles
Joe Greene, Pittsburgh Steelers
Joe Greene, Pittsburgh Steelers
Warren Sapp, Tampa Bay Buccaneers/Oakland Raiders
As an itty-bitty Vikings fan, Greene scared me. But, I still loved watching him play. Sapp was the player that I wanted the Vikings to select in the 1995 NFL Draft. They selected Derrick Alexander instead. And they paid for the mistake for about a decade.
Linebackers
Derrick Brooks, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Patrick Willis, San Francisco 49ers
Lawrence Taylor, New York Giants
Jack Ham, Pittsburgh Steelers
The Sapp-Brooks DT-LB combo often reminded me of the Greene-Ham combo. Both were brilliant. Willis was a fantastic football player. I feel like he was underrated but everyone that watched him rated him high. Taylor changed the game like no other player in my lifetime. Ham's solid, efficient play forced me to include a fourth linebacker. Even as a little kid I could easily see that he did everything right. Always in the right place. Always doing the right thing. Always doing his job. Luke Kuechly plays a similar sort of game. Smart, solid, sometimes spectacular. In fact, Kuechly is real close to being a part of this team.
Patrick Willis, San Francisco 49ers
Lawrence Taylor, New York Giants
Jack Ham, Pittsburgh Steelers
The Sapp-Brooks DT-LB combo often reminded me of the Greene-Ham combo. Both were brilliant. Willis was a fantastic football player. I feel like he was underrated but everyone that watched him rated him high. Taylor changed the game like no other player in my lifetime. Ham's solid, efficient play forced me to include a fourth linebacker. Even as a little kid I could easily see that he did everything right. Always in the right place. Always doing the right thing. Always doing his job. Luke Kuechly plays a similar sort of game. Smart, solid, sometimes spectacular. In fact, Kuechly is real close to being a part of this team.
Cornerbacks
Mike Haynes, New England Patriots/Oakland Raiders
Deion Sanders, Falcons/49ers/Cowboys/Redskins/Ravens
As a kid I didn't think that there was a smoother football player than Haynes. Some of Sanders' extracurriculars could get a little tiresome but he was still so much fun to watch. He was so good at football.
Deion Sanders, Falcons/49ers/Cowboys/Redskins/Ravens
As a kid I didn't think that there was a smoother football player than Haynes. Some of Sanders' extracurriculars could get a little tiresome but he was still so much fun to watch. He was so good at football.
Safeties
Ed Reed, Baltimore Ravens/Houston Texans/New York Jets
Troy Polamalu, Pittsburgh Steelers
Listening to Bill Belichick and Tom Brady talk of playing against Reed in Belichick's A Football Life was a treat. You threw out the book when you faced Reed. He saw things that no one else did. A fantastic football player. So was Polamalu. While Reed was smooth Polamalu was manic. He played like he was on fire. It was awesome to watch.
I attended Cris Carter's Pro Football Hall of Fame induction in 2013. It was a fantastic experience and a late and very deserving honor for Carter. I realized upon completion of this All-Time Favorite team that three members of the Hall of Fame Class of 2013 made this team. Jonathan Ogden, Larry Allen, and Warren Sapp. I went to Canton for Carter but the entire class was special. Bill Parcells, Curley Culp, and Dave Robinson were the other members and I was quite fond of them as well. Culp was a non-Viking favorite of mine in the 1970s and rivaled Sapp for inclusion on this team.
Troy Polamalu, Pittsburgh Steelers
Listening to Bill Belichick and Tom Brady talk of playing against Reed in Belichick's A Football Life was a treat. You threw out the book when you faced Reed. He saw things that no one else did. A fantastic football player. So was Polamalu. While Reed was smooth Polamalu was manic. He played like he was on fire. It was awesome to watch.
I attended Cris Carter's Pro Football Hall of Fame induction in 2013. It was a fantastic experience and a late and very deserving honor for Carter. I realized upon completion of this All-Time Favorite team that three members of the Hall of Fame Class of 2013 made this team. Jonathan Ogden, Larry Allen, and Warren Sapp. I went to Canton for Carter but the entire class was special. Bill Parcells, Curley Culp, and Dave Robinson were the other members and I was quite fond of them as well. Culp was a non-Viking favorite of mine in the 1970s and rivaled Sapp for inclusion on this team.
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