Former Baltimore Ravens safety Ed Reed and Kansas City Chiefs tight end Tony Gonzalez should be elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame this Saturday in their first year of eligibility. I've been thinking about Reed and Gonzalez because of that impending Hall vote but also because it was so much fun watching each play football. Both are among my favorite all-time football players. Gonzalez has a personal added benefit of having played at Cal. I attended all of his home games and watched the entirety of his college career, including his time on the Golden Bears basketball team. The only issue I had with his time in Berkeley was that it was only three years. Thinking about Reed and Gonzalez got me thinking about my all-time favorite football team. As a Minnesota Vikings fan I have to exclude Vikings players from this team because it would turn into an all-time favorite Vikings football team if I didn't. As much as I like Reed he wouldn't make the team over Joey Browner, Harrison Smith, or Paul Krause.
So, here is my All-Time non-Vikings Favorites Team:
Quarterback
Aaron Rodgers
Go Bears! As with Gonzalez, Rodgers' Cal days bumps him to the top of my favorite quarterbacks.
Running Back
Walter Payton
My appreciation for Payton began the day I watched him run for 275 against the Vikings. I hated and loved every yard that he gained.
Fullback
Mike Alstott
Perhaps it was the contrast to speedy Warrick Dunn in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers backfield but there was just something fun about Alstott's running and pounding.
Receivers
Jerry Rice
Larry Fitzgerald
Steve Smith
Rice and Fitzgerald were automatics. As soon as I settled on them I flashed to the fun that it was to watch Smith's energy and passion on every play.
Tight End
Tony Gonzalez
Go Bears!
Tackles
Jonathan Ogden
Mitchell Schwartz
From his time at UCLA through his entire Ravens career there was something about Ogden that I found intriguing. As with all of the Cal players on this team I feel like I've been a part of Schwartz's football career.
Guards
John Hannah
Larry Allen
Hannah is simply one of the best offensive linemen I ever saw play. It didn't seem like he ever had a bad play. In a position group in which every great player seems bigger and stronger than every other player on the field Allen seemed bigger and stronger than every player in that position group.
Center
Alex Mack
Go Bears!
Defensive Ends
Reggie White
J.J. Watt
Whenever I think of White I think of the play in which the Vikings thought it might be a fine idea to have Cris Carter chip him. I've never seen a man fly like that. Before injuries started taking him off the field Watt was the most destructive defensive player I had seen since Lawrence Taylor.
Defensive Tackles
Joe Greene
Aaron Donald
As a kid there was something terrifying about Greene. Since I can't put John Randle on this team I'll put a player that plays a bit like him. As long a he's not playing against your team it's a blast to watch Donald play football.
Linebackers
Lawrence Taylor
Jack Lambert
Jack Ham
Taylor was ridiculous. You just knew that you were watching an all-time great. When I saw Lambert and Ham (and Andy Russell) play I felt like I was watching how linebackers are supposed to play the game.
Cornerbacks
Mike Haynes
Darrell Green
Haynes was just so smooth. I thought that I was watching a special player ever time I watched Green. Those thoughts were confirmed when Randy Moss, as a rookie, said that Green was the best corner that he'd faced. Green was about a foot shorter and twenty years older than Moss.
Safeties
Ed Reed
Ronnie Lott
Reed played the safety position better than I've ever seen it played. Where Reed seemed to be more about finesse Lott was more about force. Defenses were simply better with Reed and Lott back there.
No comments:
Post a Comment