Friday, September 18, 2020

PFJ's NFL Team of the Last Fifty Years—1970-2020

By John Turney

The first fifty years of the NFL were memorialized in a fine book called The First 50 Years: The Story of the National Football League—

In that book was included an All-Time team that covered players from those fifty years—

Last year the NFL released a 100th Anniversary Team to cover the entire span of the NFL. However, no one picked the team to partner with the team for the first fifty years—the fifty years from 1970-2020. Well, we'll do it based on our picks last year for the best players at each position and pick those who played long enough (six years) post-1970 to qualify.

Here goes:

OFFENSE

Center

     First-team                                   Second-team

Guard

First-team

Second-team

Tackles

First-team

Second-team

Tight End

      First-team                              Second-team  

Quarterback

First-team                                     Second-team 

Fullback

First-team                                  Second-team

Running backs

First-team

Second-team

Wide Receivers

First-team

Second-team 

DEFENSE

Defensive Ends

First-team 

  First-team                                 Second-team 

Defensive Tackles

First-team 

Second-team

3-4 Nose Tackle

    First-team                             Second-team

4-3 Middle Linebacker

First-team            Second-team  

3-4 Inside linebacker

 First-team                                 Second-team

Outside linebacker

Weak Side

First-team                             Second-team 

Strong Side

First-team                               Second-team 

Rushbacker

First-team                                 Second-team 

Cornerbacks

First-team

Second-team

Safeties

First-team 

Second-team

SPECIAL TEAMS

Kicker

First-team                                   Second-team 

Punter

First-team                    Second-team

Kick returner

First-team                              Second-team

Punt returner

                   First-team            Second-team (tied)

Core Special Team Player

    First-team                                   Second-team 

SO, you've seen the picks and you may have noticed some of the current players from our series of the top players ever have moved up. But, still, they have not achieved GOAT (greatest of all time) status due to lack of years of service).

The reason that happens is how things move along a Bell curve and the steepness of it at certain points. Some of these players (Martin and Donald are going from B to C, but still have to go from C to D to be goats and there are some might fine players between C and D. 

At center, Stephenson's grades were so much higher than the next-best guy that he's the number one all-time and therefore the best of the past fifty seasons

The top three guards were easy but Martin jumped dramatically, all the way ahead of everyone except the top three. We're told he's putting up monster grades—far and above those he leaped. We're putting guys like Randall McDaniel, Joe D, Larry Little, and Hutch

The tackles followed our previous four picks and did the tight ends. Kellen Winslow gets an honorable mention at tight end and Rayfield Wright, Ron Yary, and Art Shell at tackle.

Peyton Manning is an honorable mention at quarterback. 

Barry Sanders and Dickerson and OJ Simpson are honorable at running back. Yes, OK. On-the-field considerations only. These three are the best runners but were not as much help on third downs as the top four and not as good in pass protection and Dickerson was a fumbler. Sanders was often taken out on goal line while to top four were great in short-yardage and goal line. We picked all-around backs as the best. And our top four were great, great runners as well.  

There could be twenty honorable mention blocking fullbacks but we will go Tom Rathman and Sam Gash only. 

We will catch grief for Marvin Harrison over Moss and Owens. We don't care. Yes, the former two were more talented. 

Harrison has these "testimonials"—

Champ Bailey said, "(T)he guy who gave me the most problems was Marvin Harrsion . . . he was dangerous. Marvin was the quicker, more precise, route runner . . . he was tough to deal with because he was smart, he played outside the numbers 90 percent of the time and you knew where he was going to be … and he was still hard to stop." 

Sports Illustrated's MMQB asked Charles Tillman "Who's the best offensive player you ever played against? Tillman answered, "Marvin Harrison. We played a lot of Tampa 2 with coach Smith, and I could never touch him, couldn't jam him. He was so quick, like a little rabbit. I missed every time. Hardest person I ever had to cover. . . He was unstoppable. The best I ever played against. He made me look terrible." 

Charles Woodson also added, " Marvin Harrison was the best receiver I played against. . . he was bigger than you would think from watching him on film, and he was fast and quick and ran great routes."

Harrison also had more All-Pros than Moss and Owens, more Pro Bowls, was First-team All-Decade (Owens Second-team, Moss First), more black ink than Owens and more rings. 

He is ahead of both is most things. 

As for the defense, we picked a 30 end and a 40 end, with White the 40 and Smith the 30 on the First-team for obvious reasons. Watt edges Selmon on the Second-team and Youngblood edges Strahan on the Second-team. Watt has battled injury lately. Selmon's career was cut short by injury as well. Youngblood had more consensus All-Pros, more sacks, missed fewer games. Both were All-Decade. Strahan got a ring, Youngblood didn't. Close call but Youngblood has the honors and intangibles. Strahan gets a strong honorable mention as does Selmon and Howie Long. 

Defensive tackle is very tough. We have no doubt the Aaron Donald is on his way to being the GOAT. But he is just beginning his seventh season and we've moved him past Randy White based on the fact that Donald as two Defensive Player of the Year Awards and White has none. But we can go no further at this point in Donald's career.

Remember Joe Greene had two Defensive Player of the Year Awards himself as did Alan Page (1971 and 1973) and Page was the NFC Defensive Player of the Year in 1970, 1971, and 1974. That in addition to their All-Pro and so on. So, as much as Donald is tearing it up, to surpass Greene and Page he has to do it a little longer and since the facts are this: Greene sustained a neck injury in 1975 and Page began long-distance running in 1977 and both things curtailed the performances of both players late in their careers so it's is likely, if Donald stays healthy, that he will be the GOAT. 

With the last fifty years being the era of the 3-4 defense mixed with the 4-3 we picked a 3-4 nose tackle. Culp plays some on the nose with the Chiefs (as did Buck Buchanan) depending on the call and the position of the tight end but in 1974 he moved to the nose full-time and was dominant. Smerlas still is the nose tackle who was All-Pro the most, went to the most Pro Bowls, played in and started the most games of any pure 3-4 nose tackles. Michael Carter is an honorable mention.

Honorable mention 4-3 shade tackles (0+ or 1 techniques) would be Ted Washington and Shaun Rodgers and Snacks Harrison, even though he's run out of gas apparently. Maybe he can make a comeback but for a handful of years he was top-notch.

We picked 40 middle linebackers and 30 inside linebackers though Singletary was the only one who was exclusively one position. Lambert played 30 ILBer in 1982-84. Lewis began as a 4- and then moved to a 30 and then late in his career was as back and forth but mostly a 30. Gradishar began as a 40 but quickly moved to a 3-4 ILber. 

The SAMs or Left linebackers and the WILLs were pretty easy. So were the corners and safeties. There would be too many honorable mentions because the top players are each really stood out so much the next level was full of players who were basically even it would just fill up the page. 

As for special teams, we'll again get ripped for not including Morten Andersen and Jan Stenerud. Sorry. Tucker has proven to be ahead of his competition too much to not be the GOAT. We are not comparing him to the past, we compare him to current people and in an era of excellent kicker his ahead of the pack the way Dwight Stephenson was ahead of the pack at center. So was Lowery.

Sure, Anderson had a more powerful leg and was better on kickoffs. But, remember he kicked in a dome 8-10 games a year. Lower kicked outdoors more in a stadium with a high crown and that could be windy and then later in the Meadowlands which was doubly bad and was more accurate and also was good at long distances—though not as good at long attempts as Andersen. Of course, Andersen and Stenerud are honorable mentions. 

Hekker is the current GOAT. Ray Guy was the old GOAT. Thomas Morstead is an honorable mention as is Reggie Roby.

The return men were, we thought, obvious. We couldn't separate White Shoes and Rick Upchurch so both got the Second-team nod. Hester is the GOAT. Patterson is the modern GOAT and Cribbs, we think follows him, though the best of All-Time likely played pre-1970.

The honorable mentions for special teams are Michael Bates and Ivory Sully. Sure, you've never heard of Ivory Sully but when you add forced fumbles plus fumbles recovered on special teams with blocked kicks and punts he had 18. Steve Tasker had 17. Michael Bates had 16. They didn't have All-Pro or Pro Bowl honors the first five years in Sully's career so he didn't get as many honors as some others, but had they been around, Sully would have earned them.

So, there it is, the 1970-2020 Fifty-Year Team

Agree or Disagree? Blast us in the comments section below. 

23 comments:

  1. Great team ...

    Harrison was the right choice over Moss and Owens. Moss was mostly a deep threat while Owens had to make the catch before running like a beast. Neither could break ankles, go over the middle, or consistently run patterns while catching the ball like Harrison, in my opinion.

    I would have taken Largent for second team over Owens because he was such a self made, team player ...

    Due to tackling issues and free agent for hire status, I would put Sanders on second team with either Blount or Haynes joining Woodson on the first team ... a toss-up.
    Would also choose Donnie Shell or Eugene Robinson over Polamalu but it's close ...

    I know I cant study film and games like you guys but as crazy as this sounds, I liked Hardy Nickerson more as an MLB than Singletary because of his coverage ability, though he started off slow in Pittsburgh. He may not have played as much in the middle as Samurai ...

    I would take Hutchinson over Matthews at Guard and Casper over Gronk at TE, though its close.

    Without a doubt, Brady is the greatest winner at QB but I also believe he had a better offensive line than Joe Montana and though its close, I felt Joe faced better pass rushing defenses as well, so I have Montana first team ...


    ReplyDelete
  2. Here would be my choices:

    QB: Manning and Elway. Brady benefited from cheating, which disqualifies him. Montana was good, but a product of the system. A-Rod and Marino would be my next choices.
    WR: Larry Fitzgerald and Paul Warfield would be my first team, with Julio Jones and Randy Moss the second. Rice was a good player, but he was another product of the cozy dink pass offense. And, I don't agree with Brian Wolf about Harrison. He was a non-factor in the playoffs.

    The defensive selections are pretty good, but I would give a slight edge to Champ over Charles Woodson at CB, and I would have Ken Houston at safety instead of Ronnie Lott, another overrated 80's and 90's 49er.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I like and respect your opinions but unlike Jones, Fitzgerald and Moss, Harrison won a SB, while Rice took dink passes all the way to the endzone, an area Julio Jones cant really find, while Warfield, my greatest receiver of all time, had great seasons before 1970 ...

      I love Houston but how can Lott be overrated ? He won four championships, including his rookie season with 63 interceptions, while hitting like a linebacker ...

      Peyton Manning could throw but took forever to win his second championship and even if Montana was part of a system, why couldnt Anderson, Young and Favre win more in this system ?

      Delete
    2. First off, SB wins are a team accomplishment. Winning a SB doesn't make Harrison a better player. Also, Harrison was a choke artist in the playoffs. He had several key drops and fumbles in playoff games that cost his team (which was one reason Manning didn't win more than one SB in Indy. Special teams was another).

      As for those QB's not winning as many as Montana in that system, there are different answers to that.

      For one, Holmgren said once (when the 49er-loving media tried to compare GB to the Niners in the 90's) that their offense was different from what the 49ers ran in their SB days. As for Favre, though, he was his own worst enemy in the playoffs, but he wasn't running the exact same system that Joe was.

      As for Ken Anderson, he ran into a Steel Curtain twice a year. Joe didn't have any division rivals that tough during his time with SF. And, Young ran into the Cowboy dynasty, and he also had a 49er team the last few years of his career that wasn't a real title contender (they were winning more than they should due to a weak division).

      Delete
    3. Harrison didnt play well in the 2003/04 AFC Champ game, thats true but Moss and Owens had bad playoff games as well, while Rice had many great postseason games, which is why he is first team on this list.

      Anderson had his chances to dethrone the Steelers in 76 and 77 but lost key games to the Raiders and Oilers, which allowed the Steelers to back into the playoffs. These big game losses, as well as playoff losses in 73, 75 and 82, not to mention the SB in 81/82, has kept him out of the HOF, though he is deserving ...

      As for Young, he couldnt unseat Joe for the job and wasnt ready to go to another team, so despite finally beating the Cowboys, he couldnt get by Favre and the Packers to win another
      SB ... which cost Seifert his job.

      Delete
    4. This comment has been removed by the author.

      Delete
    5. Young finally took over from Joe, five years after joining the team but only because management was worried about Montana's health, which is ironic since Young got injured his first year as a starter in 1991 ...

      Delete
    6. Harrison also had a key fumble in the 07 playoff loss against the Chargers, and he had key drops in 1999 against Tennessee and 2000 against Miami.

      And, Ken Anderson made throws that would have defeated the Steelers late in the 76 season and the 77 MNF game, but Isaac Curtis dropped the ball in the end zone. Also, the 73 and 75 playoff losses can't be held against him because they lost to better teams on the road (also, the 73 game was the one where the Dolphins were mugging Isaac Curtis, his best WR).

      Delete
    7. Good points, I couldnt remember all of these games, its good to know someone has a better memory of past games than I do ...

      Delete
    8. Moss started well in playoffs, then garbage time stats in 1999 with Rams--from 2000 vs Giants to end og career (10 games) average like 3 catches for 30 yards per game)

      Owens, not good either, you sound more like a fan than an analyist when you use workds like "choke artist"

      Delete
    9. I don't hate the Colts. I am a big Peyton fan. I think he has gotten more blame for their playoff failures than he deserved. And, I believe that the special teams and Marvin Harrison's key drops (and fumbles) are overlooked culprits for Indy's 1999-2010 playoff failings that don't get enough attention.

      Delete
    10. I am a Manning fan as well but he also used HGH ... does that not count as cheating like Tom Brady ? ... He lost SBs without Harrison, luckily he got his final one because Newton dogged it ... haha, I like good debate.

      Delete
    11. Brady may have used something as well. When he was drafted, I heard that Belichick wanted him to bulk up. I think that he was on the BALCO client list (he grew up not far from there).

      And, while he may have lost a SB without Harrison, he didn't win one because of him.

      Delete
  3. Tight End Choice I would have had Kellen Winslow...Played when the defense wasn't handcuffed and could do anything they wanted....remember before there was air jordan there was air coryell...https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CIlI1upRSm4

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah, Winslow, Sr. is a pretty good choice for that second spot, along with Dave Casper, Charlie Sanders, Shannon Sharpe, Gonzo, and even Travis Kelce.

      Delete
    2. Winslow was really a huge wideout, while Gronk and Casper were great blockers ... imagine if Bavaro could have stayed healthy ?

      Delete
  4. Wow great job making this everyone. Did lee Roy selmon almost make this team? Really think he was goat level. Rod Woodson got beat deep a bit too much for me. You didn't want Albert Lewis or Darrell green instead? I would have bob kuechneberg on this team over Bruce Matthews. Ken Houston isn't one of your safety picks? I thought he was amazing. Art shell belongs over Ogden in my opinion due to his stronger killer mentality. I'm sorry if I sound critical but I just have lots of passion for the game.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah, Selmon didn't get any love being in Tampa. I also agree with you about Houston. Him and Reed would be first-team.

      Delete
    2. I like Kooch and Lewis as well but they didnt get the accolades like these other picks. Houston was great but also had great seasons before 1970, like Warfield.

      I like Selmon but he didnt generate enough pass rush for me.

      Delete
    3. Selmon got double teamed a lot though and didn't have a Cornelius Bennett or Bryce paup level rusher on the other side to take the heat off him. His pass rush grades are very good under my system when I count forced incomplete and picks.

      Delete
  5. Selmon is best I have seen against the run. Really not sure about Bruce smith being on this team over him. Smith does have longevity in his favor though.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. SMith had 200 sacks and 118 run stuffs---was better vs run than most people give him credit for. Selmon was HM just behind Watt. but reasonable people can disagree.

      Delete
    2. Yeah Grest production. Smith maybe a bit more freedom to blow gaps though. Amazing conditioning and longevity. It is close. Smith is a fine choice for this team. I was just singing selmons praises, it's all good.

      Delete