Ranking the Best Seasons By Seahawks Safeties

 By John Turney 

Seattle has been the home to very good, and often great, safety play since the Seahawks became a franchise in 1976. 

But out of all of them who had the best individual season?

Taking each player's single best season and then ranking them is not an easy thing to do but using the criteria of stats, postseason honors, scouts' views when available, and the eye test, here is one take on the subject.

The list—

25. Lawyer Milloy, 2010 (strong)—At 37 he made 87 tackles and had four sacks - then a team record for safeties (since broken). Not a great year but good enough for the top 25.

Milloy

24. Deon Grant, 2007 (strong)—Seventy-eight tackles, ten passes defensed, three interceptions. He had an individual defensive passer rating of 54.5 per Stats, LLC (STATS).

23. Al Matthews, 1976 (strong)—Taken in the expansion draft the former Packer stepped in at strong safety and started all fourteen games and totaled 95 tackles, 13 passes defense, picked off three passes -  taking one to the house. 

22. Steve Preece, 1977 (free)—The Seahawks were his fifth and final NFL team in his nine-year career. He'd signed as a free agent to play free safety with the starter from the previous season, Dave Brown, moving to cornerback. 

He was a good tackler, a smart, savvy type but didn't have much speed. He played pretty well, making 96 tackles intercepting four passes, forcing a fumble and recovering one.

The only issue is he beat out Lyle Blackwood who was waived and picked up by the Colts. All Blackwood did that year was lead the NFL with 10 picks playing free safety in Charm City.

Ouch.

21. Paul Moyer, 1988 (strong)—He had to step in for Kenny Easley who showed up to camp but had to retire due to a serious kidney issue. Moyer did a credible job, intercepting six passes.

20. Jordan Babineaux, 2009 (free)—Just as he'd settled in at free safety and having a decent year (104 tackles, 1.5 sacks, two picks, and a forced fumble, a rookie named Earl Thomas arrived in 2010 to take his job.  

19. Nesby Glasgow, 1989 (strong)—One of the NFL's greatest names, the former Colts took over for Paul Moyer in 1989 at strong safety and made 97 tackles and fell on five fumbles (tied for the league lead) one was a scoop and score. 

18. Dave Brown, 1976 (free)—Brown was a highly underrated cornerback in the 1980s but few remember he started as a free safety. He'd been left unprotected by the Steelers and the 'Hawks grabbed him in the expansion draft. 

His season totals were 111 tackles to lead the team and tied for third-most by a safety in franchise history, 17 passes defensed, four interceptions and he forced two fumbles, all on a 2-12 team. 

One observer said he would have had ten interceptions if his hands were better. Apparently, he got that fixed, ending his career with 62 interceptions, tied for tenth all-time.

17. Michael Boulware, 2005 (strong)—The younger brother of Peter Boulware, a big safety (6-3, 223) he played mostly nickel linebacker as a rookie before becoming the starter at strong safety late in the year. That year he saved four games due to big plays, but since he was a hybrid player who was not on the field in all the defensive packages his sophomore year is the pick.

In his second season, his career year, he made 73 tackles (second on the team) had a couple of sacks and intercepted four passes plus two in the playoffs, including one in Super Bowl XL off Ben Roethlisberger. He also blocked a kick in 2005.

16. Ryan Neal, 2022 (strong)—Neal just became a starter in the Seattle secondary this past season at age 27. He missed three games, started ten, made 66 tackles, and had a sack, an interception and a forced fumble. He was named to Pro Football Focus All-Pro team. 

He spends most of his time on the box but when Seattle goes with a 2-high look, he's usually a boundary safety, almost always on the short side of the field with Quandre Diggs playing the field, or wide side.

15. Bradley McDougald, 2018 (strong)—Rated higher by scouts than by All-Pro voters. His stats were good enough - 78 tackles, three picks, three forces, but he was a top-five strong safety in 2018. 

He was sent to the Jets as part of the deal that brought Jamal Adams to the Seahawks in 2020. The Seahawks also got two first-round picks and change. 

14. Autry Beamon, 1978 (strong)—Beamon had ball skills. Coming over from the Vikings in a trade he had six picks in 1977 in just nine starts. 

In 1978 he had fewer picks but started all sixteen games, had 112 tackles (second-most ever by a Seattle safety), forced a fumble, recovered one and was credited with fifteen passes defensed. Though he got no postseason honors the was rated highly by one independent pro scouting service. 

Beamon

13. Reggie Tongue, 2002 (strong)—He could lay a lick, pun intended - Tongue was a good hitter. 

He was signed by Seattle as an unrestricted free agent (coming from the Chiefs and getting $13 million for five years- huge money in those days). In his second year in the Pacific Northwest, he picked off five passes, took one back for a touchdown and made 105 tackles. He had an individual defensive passer rating of 54.7 per STATS.

In week five against the Vikings, the game he had returned a interception for a score, he made six tackles, he intercepted a second pass, defensed a total of four and recovered a fumble on special teams that led to a Seahawks touchdown  

12. Jay Bellamy, 2000 (free)—In his seventh and final season with the Seahawks, a contract year, he put it all together and had a career year that the Saints noticed, giving him a four-year $4.4 million contract. 

He had four interceptions, two sacks, two forced fumbles, all tied for his career highs, to go with his 88 tackles and eight passes defensed and pick-six. 

11. Ken Hamlin, 2004 (free)—Another big-time hitter in an era when that was allowed. He played 100 percent of the defensive snaps, made 80 tackles had two sacks and stole four passes - a career-high, and his individual defensive passer rating of 57.7 (STATS) was a career-low. 

His interception in week three broke the 49ers' streak of 420 straight games of not being shut out, dating back to 1977. He also had seven tackles and an interception in the playoffs.

His 2006 season was also very good. He'd recovered from a head injury he'd received in a nightclub brawl the year before but in the end, he was at his best pre-injury so we went with that.

10. Robert Blackmon, 1996 (strong)—He was a second-team All-AFC selection in 1995 and had a career-high in interceptions that season and was even an AFC Defensive Player of the Week twice, in Week 12 and Week 15. 

But he missed some games that season and the next year stepped it up with 102 tackles, three picks and forced four fumbles. 

It was a close call but in this case, the season without the postseason honors was the better one.

9. Keith Simpson, 1979 (strong)—A first-round draft pick the previous year, he filled in at strong safety for two seasons though he had always been a cornerback. When Kenny Easley was drafted in 1981 Simpson got to play the position he preferred.

As a strong safety, his 1979 season was his best. he had four interceptions, forced four fumbles, totaled 85 tackles and fifteen passes defensed and had a pair of sacks. He was also graded as a top safety by one professional scouting firm.

Pretty good for a cornerback playing out of position.

Simpson

8. Quandre Diggs, 2021 (free)—He's been a Pro Bowler the last three years but this past year was not his best, the year before was. Not as tall as you'd like as a safety (he played a lot of cornerback early in his career, when he was a Lion) but he makes big plays in big games. 

Even though he missed four games he had five picks and 94 tackles and gave up just one touchdown according to both Sports Information Solutions (SIS) and Sports Radar, two of the leading sports analytics organizations.

7. Darryl Williams, 1997 (FS)—A former first-round pick of the Bengals, Williams signed with his college coach Dennis Erickson in 1996 as a free agent and paid immediate dividends picking off five passes and returning one for a score. 

His second year in blue, silver and green was even better - he was an AP second-team All-Pro (first-team by NFL Films) and was the AFC Player of the Week for Week 4. 

He pilfered eight passes, again taking one to the house, and totaled 93 tackles and he had a 47.9 individual defensive passer rating (STATS). 

His year is good enough for seventh on our list.

Williams

6. Jamal Adams, 2020 (strong)—Love him or hate him, think he was worth what Seattle gave up for him or not, his 2020 season was rare for a strong safety/linebacker hybrid.

His specialty was lining up in the box making plays in the run game and pressuring quarterbacks. His 9.5 sacks set a record for the most ever by a defensive back. 

Even though he missed a month of the season he still had  41 pressures (SIS) - four fewer than Joey Bosa (who also missed four games) and the same number as Matt Judon (who missed two games) and Frank Clark (missed one game).  

He was second-team All-Pro, All-NFC and a Pro Bowler. 

It was a great year in everything except coverage which was never his strong suit.

5. Kam Chancellor, 2013 (strong)—One of the NFL's last dominant hitting safeties. Chancellor had several years that could qualify as his career year. We chose 2013. He was second-team All-Pro, made 99 tackles (four were stuffs), picked off three and was his usual intimidating self.

Chancellor

4. John Harris, 1981 (right)—A seventh-round draft pick in 1978, Harris took over for Steve Preece as a rookie, lost it midway through his sophomore season regained it his third and kept it after that.

In 1981, as a right safety, (not free safety, they played left- and right under new defensive coordinator Jackie Simpson) and was surrounded in the secondary by Ken Easley, Dave Brown and Keith Simpson. He ballhawked his way to ten interceptions and took a pair of them to the end zone. He also recovered three fumbles, forced two and defensed 17 passes while making 91 tackles.

Even with all that the only postseason honor he got was All-AFC by the New York Daily News. 

3. Eugene Robinson, 1993 (free)—Any of a half-dozen seasons could have been his career year, Robinson was steady and as underrated as they come. 

But 1993 was special. he tied for the NFL lead in interceptions with nine, made 111 tackles (four short of his team mark for tackles by a safety), recorded two sacks, forced three fumbles, recovered two fumbles and was credited with fifteen passes defensed.

He was the AFC Defensive Player of the Week in Week 11, first-team All-Pro and went to the Pro Bowl.

2. Earl Thomas, 2013 (free)—The second safety from the Legion on Boom to have his best season in 2013, though like Chancellor and Robinson, he had more than one year that qualifies.

In 2013 Thomas had a career-high in tackles (105), tied his career high in interceptions (five), was third in the AP Defensive Player of the Year voting and was a consensus All-Pro and was a Pro Bowler as well.

Add in the 'Hawks thumping the Broncos in the Super Bowl which just adds icing to the cake of the former Longhorn's career year.

1. Kenny Easley, 1984 (strong)—"Oh, I'm vicious. I'm definitely vicious", said Easley when he was asked about his style by NFL Films. he was every bit as intimidating a safety as younger fans may think Kam Chancellor was. It was just different then, big hits were celebrated and Easley was always on any list of the hardest-hitting safeties

His 1984 season being first on this list is no surprise. The 1981 first-round pick of the Seahawks went off that year. He was the AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year, and was the Defensive Player of the Week twice, one by the NFL and another by Pro Football Weekly.

Statistically, he led the NFL in interceptions with ten, setting the franchise record, took two back for touchdowns, tying the team record, made 75 tackles, forced three fumbles and defensed 24 passes, including the ten picks. 

He also picked off a pass in the 13-7 upset win over the defending Super Bowl champion Raiders in the playoffs.

Easley

. 

His career year of 1984 was the best in Seahawks' history and one of the best all-time by any safety on any team.

Curtis McGriff—Run Stopper Par Excellence

 By John Turney 

Curtis McGriff

Only one NFL defensive end has started 70 games and never recorded a single sack. His name is former New York Giants defensive end, Curtis McGriff. 

This goes back not just to 1982 when sacks became official but back to 1960 the point at which Pro Football Reference has unofficial numbers and you can be pretty sure it dates further back than that.

Defensive ends, even 3-4 two-gap ends, are expected to rush the passer at least to some degree. If they don't, they better be very good against the run. 

Curtis McGriff was more than good at stopping the run. He was great.

Just ask Jackie Slater.

In 1995 Slater was asked by USA Today to list the ten toughest opponents he faced in his career. Listed first was Curtis McGriff.

Yes, McGriff. 

He was listed ahead of Reggie White, Howie Long, Too Tall Jones, and others. "At the very top of my list - one of the best run-stoppers to ever play in the NFL", said Slater.

It didn't start out that way, however. It took a little time before McGriff became a roadblock in the way of NFL running backs.

As a rookie, McGriff played both a 4-3 defensive tackle and then a nose tackle in a 3-4 in his rookie year for the New York Giants since the team switched scheme during the season. 

However, he was known for not being a hard worker. "Lazy" is the word his coach Ray Perkins used to describe him in his rookie year. He had plenty of ability but didn't always apply himself. 

At minicamp in 1981 he was over 300 pounds and new defensive coach Bill Parcells thought to himself that McGriff would never play for him. Said McGriff to Vinny DiTrani of the Bergen Record, "I had gotten out of shape because I didn't do anything in the offseason." 

But after that McGriff worked out and by the Summer was down to 268 pounds but retained his base, his low center of gravity that anchored him.

"He's still a load. He's hard to move out against the run", Parcells said concerning the weight loss. And it paid off. McGriff earned the starting left defensive end position - on running downs. He was lifted in likely passing situations and replaced by George Martin who was the designated pass rusher.

It was a fantastic duo for the next five years with McGriff doing the dirty work and Martin averaging 8½ sacks a year over those five seasons. (Martin did start some games to fill in for injured starters but by and large, he was the left defensive end in nickel situations).

It was during those years McGriff built his reputation as one of the best, if not the best run-stuffing defensive end in the NFL.

He was a one-dimensional defensive end, but he was the exact opposite of the usual meaning of that term. That almost always refers to a pass-rushing end, a sack specialist, who cannot or is not willing to play the run - and there have been a lot more of those in league history than the run-stopping specialist types.

Oh tried. He worked on his pass-rushing moves and actually could get some push at times, but a sack never came. You'd think Lawrence Taylor or Leonard Marshall would have pushed one or two his way when an opponent passed on first and ten. 

That eventually caught up to him. 

In 1986 the Giants drafted a couple of defensive linemen who they projected to be the future stud two-gapping ends - Eric Dorsey in the first round and John Washington in the third round. 

About Washington Parcells said, "I think he runs better than Curtis McGriff will ever run." It was clear the Giants wanted to improve the athleticism of their base ends.

As luck would have it McGriff badly pulled a hamstring and was placed on injured reserve so he missed the shot at being a part of the Super Bowl-winning team. 

The next Fall his old bad habits befell him and he was out of shape again and was waived by the Giants. Washington picked him up but he was no help to them so he was cut by them as well.

Playing nose-up on a tackle (four technique), or perhaps slightly outside (tight-five) takes its toll on a player. A defensive end in those pure 3-4 schemes has to play two gaps rather than one, meaning he has to knock the offensive tackle back, read the flow of the play (if it is to the left or to the right) and then fill the appropriate gap. 

Playing in a two-gap scheme like Parcells' and Belichick's is far more physically taxing than a one-gap scheme where a defensive end has a better angle on an offensive tackle and can charge the gap without having to read the flow of the play without having to meet him head-on.

As a result, run-stopping specialists don't have long careers, at least compared to their pass-rushing specialist counterparts, their bodies just break down, though McGriff's helped it along by not being as dedicated to his workouts as he should have.

As for the athletic replacements who were supposed to play the run and also get some pressure, Dorsey and Washington didn't quite deliver as promised.

Dorsey started 57 games in the NFL and recorded just seven sacks. Washington started 53 games and recorded a single sack in his career. And though both were very good run-stoppers they were not great like McGriff was.

If you can only do one thing well, make sure you're great at it, and when a Hall of Fame tackle verifies it then you are a player that is worth remembering.

Career stats—

Ernie McMillan—A Pro's Pro

 By John Turney  

Ernie McMillan

St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame tight end Jackie Smith called his longtime teammate Ernie McMillan  a "professional football player's professional football player."

Smith first saw an athletic player who also had a tremendous work ethic coupled with leadership.

He was probably the first of the tall, athletic offensive tackles that became the norm in the NFL, a predecessor to Rayfield Wright, Ron Yary, and George Kunz - who were 6-5, 6-6, weighed 255-260 pounds and could run the forty in under five seconds and could have played tight end if they dropped twenty pounds.

The 6-6, 255-pound McMillan was in their class athletically but toiling on mediocre teams he didn't get as much national notice.

For fifteen years, playing for a franchise that was up and down, mostly in the middle in terms of wins and losses, he still managed to garner postseason honors in eight consecutive seasons from 1964 through 1971. 

He was a first-team All-Pro in 1967 (NEA), second-team All-Pro in 1964 (New York Daily News), 1965 (NEA), 1966 (AP and UPI), 1968 (NEA and UPI), 1969 (New York Daily News), 1970 (NEA) and in 1971 and was All-NFC (UPI), as well as being a Pro Bower four times along the way.  

Hard work and desire took McMillan from a talented player to an elite player. His first coach Wally Lemm said at the time, "He's a student of the game. And he has no peer as a pass blocker." McMillian explained "we have a wonderful film library at the Cardinals. I'd be a fool not to take advantage of it."

In 1967 his coach next, Charley Winner, was effusive about McMillan's abilities saying that his 1966 season graded out at 96 percent in pass protection. And though he didn't give a number he said it was better than any year that Hall of Famer Jim Parker had and that he'd know since he'd been on the Colts' coaching staff during the bulk of Parker's career.

A check of Weeb Ewbank's old Colts records shows that from 1957 through 1961 Parker's overall grades were between 83 and 89 percent so there is some documentation of Winner's claim.

So why didn't the Hall of Fame committee ever notice him?

Hard to know.

In that era, it was the right tackle that had the tough assignments, not left tackles, that came later. The left ends dominated the game in the sixties and seventies and that meant McMillan faced some of the best defensive ends of all time - Gino Marchetti, Willie Davis, Deacon Jones, Carl Eller and Jim Katcavage among others.

He had the reputation for hustle -  getting downfield on blocks and also finishing blocks on running plays. He was always in great shape and run well for a tackle - like Wright, Yary, and Kunz.

Perhaps he lacked a lot of team success and that is why he went unnoticed.

A few teams were pretty good early in his career but it was not until 1974 that he played on a 10-win team. That was when Don Coryell's Cardiac Cards won the NFC East. That was also the year he unselfishly moved from right tackle to left, to accommodate Dan Dierdorf and did it without complaint and made the transition well. 

Said his line coach Jim Hanifan to the AP, "He's having an excellent season, an excellent season. he hasn't been beaten this year. Not by Ed Jones. Not by Cedrick Hardman. Not by Verlon Biggs."

Even so, he was released in the 1975 preseason and was quickly picked up by Bart Starr's Packers and he played his final year in Green Bay and even tried to play in 1976. He just did not want to give up playing the game he loved and wanted to play his sixteenth season at age 38 but Starr had a first-round rookie slated to play in McMillan's spot. 

So he was released and his next move was to get into coaching and scouting.

In all, the Cardinals co-captain played 190 games - more than all but five Hall of Fame offensive tackles, starting 184. he didn't miss a game due to injury until his thirteen season when he was 35 years old (he did miss some games as a rookie but that was due to military service).

He was first-team All-Pro the same number of times as Winston Hill and his second-team selections are also similar to Hill's as well. 

Maybe had he talked more, perhaps promoted himself he might have gotten more attention from the media.  But McMillan was not that guy saying in 1973, "Whoa, I'm not going to talk about myself . . . you know me."

Others did. He was enshrined in the St. Louis Sports Hall of Fame and is a Missouri Sports Hall of Fame Inductee as well. 

So will McMillan ever get a shot at being discussed for the Pro Football Hall of Fame? 

Hard to know.

He certainly should.

Otis Taylor—R.I.P.

By John Turney 

 Otis Taylor

When the Oakland Tribune's Jeff Faurdo conducted a 1993 poll of seven Hall of Famers, former Kansas City Chiefs' wide receiver Otis Taylor won votes from Lance Alworth as "best after the catch" and Charlie Joiner and Charley Taylor as the "best big play receiver."

Taylor passed away Thursday at the age of 80 after a decade of health problems.

Via NFL.com Chiefs chairman Clark Hunt released a statement following the news of Taylor's death:

  "My family and I would like to extend our heartfelt condolences to Otis' wife Regina, his sister Odell and the entire Taylor family as we mourn his passing. He was one of the most dynamic receivers of his era, and he helped revolutionize the position. Off the field, he was kind and dedicated to his community. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family. Otis' legacy will live forever."

He was first-team All-Pro in 1966, 1971 and 1972 and was a second-team pick in 1965 and 1967. He was also a Pro Bowler/AFL All-Star three times.

More significantly he was the 1971 AFC Player of the Year (UPI) and tied for second in the AP MVP voting - both rare honors for a receiver. With few exceptions, those awards usually go to a quarterback or running back.

But Taylor was also a key component of the 1969 Chiefs that won Super Bowl IV, catching six passes for 81 yards -- including a memorable 46-yard touchdown reception -- to lead Kansas City to an upset of Minnesota in the last game involving NFL vs. AFL.

While Taylor had good numbers and good postseason honors it was the eye test that separates him from other wide receivers. 

Listed at 6-3, 215 pounds he was among the first big wide receivers to have success in pro football. Fellow AFL receivers Lionel Taylor and Art Powell along with NFL receivers Dave Parks and Homer Jones were the first players 6-foot-2 and taller and who weighed 210 pounds or more to have a 1,200-yard receiving season. 

Lionel Taylor in 1960, Powell in 1963, Parks in 1965 and Otis Taylor in 1966.

It didn't happen again until Art Monk did it in 1984.

Beginning in 1995 it became commonplace - thirty-five players have done it a total of eighty-eight times. 

Otis and the others were the trailblazers for big receivers. 

Of course, that is going by listed weights. If Taylor's actual weight were used (it was suspected that he hadn't weighed 215 since college and was likely 225-230 pounds) he becomes more of a marvel, especially with this 9.5 100-yard dash speed. 

Taylor was not only big, but he was also a smooth athlete who had good speed, and terrific hands and was eye-catching to watch. At least he caught the eye of some of the NFL's greatest wide receivers.

While Jerry Rice was the overall leader in votes in the Tribune poll, Otis made a good showing.

You might say Ben Davidson noticed him, too.

In 1970 Chiefs quarterback Len Dawson scrambled for a long gain and Davidson speared Dawson when he was on the ground. An infuriated Otis Taylor was the first Chief to arrive, rushing in to defend his quarterback throwing a right cross to the big defensive end's face and then body slammed the bigger man and then the famous melee ensued.

No one could question Taylor's toughness, that's for sure.

Raiders' coach John Rauch once told author Lou Sahadi, "Taylor does everything well. He has great range for the ball. Throw it out there, he'll run under it. You through it in a crown and he will take it away from people ... He'll comeback and crack-block, he'll go downfield and pick up a blocker."

"He caught the ball extremely well in traffic and did an excellent job in blocking. This is very important in our offense", added his longtime coach Hank Stram.

John Madden, who succeeded Rauch as the coach of the Raiders, noticed as well, naming Taylor to his All-Time Super Bowl All-Madden Team in 1996.

The rest of his "alls" - All-Pros, Pro Bowls, etc., are very respectable - .

Statistically, he had two 1,100-yard seasons, leading the NFL in that category in 1971 and in 1966 he led the AFL in yards per reception (the Chiefs made the Super Bowl that year, losing the Lombardi's Green Bay Packers). The following season he tied for the league lead in touchdown receptions.

While true his numbers in the NFL, after 1970, were not as stellar as in the AFL it should be noted that historians often call the seventies the "dead ball" era in terms of the NFL passing game.

Without a doubt, Taylor was ahead of his time. He was special and for a time at the top of his profession.  Early in 1971, Don Meredith offered his opinion on Monday Night Football, "If he's not the best (wide receiver in football), I don't know who is." 

No one was.

Spec or Speck Sanders? It's Both. Runner or Passer? It's Both.

 By John Turney 

What was it Spec or Speck Sanders?

It's both.

Orban Eugene Sanders was nicknamed "Speck" due to being a freckled lad. 

The name stuck. Kind of.

Later in life he signed autographs "Speck" Sanders. He named his drying cleaning business in Lawton Oklahoma the "Speck Sanders Drive-In Cleaners" and is still in business to this day.

But in the middle and even now he's also referred to as "Spec", without the "k". 

In the middle of his life, as a pro football player, the names were interchangeable in newspapers but it does seem like the New York papers mostly used Spec.

Sanders was an Oklahoma high school star who got his start in college ball Cameron Junior College in Lawton where he also starred (Later he was inducted into the Junior College  Hall of Fame).

From there he transferred to the University of Texas, though he wanted to go to the University of Oklahoma, and again he played well but was not the big man on campus as he had been. However, he did catch the attention of the Washington Redskins who took him in the first round of the 1942 NFL draft.

However, duty called and Sanders entered the U.S. Navy. He spent his time as an athletic instructor, including one year on New Hebrides in the Pacific Theater in 1944. But prior to that found time to play football for the Georgia Pre-Flight Skycrackers and the year after that played service ball with the North Carolina Pre-Flight Cloudbusters whose quarterback was Otto Graham.

After the War ended Sanders finished his degree at Austin in the Fall of 1945 and in the Summer of 1946 he signed with the New York Yankees in the new All-America Football Conference (AAFC). 

What was Spec Sanders a running back or a quarterback?

It's both.

He was a tailback in a single-wing offense, one that the tailback took the ball on the snap and who could run it, hand it off or pass it, and even punt it.

At that position, he did things no one did before or since in pro football. 

In his first season he recorded the only 700-yard rushing, 200-yard receiving and 400-yard passing season in NFL/AAFC history. His 706 rushing yards led the league and six rushing touchdowns tied for the lead. It was good enough for a 10-3-1 record and a shot at the league title, though the Yankees fell short, losing to the Cleveland Browns.

The next year, though, is really one for the books. He rushed for 1,432 yards, again leading the AAFC but also threw for 1,442 yards - the only 1,400-1,400 yard season in NFL/AAFC annals.

Again the team rivaled the Browns going 11-2-1 but losing in the AAFC championship game to Otto Graham's Browns for the second year in a row. He was again All-AAFC that remarkable year. There was no MVP award but had there been one, Sanders would have been it.

The Yankees slipped some in 1948, Sanders rushed for 759 yards and passed for 918 yards and accounted for 14 touchdowns but the team went just 6-8.

He sat out the 1949 season to have a knee operation. 

The NFL absorbed the AAFC with only a few teams taken into the NFL fold. The players were divided up among the NFL teams some of them in an odd free-agent draft pool that occurred in June of 1950. In it Sanders was drafted by the New York Yanks, a remnant of the New York Bulldogs a 1949 NFL expansion team that, in part, merged with the AAFC New York Yankees. 

In the preseason Sanders played halfback - the Yanks ran a T-formation offense - but he ended up playing safety the centerfielder in what one newspaper called the New York Yanks defensive "outfield".

That year, his only one in the NFL, he led the league with 13 interceptions, setting the NFL record (broken two years later by Night Train Lane), made the New York Daily News All-Pro team and the Pro Bowl. 

And that was it for Sanders and football. He'd signed a one-year contract with the Yanks and chose to not return. He turned down an offer from Paul Brown to play in Cleveland in 1951. 

Sanders was really the last star of the single-wing in pro football the last in a line of players like Dutch Clark, Arnie Herber, Ace Parker and others. By 1950 the end of his career the wing was barely used, though some teams still used some forms of it but they were the exception, not the rule.

Still, he is only one of four players to have 1,000-yard rushing and 1,000-yard passing in the same season. The others?  Lamar Jackson, Michael Vick and Justin Fields.

And Sanders did it in 14 games. In 1947.

Nineteen forty-seven.  

That's a player worth remembering.

Combine All-Freak Team

 By John Turney 

Size, speed, strength, quickness, agility.

Those are the athletic qualities measured at the annual NFL scouting combine which began in 1987 and, except for 2021 (the pandemic year), has been held in Indianapolis ever since.

Over the years, formats have changed, coverage has expanded and the event is bigger, more sophisticated and more popular than ever.

So it's a big deal.

So are its participants. Each year, the combine reveals new "freaks" - athletes who do eye-popping things, such as race through blistering 40s, produce bench-press records or turn in terrific short-shuttle times -- and it's time they're recognized.

So I compiled my All-Freak combine team, with one caveat: To be considered, players had to participate in a majority of the drills.

Here are the winners:

OFFENSE

CENTER

Jason Kelce, Cincinnati, 2001. 6-3, 280. He ran a 4.89 and posted the combine's best-ever short shuttle and three-cone drill, for a center with times of 4.14 and 7.22 seconds.

GUARDS

Evan Mathis, Alabama, 2005. 6-5, 304. A tall athlete, he ran a 4.92, the best ever by a guard. His vertical leap is third best. His 35 bench reps are tied for sixth. His broad jump is second. His three-cone is third. And his short shuttle is the best. In short, pretty dominant.

Scott Young, BYU, 2005. 6-5, 304. The record-holder among guards in the bench press with 43 reps, he also posted the fourth-best short shuttle and is 20th in the 40.

TACKLES

Lane Johnson, Oklahoma, 2013. 6-6, 303. A converted quarterback, Johnson's 4.72 40 is second among tackles, his three-cone time is ninth, his broad jump second and his vertical leap tenth.

Terron Armstead, Arkansas-Pine Bluff, 2013. 6-5, 306. His 4.71 40 is the best among tackles, while his 31 bench reps are tied for 19th.

TIGHT END

Vernon Davis, Maryland, 2006, 6-3, 253. The freakiest of freaks among tight ends. No one his size is really close. He ran a 4.38 40, had a vertical leap of 42 inches and a standing long jump of 10 feet, eight inches.

WIDE RECEIVERS

Julio Jones, Alabama, 2011. 6-3, 220. For wide receivers who weigh 220 or more pounds, his 4.34 40 is second only to D.K. Metcalf. Furthermore, his long jump is second best for that weight class and his 6.66 three-cone time fourth.

DK Metcalf, Mississippi, 2019. 6-3, 228. He's neck and neck with Jones. His 4.33 40 is a slightly better and the best for wide receivers 220 pounds and over. His 27 bench reps are second-best, and his broad jump is third.

QUARTERBACK

Duante Culpepper, Central Florida, 2000. 252. A huge passer weighing over 250 pounds, his 39-inch vertical leap would be tied for best among quarterbacks except ... well, except records prior to 2000 are not considered official. He also did 18 reps on the bench and had a 10 feet two-inch long jump

FULLBACK

Dan Vitale, Northwestern, 2016. 6-1, 239. Vitale ran a 4.60 40, had a 38-1/2 inch vertical, a 10-foot three-inch long jump a 4.12 short shuttle and a 7.12 three-cone drill ... and oh, 30 reps on the bench. There are plenty of linemen who can't do that many.

RUNNING BACK

Chris Darkins, Minnesota, 1996. 6-0, 2011. Athletic prowess doesn't always equate to NFL success. Darkins was the star of the 1996 combine. He ran a 4.43 40 and a 3.91-second three-cone drill. If official, it would be the second fastest recorded. He also did 21 bench reps and had a 38-1/2 inch vertical, which would be in the top 20. His 10-foot-eight-inch long jump would also be top 20 ... if, that is, it were official.

NOTE: Some of the fastest times were by backs who didn't complete the majority of drills or didn't have the size to be considered freaks. So they weren't chosen. Of those who did, Knile Davis, Arkansas (2013) and Josh Scobey, Kansas State (2002) are honorable mentions.

DEFENSE

ENDS

Montez Sweat, Mississippi State, 2019. 6-6, 260. People talk about others at defensive end, but Sweat may be be the king of edge freaks. He ran a 4.41 40, had a 36-inch vertical, a 10-foot five-inch long jump, did 21 reps, a 4.29 short shuttle and a seven-second three cone.

Jadeveon Clowney, South Carolina, 2014. 6-5, 266. More hyped than Sweat, he didn't do quite as well in the drills but did edge him in the vertical with a 37-1/2-inch leap.

Jevon Kearse did well, but his Pro Day is where he excelled with his best 40 time. His combine time was 4.58. Otherwise, his drills were similar to Sweat and Clowney. So he deserves an honorable mention.

TACKLES

Aaron Donald, Pittsburgh, 2014. 6-1, 285. His sub-4.7 at 285 pounds is legendary. Then there's the 32-inch vertical, 35 reps on the bench, 116 inches on the long jump and 7.11 and 4.39, respectively,on the three-cone and short shuttles.

Dontari Poe, Memphis, 2012. 6-3, 346. His numbers look line misprints. At nearly 350 pounds, he ran a 4.89 40 and did 44 bench reps. His drill and jumping numbers weren't bad, either.

MLB

Luke Kuechly, Boston College, 2012. 6-3, 242. Not only did he have great college tape, but he knocked it out of the park at the combine, too. He ran a 4.58 40, leaped 38 inches, jumped 10 feet-three inches and did a 6.92 three-cone and 4.12 short shuttle. Plus he had 27 reps on the bench press.

OLB

Keith Bulluck, Syracuse, 2000. 6-3, 244. Bullock was a WILL-type linebacker -- off the ball but not an inside guy. He could run and hit, and for linebackers 240 pounds or more, he was elite. He ran a 4.47 40, his short shuttle was 4.13 seconds and his vertical was 38 inches.

Von Miller, Texas A&M, 2011. 6-3, 246. He became an edge but ran with the linebackers at the combine and just killed it.

CORNERBACKS

Champ Bailey, Georgia, 1999. 6-0, 184. Pre-official records, Bailey ran a 4.28 and a 3.79 short shuttle, which would be the second-best ever for a cornerback.

Fabian Washington, Nebraska, 2005. 5-10, 188. Washington was all over the field, running a 4.29 40 (tied for third among corners), had a 41.5-inch vertical, a 10-foot-nine-inch long jump, a 6.58 three-cone and even did 18 reps on the bench. It didn't translate to an All-Pro career, but he won the Combine Games.

SAFETIES

Taylor Mays, USC, 2010. 6-3, 230. The very definition of a freak: A 230-pound safety who ran a 4.31 40, had a 41-inch vertical leap and produce a 10-foot-five-inch long jump and 24 bench reps.

Jason Allen, Tennessee, 2006. 6-1, 209. His 3.81-second short shuttle was special. No safety has ever timed better. He ran a 4.39 which is tied for 11th, as is his 39-1/2-inch vertical. His short shuttle is the ninth-best, and he's tied for fifth on the long jump. Quite the performance.

Oregon's Anthony Newman had numbers similar to Allen's, even beating him in the long jump, and he wasn't far behind on all the others. He gets an honorable mention.

SPECIAL TEAMS

PUNTER—Pat O'Donnell, Miami (FL), 2014, 6-4, 220. He has the best numbers of any punter ever. Most don't do the workouts, but he did. And he ran a 4.64 40, did 23 bench reps and jumped 10 feet.

KICKER—David Buehler, USC, 2009. 6-2, 227. He only ran the 40 and did a 4.57. For all other drills, he was absent. Beuhler . . . Beuhler.

Combine numbers from the Pro Football Reference.com and NFL Combine Results.com websites.

RIP Fred Miller—A Fine Defensive Tackle

 By John Turney 

Fred Miller

News broke yesterday that Fred Miller, a defensive tackle for the Baltimore Colts, passed away Sunday, February 26th. He was 82.

Former teammate Bill Curry tweeted, "Fred Miller was a wonderful person and a great teammate. He was our defensive captain. In six years he didn’t miss one practice or game. He was full speed . . .  Incomparable teammate and leader!"

Miller was drafted out of Louisiana State University in the seventh round by the Colts in the 1962 NFL draft (as a future) and secured a starting job as a rookie. A spot he held for ten years, missing just seven games even though he battled injuries throughout and even an ulcer that he developed in 1965.

He played in NFL Championship games in 1964 and 1968, winning the latter to advance the Super Bowl III. He also played one of his best games ever in Super Bowl V, a defeat of the Dallas Cowboys. 

Miller's reputation was as a steady, mistake-free player with flawless technique. He was not a big defensive tackle for his day (listed at 250 but played at 240-242) but had excellent strength, was very mobile and had terrific pursuit.

He excelled as a run-stopper but could put pressure on opposing quarterbacks. In 1964 he recorded ten sacks and ended his career with 52, averaging 7½ from 1964-68.  

Miller was a second-team All-Pro in both 1967 and 1968 and made the Pro Bowl three straight seasons from 1967-69.

In his last couple of seasons, Miller battled two bad knees as well as offensive guards and conquered both. "He's got to be one of the best defensive tackles in the league. He's never had a bad game", said his defensive line coach John Sandusky in 1970, "He's got to be playing in pain but he'd never tell you."

In 1973 Washington coach George Allen acquired Miller to be part of his famed "Over the Hill Gang", a collection of older players he'd traded for and that help propel a struggling franchise to the playoffs the previous two seasons.

Miller was part of then Colts' general manager Joe Thomas' so-called "purge" - trading away the core of the Colts team like Johnny Unitas, Tom Matte, Bubba Smith, Bill Curry, Norm Bulaich, Dan Sullivan, Jerry Logan, Charlie Stukes, Billy Newsome, Tom Nowatzke, Jim O'Brien and others.

Miller played the preseason with Washington but was waived in early September and subsequently signed to the team's taxi squad and ultimately retired ending his decade-plus in the NFL.

In his three seasons at LSU, he played both offensive and defensive tackle and played on two SEC champion teams, two bowl games, the Orange Bowl and the Cotton Bowl, both victories.

As a senior at LSU, he was an All-American (FWAA) as well blocking for Heisman runner-up Jerry Stovall in 1962 on offense and playing on a defense that allowed just 34 points and posted five shutouts.

Prior to his final year as a Tiger he was the captain of the defensive unit nicknamed the "Chinese Bandits", the defensive platoon in a three-platoon system designed to keep players rested during games in an era was player substitution was limited.

After the 1963 Orange Bowl Miller played in three college All-Star games, the Senior Bowl, the All-American Bowl, and the Chicago College All-Star game, beating the Green Bay Packers in the charity match.

He is a member of LSU’s Modern Day Team of the Century, the  LSU Athletics Hall of Fame and the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame.

Born in Homer, Louisiana, he attended Homer High School, starting three years and lettering four as an offensive lineman.