Much like quarterbacks are the field generals and beating hearts of a football team’s offense, middle linebackers are very much the quarterbacks and heart and soul of a defense. From their position in the center of the defensive formation, they are often at the center of the action, whether it be swooping in for a tackle, rushing after the quarterback, or dropping back in coverage. In the 21st century, two of the outstanding linebackers of this generation have been Ray Lewis of the Baltimore Ravens and Brian Urlacher of the Chicago Bears, who were both centerpieces of dominating defensive teams. Given their overlapping careers and subsequent elections into the Hall of Fame, it is natural to compare the two players and ask:
Note: Updated for Edgerrin James’ 2020 Hall of Fame selection.
In the 1999 NFL Draft, the first three picks overall were quarterbacks – Tim Couch to the Cleveland Browns (bust), Donovan McNabb to the Philadelphia Eagles (very good career), and Akili Smith to the Cincinnati Bengals (bust). Then, with the fourth overall pick and having traded away star running back Marshall Faulk, the Indianapolis Colts were in a position to draft a running back; though Ricky Williams had just won the Heisman Trophy, the Colts surprised many by drafting Edgerrin James instead. This led to a domino effect where Mike Ditka and the New Orleans Saints essentially traded away their entire draft to take Williams at fifth overall, thus forever intertwining the careers of James and Williams. Both running backs had productive careers and in comparing the two in hindsight, the question is:
Who was better – Edgerrin James or Ricky Williams?
With six Super Bowl titles (as of the end of the 2018 season), the Pittsburgh Steelers are tied with the New England Patriots for the most Super Bowl wins in NFL history. From the four-time champions of the 1970s to the more recent championship teams, the Steelers have been characterized by strong quarterback play (Terry Bradshaw and Ben Roethlisberger), a ferocious defense (the Steel Curtain of the 1970s and the Troy Polamalu-led 21st century defense), and a powerful rushing game. The key catalysts for Pittsburgh’s vaunted rushing attack throughout the years have been Hall of Fame running backs Franco Harris and Jerome Bettis, who rank #1 and #2, respectively, on the team’s all-time rushing list. As such, it is only natural to debate who is the greatest running back in Steelers history by asking:
Throughout football history, the role of the tight end has evolved from a lumbering extra blocker on the offensive line to a dynamic, multi-faceted weapon with the ability to create mismatches on defense and dominate as a pass-catcher in the red zone while also contributing to the running game. From the early days of tight ends like Mike Ditka and John Mackey to Ozzie Newsome and Shannon Sharpe, football fans have been witnesses to a tight end revolution over the past couple of decades, with two notable names in Tony Gonzalez and Rob Gronkowski at the vanguard of the “new age” tight end. With Gronkowski’s recent retirement, a natural debate arises between Gonzalez’s long-term brilliance and Gronkowski’s epic zenith:
Since the early 2000s, the NFL has continued to evolve towards becoming more and more of a passing league, which in turn has led to ever-increasing stats for quarterbacks and wide receivers alike. While Hall of Fame wide receivers like Randy Moss and Terrell Owens are recognized as among the cream of the crop of this generation, this recent group of pass-catchers is deep and comes in all shapes and sizes. Standing out among the crowded field are two prolific, yet very different players in the tall and powerful Andre Johnson and the small but shifty Steve Smith. The careers of these two All-Pro and Pro Bowl wide receivers essentially overlapped and in any given season, you could find one or the other (or both) at or near the top of the receiving board – with all of this in mind, let us ask the question:
Note: Updated for Troy Polamalu’s 2020 Hall of Fame selection.
Since the original Cleveland Browns moved to Baltimore and became the Ravens in 1996, the Pittsburgh Steelers vs. the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC North has become one of the fiercest divisional rivalries in the NFL. While individual players have come and gone, the themes of this intense rivalry have remained essentially the same since inception – power running games and hard-hitting defenses. Perhaps no two players better embodied this rivalry than All-Pro safeties Troy Polamalu of the Steelers and Ed Reed of the Ravens. Both were linchpins of their respective defenses for a decade and achieved the heights of personal and team success (Pro Bowl, All-Pro, Defensive Player of the Year, Super Bowl) – given how closely their careers overlapped and how often they played against each other, this leads to inevitable comparisons and the overarching question:
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