Friend of the program Bryan Frye is back for another guest series. As regular readers know, Bryan operates his own fantastic site, http://www.thegridfe.com. You can view all of Bryan’s guest posts here, and follow him on twitter @LaverneusDingle.

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As you know by now, I’m making all-time division teams while Chase is off on his honeymoon. I’ll spare you a verbose introduction and just lay out the rules:

1. I write everything before my painkiller prescription runs out,
2. I write it completely off the top of my head and don’t do any research,
3. I don’t have to proofread this when I finish it, and
4. Chase doesn’t edit my nonsense out of the article (so my inane asides and non sequiturs are our shared burden now). ^[1]Roster construction is as follows: 1 QB, 2 RB, 3 WR, 2 TE, 2 T, 2 G, 1 C, 2 DE, 2 DT, 2 OLB, 2 MLB/ILB, 3 CB, 2 S, 1 K, 1 P, 1 HC
5. I maintain modern division designations. If a player played for the Seahawks when the team was in the AFC West, I am counting him in the NFC West. I have neither the time nor the inclination to make this 100% perfect.

Without further ado, here’s the NFC East.

Offense

Quarterback – Roger Staubach

Sammy Baugh was a better player, but it’s hard to find a better pure quarterback than Captain America himself. Baugh (along with Troy Aikman, Drew Brees, and Kurt Warner) is the most accurate pure passer I have witnessed. But Staubach was in a league of his own as a leader. Not many guys come into a locker room as a rookie with instant credibility because of their military service. Even more impressive is that he backed it up with his play on the field and his actions off the field.

Running Backs – Emmitt Smith and Steve Van Buren

Smith is the all-time leader in rushing yards and rushing touchdowns and is often misremembered as a guy who only succeeded because of talented offensive lines (these same critics rarely levy this criticism of Jim Brown, who had an arguably superior line to Smith’s). The actual Smith was a dynamic runner with near-perfect pad level, marvelous balance, superhuman vision, durability, and an underrated ability in pass protection. Van Buren was the first superduperstar running back, who ran directly over defenders on his way to claiming the career rushing title. Tony Dorsett deserves a special mention for his ability to reach top speed in two steps and constantly put pressure on defenses.

Wide Receivers – Michael Irvin, Del Shofner, and Terrell Owens

I wasn’t quite sure where to put TO, so I included him with the NFC East, since he spent time with both the Eagles and Cowboys. His exploits on and off the field are well known and don’t need more time here. Irvin seems to be underrated by modern fans with fantasy football mindsets. Throw on any tape, and you’ll see a violent route runner who had his way with almost every defensive back in his path. Bob Hayes was good too, but he tends to get too much credit for things he didn’t do. Some of that credit rightfully belongs to super huge Hall of Fame snub Shofner, who forced schematic changes before Hayes ever played a game of pro football. ^[2]To be fair, Chicago burner Harlon Hill also deserves some credit here.

Tight Ends – Pete Pihos and Jason Witten

I recently referred to Mike Ditka as the first great tight end, but Pihos came first and basically played the position in practice if not in name. He was a terrific blocker who also happened to lead the league in receiving yards twice. Witten didn’t have the physical dominance of Mark Bavaro (a true freak of nature), but he did everything pretty well. His dependable but blasé receiving led many to overrate his blocking, which was solid but unspectacular. Jerry Smith was a better pure receiver, but he didn’t quite have the blocking talent teams desired at the time.

Tackles – Rosey Brown and Rayfield Wright

How highly do I regard Brown? When Jim Parker was playing tackle, Brown was the only player to take the GridFe Guardian Award from the Colts legend. He was an incredible athlete who had the physical skills to excel as a tight end had he so chosen. I’ve seen footage of him blocking downfield and running faster than his halfback. Wright was a similarly talented athlete who was adept at neutralizing pass rushers. He narrowly edges out Boomer Brown, who was a dominant force but didn’t spend enough time in the division.

Guards – Larry Allen and Russ Grimm

Allen was chalk here, as he may be the most effective guard I’ve ever seen. Grimm was a vital member of the Hogs, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see Zack Martin supplant him on this list one day.

Center – Mel Hein

As a center, Hein actually won a league MVP award. He made an all pro team every year from 1931-1941, had a couple down years, and ended his career with all pro nods in 1944 and 1945. Bednarik was great too, but I was more impressed with his work at OLB (you can view Brad’s thoughts on him here). As far as modern players go, I’d like to see Travis Frederick overcome his medical issues and make a push for this spot eventually.

Defense

Defensive End – Reggie White and Michael Strahan

Playing for the Eagles, White had more sacks than games played over an eight year span! He could sink inside and play tackle at a Hall of Fame level, or he could play wide and manhandle blockers at will. ^[3]That’s non-Erik Williams blockers. Strahan was the complete package. Everyone knows and laments his official sack record, but fewer talk about his ability to rack up sacks without forsaking his responsibilities against the run. Honorable mention to Andy Robustelli, and special mention to Al Blozis, who I earnestly believe would be a slam dunk, inner circle Hall of Famer had he not died as an actual hero.

Defensive Tackle – Bob Lilly and Randy White

I go back and forth between naming Lilly and Joe Greene the greatest DT of all time. I haven’t been able to find any weaknesses in his game. He almost never lost one on one, he deftly defeated double teams, he never seemed to get tired, and he used leverage to his advantage to play with incredible functional strength. White was an interior lineman with the athletic skill of a linebacker. Even after bulking up to play inside, he maintained his original quickness. Honorable mention to Weinmeister, who may have made it with a longer career. Also Jerome Brown, whose tragic death is a grim reminder of the very things from which football provides us a relief.

Outside Linebacker – Lawrence Taylor and DeMarcus Ware

Chuck Howley and Seth Joyner faced uphill battles trying to knock these guys off the mountaintop. Howley is among the great coverage specialists the position has seen, and Joyner seemingly had the ability to do anything he wanted, from lining up across from a tackle to spelling at safety. I love Bednarik’s work as well, but I didn’t like him enough at either center or linebacker to put him in one of those spots. Instead, I opted to go with arguably the greatest defender in history (LT) and the recent guy who reminded me most of him (until Von Miller came along).

Middle/Inside Linebacker – Harry Carson and Sam Huff

While I don’t think Huff’s performance quite lived up to his reputation, he nonetheless earns a spot here. Carson was a liability in coverage and wouldn’t star in today’s game, but his work against the run was phenomenal. Some say he doesn’t belong in Canton, but I think that’s a bit unfair. He seemed to do an underrated job maintaining order on defense when LT decided to go off script. ^[4]This isn’t a knock on LT for going rogue. When you are a special player, you get special privileges.

Cornerback – Darrell Green, Mel Renfro, and Everson Walls ^[5]I originally went with Eric Allen before opting for Everson Walls. Here’s what I had written: Allen didn’t play in Philly for that long, but he played long enough and well enough to make this … Continue reading

I decided to only list each player once during this series, so Deion Sanders won’t show up until later. Green is an interesting case because he was incredibly popular but very low on honors. He was undersized but possessed legendary speed and finely tuned body control that allowed him to excel in man coverage. Renfro had the versatility to play both corner and safety at an all star level. One trait that stands out on film is that he seemed to have almost no wasted motion. Just incredible economy of movement. For a modern comp, Walls reminds me of a bigger Asante Samuel – a zone coverage maven who fully embraced his role as a ballhawk.

Safety – Emlen Tunnell and Brian Dawkins

Tunnell is both the first primarily defensive player and the first black player inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He played a vital role in the famed Umbrella Defense, with uncanny mix of range and devastating hitting ability. He also happened to be one of the best return men of his era. Dawkins had no weaknesses as a player. He could cover deep, patrol intermediate zones, stuff runs, and was the unquestioned leader of his defense. Jimmy Patton and Cliff Harris are honorable mentions.

Special Teams and Head Coach

Kicker – Mark Moseley

I mean, the guy won an MVP award, so he must be something special. Ugh.

Punter – Sam Baker

Baugh would have been the cute choice, but study of his game shows a player whose punting contributions have been consistently exaggerated. Instead, I went with Baker, a rare kicker/punter combo who was actually really good at both. Despite punting philosophy not being quite as sophisticated during his playing days, Baker added much value to his team by focusing on high kicks that limited return yards rather than just booming it as hard as he could.

Head Coach – Tom Landry

Joe Gibbs was a serious contender, given his remarkable ability to adapt his schemes, develop unheralded linemen, and guide three stylistically different quarterbacks to Super Bowl glory. ^[6]For more on my opinion of Gibbs, check out this little ditty I wrote for Matt Waldman a few years back. Ultimately, however, I went with the man in the funny hat. He was known as a defensive genius, but he also crafted offenses that thrived even in the absence of star players.

Parting Shot

This concludes part six. Next is part seven, because that’s how numbers work.