The modern all-NFL team - Defense

I thought it would be appropriate, in these days of drafting in fantasy football and preseason games to post the greatest players of the modern era. You may feel free to agree or disagree. To be eligible, the player must have begun his career after the 1958 Colts-Giants overtime NFL championship game that helped bring the NFL to the attention of the American sports fans. Thus, players like Bronko Nagurski and Johnny Unitas cannot be considered. Also, active players cannot be considered and so there will be no Mannings found here:

DEFENSE - based on the 4-3 defensive scheme

ENDS Reggie White and Deacon Jones - This was not too hard for me to pick. Reggie White was great against the pass and the run, a dominant player who was a tremendous physical specimen and had a great football demeanor. Deacon Jones was the first great sack-master who simply dominated the offensive linemen who had the misfortune to line up against him. He reigned before sacks were counted as a statistic (and he, in fact, coined the term) but is generally credited with at least 180 of them.

TACKLES - Alan Page and Bob Lilly - This might be the hardest position for me to fill. There are, to me, four tier-one greats to be considered. Bob Lilly, who made 11 Pro Bowls and 8 All-NFL teams in his 14 years of dominance. Alan Page, who was actually the MVP of the league as a defensive player. Merlin Olsen, the brilliant technician credited with the invention of many of the stunts now used commonly by defensive linemen. Mean Joe Green, the dominating leader of the dominant Pittsburgh teams of the 70's. How do you choose from among these players? They were all part of fabled defenses - The Fearsome Foursome, the Doomsday Defense, the Purple People Eaters, the Steel Curtain. They all made numerous Pro Bowl appearances and had relatively long careers.

I eliminated Olsen as the only one who didn't help lead his team to several championship games. I took Page as the only one who won an MVP award in 1973, a guy who also won a defensive player of the year award in 1973 among his four player of the year awards during his career. I then had to choose between Lilly and Greene. Greene made 10 Pro Bowls in 13 years and Lilly beat him by one on both counts, plus had more all-NFL selections. Therefore, I reluctantly took Bob Lilly. But I promise you that in real life I would have Joe Greene coming in and sharing time equally with the other two. Alas, I can only officially choose two!

OUTSIDE LINEBACKERS - Lawrence Taylor and Jack Ham - LT is a no-brainer, the most dominant outside linebacker in the history of the game by far. Ham was a tougher pick over former Kansas City star Willie Lanier. Both were mobile, agile, hostile in their days. Ham's superior pass coverage skills, to me, outweigh Lanier's somewhat more intimidating hitting abilities. This is especially true in tandem with LT.

MIDDLE LINEBACKER - Dick Butkus - He grabbed better than 20 each of fumbles and interceptions during his career and who knows how many more fumbles he forced? He was as intimidating on the inside as LT was on the outside, a ferocious tackler with surprisingly good range.

CORNERBACKS - Rod Woodson and Deion Sanders - Rod Wodson was fast and also a heck of a hitter. Beyond that, he was a playmaker extraordinaire, being the NFL record-holder for most interception return yards and most interception touchdowns (12), as well as most defensive touchdowns (13). Deion Sanders was famed for being the ultimate lock-down cornerback. His great speed and anticipation blanketed wide receivers and his big-play abilities caused teams to fear throwing in his direction. Still, he is the record holder for the most defensive and kick return touchdowns with 19. In Woodson and Sanders, this team would have the greatest playmaking duo imaginable on the corners.

SAFETIES - Ronnie Lott and Johnny Robinson - Lott was known as a vicious-but-clean hitter who was fast enough to have begun his career as a cornerback but big enough to have played linebacker. Along with all those hard hits, he managed to snare 63 interceptions as well. Robinson was named the greatest AFL safety ever, a guy who intercepted 58 passes in 12 years and continued his acclaim after the AFL-NFL merger.

PUNTER - Ray Guy - He was the king of hangtime, a terrific athlete who had been a safety in college and a placekicker to boot (little pun there, sorry). He was the first punter inaugurated into the Hall of Fame, the punter selected for the NFL 75th year team, a guy (there I go again) who punted the ball so high and hung it up for so long that at least one opponent had the ball he kicked checked for helium. The Ray Guy award is given to the best punter in college ball each year.

PUNT RETURNER - Rick Upchurch - Lots of candidates here. Billy "White Shoes" Johnson finishes a strong second. Others include Terry Metcalf, who returned the most back for touchdowns, with ten, and Brian Mitchell, who had the most returns and return yards. But Upchurch took back 8 for touchies in only 248 returns and his average was about two yards per return better than either Metcalf or Mitchell. Of course, Gale Sayers was better than all of them, but he didn't get up to 100 returns for his career so I held him out of the running.

Well that is that, the defensive side of it all. Next: Offense, obviously.