The modern NFL game is not built for defenses to thrive. Heck, even in times of “three yards and a cloud of dust,” it’s arguable the league never actually wanted defenses to win. At least, once the powers that be learned that offense sells like hotcakes.
Suffice it to say, playing defense in the NFL can be an impossible job. So the men that have courageously taken on the assignment of slowing down high-flying attacks stand out all the more.
In pro football lore, the best defenders ever are those who made offensive coordinators lose countless hours of sleep as they game-planned. They are the players who made quarterbacks quite literally see ghosts when standing in the pocket. They are pictures of reliability and dependability and are the preeminent warriors of the West’s favorite gladiator sport.
The below list examines the greatest defender in the history of all 32 NFL teams. My criteria was simple and rooted around these questions: What was their production like? Did they have a high intimidation factor? How available were they for their teammates? Did they pioneer a new way of playing their position?
It’s not easy playing defense in the NFL. But these fine gentlemen sometimes made the impossible seem like a casual task.
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