Professional Football Researchers Association Forum

I already gave this one away in that other thread: the Chicago/St. Louis/Phoenix/Arizona Cardinals. H.o.F.ers and All-Pros left and right in the all-time Cardinals' defensive secondary. Which other team(s) would you like to see considered for "best all-time roster: DBs"?

I'll give it a shot. Detroit's secondary has had guys like Jack Christiansen, Yale Lary, Jimmy David, Don Doll, Bob Smith, Carl Karilivacz, Night Train Lane, Dick Lebeau, Lem Barney, Bennie Blades, Dre Bly. I'm doing it straight from memory so I'm sure I'm missing someone. Five of these guys are in the HOF and I think a good argument could be made for Doll and David, too.

Oh, I gotta throw in Bruce Maher, too, since my first date and kiss were with his cousin Denise. Oh the spring of '68....

I agree - the Lions (or as I refer to them in my Greatest Players of All Time League: the "Portsroit Spartons") definitely have a strong case for "best defensive secondary" from an "all-time greats" roster.

The Lions immediately came to mind for me, too.

The homer in me wants to mention:
The 49ers with "Dwight Hicks and the Hot Licks" (Hicks, Eric Wright, Carleton Williamson and some guy named Lott) were a good unit that functioned very well together. Add in Jimmy Johnson, Abe Woodson and some guys who were with the team only briefly (Deion Sanders, Rod Woodson, Tim McDonald) or were perhaps second tier (Jeff Fuller, Merton Hanks, Bruce Taylor, Rosey Taylor, Kermit Alexander, etc) and you would have a pretty good stable of DBs.

The Steelers had a superb secondary during their run in the 70's (including Mel Blount, Donnie Shell, J T Thomas, Mike Wagner and Glen Edwards) and some greats from later teams (Troy Polamalu, Rod Woodson) not to mention Bill Dudley and Jack Butler... I think they could hang with just about anybody.

Steelers also had physical players like Brady Keys, John Rowser, Carnell Lake, Thomas Everett, Ike Taylor and Chad Scott ...

Chiefs had top talent as well, with Johnny Robinson, Dave Grayson, Emmitt Thomas, Jim Marsalis, later, Deron Cherry, Gary Green, Gary Barbaro, Albert Lewis, Kevin Ross, Lloyd Burress, James Hasty, Patrick Surtain, Eric Berry

Brian wolf wrote:Chiefs had top talent as well, with Johnny Robinson, Dave Grayson, Emmitt Thomas, Jim Marsalis, later, Deron Cherry, Gary Green, Gary Barbaro, Albert Lewis, Kevin Ross, Lloyd Burress, James Hasty, Patrick Surtain, Eric Berry

The Chiefs are also an excellent pick, as are the Steelers. Here's a list of Cardinals DBs that lead me to believe that they're #1: Lindon Crow, Pat Fischer, Jimmy Hill, "Night Train" Lane, Tim McDonald, Jerry Norton, Jerry Stovall, Roger Wehrli, Aeneas Williams, Adrian Wilson, Larry Wilson. Four H.o.F.ers in that group, one member of the NFL 100 team, and plenty of All-Pro and Pro Bowl nods for those who aren't. And get this: my starting defensive backfield for the Cardinals' all-time team consists of "the Four W's": Aeneas Williams (LCB), Roger Wehrli (RCB), Adrian Wilson (SS), and Larry Wilson (FS). How weird is that?

My initial thought was Lions... but Cardinals would definitely be my pick for DBs. Larry Wilson might be my all time favorite NFL player who's career started before 1970.

JuggernautJ wrote:The Lions immediately came to mind for me, too.

The homer in me wants to mention:
The 49ers with "Dwight Hicks and the Hot Licks" (Hicks, Eric Wright, Carleton Williamson and some guy named Lott) were a good unit that functioned very well together. Add in Jimmy Johnson, Abe Woodson and some guys who were with the team only briefly (Deion Sanders, Rod Woodson, Tim McDonald) or were perhaps second tier (Jeff Fuller, Merton Hanks, Bruce Taylor, Rosey Taylor, Kermit Alexander, etc) and you would have a pretty good stable of DBs.

The Steelers had a superb secondary during their run in the 70's (including Mel Blount, Donnie Shell, J T Thomas, Mike Wagner and Glen Edwards) and some greats from later teams (Troy Polamalu, Rod Woodson) not to mention Bill Dudley and Jack Butler... I think they could hang with just about anybody.

Agreed. I think the Raiders and the Cowboys also each have a good case.

A few other teams that come to mind that I think are "in the conversation" (and that I'm a little surprised that nobody has brought up yet): the Packers, Cowboys, and Broncos.