All-time greats, continued:

Tackles

5) Art Shell  4) Erik Williams  3) Jonathan Ogden 2) Anthony Munoz  1) Tony Boselli

Guards

5) Bruce Matthews 4) Russ Grimm 3) Alan Faneca 2) Larry Allen  1) John Hannah

Centers

5) Dwight Stephenson  4) Dave Dalby  3) Jeff Van Note  2) Mike Webster  1) Dermonti Dawson

The offensive linemen don’t get the glory of a quarterback, and unlike defensive players who get their names called every time they make a play, o-linemen only get announced when they make a mistake.  But people who know football know that games are won and lost by these men.  The team whose offensive line better controls the line of scrimmage is usually the team that wins the game.  The guys I’ve listed here are the ones who I feel were the best to play their individual positions.  There are a lot of great lineman I left off who probably deserve to be on here, guys like Randy Cross and Gary Zimmerman, but I wanted to narrow it down to five at each position.

My all-time favorite players by position, continued (Again, only players I’ve seen play, and based on how much I have enjoyed watching them play):

Wide Receivers

5) John Stallworth  4) Hines Ward  3) Steve Largeant  2) Art Monk  1) Jerry Rice

Tight Ends

5) Kellen Winslow, Sr.  4) Mark Bavaro  3) Eric Green  2) Jason Witten 1) Ozzie Newsome

Fullbacks

5) John Alstott  4) Tom Rathman 3) Darryl Johnston  2) Franco Harris  1) Lorenzo Neal

Running Backs

5) Emmitt Smith 4) Eric Dickerson  3) Curtis Martin  2) Barry Sanders  1) Walter Payton

Quarterbacks

5) Terry Bradshaw  4) Dan Marino  3) Brett Favre  2) Peyton Manning  1) Joe Montana

Okay, so I’m going to list my personal all-time favorite players by position.  I’m going to limit this to people I’ve actually gotten to see play in my lifetime, so it’s not a comprehensive list.  Also, this is my opinion.  Here goes:

Kickers/Punters

5) Jan Stenerud, kicker  4) Morten Anderson, kicker  3) Jason Ellam, kicker  2) Gary Anderson, kicker  1) Ray Guy, punter

Returners

5) Billy “White Shoes” Johnson  4) Mel Gray  3) Josh Cribbs  2) Brian Mitchell  1) Eric Metcalf

Special Teams “Aces”

5) Steve Tasker  4) Via Sikahema  3) Hershel Walker  2) Trey Junkin  1) Bill Bates