If you’re like me you started to really get into football at
a very young age. Growing up a Penn State fan football is instilled in you early,
but I didn’t really understand the game until I was 7 or 8. One of the first
players outside of Penn State I saw play was Michael Vick in 1999 when he was
at Virginia Tech, and, much like everyone else I was captivated by what I saw,
a quarterback who was faster than most running backs and wide receivers on his
team. Penn State at the time had a quarterback named Rashard Casey who was sort
of like Vick in the sense that he could make more plays with his legs than his
arm. See here. (Fast forward to the 3:13 mark.) If you know me at all you know
that Vick was and still is my favorite athlete.
Anyway, moving on, I love the NFL and I love the history of
the NFL. I love watching old highlights of Jerry Rice and Lawrence Taylor
during the so-called “glory days” of the NFL. There are plenty of players we
watch in the NFL today that make you say, “wow”; Adrian Peterson is one of
those players. Ever since AP stepped foot on the campus of Oklahoma in 2004 he
was looked at as the next big thing, and he hasn’t disappointed. Injuries in
college cut short what could have been the best college career of the last 20
years. Since being drafted in the first round by Minnesota in 2007 the 6’2”
220-pound Peterson has left fans wanting more and more each week. He is just
one in a long line of NFL players since 2000 that have been fun for us to
watch. I’m going to leave a lot of players off this list but the players who made
it were guys who when you watched them play the only thing you said was, “wow”.
This is a three part series. We’ll start on offense with the
quarterbacks and end up in the trenches with the offensive line and tight ends. Remember, the
names on this list might not have been as successful as some others, but they
were/are more fun to watch.
- .. Brett Favre (Green Bay Packers, 1992-2007): The NFL leader in interceptions thrown was perhaps the most entertaining quarterback of his time. His style was unorthodox, his willingness to make ‘bad throws’ and still complete the pass was worth closing your eyes, and the hits he took and was still able to get up from were bone jarring. Yet the man who played in 297 consecutive games gave us moments we will never forget. Oh, and he sells a mean pair of Wrangler Jeans.
- . Ben Roethlisberger (Pittsburgh Steelers, 2004-present): Another quarterback like Favre, ‘Big Ben’ as they call him is one who stands in the pocket and will extend plays. Does he make some bad choices at times? Yeah. But he also made plays that won two Super Bowl’s. At 6’5” 240-pounds, Roethlisberger is a headache for defensive coordinators with his ability to bounce off defenders and extend the play. He takes some big hits but the future Hall of Famer has been one of the more reliable quarterbacks in the NFL having not missed four games in a row until this season. His 11th in Pittsburgh.
- . Michael Vick (Atlanta Falcons 2001-2006): The wildcat formation the NFL adapted over the years was because of Vick. His electric style of play while at Virginia Tech captured the eyes of all football fans. With the first pick in the 2000 NFL Draft the Falcons took what many believe was a huge gamble at the time, which in hind sight might be true because Vick was never the best when it came to putting in the work to be great. Nonetheless, those years in Atlanta were some of the most electric years we’ve ever seen by a quarterback. If you need a reminder of what he could do, here you go.
- . Peyton Manning (Indianapolis Colts, 1998-2011): It’s tough to put Manning ahead of Tom Brady on any list involving quarterbacks, but for this list I’m going to. During his years with the Colts, Manning was a surgeon with the football. I know, I know, Manning couldn’t produce in the playoffs when it really mattered, but Manning during the regular season was nothing short of spectacular. Perhaps the best part of Manning’s game and what made him so fun to watch was his ability to read defenses prior to the ball being snapped. You didn’t know anything he was saying but you knew that the next thing to happen was going to be the right thing.
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