Stars and Legends: The Offensive Linemen (continued)

Today we wrap up our look at the best offensive linemen to play the game, with our list of Yesterday's Legends:

The Redskins "Hogs"

The nickname “The Hogs” refers to the offensive line of the Washington Redskins in the 1980’s and early 1990’s.  The original Hogs were center Jeff Bostic, left guard Russ Grimm, right guard Mark May, left tackle George Starke and right tackle Joe Jacoby.  Tight ends Don Warren and Rick Walker were also considered part of the gang.  With a reputation for dominating at the line of scrimmage, the Hogs were instrumental in the Redskins’ victories in Super Bowls XVII (1983), XXII (1988) and XXVI (1992) under head coach Joe Gibbs.  They inspired a group of fans to form the “Hogettes,” a group of men who sit in the stands dresses in drag and wearing plastic pig noses, a tradition that continues today.  By Super Bowl XXVI, some younger players were on the line and deserve mention as “junior” Hogs:  left tackle Jim Lachey, left guard Raleigh McKenzie and right guard Mark “Stinky” Schlereth.  In August 2010, Russ Grimm was the first of the Hogs to be enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Dan Dierdorf (Tackle, St. Louis Cardinals):  Dan Dierdorf attended the University of Michigan and was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the second round of the 1971 draft.  Dierdorf enjoyed a two-season streak of allowing no sacks in 1976 and 1977.  As a unit, the Cardinals’ O-line allowed the fewest sacks in NFC for five consecutive seasons.  One of those was the 1975 season, when they only allowed a record-setting eight sacks.  Dierdorf was selected to six Pro Bowls and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1996.

Larry Allen (Guard, Dallas Cowboys):  From Sonoma State (California), Larry Allen was drafted by the Cowboys in the second round of the 1994 draft.  Allen is regarded as one of strongest players ever to play, having recorded a bench press of nearly 700 pounds.  He was on the Cowboys’ championship team in Super Bowl XXX and was selected to 11 Pro Bowls, the most of any Cowboys offensive player.  He signed with the San Francisco 49ers for the 2007 season, but signed a contract with Dallas in 2008 so he could retire as a Cowboy.

Art Shell (Tackle, Oakland/LA Raiders):  Art Shell attended Maryland State College (a.k.a. the University of Maryland Eastern Shore) and was drafted by the Raiders in the third round of the 1968 draft.  Missing only five games out of 212, Shell was selected to eight straight Pro Bowls.  He was part of the Raiders’ championships in Super Bowls XI and XV.  After retiring, Art Shell would go on to be the head coach of the Raiders, the Kansas City Chiefs and the Atlanta Falcons; he was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1989.

Anthony Munoz (Tackle, Cincinnati Bengals):  Anthony Munoz attended the University of Southern California and was drafted third overall in the 1980 draft.  He only missed 4 games in ten years and caught 4 TDs in career.  Munoz received a variety of honors in his career, including an incredible 11 straight Pro Bowls.  He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1998, the first Bengal to be enshrined.

Jackie Slater (Tackle, LA Rams):  A Jackson State alum, Jackie Slater was drafted by the Rams in the third round of the 1976 draft.  He is tied for third all-time for most seasons played in the NFL.  In 1983, the Rams’ O-line allowed a league-low 23 sacks and helped running back Eric Dickerson beat the rookie rushing record with 1,808 yards.  Selected to seven Pro Bowls in his career, Slater was enshrined in the Hall of Fame in 2001.

Jonathan Ogden (Tackle, Baltimore Ravens):  Jonathan Ogden attended the University of California Los Angeles and was drafted fourth overall by the Ravens in the 1996 draft.  His career included a victory in Super Bowl XXXV and two 1-yard touchdown passes.  He was selected to an amazing 11 Pro Bowls, one for each season except his rookie year.

Two final thoughts on this look at the best offensive linemen: 

With exception of Larry Allen, everyone on our list stayed with same team throughout his career. 

Many on the players on our list were drafted by their teams in the third round of the draft or sooner.  Some were even drafted in the top five overall.  This shows that, while the offensive linemen might be invisible to the cameras and fans, those who know—the scouts, coaches and team management—realize the true value of these trench warriors.

Stars and Legends: Offensive Linemen

Today, Naptime Huddle continues its “Stars and Legends” series with a look at some of the best offensive linemen playing today.  Tomorrow we will look at the best of yesterday, including an entire line from the same team in the 1980’s.

Unlike the other positions in football, there aren’t really any statistics to objectively measure an offensive lineman’s performance.  Quarterbacks have a multitude of statistics—completions, interceptions, passing yards, among others—that can be dissected at length and even calculated to arrive at a quarterback rating.  Receivers have catches and touchdowns; running backs have yards rushed; even defenders have tackles, sacks and interceptions. 

Instead of positive stats, numbers for offensive linemen are limited to the negative—penalties against, sacks allowed.  No one keeps track of holes opened, sacks saved, or incompletions prevented.  So, how do you evaluate these monsters in the trenches?  One angle is to look at those “negatives” like a golf score: the lower the number, the better the player.  However, you also need to look at the intangibles, like longevity (the length of his career), consistency (does he play every game?) and the opinions of his peers and coaches, which take aggression, toughness, agility and overall ability into account.  This last intangible often translates into Pro Bowl selections for the best of the best.

So, with all that said, here is a list of some of the greatest in today’s game*:

Stars of Today:

Nick Mangold (Center, New York Jets):  Nick Mangold attended The Ohio State University and was selected 29^th overall in the 2008 draft by the Jets.  He has been selected to the Pro Bowl in each of his three seasons in the league.  He has helped young QB Mark Sanchez adjust to the pros by allowing an average of only one sack every 10 games.

Chris Snee (Guard, New York Giants):  Chris Snee attended Boston College and was selected by the Giants in the second round of the 2004 draft.  Snee hasn’t missed a single game in the last six seasons and has only allowed nine sacks in the last four seasons.  He helped the Eli Manning defeat the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLII and has earned Pro Bowl selections in the last three seasons.  Oh, and by the way, he’s the son-in-law of Giants head coach Tom Coughlin.  That last fact doesn’t make him one of the best, but it certainly doesn’t hurt his job security.

Joe Thomas (Tackle, Cleveland Browns):  Joe Thomas went to the University of Wisconsin and was drafted third overall in the 2007 draft.  He hasn’t missed a single game in his four-year career and has been selected to the Pro Bowl in each year of his young career.  He hasn’t had the luxury of playing for a playoff-contenting team, but he clearly has talent that will only grow with time.

Jahri Evans (Guard, New Orleans Saints):  Jahri Evans attended tiny Bloomsburg University in Pennsylvania, and was selected by the Saints in the fourth round of the 2006 draft.  He has been selected to the Pro Bowl last two seasons and has never missed a game in his five-year career, including the Saints’ Super Bowl XLIV victory over the Indianapolis Colts.  Evans has only given up 8 sacks in first 80 starts and in 2008 he was part of a Saints offensive line that allowed only 13 sacks in 2008, a franchise record.  Evans and the rest of his O-line has also helped quarterback Drew Brees set a multitude of NFL and team records.

Kris Dielman (Guard, San Diego Chargers):  Kris Dielman went to Indiana University, where he actually played tight end and later a defensive lineman.  He was signed as an undrafted free agent by the San Diego Chargers in 2003.  He has only committed 10 penalties in the past three years, and allowed 5.5 sacks in 46 games.  He was part of the O-line for the record-breaking season of running back LaDainian Tomlinson and has been selected to four Pro Bowls (twice as a starter).

*Of course, I have to add our usual caveat:  Reasonable minds will certainly differ about who should be on this list.  In fact, that’s even more true with offensive linemen, for the same reasons stated above.  However, these are names an educated fan should know.