My Favorite Chiefs- Defense (1980's-Present Edition)

Well, I am back with my defensive edition. And as a reminder, these are my favorite players, not who I think are the All Time Chiefs. There are some names on there who may appear on both lists but there are also some names that make you scratch your heads. At any rate, they are guys that I always liked, through good and bad. I'm going to run a 3-4 defense and take two safeties, ignoring the free and strong designations. Here we go...

DT- Dan Saleamua was the man! He had a great personality and was huge on and off the field; imaging=e him playing today with all the access we'd have to him. he'd be fun on Twitter, Facebook, etc. I also liked Joe Phillips, Lional Dalton and Chester McGlockton. Saleamua was a fun player to watch.

DE- Starting on the end away from Neil will be Darren Mickell. He was not a great player, almost like Wallace Gilberry before Wallace Gilberry! he was a pass rusher with limited ability but I liked him. He edges out Mike Bell, Art Still, Jared Allen and Gilberry.

OLB- Derrick Thomas was simply put an outstanding player. He was relentless going after the QB and his first step, especially at Arrowhead was phenomenal. He died too young, and broke a lot of hearts when he did.

ILB- I am choosing two here and they are Derrick Johnson and Anthony Davis. I loved Davis, not sure why (a recurring theme in this post!) but he was fun to watch, played with a little attitude. DJ has really come into his own and as a home grown Chief I have loved watching him grow. A big play waiting to happen.

OLB- Tamba Hali is the choice here; non stop motor and makes tons of plays on sheer effort. He has a great back story and his passion comes through loud and clear on Sundays.

Just missing the cut at linebacker are Gary Spani, Gary Stills, Donnie Edwards and Tracy Simien.

CB- Dale carter. I loved me some Dale carter! Athletic, cocky and what a player. He was a lock down, in your face aggressive corner and had swagger before we called it "swag". I know he was a knucklehead off the field, but man he came to play on Sundays.

CB- Albert Lewis. Can you imagine Lewis and carter playing together.? Wow, super athleticism and big play ability!!

Just missing the cut at CB: Tim Collier, Gary Green, James Hasty, Mark McMillan, Kevin Ross, Bennie Sapp, Dexter McCleon, and Cris Dishman. And I'd be remiss to mention today's starters who I like a lot, Flowers and Carr are moving up this list for me.I love the Chiefs history at corner!

S- My two safeties are Deron Cherry and Jerome Woods. I loved Cherry as a kid, he was the guy I wanted to be in the backyard when I played defense! He was an outstanding player and to become a great safety after being drafted as a punter from Rutgers ( a punter! from Rutgers!) Woods was a solid player and I loved how he roamed the field and played both the run and pass well. He didn't make a lot of big plays, but he was one of my all time favorites to watch.

Just missed for me: Eric Berry, Greg Wesley (if he would have kept hitting post contract as he did pre-contract he would have been a hell of a player), Lloyd Burress, Charles Mincy, Bernard Polllard and Gary Barbaro.

P-Geez, tough call. never had much of an affinity for a punter. i guess I'd go with Colquitt because I admire the way the whole family punts!

PR- Dante Hall. Not even close. He was phenomenal. The most exciting player in the league for a few years; one who truly could score every time he touched the ball. JT Smith was also exciting to watch back there.

KR- Tamarack Vanover. he was a big strong return man who was different in that he broke tackles and ran away from people. An overtime return versus SD was huge and Marty loved him. Like Carter, he had some issues off the field which curtailed his career.

Well, there it is. And again, I hope I may stir up some conversation and bring a smile to a few faces with some blasts from the past. Go Chiefs!