Top 10 Toughest Football Players

[Bruzilla]

I was watching the Sports List show on Fox Sports Net and they listed the top 10 toughest football players. The list was

10. Donovan McNabb
9. Eddie George
8. Ray Nitzkie
7. Ronnie Lott
6. Mike Ditka
5. Lawrence Taylor
4. Ray Lewis
3. Dick Butkis
2. Brett Farve

and at number 1... Jack Lambert

 

[mainman]

I was watching the Sports List show on Fox Sports Net and they listed the top 10 toughest football players. The list was

10. Donovan McNabb
9. Eddie George
8. Ray Nitzkie
7. Ronnie Lott
6. Mike Ditka
5. Lawrence Taylor
4. Ray Lewis
3. Dick Butkis
2. Brett Farve

and at number 1... Jack Lambert

Who voted?

 

[kom526]

Obviously the people who voted were not too bright.
McNabb?
Where is Pat Fisher, Sammy Baugh or Sam Huff? Yeah, they were all Redskins but they were all tougher in practice than Eddie George ever was. JMHO

 

[Pete]

I would have to say Lott should be much higher. Didn't he have his finger amputated after he broke it so that he could play right away instread of having surgery to fix it and have to sit out?

 

[K_Jo]

 

[K_Jo]

I would have to say Lott should be much higher. Didn't he have his finger amputated after he broke it so that he could play right away instread of having surgery to fix it and have to sit out?

Maybe you should be on the list. A friend of yours told me how he had to shave off the tip of your for you after you got it stuck in the so you'd still be able to your when came to town for the weekend.

 

[Cletus_Vandam]

Where is Brett Farve in this list? I kind of associate him to football like Cal Ripkin is to baseball. Look at the number of games Farve has started consectutively. He is a true Ironman.

And Ray Lewis????? WTF. What injuries has he played through? other than playing through being tried as a murderer?

Another name that immediately comes to mind is the Raider's Jim Otto. Anyone remember this guy, number 00.... He was tough.

 

[Bruzilla]

Where is Brett Farve in this list? I kind of associate him to football like Cal Ripkin is to baseball. Look at the number of games Farve has started consectutively. He is a true Ironman.

And Ray Lewis????? WTF. What injuries has he played through? other than playing through being tried as a murderer?

Another name that immediately comes to mind is the Raider's Jim Otto. Anyone remember this guy, number 00.... He was tough.

Did you even look at the list? Farve is there at number 2... not bad for a QB. Lewis was on there for being a guy who's always on the way to smashing into someone... when he isn't gunning them down in the street.

 

[mrweb]

Where is Brett Farve in this list? I kind of associate him to football like Cal Ripkin is to baseball. Look at the number of games Farve has started consectutively. He is a true Ironman.

And Ray Lewis????? WTF. What injuries has he played through? other than playing through being tried as a murderer?

Another name that immediately comes to mind is the Raider's Jim Otto. Anyone remember this guy, number 00.... He was tough.

As a Steelers die-hard, I would propose Hines Ward (pound for pound, arguably one of the hardest and best blockers playing today), and the center during their Super Bowl days of the 70's and early 80's, Mike Webster....never missed a game until the end. Jim Otto is a good choice as well.

 

[Cletus_Vandam]

Did you even look at the list? Farve is there at number 2... not bad for a QB. Lewis was on there for being a guy who's always on the way to smashing into someone... when he isn't gunning them down in the street.

Duh.... what a dumba$$.... sorry.

 

[K_Jo]

Duh.... what a dumba$$.... sorry.

You've got some fight in ya though!

 

[Cletus_Vandam]

I too am a Steelers die hard fan. Subscribe to Directv game day , just so I can watch their games. I think you could fill up all of the top ten spots with guys from the 70's team...

If you want to pick one standout from the 70's team when it comes to being tough, look at Rocky Blier injuries from Viet Nam and the fact that Doctors didn't expect him to walk again......

 

[Bruzilla]

Obviously the people who voted were not too bright.
McNabb?
Where is Pat Fisher, Sammy Baugh or Sam Huff? Yeah, they were all Redskins but they were all tougher in practice than Eddie George ever was. JMHO

Donovan McNabb was there for thowing four TDs after breaking a leg in a game and not dropping out.

Eddie George was on there for always playing through injuries, but the definition of "injury" is a loose one. Is it the same to play with a busted nose as to play with bruised ribs? I think not.

Ray Nitzkie was the old school nod for one of those throw yourself at everybody guys and just a really nasty look on his face. They also focused on his name.

Ronnie Lott was on there for his finger incident.

Mike Ditka was on there for being so mean on the field, as a coach, commentator, etc.

Lawrence Taylor was on there for all his hard hitting on the field.

Ray Lewis was on there for his johnnny-on-the-spot hitting... although I think he's way over-rated.

Dick Butkis was on there for just being such a bruiser on the field.

Brett Farve was on there for the Ironman thing.

And Jack Lambert was on there because even though we was one of the lightest weight linebackers to play the game, he was just so nasty, angry, and competitive on the field that most players never wanted to play against him, even though they all wanted him on their teams. Plus, it's only fitting that the number 1 spot on any football list should be occupied by a player from the number one football team - The Pittsburgh Steelers!!!

 

[K_Jo]

Otter, I found your post to be well-researched and thought-provoking. Well done.

 

[K_Jo]

Donovan McNabb was there for thowing four TDs after breaking a leg in a game and not dropping out...

Joe Jacoby should be there for Theater Vision.

 

[Cletus_Vandam]

Joe Jacoby should be there for Theater Vision.

I LOVED! those old commercials. I really enjoyed how after the redskins didn't win the superbowl the next year, Theater Vision just cut "world champion" out of Jacoby's line. It always sounded hillarious to me....

Hi, I'm Joe Jacoby of the (short pause with edit noise audible) Washington Redskins.

 

[Tonio]

By "tough", did Fox mean "impervious to pain" or "aggressive and intimidating"? If it's the latter, I think some of the original Oakland Raiders belong on that list. Those guys were demented.

http://www.sptimes.com/2004/09/27/Columns/Raider_mystique_no_lo.shtml

This is the franchise of the Davidson and Otto, of Hayes and Haynes, of Upshaw and Shell, of the Mad Bomber and the Ghost and the Snake and the Mad Stork and the Assassin and the Tooz. They were a brawling, bullying bunch, intimidating down to the guy wearing the eye patch on their helmet.
Most of all, there was (Al) Davis, the dark knight, so slick and so shrewd that people doubted whether his coaches really coached. He fought with his commissioner, with his league and, in the case of Marcus Allen, his own players.

Joe Jacoby should be there for Theater Vision.

No, that's on the list of "Worst Performances by Sports Stars in TV Commercials." No. 1 would probably be Muhammed Ali for D-Con.

 

[K_Jo]

I can't believe Jacoby didn't take his acting career further. :damnshame:

 

[Bruzilla]

By "tough", did Fox mean "impervious to pain" or "aggressive and intimidating"? If it's the latter, I think some of the original Oakland Raiders belong on that list. Those guys were demented.

The Raiders??? They were weak in that area. They had a reputation and little to back it up. I was watching the 1975 AFC Championship game the other day and saw once again how ditzie the Raiders were. For all of the fame that's been put on Madden as a dynamic, energized coach over the years, watching him pout along the sidelines was cause for remembering that his hype is more than his history. I also remember an interview they did with Howie Long, and of course he thought he was the greatest guy to ever play on defense... with the exception of one other guy - Jack Lambert. He said that Lambert scared even him, and he never had to face him.

 

[Bruzilla]

As a Steelers die-hard, I would propose Hines Ward (pound for pound, arguably one of the hardest and best blockers playing today), and the center during their Super Bowl days of the 70's and early 80's, Mike Webster....never missed a game until the end. Jim Otto is a good choice as well.

I think that Ward is one of the best, and most underappreciated, players in the NFL. He can pass, he makes impossible catches, and he's got no fear of throwing his body in front of a charging defenseman. If there was a way to clone him and have a team of Hines Wards, no team but the Steelers would ever win a Super Bowl again.

Plus he's got one of the best personalities you're ever going to find. He's always got a smile on his face when he gets up, no matter how hard he got his bell rung.