In the early 1970s, the Miami Dolphins were one of the best teams ever, and they were loaded with talent, but one of their stars, Dick Anderson, seems to have been forgotten.  Let's try to rectify that.

If it seemed like Jim Hart was the St. Louis Cardinals Quarterback forever it is because in football terms, he practically was.  Hart started 180 games for them from 1967 to 1983, but for such a long tenure it went largely unnoticed.  Playing for bad teams will generally do that.

As the second draft pick of 1969, George Kunz had the fortune of playing for Notre Dame (when that mattered) and winning a National Championship there.  He did not have the same luck when he was selected by the Atlanta Falcons.

It is hard not to consider Clay Matthews Jr. as part of football royalty. How can you not? 

Selected in the 2nd Round out of the University of Arkansas in 1938, Jim Benton would go onto be one of the first great receivers in the history of the Rams franchise.  Benton led the NFL in Yards per Reception as a rookie and was named to the Pro Bowl in his second season.  He took 1941 off and returned…

Shannon Sharpe may be considered the best tight end of the 1990s, but a consensus number two would likely be Ben Coates.  Coincidentally, the two would wrap up their careers at the start of the new millennium as teammates for the Baltimore Ravens in winning Super Bowl XXXV.

A complete beast at the University of Alabama, Cornelius Bennett was drafted second overall in 1987 by the Indianapolis Colts and as part of a mega-trade, would become a Buffalo Bill.   With the Bills, he would help them win four straight AFC Championships and was a five-time Pro Bowl Selection.   One of those seasons would see Bennett being named a…

Jack Kemp was a late-round (17th) pick in 1957 by the Detroit Lions, but he never played a down for them and would find back-up work with the Pittsburgh Steelers that year.  Kemp would later be on the taxi squad for both the San Francisco 49ers and New York Giants but would not see any action, though this would change…

From Rice University, Tobin Rote was drafted by the Green Bay Packers, but in '50 the Pack was not very good, and wouldn't be for years.  The ineptitude of Green Bay was no fault of Rote, who proved to be an excellent QB, but didn't have a lot of teammates around him at his level.  He was also a solid…

Rick Casares was drafted in the 2nd Round by George Halas' Chicago Bears in 1954, and after he served a year in the military, he would become one of the elite Fullbacks of the National Football League.  Casares was a straight-forward rusher who was finished in the top ten in Rushing Yards in his first six seasons (1955-60), the first…

A member of the 100 Sack club, Robert Mathis proved time and time over his career that he was a certified beast on the pass rush. 

You don't expect an eighth-round pick to become one of the best at his position in his first four seasons, but Larry Brown, the afterthought from Kansas State, did exactly that.  The new Washington Redskins Head Coach, Vince Lombardi pegged Brown, to become the starting Running Back, and he blossomed after Lombardi noticed that he was hearing impaired in one…

Ruben Brown played the majority of his career with the Buffalo Bills, where the 1st Round Pick would be named to the All-Rookie team and followed that up with eight more seasons in Buffalo, all of which would see the Left Guard named to the Pro Bowl. 

Steve Tasker may have been listed as a Wide Receiver but with only 51 career receptions it is hard to think of him as a successful wide out.  Tasker did however make the Prow Bowl but it was not because of his offensive capabilities but from his prowess on the Special Teams.

The Cardinals franchise may have a long and storied history of great players.  Jay Novacek may have played five seasons there, but it was not until he hit “Big D” did he become a star and was used to the best of his ability.