By Nick Calabrese
Editor’s Note: This Mind of Sabol post features some of the fiercest competitors in NFL history. These are the defensive playmakers that stood out in Mr. Sabol’s card catalogue. Let us know what you think about this latest round of cards by leaving a comment below or tweeting @NFLFilms with #MindofSabol.
“In ’50s, a Defensive Tackle’s main job was to jam up the middle but Big Daddy (Lipscomb) managed to make more tackles than any lineman in the league because of his lateral movement.” – Steve Sabol
Eugene “Big Daddy” Lipscomb
“Whose (Joe Greene) sole competitive instinct is to rip out the other team’s guts and dance in the blood.” – Steve Sabol
Joe Greene
“Is like saying a great white shark is just another fish.” – Steve Sabol
“His first year in the league (1961) he broke 5 ribs, a wrist, a thumb, twisted his knee and sprained both ankles. The fact that he earned a spot on the All-Pro team that season as a DE, a position at which he never felt comfortable, hardly overshadowed the pain and frustration of those hardscrabble teams.” – Steve Sabol
Bob Lilly
“A journey that began in 1961 when the Dallas Cowboys were in first year and were a far cry from slick image of today; when Cowboys were nobody’s team; he was a pathfinder, a pioneer who was there in beginning when Cowboy’s were nobody’s team.” – Steve Sabol
Art Donovan
