What if you took the all-time best players from each of the 8 NFL divisions and paired them up against each other on a neutral field? Just imagine: Brett Favre and Calvin Johnson taking on Elway and Marcus Allen; Brady and Moss vs Ray Lewis and Mean Joe Greene. Don't think about it any longer, because we are doing it! In this first installment of the Battle of the NFL Divisions, we introduce the all-time AFC North roster.
Division Teams: Cincinnati Bengals, Baltimore Ravens, Pittsburgh Steelers, Cleveland Browns
8 Super Bowl Titles. 12 AFC Championships. 55 Hall of Famers.
Granted, all of these have come from the Steelers and Ravens, but the Bengals were 2 Joe Montanas away from adding 2 more. We will be yelling at Cleveland in a minute on that same note.
Pride of the Division: Unbending Brutality, Cruel Defense, Unforgiving Power
The Bengals and Browns are interesting enough, as it is. They basically got their start as hateful step-brothers who split Ohio in 1970, have fought 81 times since then, and have never really calmed down their rivalry. This was exemplified in 1989 during a game between the Bengals and Seattle Seahawks at Riverfront Stadium that had debris thrown from the stands. Bengals coach Sam Wyche then grabbed a microphone and told the fans, "You don't live in Cleveland, you live in Cincinnati!"
As far as Baltimore/Pittsburgh, which has certainly become one of the premier NFL rivalries in their short 18-year history, it has already earned the luster and respect of that of a Cowboys/Redskins rivalry. Just since the Ravens came into the NFL in 1996, both teams have already won 2 Super Bowls each. The years they play each other thrice are especially great for all of us.
Division Scar They Can Never Remove: Mike Webster's Post-NFL Life
After 17 seasons as the captain of a dynasty that won 4 Super Bowls, Mike Webster was physically done. He suffered from amnesia, dementia, depression, and acute bone and muscle pain. He lived out of his pickup truck or in train stations between Wisconsin and Pittsburgh, even though his friends and former teammates were willing to rent apartments for him. In his last years Webster lived with his youngest son, Garrett, who though only a teenager at the time, had to act as the parent to his father. Webster's wife Pamela divorced him six months before his death in 2002. He was only 50 years old.
This raises up far many more questions than it does provide answers. How much responsibility should the NFL have in ensuring player financial responsibility in their post-careers? How liable should the league be, if liable at all, for mass injuries sustained when there were simply not enough rules to protect players? On a grand scale, Webster's tragedy and others like his bring shame and sorrow on the NFL; however, Webster also personally represents both the Steelers and the AFC North in general in terms of the things he helped them accomplish and the style in which they did it.
Team Captain: Ray Lewis, Baltimore Ravens
Sooooo many possibilities here to choose from... Sure we could certainly see Jack Lambert barking orders, but he wasn't exactly a people person. Mean Joe Greene was a fairly vocal leader for his teams, but he did not have much patience. More modern tanks like James Harrison and Terrell Suggs are great leaders, but they are not quite in that top notch of product Lambert/Greene are, and it must be a defensive leader. You can call Ray Lewis several things, but he was the perfect leader. It's no secret that his unbridled passion knew absolutely no limits as his energy to keep his teams going seemed to never waver. Yes, he helped his team win 2 Super Bowls in 12 years, but let's not forget those 11 years of futility in there. He dealt with inept offenses year in and year out and never stopped leading.
God's Perfect AFC North Athlete: Jonathan Ogden, Baltimore Ravens
Ok, that is Hall of Fame Tight End Ozzie Newsome being dwarfed by Ogden here in his first-ballot HOF bust unveiling. When Ogden first came into the league, teams quickly took notice of him as a pure football phenomenon.
If a mad football scientist could assemble the perfect offensive lineman in any era, he would end up with Ogden. For 12 years, Frankentackle absolutely destroyed his competition.
At an unheard of 6'9", Ogden could see everything on the field at all times, and at 345 pounds bulky enough to wrestle 300-pound defensive tackles down to the ground with consistency. He also had long enough arms to fend off the fleeter pass rushers racing around the corner. He also had the forward speed to bolt out and flatten linebackers, and he showcased an array of backpedaling in most of his games. He ran a 5.05 40 time, which is pretty good for someone of this monstrous size.
Even in the NFL, land of genetic wonders, few combine all those traits. The 6-foot-9, 345-pound Ogden did.
Best Owner: The Rooney Family, Pittsburgh Steelers
"The Rooneys are the finest people, the people I most respect in American sports ownership. I've always felt that way. And there's no reason to change. They are people of integrity and character. The way they put the Steelers together, to hire a man like Chuck Noll, to emphasize the team concept. I have a whole transcendental feeling for the Steelers and the Rooneys and Pittsburgh.”
— Howard Cosell, October 1982
Best Stadium: M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore Ravens
Best Fans: Pittsburgh Steelers
Stadium Rank: 11
Television Rank: 2
Merchandise Rank: 1
Social Media Rank: 3
Fan Club Rank: 8
Biggest "Could Have Been" in AFC North History: The Bengals Draft Jerry Rice.
We already know that Dallas was prepared to take Rice with the 17th pick in the 1985 NFL Draft, and then Bill Walsh cut a last-second deal with the Patriots to undercut the Cowboys and nab what probably ended up the greatest player the game has ever seen. But before this, the Cincinnati Bengals also had a to fill a void in their receiving corps. They did so with the #13 overall pick by selecting Eddie Brown out of Miami. Three picks later the 49ers got Rice and the rest is history. Let's dive in and explore what would have happened had Cincinnati's world gone right that terrible day:
1. San Francisco does NOT defeat the Cincinnati Bengals in Super Bowl XXIII. Not only was Rice a part of the reason the Bengals lost that game, but he was the main reason. He had a record 215 receiving yards, which still stands, enroute to a Super Bowl MVP.
2. Not only does Cincinnati certainly win Super Bowl XXIII, but they have a good chance to win at least one more. They had other years where they came close, but lacked the firepower Rice would have most definitely supplied.
3. Rice would have hit his limits in Cincinnati. No matter how Rice would have impacted Boomer Esiason's tenure in Cincinnati, the odds are that Bengals' management would have still approached their future the same way. They gambled all their stakes on David Klingler by selecting him with their #1 pick in the 1992 NFL Draft. That was the final nail in their coffin, which stayed closed for years and years after that. We cannot imagine Rice would have been happy or successful in the least under those tragic conditions.
MVP: Jim Brown, Cleveland Browns
Brown was selected eight times as a first-team All-Pro (At least two more times than the aforementioned running backs).
Brown's 5.2 yards per carry is more than any other running back with at least 2,000 career yards.
Brown's 9.5 yards per reception is more than any of the players mentioned above (with the one exception of Gale Sayers at 11.7).
Brown was named MVP three times.
Brown is the only running back in the history of the NFL to average 100 rushing yards per game for his career.
An Open Letter to: The Dawg Pound, 1986 AFC Championship
Some Background: This game is best remembered for The Drive in Cleveland and Denver sports lore when the Broncos drove 98 yards in 15 plays to tie the game with 37 seconds left in regulation and Denver kicker Rich Karlis kicked the game-winning 33-yard field goal 5:38 into overtime.
Late in the game Bernie Kosar completed a 48-yard touchdown pass to Brian Brennan, making the score 20–13 with 5:43 left in regulation. On the ensuing kickoff, returner Ken Bell misplayed the kick and it hit the ground in front of him, bouncing to the 2-yard line before he managed to dive on the ball. Elway then led his team 98 yards to tie the game on wide receiver Mark Jackson's 5-yard touchdown reception with 37 seconds left in regulation. Jackson also made a big play earlier on the drive, catching a 20-yard pass from Elway on third down and 18 from the Browns 48-yard line with 1:47 to go. Overall, the drive covered 98 yards in 15 plays without ever facing a fourth down, and only facing a third down three times.
After forcing Cleveland to punt on the opening drive of overtime, Elway led the Broncos 60 yards to set up Karlis' game winning 33-yard field goal. The key play of the drive was a 28-yard completion to Steve Watson on third down and 12 at midfield. Two carries by Sammy Winder then moved the ball to the 16-yard line where Karlis made his game winning kick, which barely made it inside the left upright.
This game was later featured on NFL's Greatest Games.
To date, it remains the only AFC Title game to go to overtime.
"Dear Browns fans from that game, that loss is on you. You had a perfect chance to help get your team into what would have been a much better Super Bowl for all of us. That Browns team would have matched up so much better with that classic Giants Defense, and it would have been a sight to see! With every short pass Elway completed on The Drive, your enthusiasm became more and more depleted. You let Elway take away your moment, and I am still angry about it. Having said that, you did not deserve LeBron's departure and what he put you through. Update: You just drafted Johnny Manziel, so I hope that will turn your franchise around!"
AFC North Head Coach: Chuck Noll, Pittsburgh Steelers
There is no real surprise here. You could make a case for him being the best coach in NFL history with his perfect 4-0 Super Bowl record.
AFC North Offensive Coordinator: Paul Brown, Cleveland Browns/Cincinnati Bengals
An offensive architect of the game of football, Brown basically invented the T-Formation, which led to the modern offensive playbook. Brown was also the first coach to insist on calling all offensive plays. Saved the best for last- while in Cincinnati, Brown, along with Bill Walsh, helped form the West Coast Offense, which of course completely opened the door to a plethora of new offensive possibilities.
AFC North Defensive Coordinator: Dick LeBeau, Pittsburgh Steelers
Widely considered to be one of the greatest defensive coordinators of all time, LeBeau has been active at field level in the National Football League (NFL) for 55 consecutive seasons--14 as a player with the Detroit Lions and 41 as a coach. Considered an “innovator” and “defensive football genius”, LeBeau created the "zone blitz" when he was defensive coordinator of the Cincinnati Bengals in the late 1980s.
On February 6, 2010, LeBeau was selected into the 2010 class of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The entire 2010 Pittsburgh Steelers team was in attendance at the induction ceremony.
Click HERE to see the All-Time AFC East roster!
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