#gridirion

In the new millennium the NFL has become a passing league. Receivers used to think twice before running a crossing route over the middle. Now with the new concussion rules wide-outs are roaming vicariously under the teeth of the defense (don’t lead with your helmet zone), while fines are being dropped down to opposing defenders (mostly safeties) who appear to make a split second instinctive hit. Regardless of this non sense what’s football without a pulverizing momentum changing hit.

So let’s show praise to the most punishing safeties to roam their territory since 2000.

John Lynch (6’2 ft., 220 lbs.)                  

Shock and awe is the best way to describe this devastating hitter. Every offensive player who geared up against the cover two Tampa Defense had to locate number 47. He wasn’t the fastest but his angle pursuit to the ball carrier and overwhelming force is what made him one the most fearing tacklers of his generation. The gritty Lynch would launch off his feet and drive through with such brutality that the opposing player would just collapse after a cataclysmic tackle.  A true throwback to the school of hard-knocks. 

Sean Taylor (6’3 ft., 220 lb.)  

(April 1, 1983-November 27, 2007)

Let’s recognize those who have fallen and this guy definitely deserves to be on this list. Only playing 3 1/2 seasons, he garnered the nickname “Meast,” which meant “half man, half beast by his Redskin teammates. In his last season he was named the hardest hitter in the NFL by Sports Illustrated. Equipped with the speed of a cornerback and strength of a linebacker he only knew one way to tackle.  Every time he collided with someone it seemed like a ferocious hit stick from the Madden game was being dished out. His tackling power was obsolete but the rare violence he handed down on the gridiron was disheartening to opposing offenses. A Moment of Silence for one of the most punishing safeties the game of football will ever witness. 

Ed Reed (5’11 ft., 205 lbs.)

Heat seeking missiles are meant to precisely destroy a designated target and Reed seems like a human projectile on a collision course with unlucky players he has identified. Reed is perhaps the best all-around safety on this list for his interception prowess along with his tenacious tackling. A prototypical safety for his ball-hawking skills, Reed made up his size with his closing speed to the ball carrier and explosive tackles. The results were a blinding hit that left his target suspended off their feet. His pure side line to side line speed equipped with bone crushing effect made him a predator on the field. 

Brian Dawkins (6’0 ft., 210 lbs.)

The raw intensity of his tunnel exiting ceremony put a rare glimpse into a man blessed by the football gods. One of the most dominating safeties of all-time, Dawkins, is a mild mannered and humble man but come Sundays he is possessed by superhero like powers. His alter ego, Wolverine or Weapon X, is a mutant comic book hero known for his animal instincts, indestructible skeleton, super-healing abilities, and almost uncontrollable intensity. Dawkins nickname, Weapon X, is attributed to his fiery and indomitable will on the gridiron. His acrobatic flying tackles and wrecking human cannonball like hits put fear in TE and WR’s running slants in his perimeter. The combustion and flaming demeanor throughout a game seemed to increase with every bone crushing hit. The lionhearted Dawkins was named to the NFL’s 2000 all-decade team as a strong safety and clawed his way into football immortality. 

Video Highlights of Punishing Hits

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRqGWiGjnTQ