Chiefs legend Buck Buchanan (SI/CNN)
As the original American Football League clubs celebrate their 50th anniversary this season, the Examiner.com writers who cover their modern-day NFL counterparts have been asked to select an “All-50” roster for our particular team. This is my latest entry into the series of articles.
The criteria for inclusion into the Dallas Texans/Kansas City Chiefs list are that the player either had the majority of success with the Chiefs, or did something in their time here that was notable for their position.
I have already written about the quarterbacks, running backs, receivers and offensive line, which you can read here.
Today's article will focus on the defensive linemen that are being considered, and in the upcoming month, I will work my way through all the position groups. For linemen, I didn’t concern myself if they played on the left or right side of the line, just their position.
The Back-Up Defensive Ends:
End Art Still: (1978-1987) The second overall pick in the 1978 draft (some chump running back named Earl Campbell went #1 … I wonder whatever happened to him?) Still was a force against the run and the pass. He is second all-time on the team in tackles and third in sacks with 73. Unfortunately, he loses out on our starting D-end spot by a whisker because he had the misfortune of playing on some of the worst teams in franchise history. But even during those years, fans could always expect Art Still to do something special during every game. Still entered the Chiefs Hall-of-Fame in 1998.
End Jared Allen: (2004-2007) I was about to put Mike Bell in this spot, but just because Carl Peterson screwed up and ended up trading the best defensive end in the NFL today, doesn’t mean Jared Allen can be left off of this list. Drafted onto the Chiefs to be Kendall Gammons replacement as a long snapper, Allen shocked the world by instantly becoming a ferocious sack master from the get-go. Five years into his career, Allen already has 57.5 sacks and is just now entering his prime. Unfortunately because of Peterson and his “player at risk” comment about Allen’s off-field mistakes, Chiefs fans can watch Allen continue his dominating performances in Minnesota. Sigh ....
The Back-Up Defensive Tackles:
Bill Maas: (1984-1992) Mean, snarling and not taking @!*% from any opposing lineman, Billy-Bob will live forever in the hearts and minds of Chiefs fans for the time he ripped the helmet off of a Raiders player during a game and threw it back at him. Yeah, Maas got a penalty (and kicked out of the game too, if I remember correctly), but it was the beginning of the swagger and re-emergence of Chiefs defensive superiority the team hadn’t seen in years.
Dan Saleaumua: (1989-1996) The poster child for how the short-lived “Plan B” free agency could work well, Saleaumua was a fan favorite from the minute the Chiefs picked him up from the Detroit Lions. Known for his uncanny ability to be in the right place at the right time, Dan shares the Chiefs record for most opponents fumbles recovered in a season, and is third all-time in fumbles recovered in a career. To this day he is still lovingly remembered by fans for his smile and love of playing the game.
THE STARTERS:
End Jerry Mays: (1961-1970) When I was a kid in the late 1960’s, the very first poster that I ever hung up on my wall was one of Jerry Mays flicking aside his man during a pass rush and getting ready to crush the Buffalo Bills quarterback. The look in May’s eyes was captured perfectly in the photo as he was about 2 seconds away from a devastating sack – even though they didn’t count those as a stat back then. Jerry stayed on my wall for years until he was eventually replaced by Farrah Fawcett. But even Farrah couldn’t bump Jerry out of this spot as a starter on our All-50 team! Named to the All-Time AFL team by the Hall-of-Fame, Mays was enshrined into the Chiefs Hall-of-Fame in 1972.
Tackle Buck Buchanan: (1963-1975) At 6’-7” and 270 pounds, Buck Buchanan could fly around the field like a much smaller player. Clocked at 4.9 seconds in the 40, Buchanan was a terror to quarterbacks from the moment he entered the AFL as the #1 pick in the draft. He was an 8-time AFL All-Star or Pro Bowler and started for both of the Chiefs Super Bowl teams. In 1967 alone he batted down 16 passes at or behind the line of scrimmage and who knows how many sacks he would have had if they had kept that statistic when he played. The best defensive lineman in Chiefs history, Buchanan is in both the Chiefs Hall-of-Fame (1981) and the Pro Football Hall-of-Fame (1990). After attending Grambling University, legendary coach, Eddie Robinson, called Buchanan the greatest defensive player that he ever coached. Today, the award for the most outstanding defensive player in the the Division I Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA) is named after Buck.
Tackle Curley Culp: (1968-1974) Culp clogged the middle of the Chiefs defense for seven productive years using the strength and quickness gained from his career as a NCAA heavyweight wrestling champion and Olympic wrestler (1968). Culp wasn’t just a wide body filling up space either. He led the team (unofficially) in QB sacks with nine in 1973. He appeared in an AFL All-Star game and a Pro Bowl while with the Chiefs and then went to four more Pro Bowls after getting traded to the Oilers in 1974. Culp was added to the Chiefs Hall-of-Fame in 2008.
End Neil Smith: (1988-1996) The foundation of those great Chiefs defenses of the 90’s, Smith was truly a force against the pass and the run. He is second all-time in Chiefs history in sacks (85.5) and forced fumbles (29), behind only “you-know-who.” Smith also helped the Chiefs make the playoffs six years in a row, which is still a team record. A four-time Pro Bowler, Smith was inducted into the Chiefs Hall-of-Fame in 2006 despite the fact that he ran off and won two Super Bowl rings with the hated John Elway Broncos. But hey, we forgive him because he also happened to own one of the best Cajun food restaurants in KC for a few years!
Next up, I’ll cover the linebackers.
Comments
Excellent job including Jared Allen, even though Allen's time here was short-lived. You probably should have included Mike Bell as an "extra" pick too. He was a very, very good lineman back in the day.
Of course, NOBODY can touch Buck Buchanan!
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