Keeping Parcells and Simms together makes sense. I have slight qualms about Bahr, Grier (then again, despite his superstar and HOF status, Weinmeister played only 4 years of pro ball, only two in the NFL), Marshal, Collins and Lockhart, but they can all more than get the job done. Rosey works well in the three man line. Among the Fearsome Foursome Rams, he gets the least recognition, so it’s a nice sentimental touch to see him make the BBV team.

Watch some film highlights of Sayers, and Jim Brown too, while you are at it. Then let me know if you think they might just be god enough to play in today’s NFL. You’ll notice in the films that those guys didn’t do any dancing out of bounds to avoid a hit. They fought for every inch of yardage. Nuff said!

By the way, if we’re going to play the “what if” game then we would have to assume that they would be using modern training techniques if they played today. I’m confident they could compete with any we’ve had since them.

That guy didn’t need modern training methods. Neither did guys like Bednarick, Nevers, Motley, etc. I could draw up quite a list. Sayers, I think, was a little too small to play today at the weight he played back then. Admittedly, he was hard to hit, but I don’t think he’d last a season subjected to the kinds of hits he’d take today. As I said above, he’d be outstanding using modern training methods.

Also you could make the case that some modern athletes have used steroids or some other illegal means to achieve their better body structure.

They might be bigger now but they aren’t any tougher. Don’t believe it? Watch some highlights of Dick Butkus. I guess because of the NFL’s policy about videos it might be difficult to post but I’m sure most of you have seen that incredible replay of Butkus stopping a running back cold, picking him up, legs flailing, and slamming him to the turf like a pile driver. That is the best tackle I have ever seen in my fifty plus years of watching the game.
Need more reminders? Until the rule changed in the sixties ( I think that’s when it changed) defensive linemen were allowed a “head slap’ to distract offensive linemen from their blocking task. Bubba Smith, much feared DE for the Colts and Deacon Jones, whom I consider to be the best defensive lineman IL ever watched, were the best at this. It’s amazing that teams could get lineman to play because the head slap was more like an attempt at decapitation.
Yeah, some of that stuff was truly barbaric, but if you want to speculate that yesterday’s players couldn’t make it in today’s game then it is fair to wonder if today’s stars might not fold under the tough conditions of earlier years. You never saw players from my generation dancing around and pointing at the guy who hit them,begging for an unnecessary roughness penalty.

Who hit harder? Butkus manhandled them as you describe. LT exploded through them. I don’t know. The idea of taking a hit from either makes me shudder.