Nihilist Pig
Footballguy
Way too much love for safeties here. History's greatest safeties have less impact on both the game and the opposition's gameplan than slightly above average DT's, LB's and CB's have.
The entire position exists to get "good athletes" on the field, when they don't have the body or skill set necessary to perform more specific tasks. They can't cover like even a below-average CB, they can't disrupt the run or the pass like a real LB. They are football's versions of Jacks of All Trades, Masters of None.
That's not to say versatility isn't a valuable thing, too. But not in the sense that this poll seems to be asking.
If you're a GM, and you have the option of taking Polamalu or Reed for a million bucks, or the 20th best CB in the league for three times as much, you better be taking the CB, or you're Matt Millen.
The list of top 50 best all around defenders contains exactly zero safeties. There's a reason older, slower, formerly great CB's go there to die.
The entire position exists to get "good athletes" on the field, when they don't have the body or skill set necessary to perform more specific tasks. They can't cover like even a below-average CB, they can't disrupt the run or the pass like a real LB. They are football's versions of Jacks of All Trades, Masters of None.
That's not to say versatility isn't a valuable thing, too. But not in the sense that this poll seems to be asking.
If you're a GM, and you have the option of taking Polamalu or Reed for a million bucks, or the 20th best CB in the league for three times as much, you better be taking the CB, or you're Matt Millen.
The list of top 50 best all around defenders contains exactly zero safeties. There's a reason older, slower, formerly great CB's go there to die.