I was reading Aaron's Best of 2007 posts last week and it dawned on me I haven't made a list in a long time. To usher myself back into the the list game, I picked an under-represented topic: the best kick and punt return men in football history.
It would've been easiest to do it statistically and rank them by most touchdowns or yards per return, but that wouldn't be fun. So here's my list in descending order.
The Greatest Returners in NFL History.
10. Mel Gray. Much like the No. 2 spot on SportsCenter's "Top Plays," I considered throwing something here that didn't really fit, my version of a full-court shot by a JV player on grainy HandyCam footage. I thought about Troy Brown (for being my favorite player), Steve Smith (for his guts in continuing to return punts despite being one of the best wideouts in the league) or Josh Cribbs (cuz let's face it, the young gunna is sick). But Gray's gotta get some props for being the most abused kick returner ever. On some terrible teams, he got plenty of kick return chances, and as a result built up 10,250 kick return yards and six kick return touchdowns.
9. Dave Meggett. Distinguishes himself as the one guy who was consistently a factor on winning teams. He opened his career with 1,159 return yards for the 1989 New York Giants (who were kind of awesome), and was the return workhorse for those Big Blue teams before taking his act to New England in 1995. In typical fashion, he compiled 1,369 return yards for the 1996 Patriots team that went to the Super Bowl.
8. Gale Sayers. People who scoff at his Hall of Fame inclusion often focus on his rushing numbers and overlook his return stats. The guy averaged 30.56 yards per kickoff return, an amount so obscene it's no surprise it's an NFL record. He is also tied for the all-time lead in kickoff return touchdowns with six. (Trivia quiz: Can you name the other two players on this list who are tied with Sayers in this category?)
7. Desmond Howard. The only return man to single-handedly win a Super Bowl. Alright, so some guy named Brett Favre had a little to do with it, but it wasn't No. 4 who broke the Pats' will with a kickoff return touchdown and 244 total return yards. Yikes. He also had six punt return touchdowns in his career with six teams.
6. Eric Metcalf. Anyone who calls Devin Hester the best returner ever should be required to recite Metcalf's statistics. In addition to holding the NFL record with 10 punt return touchdowns, the Seattle product holds the distinction of being almost as good at playing his position as he was at returning (a rarity on this list). Metcalf made three Pro Bowls and made 104 receptions with Atlanta in 1995.
5. Dante Hall. Should Hester ever break down the door and win an MVP award for his return excellence, he'll have Hall to thank for sticking his foot in the door jamb. For a guy who only really had three good seasons, it didn't take Hall long to pull into second on the all-time return touchdowns list with 12.
4. Billy Johnson. When the NFL put together its 75th Anniversary Team, it chose "White Shoes" to be its returner. In 14 seasons, primarily as an Oiler and Falcon, Johnson made three Pro Bowls and twice led the league in yards per touch. Unfortunately, he was no Dave Meggett. He played in one playoff game, and largely watched as his Oilers were pounded, 27-7, by the Raiders.
3. Deion Sanders. He's the nastiest cornerback ever, and if I were counting interception returns as "returns," he'd be No. 1, but I'm not. The merit lies in the look of pure fear and the "Aw, sh*t" opposing fans uttered any time Deion went back to return a boot. By the way, I can't resist posting this photo.
2. Devin Hester. Someday very, very soon, Hester will more likely than not ascend to the top of the list. He's already second in return TDs in 32 games, about a fifth of long-timers like Meggett or Mitchell. The only reason he's not No. 1 in my mind is because if he gets Jason Sehorned in the season opener next season and never returns another kick or punt for TD, he'd still deserve No. 2, whereas it'd be harder to justify knocking him down a peg.
1. Brian Mitchell. Longevity does matter. Certainly, Hester may end up shattering Mitchell's league-record 13 return touchdowns by the time Hester reaches the 223 game mark, but until that happens, Mitchell remains the godfather of return men. His two highest marks in punt returns and yards came 11 years apart -- at 23, he had 45 returns for 600 yards in 1991 for the Redskins; at 34, he had 46 returns for 567 yards. In between, he was pretty damn good, too.
It would've been easiest to do it statistically and rank them by most touchdowns or yards per return, but that wouldn't be fun. So here's my list in descending order.
The Greatest Returners in NFL History.
10. Mel Gray. Much like the No. 2 spot on SportsCenter's "Top Plays," I considered throwing something here that didn't really fit, my version of a full-court shot by a JV player on grainy HandyCam footage. I thought about Troy Brown (for being my favorite player), Steve Smith (for his guts in continuing to return punts despite being one of the best wideouts in the league) or Josh Cribbs (cuz let's face it, the young gunna is sick). But Gray's gotta get some props for being the most abused kick returner ever. On some terrible teams, he got plenty of kick return chances, and as a result built up 10,250 kick return yards and six kick return touchdowns.
9. Dave Meggett. Distinguishes himself as the one guy who was consistently a factor on winning teams. He opened his career with 1,159 return yards for the 1989 New York Giants (who were kind of awesome), and was the return workhorse for those Big Blue teams before taking his act to New England in 1995. In typical fashion, he compiled 1,369 return yards for the 1996 Patriots team that went to the Super Bowl.
8. Gale Sayers. People who scoff at his Hall of Fame inclusion often focus on his rushing numbers and overlook his return stats. The guy averaged 30.56 yards per kickoff return, an amount so obscene it's no surprise it's an NFL record. He is also tied for the all-time lead in kickoff return touchdowns with six. (Trivia quiz: Can you name the other two players on this list who are tied with Sayers in this category?)
7. Desmond Howard. The only return man to single-handedly win a Super Bowl. Alright, so some guy named Brett Favre had a little to do with it, but it wasn't No. 4 who broke the Pats' will with a kickoff return touchdown and 244 total return yards. Yikes. He also had six punt return touchdowns in his career with six teams.
6. Eric Metcalf. Anyone who calls Devin Hester the best returner ever should be required to recite Metcalf's statistics. In addition to holding the NFL record with 10 punt return touchdowns, the Seattle product holds the distinction of being almost as good at playing his position as he was at returning (a rarity on this list). Metcalf made three Pro Bowls and made 104 receptions with Atlanta in 1995.
5. Dante Hall. Should Hester ever break down the door and win an MVP award for his return excellence, he'll have Hall to thank for sticking his foot in the door jamb. For a guy who only really had three good seasons, it didn't take Hall long to pull into second on the all-time return touchdowns list with 12.
4. Billy Johnson. When the NFL put together its 75th Anniversary Team, it chose "White Shoes" to be its returner. In 14 seasons, primarily as an Oiler and Falcon, Johnson made three Pro Bowls and twice led the league in yards per touch. Unfortunately, he was no Dave Meggett. He played in one playoff game, and largely watched as his Oilers were pounded, 27-7, by the Raiders.
3. Deion Sanders. He's the nastiest cornerback ever, and if I were counting interception returns as "returns," he'd be No. 1, but I'm not. The merit lies in the look of pure fear and the "Aw, sh*t" opposing fans uttered any time Deion went back to return a boot. By the way, I can't resist posting this photo.
2. Devin Hester. Someday very, very soon, Hester will more likely than not ascend to the top of the list. He's already second in return TDs in 32 games, about a fifth of long-timers like Meggett or Mitchell. The only reason he's not No. 1 in my mind is because if he gets Jason Sehorned in the season opener next season and never returns another kick or punt for TD, he'd still deserve No. 2, whereas it'd be harder to justify knocking him down a peg.
1. Brian Mitchell. Longevity does matter. Certainly, Hester may end up shattering Mitchell's league-record 13 return touchdowns by the time Hester reaches the 223 game mark, but until that happens, Mitchell remains the godfather of return men. His two highest marks in punt returns and yards came 11 years apart -- at 23, he had 45 returns for 600 yards in 1991 for the Redskins; at 34, he had 46 returns for 567 yards. In between, he was pretty damn good, too.
4 comments:
90s bias alert: Deion was the most exciting player i've ever seen
Bias alert!!! Overrated Deion makes all time list...Let's not forget that another corner named Rod Woodson was a better kick returner and arguably a better corner.
Anyone who even allows the thought to pass through his mind that Rod Woodson was a better corner than Deion loses his privileges to talk intelligently about football.
Hi! Wonderful topic, but will this really work?
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