The all-bash brigade: we examine the likes of Dwight Freeney, who earn their livings by playing a particularly punishing brand of football.

Publication: Football Digest

Publication Date: 01-NOV-05

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COPYRIGHT 2005 Century Publishing

SOME WISE GUYS SUGGEST THE easiest place to find the NFL's hardest hitters is on the league's list of fines. There's some validity to that.

For sure, John Lynch, Kenoy Kennedy, Donovin Darius, and Rodney Harrison--safeties all--deservedly have been on the NFUs hit list for illegal maneuvers. And all qualify for any survey of a pro football bash brigade.

But there are plenty of players who haven't seen a chunk of their salaries taken away by the NFL police who still have major impacts on the opposition. And not all the physicality is reserved for the defensive side of the hall. Indeed, there are runners, receivers, and blockers who can be as tough as anyone trying to stop them.

Heck, even a quarterback like Daunte Culpepper, at 6'4" and 264 pounds, is bigger than some of the defenders who are trying to bring him down. And the Minnesota Vikings QB can deliver a blow when he is running away from danger that no 220-pound defensive back is going to match.

"It's not a smart idea to go at him one-on-one," says safety Darren Sharper, who joined the Vikings this season after eight years with the Green Bay Packers. "He's a load, and he can run you down like it's nothing."

Culpepper, of course, is a rarity. Most QBs don't even want to leave the pocket, and when they do, they're usually looking to slide or get out of bounds. Not many have the attitude of a vintage Brett Favre, who always has played like a linebacker and would make any all-physical team, or the once-fearless Steve McNair.

Any look at the NFL's bruise brothers and how they leave their marks all over the opposition has to start at safely. That's where the biggest impact, pound-for-pound, comes from. Safeties, particularly strong safeties, are a special breed because of how they embrace the physical style. They...

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