Yet Another Gil Brandt List Ranks Dick Anderson as #21 GOAT Safety | FinHeaven - Miami Dolphins Forums

Yet Another Gil Brandt List Ranks Dick Anderson as #21 GOAT Safety

Vaark

Vaark

They call me Speedo but my real name is Mr Earl
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Dunno. I think he should be ranked a couple of notches higher. Also think Ed Reed could have easily been ranked higher than #4. (funny how Richard Anderson's commonly known nickname is censored LOL)

The safety is the eyes and ears of the defense. Standing in the defensive backfield, they can notice everything that is happening in front of them. They are also the last line of defense between an offensive player and the end zone.

Miami Dolphin Dick Anderson was the man responsible for these tasks in the late 1960s through the 1970s. Not only was he one the best field generals that ever played for a Dolphins defense, he was one of the best defensive field generals to ever play in the NFL.

The safety played his entire career for Miami from 1968-77. His 34 career interceptions rank second in Dolphins history. Anderson was voted to three Pro Bowls and named First Team All-Pro two times. Four other members of the Dolphins defense made Brandt’s all-time linebacker list.

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/sports...nfl-safeties-all-time/jlsQgYMxfSxZsYMzikAMJP/
http://www.nfl.com/photoessays/0ap3...aign=tw-nf-sf95574468-sf95574468&sf95574468=1
 
No Jake Scott?! Of course he`s got Cliff Harris (29 picks) and Charlie Waters (41) high on his list. Scott won two SBs, was MVP of SB VII and had 49 career picks. Guess that wasn`t good enough.
It also says Waters won 3 SBs....wrong!
 
How Paul Krause always gets the shaft is mind boggling. 81 career picks. He belongs no 2 behind Tunnel end of story.
 
royalshank said:
How Paul Krause always gets the shaft is mind boggling. 81 career picks. He belongs no 2 behind Tunnel end of story.
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Very true. But I will always give the safeties in the modern era passing game a bump over those from a time when offenses were run heavy, formation limited, and QB's were much less accurate and skillful.
 
Sons Of Shula said:
Very true. But I will always give the safeties in the modern era passing game a bump over those from a time when offenses were run heavy, formation limited, and QB's were much less accurate and skillful.
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Fair point - ed reed and troy would be top 5 then for sure. Krause I feel gets overlooked because he never got a SB ring. But 81 INTs is just crazy in any era. Ed Reeds INT total may be the most impressive actually in the era he did it in following your POV.
 
royalshank said:
Fair point - ed reed and troy would be top 5 then for sure. Krause I feel gets overlooked because he never got a SB ring. But 81 INTs is just crazy in any era. Ed Reeds INT total may be the most impressive actually in the era he did it in following your POV.
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Absolutely.
 
Loved Dick Anderson. I might have him a little higher, but that's not too bad.

Ronnie Lott would be higher on my list as well.
 
Troy P isn't better than Reed IMO either. & IMO our very own Reshad Jones is better then Kam Chancellor.

Berry is also to high, he's not as good as Earl and Earl is 19th.

I'm convinced Gil is losing his mind.
 
Scott and Anderson were GREAT. Nuff said. The rest is all BS hype watch my dog catch a bass garbage.
 
Sons Of Shula said:
Ed Reed was the best safety I ever saw. Polamula was a very very close second. Both were unworldly good in a pass heavy era of the NFL.
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I would take it a step further and say that Ed Reed was the best football player I have ever seen.

He was physical, athletic, had an incredible football IQ, and had the best ball skills I have ever seen, that's including offensive players.
 
Richard "Dick" Anderson (LOL the word filter should grant an exception for this name) was definitely the best Dolphins safety of all times, and one of the all time greats. He deserved to be in the HoF, but that defense was very underrepresented in the Hall simply because Tom Landry didn't know their names. Landry's famous quote was something like (paraphrasing):

"They have a fine defense in Miami. I don't know any of their names, but it is a very good defense."

That led to Sports Illustrated putting them on the cover with Lone Ranger masks and calling them the "No Name Defense". They went with it ... but the media buried them for it, overlooking a number of defensive greats like Dick Anderson, Manny Fernandez, and a host of others.

Here's a stat most people don't know. In 1972 the Pittsburgh Steelers "Steel Curtain" with HoF types Mean Joe Greene, Jack Lambert, Jack Ham, Donnie Shell and many others, finished 2nd in Points Allowed, 2nd in yards allowed, 2nd in takeaways. The team that finished 1st in each category was the Miami Dolphins. But yeah, with catchy names like "Steel Curtain" and "Mean Joe Greene" and vampire posters of Lambert, and raging locker room stories, the Pittsburgh Steelers defense, who was just starting their impressive defensive streak in 1972, were far more adored by the media. Oh yeah, here's another interesting tidbit. Back then the team with the best record (undefeated Miami Dolphins) did not get the right to host a playoff game. It was rotated by division. In 1972 the Dolphins had to play Pittsburgh for the right to represent the AFC in the Super Bowl. Playing away at Three Rivers Stadium in the snow at the end of the year is no easy win. But, that undefeated team went there, scored on the Steel Curtain defense, and won the game en route to their undefeated season.
 
Gil Brandt is 84 years old and if you listen to him on Sirius NFL radio, somedays he can't remember the names of current top players like Brady and Rodgers and just refers to them as #12. Somedays he's alert but he's doing well to still be around. The point I make is that you shouldn't get upset if he's overlooked a great player from yesteryear.
 
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