Latest news with #All-QuarterCenturyTeam
USA Today
17-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
CBS Sports' All-Quarter Century Team snubs Saints leaders Cameron Jordan, Demario Davis
Shortly after being left out of the CBS Sports All-Quarter Century Offensive Team, the New Orleans Saints' defensive legends met the same fate. CBS Sports' Bryan DeArdo recently released the defensive side of the NFL All-Quarter Century Team, going over the best individual defenders of the past 25 years, and the Saints had just one player even mentioned. New Orleans legend Cameron Jordan was included in the "honorable mentions" section, which was the least that they could do to honor the future first-ball Hall of Famer. The defensive ends that made the team above him as either starters or reserves were J.J. Watt, Jason Taylor, Myles Garrett, Michael Strahan and Richard Seymour. Currently preparing for his 15th NFL season, Jordan has 121.5 career sacks with 716 total tackles, 65 passes broken up, 233 quarterback hits and 15 forced fumbles. That has earned him eight Pro Bowl nods and a single All-Pro. While he may not have had the same accolades as some of the others, he was fighting uphill in some weaker defenses during his career. Without an iconic postseason run or Super Bowl win, it would be hard to slot him in over the others on the list. It would have been nice to see Demario Davis included in the group of players at linebacker, but it's also not too shocking to see him left out. He has been historically underrated and it is a very tough group to crack. The inside linebackers that got mentioned were Ray Lewis, Derrick Brooks, Bobby Wagner, Brian Urlacher, Like Kuechly, Patrick Willis and Zach Thomas.
Yahoo
08-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Cleveland legend Travis Hafner earns deserved honor after stellar MLB career
It's been a long time since Travis Hafner wore a Cleveland uniform. But one of the great sluggers in the history of the Indians just received some cool praise that makes up at least a little bit for one of the head-scratching parts of Hafner's career. Advertisement Hafner was never named an MLB All Star. Because of that, The Athletic's Tyler Kepner named him to his All-Quarter Century Team for players who fit that descriptor. MORE: Mets call up the best story in baseball for his MLB debut It's a good excuse to revisit how special Hafner was. Coming up in the minors, they called him "Pronk," for project plus donkey. The nickname stuck. The project was a success, too. After briefly breaking into the majors with the Rangers, Hafner starred for Cleveland. In 10 seasons, he slugged .059 with exactly 200 homers. His Cleveland career OPS was .890. Advertisement In 2006, he slugged 42 homers and drove in 117 runs with a league-high .659 slugging percentage. The year before, he batted .305, slugged .595, hit a career-high 42 doubles and added 33 homers. He struggled to stay healthy in the second half of his Cleveland career before finishing his MLB time off with 82 Yankees games in 2013. But man, one of those seasons, he should've been an All Star. As an American League designated hitter, he had the unfortunate timing to overlap with David Ortiz. But there wasn't any rule preventing Big Papi and Pronk from being on the same All-Star team. Hafner's baseball journey is incredible. He was valedictorian of his eight-person high school class in North Dakota, a school that didn't even have a baseball team. He played well enough in American Legion ball to earn a spot with Cowley County Community College in Kansas. Advertisement From there, he was a 31st-round pick by the Rangers in 1996. He didn't debut in the majors until six years later. Cleveland traded Einer Diaz and Ryan Drese to acquire Hafer and Aaron Myette. That deal sure worked out. And now more than a decade after Pronk hung up his spikes, at least someone realizes that way back then when he was one of the most dangerous hitters in the American League, he probably should've been an All Star. MORE MLB NEWS:
USA Today
29-06-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Chicago Bears All-Quarter Century Team roundup
Twenty-five years of Chicago Bears football are in the books since the turn of the century. Since the calendar turned over to 2000, the Bears have seen some success, but also plenty of woeful stretches. Early on, Chicago became a defensive force, claiming four division titles and reaching only their second Super Bowl in franchise history from 2000 to 2010. Since then, however, a 14-year playoff victory drought that is still ongoing and a one-sided fight with their rival Green Bay Packers have taken the spotlight. For all the ups and downs the Bears have seen, however, they had plenty of talent over the years across offense and defense. Multiple former Bears players are already in the Hall of Fame, while many more provided years of incredible play in the navy and orange. Here at Bears Wire, we're celebrating the best Bears players at each position over the last 25 years. We went position by position to name the Bears' All-Quarter Century Team for those who played from 2000 through 2024. Quarterbacks Read our full breakdown Running backs Fullback Read our full breakdown Wide receivers Read our full breakdown Tight ends Read our full breakdown Offensive line Tackle Guard Center Read our full breakdown Edge rushers Read our full breakdown Defensive tackles Read our full breakdown Linebackers Read our full breakdown Cornerbacks Read our full breakdown Safeties Read our full breakdown Special Teams Return specialists Specialists Read our full breakdown
Yahoo
26-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Chiefs React to Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce News on Thursday
Chiefs React to Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce News on Thursday originally appeared on Athlon Sports. Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and tight end Travis Kelce are gearing up for their ninth NFL season together, eying a fourth Super Bowl win. Advertisement The two stars have established themselves as among the league's best throughout their careers. Mahomes has led the Chiefs to the AFC Championship Game in every season since becoming the starter. Kelce, on the other hand, holds numerous postseason records, including the most Super Bowl catches with 35. For their play throughout their careers, ESPN listed both Mahomes and Kelce in its recent "NFL All-Quarter Century team." Mahomes was the third quarterback ESPN listed, putting Patriots legend Tom Brady and former Colts star Peyton Manning ahead of him. Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and tight end Travis KelceGeoff Burke-Imagn Images Kelce, meanwhile, was ranked as the second-best tight end by ESPN, with Brady's former teammate Rob Gronkowski taking the top spot. Former Chiefs tight end Tony Gonzalez was listed third. Advertisement In total, Kansas City had eight players selected to ESPN's All-Century team. Other current and former personnel included running back Priest Holmes (No. 1), edge rusher Jared Allen (No. 2), defensive tackle Chris Jones (No. 3), cornerback Darrelle Revis (No. 1), and special teams coordinator Dave Toub. The Chiefs acknowledged the recognition with a social media post celebrating all eight honorees, including Mahomes and Kelce. "8 Chiefs, both current and former, landed on ESPN's All-Quarter Century Team ✍️," the Chiefs wrote on Instagram. The Chiefs have already completed summer workouts for the upcoming 2025 NFL season, finishing organized team activities (OTAs) and mandatory minicamp. Their training camp begins on July 22. Advertisement Kansas City will open the regular season with a Week 1 battle in Sao Paulo, Brazil, facing Justin Herbert and the Los Angeles Chargers on Friday, Sept. 5. Related: Patrick Mahomes Makes $150,000 Announcement on Wednesday This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 26, 2025, where it first appeared.
USA Today
26-06-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Bears All-Quarter Century Team: Edge rushers
Twenty-five years of Chicago Bears football are in the books since the turn of the century. Since the calendar turned over to 2000, the Bears have seen some success, but also plenty of woeful stretches. Early on, Chicago became a defensive force, claiming four division titles and reaching only their second Super Bowl in franchise history from 2000 to 2010. Since then, however, a 14-year playoff victory drought that is still ongoing and a one-sided fight with their rival Green Bay Packers have taken the spotlight. For all the ups and downs the Bears have seen, however, they had plenty of talent over the years across offense and defense. Multiple former Bears players are already in the Hall of Fame, while many more provided years of incredible play in the navy and orange. Here at Bears Wire, we're celebrating the best Bears players at each position over the last 25 years. We're going position by position to name the Bears' All-Quarter Century Team for those who played from 2000 through 2024. Kicking off the defense, we're looking at some impactful edge rushers who have come through Chicago, including a recent Hall of Famer. Julius Peppers The Bears have had some impactful edge rushers in their storied history, and you can't discuss them without including Hall of Famer Julius Peppers. Chicago signed him to the largest contract ever given to a defensive player -- at the time -- with a six-year, $84 million deal. His impact on defense was immediate as he helped the Bears make the playoffs for the first time since their Super Bowl run in 2006. He also showed he was still an absolute game wrecker. While Peppers played most of his career with the Carolina Panthers, some of his best seasons came with the Bears. Peppers' resume in Chicago alone is impressive, which includes a First-Team All-Pro nod in 2010, a Second-Team All-Pro nod in 2012, as well as three Pro Bowl appearances (2010-12) while also being part of the NFL 2010s All-Decade Team. The Bears unfortunately released Peppers back in 2014 -- due to his large salary cap hit -- and he exacted his revenge by playing for the hated Green Bay Packers for three years, where he terrorized his old team. But Peppers did ultimately return to Carolina, where he was able to retire with his first team. Khalil Mack The Bears took a massive swing when they traded for Khalil Mack just about a week before the start of the 2018 season, which elevated their defense in a big way. Mack's impact was immediate in his first game with Chicago (in a loss to the Green Bay Packers) and carried through the rest of the 2018 season as the Bears made the postseason. Mack posted 12.5 sacks en route to a First-Team All-Pro nod and his fourth Pro Bowl while finishing second in AP Defensive Player of the Year voting. He ranked third on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2019. Mack showed that he was a game wrecker and defense and continued to be one of the NFL's best. While he was never as dominant as that first year, he was Chicago's best defensive player and continued to show how he can impact a game. In four years, Mack was a First-Team All-Pro (2018), Second-Team All-Pro (2020), three-time Pro Bowler (2018-20) and was named to the 100 Greatest Bears of All-Time list. In Mack's final season with the Bears, he played in just seven games (logging 19 tackles and six sacks) after undergoing season-ending foot surgery. After general manager Ryan Poles and head coach Matt Nagy were fired at season's end, the Bears brought in a new regime, led by current GM Ryan Poles, who had to tear the roster down to the studs to rebuild it. Unfortunately, that meant trading Mack to the Los Angeles Chargers given his massive cap hit. Mack has continued to dominate in Los Angeles, but there's no denying his impact in Chicago in just four years. Adewale Ogunleye The Bears landed a diamond in the rough in a trade for Adewale Ogunleye, a former undrafted free agent with the Miami Dolphins who developed into a key piece of a dominant Lovie Smith-led defense in Chicago. While Ogunleye doesn't get as much recognition as players like Peppers and Mack, for six years he was a defensive cornerstone for the Bears and proved to be a monster off the edge with 42 sacks, 57 QB hits, 11 forced fumbles and 65 tackles for loss. His 42 career sacks is tied with Trace Armstrong for the fifth most in franchise history. Ogunleye spearheaded a dominant Bears defensive line with 10 sacks, second-most in his NFL career, en route to an NFC North championship and playoff berth in 2005, as well as Chicago's impressive Super Bowl run in 2006, which ended on a sour note. While the Bears struggled in the years that followed, Ogunleye remained a mainstay on one of the league's best defenses until 2010, when Chicago elected not to re-sign him. He spent one final year in the league with the Houston Texans. Alex Brown Alex Brown is the longest-tenured Bear on this list, and for good reason as he proved to a reliable, dominant edge rusher on some of the team's best defenses. Brown was an all-around player who thrived both as a pass rusher and a run stopper, but he was especially dominant off the edge. Brown's 43.5 sacks is the fourth most in franchise history, trailing only Richard Dent, Steve McMichael and Dan Hampton. His five career interceptions is second all-time (by a defensive lineman) in Bears history behind only Dent. Brown spent his first eight NFL seasons with Chicago (2002-09) after being selected as a fourth-round pick. He proved to be a dependable mainstay on defense appearing in every regular season game off his career (starting with the second game of his rookie season) that included a streak of 143 straight games. Brown started in every game in six of his eight seasons with the Bears, where he showed that availability is sometimes the best ability. In eight seasons, Brown totaled 43.5 sacks, 59 QB hits, 16 forced fumbles and 79 tackles for loss. Following the 2009 season, the Bears released Brown after failing to find a trade partner. He played one more year in the league with the New Orleans Saints in 2010. Honorable mention: Robert Quinn Bears All-Quarter Century Team Follow Bears Wire on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram
