<TABLE width="100%"><TBODY><TR vAlign=bottom><TD width=65>
</TD><TD class=sport>
ESPN.com: NFL</TD><TD align=right>
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
Friday, October 29, 2004
Fear factor
<HR width="100%" noShade SIZE=1>By Randy Mueller
ESPN Insider
On Halloween weekend, we thought it would be fun to list the NFL's scariest players on both sides of the ball. When you face these guys, you might need a little Maalox to cope with a queasy stomach. If you're scared, buy a dog and stay away from any game-day, one-on-one battles with the following:
1.
Randy Moss: Great game planning and coverage don't matter. He still runs by everybody. And if that's not scary enough, when they do cover him, he just outjumps defenders for the ball. He's the best deep threat in the game today, and one of the best ever. Speed kills!
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR><TD width=2></TD><TD width=65>
</TD></TR><TR><TD width=2></TD><TD width=65>
[size=-2]Vick[/size]</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>2.
Michael Vick: If he were on top of his game, he'd be No. 1. Vick forces more sleepless nights for defensive coordinators than any player, and it's because on any given play he can just tuck the ball and run like he's in a playground game of two-hand touch. The videogame commercial is not far from the truth. Scary enough?<OFFER>
3.
Ray Lewis: Are you kidding me? He scares me with the pre-game dance alone. He's the most dominating defensive player in the last five years. He's unblockable most of the time, and his reputation on the football field is frightening to most before he even plays a snap.
4.
LaDainian Tomlinson: He's the best all-around back in the league. He gives defenders nightmares because he can beat you running inside, outside or catching the ball out of the backfield. You have to account for him on every play, or he'll take it to the house. Forty-eight touchdowns in 3½ years is enough to convince me.
5.
Daunte Culpepper: There is something scary about a 270-pound QB who won't slide or run out of bounds. Tell me those little DBs don't get weak-knees when he breaks from the pocket to run. We all know what he can do with his arm, so he's double-scary.
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR><TD width=2></TD><TD width=65>
</TD></TR><TR><TD width=2></TD><TD width=65>
[size=-2]Manning[/size]</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>6.
Peyton Manning: He has the precision of a surgeon and can cut you up like one as well. He is the scariest quarterback in the league from the pocket. He'll trick (or treat) you with his eyes and pump fakes while he's killing you with kindness. Every receiver is a threat on every play – anywhere on the field.
7.
Brett Favre: Even at his age, Favre's still one of the best improvisers ever. He'll throw underhanded short, sidearmed when he has to, and overhand to kill you on the long ones. Just knowing what he's accomplished as a player scares you when going up against him. He can still dominate a game on any given Sunday.
8.
Terrell Owens: Even when you cover him, he still makes the catch. He's a ball magnet in the red zone, and his ability to run after the catch reminds you that the play is not over until you get him down on the ground.
9.
Donovan McNabb: His presence and accuracy from the pocket has improved, but that's not what makes him scary. It's his feet, when he tucks it and runs. His game has gone to another level this year with the addition of T.O. So there's plenty to fear when playing the Eagles.
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR><TD width=2></TD><TD width=65>
</TD></TR><TR><TD width=2></TD><TD width=65>
[size=-2]Green[/size]</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>10.
Ahman Green: I know he fumbles too much. But is it just me, or does he make you think he's going to score a touchdown every time he gets the ball? If his 90-yard touchdown run last week wasn't enough, his 49 career runs of 20-plus yards should strike fear into anybody who lines up across the ball from him.
11.
Zach Thomas: His reactions and instincts make people think he's just left the offensive huddle. He lines up and makes plays everywhere on the field. He's like a ghost, because you can't find him to block him. He can hide behind the big boys up front and then jump out from behind them and tattoo the ball carrier in the hole.
12.
Jamal Lewis: Do you want to step in front of that freight train when it gets going downhill between the tackles? More defenders tackle him in matador fashion than any other ball carrier, and I can't blame them. Remember when you used to put the penny on the rail road tracks before the train came by? That is what he does to a lot of secondary guys who dare try to bring him down.
13.
Dwight Freeney: On artificial turf, on any given play, he instills fear that your quarterback could be blindsided and carried off the field at any time. No player comes off the ball with this type of explosion and has the body control to turn the corner at full speed like this guy. You'd better know which edge he's lining up on every down, because he has a way of putting a lot of offensive tackles on edge, consistently.
14.
John Abraham: He leads the league in sacks this year, and when healthy, can rush the passer from anywhere at anytime and kill a drive by the offense. He's the Randy Moss of the defense because his speed on the corner forces you to double him some way on every passing down. He has become one of the best playmakers in the league.
15.
Andre Johnson: His being on this list may surprise some but the guys who try and cover him. He's already one of the most feared in the league. He has great speed and athleticism to outrun any coverage or any ball thrown his way. His size makes him a combination T.O./Moss in the making. Now that's scary.
Randy Mueller, former GM of the New Orleans Saints and Seattle Seahawks, is a regular contributor to Insider.
