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00:00What's an offense going to do when you've got a shut down corner on each side?
00:18It's a cornerback is the toughest position in pro football to play.
00:22It's the one position that when you get beat, everybody sees that you get beat.
00:33And everybody that plays that position gets beat.
00:36Finding one good cornerback is hard enough.
00:42Imagine our trouble finding two on the same team.
00:45There's very few teams that have had two great cornerbacks.
00:52We looked at the individual skills needed.
00:55The game is like a movie.
00:57You saw it. Go get it.
00:58It unfolds for you as a corner.
01:00How well can you anticipate?
01:02When he makes me break the guard on a deck.
01:03What do you learn from the game?
01:05I can read it.
01:06And you have to remember all that.
01:07But this is not a list of great corners.
01:10It's a list of great tandems.
01:15It's a function of two cornerbacks that understood how to play.
01:19And more than that, understood how to play together.
01:20These are our top ten cornerback tandems of all time.
01:25You can't throw at him.
01:26You get two guys like that on the same team.
01:28It's unbelievable.
01:29It really cuts down the options for a quarterback.
01:32The number ten cornerback tandem of all time.
01:35Dennis Thurman and Everson Walls.
01:37Number ten.
01:38Solid.
01:39They were wonderful.
01:40They knew when to jump routes.
01:42Intercepted.
01:43The 20.
01:44Touchdown, Dallas.
01:45And then once the ball was in the air.
01:49Those guys felt like it was their ball.
01:51They had a lot of things that you just can't teach to play.
01:54Everson Walls would be in the Hall of Fame.
01:56In the early 80s, the Cowboys were still very much America's team.
02:02The handoff door set at the middle.
02:04Here he goes.
02:05And though lost among the stars of Dallas, our tenth-ranked tandem of number 24 Everson Walls
02:11and number 32 Dennis Thurman will top at least one list.
02:15They will be the most unlikely pair to be on that list.
02:20Both of them weren't supposed to be in the league.
02:22Everson was undrafted.
02:23Yep.
02:24And Dennis, bless his soul, 11th round draft choice.
02:27I mean, we don't have an 11th round anymore.
02:29One of those great stories in the NFL about a guy who slipped through the cracks of the draft.
02:35That's why, yes, it's great to go to the combine.
02:38He may go.
02:40When the game starts, can you make a play?
02:43Dennis was the older guy, and Everson and Mike Downs, a bunch of them were young guys,
02:51and they called them Thurman's Thieves.
02:53Intercepted.
02:53Picked off by the Cowboys.
02:55Our tenth-ranked tandem was at its best in 1981, combining for 20 interceptions.
03:00Thurman helped all of them.
03:02Really knew the ins and outs of how to play the position.
03:05Dennis was pretty straightforward, but I thought Ev played the position with a natural fluidity.
03:11Everson Walls snagged 11 interceptions in 81 as an all-pro rookie.
03:17I'm out there trying every play just like anyone else, and I think my statistics are proving that, you know,
03:22I can be as good as any professional ball player out there.
03:25Number 24, Everson Walls will not win every sprint, but he will beat everyone to a football in flight.
03:32Everson Walls might have had the best ball recognition skills of any cornerback I've ever seen.
03:40Oh, mercy!
03:42How did he catch it?
03:43Everson Walls drove me nuts, because he was never where he was supposed to be.
03:47The common word, he's a gambler.
03:49There are times he'd get right where I wanted him.
03:53He'd jump in the heartbeat, 10 yards open down the field.
03:56Touchdown, Redskins!
03:57Oh, man.
03:58But I would always say, you show me a player that never has been beaten,
04:02then you're going to show me a player that's never taken a chance.
04:04He catches a couple, and they catch a couple.
04:06It kind of offsets each other.
04:08Walls reached four Pro Bowls in his first five seasons,
04:14and Dallas routinely placed among the league's interception leaders.
04:18Either one of those guys had great speed, but both of them were great athletes.
04:23If the ball's in the air, they felt like it was their ball.
04:26That's just their mentality of coming into the league through the back door.
04:30He's going to score!
04:31We've got it right after!
04:33Sam Madison didn't make our top ten, but he did get an autograph.
04:37I want an autograph, sir.
04:38I'm going to get you all.
04:39We're going to send you this week.
04:40At the turn of the century, Miami featured two of the game's best corners
04:44in Patrick Sertain and Sam Madison.
04:47Ah!
04:47Ah!
04:49Patrick Sertain.
04:52Yeah, the PS2 guy.
04:57Defensive Player of the Year guy.
04:59That's his dad.
05:01Sam Madison said, uh-uh!
05:03With help from a relentless patch rush.
05:05That's the hell of a rush!
05:06They combined for seven Pro Bowls in seven years.
05:10The Eagles' combo of Troy Vinson and Bobby Taylor
05:13A tremendous play!
05:15Also soared to success on the strength of a great pass rush.
05:18That was Demolition Derby!
05:20Our next tandem was also overshadowed by a big-name pass rush.
05:24The number nine cornerback tandem of all time.
05:28Albert Lewis and Kevin Ross.
05:30The Chiefs' teams of that era had tremendous secondaries.
05:36Intercepted on the far side!
05:37There they go, defense!
05:39But Eric Thomas and the Chiefs' pass rush got most of the attention.
05:43Oh, there's also a rush!
05:45They're trying to throw the quick passing game!
05:47On a defense that led Kansas City to the NFL's best regular season record in the 90s.
05:53I like the character of this football team.
05:55Albert Lewis and Kevin Ross were the heart and soul of that Kansas City Chief defense.
06:02Ross and Lewis, the finest cornerback duo in the business.
06:06From 1984 to 1992, Kevin Ross and Albert Lewis manned the corners in Kansas City.
06:17Including a chief concern for opposing offenses.
06:21If you look back at the statistics from that era.
06:23Should be intercepted, it is!
06:25They were a team that was almost impossible to throw on.
06:27She was passing yards allowed.
06:29Most interceptions.
06:30And it's going to be intercepted!
06:32Looked out.
06:33Now, they were two great corners, but they had two different personalities.
06:40When you looked across at Albert, you knew you were playing against a guy who could cover.
06:46In terms of just watching somebody play that position with grace,
06:51Albert Lewis is at or near the top of the list.
06:54Tall, lanky guy.
06:56Great skills.
06:57Speed like a greyhound.
06:59He could lock down on somebody and just take out their number one receiver.
07:03He did a hell of a job.
07:04He never got off of you.
07:07And his impact extended beyond the secondary.
07:09This guy defined how to block a punt.
07:12Lewis blew 10 punts with Kansas City.
07:14It's blocked by Albert Lewis!
07:16Resulting in four touchdowns.
07:18Picked up by Kevin Ross.
07:20It's a touchdown!
07:21Hey, there's the playmakers on that football team.
07:23Kevin Ross was the opposite of Lewis.
07:28He was cornerback as a punch in the face.
07:34Cornerback as a sense of physical harassment.
07:38Ah!
07:38Yeah, you got it all.
07:40The bullets and the other.
07:41You got it all.
07:41He fires a pass to the near side and is intercepted!
07:44Kevin was five foot seven or eight.
07:46They said, you know what?
07:47We can take advantage of this guy.
07:49And probably about the middle of the first quarter, they realized that they underestimated Kevin Ross.
07:54It's intercepted!
07:55By the end of the game, you wanted to get off the field, get in the airplane, and never see him again.
08:00Ha ha ha!
08:04Our ninth-ranked duo combined for six Pro Bowls, appearing together in both 1989 and 1990.
08:11When he makes his break to go on a dig, if it's deep, I can read it.
08:14It's intercepted!
08:15And up the left sideline!
08:16Lewis and Ross, they were the epitome of what those Chiefs defenses were.
08:21And because they were such great athletes, and because they knew your offense probably as well as your line receivers did,
08:27You were always worried that they were going to make the big pick on you.
08:33The number eight cornerback tandem of all time, Skip Thomas and Willie Brown.
08:38Not either.
08:39Two terrific cover, you know, match-up cornerbacks.
08:42Skip Thomas was okay.
08:44Overrated Raiders from the overrated Raider quasi-dynasty.
08:47The Raiders long ago earned a reputation for uniqueness.
08:50For number 26, Skip Thomas, it came in the form of a nickname.
08:55Dr. Death?
08:56Dr. Death.
08:56Dr. Death.
08:57Oh, Dr. Death?
08:58Dr. Death.
08:59Dr. Death to the 25!
09:01And Dr. has saved the name!
09:03Everyone thought it had something to do with his being tough.
09:06You don't have any fights this week?
09:08Oh, man, we gotta have some fights.
09:11Holy Toledo!
09:12It's a free-for-all!
09:13It fit.
09:14It definitely fit.
09:15I guess I did strange things.
09:17I did madden.
09:18Instead of knocking the pass down, I'd take a kick at it like I was playing soccer.
09:22The 205-pound Dr. Death often meant lights-out for opposing receivers.
09:30Hey, he just unloaded on him.
09:33And he picked off 16 passes in a four-season stretch.
09:36Skip Thomas on it and fuck it at the 45!
09:38Oh, it's okay.
09:41Nobody can get open.
09:42He shuts you down.
09:44But was Thomas truly a great cornerback, or merely a product of the familiar Raiders propaganda machine?
09:52Skip Thomas doesn't even register.
09:54To me, he was average at best.
09:56He was Dr. Death on the football field.
09:57He was death on receivers.
09:59I thought that he was, um, overrated.
10:02Bob Avellini spotted James Scott behind Skip Thomas for the remaining 36 yards.
10:09First time Raiden injury caught anyone overrated on this program.
10:13Let's hear it.
10:14In big spots, felt like they didn't want to throw at Willie Brown.
10:17They could throw at Skip Thomas.
10:18You don't know how good he is.
10:20I don't even know.
10:21He probably could have had 30 or 40 interceptions, but he didn't want interceptions.
10:26He would punch the ball.
10:28And we'd say, Skip, catch it!
10:29He wanted me to practice intercepting.
10:32And I'd always tell him, pay me.
10:34Ha!
10:34A former college linebacker, Thomas' partner Willie Brown was more than unique.
10:41No way this guy wasn't a 20.
10:43Royal Blazer.
10:43Before becoming a Raider, Brown invented bump-and-run coverage in Houston and Denver.
10:49He couldn't get off the line.
10:51So the coaches said, boy, you know, you may have something here.
10:53From that point out, everybody in the league, even coaches of other teams, trying to send
10:57their players to me, teach them how to play bump-and-run.
10:59Willie was a big, intimidating corner, and liked to jam guys and could run with guys.
11:04Willie Brown, as good as it gets.
11:07Great cover guy.
11:14Great hands.
11:16Our number eight cornerback tandem won a Super Bowl and totaled five all-pro selections and
11:22nine Pro Bowl appearances, all of them, by Willie Brown.
11:26The Raiders captain also returned three postseason interceptions for touchdowns.
11:31You can't throw outs, you know, those kind of rounds on me, because you got one chance
11:39to play it.
11:40That's to me.
11:41He's going for a touchdown, and you try it.
11:43A 50-yard interception return by Willie Brown.
11:46The Super Bowl one was against Fran Tarkin.
11:49Same thing.
11:49Try to run out, and then again, you don't throw outs on me.
11:52Intercepted by the Oakland Raiders, Willie Brown.
11:54He's going on!
11:55He's going on, man.
11:56Old man Willie.
11:58Touchdown, Raiders!
11:59That's a great pick between Willie and Dr. Death, because these two guys could cover.
12:05Since this list celebrates tandems, some of the greatest cornerbacks of all time didn't
12:10make the cut.
12:11Wow.
12:12Roger Worley played 14 seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals, making seven Pro Bowls.
12:18You just don't find cornerbacks very often that have this kind of ability.
12:22Darryl Green played 20 seasons for the Redskins and picked off 54 passes.
12:27Who was his partner?
12:27Oh, it's a big play for Darryl Green.
12:30Rod Woodson finished his 17-year career with 71 interceptions, third most in NFL history.
12:38Nothing for time.
12:39He's going to push it.
12:40But there was only one cornerback whose singular skills earned him a spot on our list.
12:46The number seven cornerback tandem of all time, Deion Sanders.
12:50And to anyone?
12:52Yes.
12:52Anybody?
12:53There's only one Deion Sanders.
12:55Deion Sanders, to me, is the greatest single player that ever played the game of football.
13:00We've never seen another player with that type of skill level.
13:02And Deion Sanders leaped and intercepted on our 39.
13:05Thank God he was good.
13:07He was so good.
13:10In a game full of remarkable athletes, Deion Sanders stood out.
13:14In a five-team career, our number seven cornerback, Solo Artist, started opposite 13 different counterparts,
13:25almost none of whom struck fear in opposing offenses.
13:28Hey, you got Champ Bailey right there.
13:32You got Case, Tim McHire, Larry Brown was okay.
13:36We just don't have fun and play ball.
13:38If you team Deion Sanders up with any average cornerback, you're going to get results.
13:42McHire intercepts on the 50.
13:44McHire gives it to Deion.
13:45He could make any tandem he played with the best tandem in football.
13:49No, I don't think he can say that.
13:51He needs to want him to have a little talent.
13:53If the other corner can't play, you're going to find him.
13:56He can't hide a corner.
13:57Regardless of what cornerback started opposite him, this one-man tandem improved defenses.
14:03He may score.
14:06The Cowboys and 49ers became champions in Sanders' first season with each team.
14:12He could more take away not only a player, but almost the side of an entire field.
14:17You're able to put Deion on one receiver, and you design a defense around the other ten.
14:23So it narrowed the playing field.
14:24He would bait quarterbacks into throwing and pick it off.
14:31Quarterbacks understood that just because a guy looked open against Deion Sanders didn't mean he was open.
14:36He loved being thrown at because he could score.
14:40Come on, Steve.
14:42Damn.
14:43You're smart.
14:44Intercepted by Deion Sanders on the 25 to 30.
14:47Deion Sanders going for a long, long touchdown.
14:53Deion was never a great tackle.
14:54Let's get that out of the way.
14:56Deion would allay more tackles than anybody on the football field.
14:59Deion made what he called business decisions.
15:01And for Deion, a business decision was, I'm not throwing my body in there.
15:05There were a few times when he was in various uniforms that I saw him tackled.
15:12Deion Sanders blindsided him.
15:15Are you looking for Deion to come up and throw him in the ground?
15:18No.
15:18He did what he had to do in order to be one of the great cornerbacks.
15:21The man known as Primetime was named in All-Pro six times, played in eight Pro Bowls, and was the 1994 Defensive Player of the Year.
15:32Another classic by Deion.
15:34Deion Sanders deserves whatever he gets when it comes to accolades as being one of the all-time great cornerbacks.
15:41Vocabulary.
15:41No one talked about shutdown corners before Deion Sanders.
15:45Over the middle, Jerry Rice.
15:47Intercepted by Deion Sanders.
15:49The idea that there's another shutdown corner the way Deion was is ridiculous.
15:54There's no such thing.
15:55There never was and never will be another Deion Sanders.
15:59Neon, Deion, and anybody else, I'd put it out there, yes.
16:02He's the best.
16:03Primetime.
16:03Primetime.
16:05The number six cornerback tandem of all time, JT Thomas and Mel Blunt.
16:10To mention Mel Blunt and Deion Sanders in the same sentence is insulting to Mel Blunt.
16:15That's the best quarterback tandem ever because Mel Blunt's the best cornerback ever,
16:17and anyone who says otherwise is wrong.
16:20JT and LSI was great.
16:21I mean, those guys personified the way the game was played.
16:23I couldn't imagine anybody being better than Mel Blunt.
16:27If he was in the vicinity, it had to be an awesome throw to get through there.
16:30Or he was going to pick it off.
16:32Solid.
16:34Oh, I just pitied those receivers.
16:37He was huge.
16:38You've got to put in the right perspective.
16:40Back in those days, they could put their hands on you, push you all over the field for the
16:43ball is in the air.
16:44Six, four, two, twenty.
16:44Mel Blunt, dumpy.
16:46You could do your mugging, you know, up and down the field and nobody cared.
16:49Nobody had a better name for that position because he was a Blunt.
16:52You couldn't beat you up.
16:54You'd throw you out of bounds.
16:55What I always wanted to do was let people know that this is my territory.
17:03I didn't like it when he was on my side.
17:05We didn't get as much action as we'd like.
17:07Blunt had run throw beautifully covered one-on-one.
17:13I think the ball club as a whole played well.
17:16Why are Blunt and Thomas not higher on our list?
17:20The steel curtain.
17:20They benefited from playing with one of the best defenses ever.
17:24The steel curtain of the 1970s.
17:27The steel curtain, the defensive line, and then they got helping coverage from complete
17:32linebackers like Lambert, Ham, and Russell, two of which are in the Hall of Fame.
17:39Peace out!
17:40Let's be honest.
17:41If you threw a water balloon into the huddle of that Steelers team, you'd splatter about
17:45six Hall of Famers.
17:46I made the comment at my Hall of Fame induction how fortunate I was to play an arguably the greatest
17:53defense of all time.
17:54Every one of these guys on this team played in the Pro Bowl.
17:58It's pretty impressive.
17:59The greatest defense of all time.
18:01Steve beat Humble.
18:02Left cornerback number 24, JT Thomas.
18:06James Thomas Jr. was the Steelers' first-round draft pick in 1973.
18:11He made the Pro Bowl in 1976 and picked off 20 passes in his career.
18:16JT was probably underrated for his talent.
18:21I think he was overlooked.
18:22I think he was a heck of an athlete, a heck of a defender.
18:25To the outside, cut off by JT Thomas.
18:28Oh, JT was very good.
18:29Okay.
18:30I mean, he's not one of your legendary quarterbacks, not in a class with a guy like Mel Blunt.
18:33I don't agree with this particular selection.
18:35Somebody had to be along for the ride.
18:37And it was Thomas, a good little player.
18:39But I think he was along for the ride on some of those teams.
18:42He never became the player they thought he was going to be, which was they thought he
18:45would be the equal of Mel Blunt.
18:49Due in large part to Mel Blunt's physical domination, in 1978, the NFL modified its stance
18:56on permissible contact with receivers.
18:59Every year, the National Football League comes up with some rules changes.
19:03This year, the most important changes concern pass coverage and the interaction between receivers
19:08and defenders.
19:09Any contact beyond five yards that's initiated by the defensive player is to be called illegal
19:14contact.
19:14They changed the game because he was too good.
19:17Guys couldn't even get off the line against him.
19:19That'll be a penalty on Mel Blunt.
19:21I'm honored that they thought enough of the way I played the game that they would change
19:25the rule and call it the Mel Blunt rule.
19:28Take all the Mel Blunt.
19:30Mel would find a way today.
19:32Would he be as effective now as then?
19:34Boy, there's almost no way of knowing that.
19:36You could do a lot of damage.
19:36He wouldn't, but, but, he'd still be in the Hall of Famer.
19:46He'd be a Hall of Famer.
19:47I don't care where he played and when he played.
19:49Brian's going to grab him.
19:51Knocked on by Mel Blunt.
19:53Blunt finished with a Steelers record 57 interceptions, but the resume of our number six cornerback
19:59tandem is highlighted by Wings in Super Bowls 9, 10, and 14.
20:04Mel Blunt and J.P. Thomas, the best cornerback pairing ever.
20:07Case closed.
20:08And now, the number five cornerback tandem of all time.
20:12Dick LeBeau in the Hall of Famer.
20:13These guys could play.
20:16Night Train Lane intercepts a Brodie pass.
20:18Intercepted by Dick LeBeau.
20:20And Barney scored a must.
20:22The Lions in their 60s had one of the best secondaries probably in NFL history.
20:26Dick LeBeau was, for years, considered one of the most solid, smart, consistent players in the game.
20:32And then on the other side, you kind of had two generations of Hall of Fame players, Night Train Lane, and then Lam Barney.
20:40I told them both that, you know, I'd put them in the Hall of Fame because everybody was so busy throwing over on my side of the field.
20:46The Lions placed a cornerback in the Pro Bowl every year of the decade.
20:51There aren't too many teams that have had a run like that.
20:53Number 81, Night Train Lane, number 44, Dick LeBeau, and number 20, Lam Barney, each rank in the top 15 for career interceptions.
21:03You get those guys, you know, it's pretty doggone good.
21:09I believe Night Train Lane was the best ever at cornerback.
21:14Night Train Lane was one of these physical players.
21:16Every bit of 6'4", 6'5", and maybe 218.
21:20Here's a guy that could have played in any era.
21:22But the play is diagnosed perfectly by Night Train Lane.
21:25He had to side at his speed to get up and beat somebody that had halfway to death.
21:31Night Train literally went for the head.
21:35I mean, they used to talk about the Night Train necktie.
21:39And the quarterbacks didn't like Night Train because he was a reckless player.
21:43He changed the rules to stop him.
21:46They changed all the rules.
21:48Let the receiver get free.
21:50Then once the ball was in the air, he'd go pick it.
21:52Night Train Lane enters that to go to the back.
21:54Those gamblers end up getting run out of the league, but not Night Train.
22:00Dick LeBeau renders stability to the defensive backfield with his crunching tackles and key interceptions.
22:07Night Train Lane and Dick LeBeau were two different types of defensive backs.
22:12The quarterback started throwing over to Dick LeBeau's side, which was just as bad.
22:16Veteran cornerback Dick LeBeau, number 44.
22:19He's so savvy.
22:21He is running the offensive backfield.
22:24He's still in the top ten in the National Bowl history in interceptions.
22:28One thing about Dick LeBeau, he wasn't as big as Night Train, but he is a great student of the game.
22:31Never caught him out of position.
22:33He always knew where he was going.
22:34He just sawed as the Rockets are broader.
22:36At the other corner is Lem Barney, who might be the most versatile athlete in the game today.
22:43And then Lem Barney came along, and physically, he was just such a great athlete.
22:47Lem was probably the quickest guy I've ever seen.
22:51His feet were like he was gliding around.
22:54He was more than just a all-time cornerback.
22:57He did things that were spectacular.
23:00Lem Barney, scabbard 45 yards into the end zone.
23:03The perfect example is in his very first game, the very first play, he jumps the route.
23:09The most underrated cornerback of all time.
23:15The season wasn't even ten minutes old when number 20, rookie Lem Barney,
23:20shot the partisan Packer backers with a 24-yard interception.
23:24Here was a defensive player who compiled almost 4,000 yards.
23:30That's a pretty funny idea, defense.
23:33When Starr put the ball in the air, it was like putting it on a plane bound for Miami
23:38with either Barney or LeBeau willing to play the role of hijacking.
23:43The superstar cornerbacks in the same decade.
23:47When people talk about the great secondaries, the Lions get overlooked because they didn't win a championship.
23:52That doesn't mean they don't deserve to be there.
23:53That was one of the great defensive secondaries ever, both of them, first generation and second.
23:59When Lem Barney retired, he, Night Train Lane, and Dick LeBeau made up half of the top six in interceptions in league history.
24:09The number four quarterback tandem of all time.
24:16Bob Jeter in her battle.
24:19Why did I have a number four?
24:20I thought they were better than that.
24:21Did you ever play against a better tandem?
24:25Well, no.
24:26They face their opponents with a sword in one hand.
24:29And a sledgehammer in the other.
24:32I guess not.
24:33I guess not.
24:34They were damn good.
24:36Hipped off beautifully by Jeter of the Green Bay Packers.
24:39Number 21, Bob Jeter.
24:41And number 26, Herb Adderley.
24:43Patrolled the secondary for the great Packers teams of the 1960s.
24:48Beautiful save by Adderley.
24:49This unlikely defensive pairing came together thanks to the most famous face of that era.
24:56This is Vince Lombardi.
24:57The finest football team in the world.
25:01Herb was a great offensive running back in Michigan State.
25:04Bob Jeter was a great running back in Iowa.
25:06What the hell's going on out here?
25:08Bob Jeter set a Rose Bowl record.
25:10194 yards and nine carries.
25:13These are both great runners.
25:14They had great speed.
25:15Bobby Jeter skirts the sidelines here to the 10 and into the end zone.
25:20But the Packers already had future Hall of Fame ball carriers Paul Hornig and Jim Taylor.
25:26What's up, everybody?
25:28What's up, everybody?
25:28What's up, everybody?
25:31When Vince Lombardi saw Herb Adderley, he said, this guy is just too good to put him on the offensive side of the ball where he may not play, where this guy can really be a defensive star.
25:42I could run because I was a running back, so I used to want to get my hands on the football and take off and go the other way with it.
25:49Pick off by Herb Adderley at Green Bay.
25:51On the way for Green Bay.
25:52Yet now, touchdown.
25:54Return to the bounds.
25:56Bob Jeter and Herb Adderley have something you won't see today.
25:58They're both over six foot.
26:00They're both over 200 pounds.
26:01And they both would hit you.
26:03And now, the hitting begins.
26:06And the running back, I took a hit.
26:08And I figured, well, now I got a chance to dish it out.
26:11I'm going to dish a little bit out.
26:13Some of those ferocious tackles I saw about Herb Adderley.
26:15And a crushing tackle.
26:17Hmm.
26:18When it comes to stealing enemy passes, here's the man they can't forget.
26:23All pro Herb Adderley.
26:25For about four years, they would always say I was the second best corner in the league.
26:29And Herb Adderley was always the guy who was number one.
26:32He had the unique distinction.
26:33In 1965, he did not have a touchdown pass thrown on the whole season.
26:39He won the whole season with no touchdown passes.
26:44On January 14, 1968, the Oakland Raiders met the Green Bay Packers in Miami's famous Orange Bowl
26:51to determine the world champion of professional football.
26:54They had been told not to throw to the right side.
26:57Fourth quarter, he said, what the heck, I might as well take a shot.
27:00And he threw it over there.
27:01And Herb picked it, ran it back.
27:02A 75-inch in the touchdown return by Herb Adderley.
27:06That it was the first defensive touchdown in Super Bowl history.
27:09Our number four cornerback tandem finished with a total of five all pro designations.
27:14Seven championships.
27:16They were two great cornerbacks.
27:19Football is a young man's game.
27:20And NFL history is dotted with some sensational young tandems.
27:25Ken Riley and Lamar Parrish.
27:27Lamar Parrish was Deion Sanders before there was Deion Sanders.
27:32Ken Riley is in the top five all-time in career interceptions.
27:36Seriously, they were Hank Aaron and Willie Mays.
27:38The 49ers had their own impact rookies in 1986 with Don Griffin and Tim McHire.
27:45But those aren't the Niner rookies who made our list.
27:49They benefited from teams being scared of Ronnie Lott.
27:52The number three quarterback tandem of all time.
27:56Ronnie Lott and Eric Lott.
27:59Those two guys helped put the 49ers on the map.
28:03Ronnie Lott intercepts.
28:04In NFL history, by far, that was the best secondary ever to play the game.
28:1321 and 42 are two numbers that Niner fans will never forget.
28:17That's because Eric Wright and Ronnie Lott saved San Francisco from its own secondary.
28:24Wow.
28:24Geez.
28:25The 49ers had just disintegrated and that personified itself with our defensive secondary.
28:31Our defensive backs couldn't be found on the tapes.
28:34In 1981, Bill Walsh added our number three quarterback tandem with back-to-back draft picks.
28:40In 1981, they were thrown into fire pretty quickly.
28:44When Ronnie Lott and those guys started playing, we all stood up and watched him play.
28:50Ronnie Lott was the best defensive back I've ever seen.
28:54Because Ronnie was so highly talented, I don't think people went after him.
28:58Eric got all the attention.
29:00But after, like, mid-intercept, you couldn't throw it at Eric.
29:04These guys, they were rookies, but they had confidence through the roof.
29:07They were 27th in defense in 1980, and they drafted those starting defensive backs.
29:13They went up to second this year.
29:15Woo!
29:15And they were taken away by Ronnie Lott.
29:18Our third-ranked tandem capped its rookie season with a Super Bowl.
29:2249ers awarded.
29:24They would be hired.
29:26Ronnie was one of those special, unique talents.
29:30Ronnie just intimidated people.
29:32When we take the damn field, it's not our brotherhood that's going to do it for us.
29:35Let's hit them like we always do.
29:37We're a machine, and we just knock the hell out of people.
29:39That is martial arts, black belt, I'm looking to hurt people on this football field kind
29:50of intimidation.
29:51Eric was on the other side.
29:53Eric was very athletic, very, very fast.
29:56Eric was a pure corner.
29:58Eric Wright, to me, had this sense that as soon as I am allowed to touch you, I'm going to
30:04clobber you.
30:04I thought Eric Wright was one of the best man-to-man cover guys to ever play the position.
30:12There were hyper-aggressive backs that were not afraid to go for the ball and make the
30:17big play.
30:20Yeah, he's moving.
30:22He's moving.
30:23I think if Eric Wright and Ronnie Lott were sitting around, they would have to admit, why
30:27did the Niners' offense get so much love?
30:32That's obvious.
30:32We were as important, if not more important.
30:37It was Eric Wright who preserved Frisco's NFC Championship win in 81.
30:42Would have been a horse collar today.
30:44Drew Pearson gets in the field goal range if he doesn't do that, and the Niners don't win
30:50that Super Bowl.
30:51Yes, there was a catch, but Eric Wright made the most awesome play in the Dallas Cowboy
31:00game.
31:01History could have definitely been different.
31:04It was incredible that the tackle was made.
31:07And our number three duo helped deliver the Niners their second title as well.
31:11Marino fires to the goal line, and it is intercepted.
31:14Look at the 1984 Super Bowl against the great Dan Marino.
31:21And the 49ers have won the Super Bowl.
31:24It's anchored in that secondary.
31:25Right and Lott.
31:28What made that secondary so great is because you couldn't just pick on one guy.
31:39I don't know where those two guys, Latin right, are on your list, but I think that's probably
31:43as good as the Cats.
31:45Good cornerbacks are all about timing.
31:47In 1985, the Rams, Gary Green, and Leroy Irvin both reached the Pro Bowl.
31:54A year later, Irvin went again.
31:56Pick up by Leroy Irvin.
31:57With a different partner, Jerry Gray.
32:00In 1971, 49er legend Jimmy Johnson reached the Pro Bowl.
32:05Intercepted!
32:06Wow!
32:07With Bruce Taylor in tow.
32:08But no tandem in NFL history reached more Pro Bowls together than our next dynamic duo.
32:14The number two cornerback tandem of all time, Hanford Dixon and Frank Minifield.
32:22Actually, I'd probably put them number one, to be honest with you, because I played them
32:26so much every year, twice a year.
32:28The Browns burn Cincinnati on the bomb on the very first play.
32:32Two guys with a tremendous amount of impact.
32:35When you talk about the Browns' defense, you began with Minifield and Dixon.
32:40It was pick your poison.
32:42Oh, my!
32:42What's an offense going to do when you've got a shutdown corner on each side?
32:49Frank Minifield and Hanford Dixon were perfectly cast in their city.
32:54Not only great corners, but tough guys.
32:57They were, in many ways, the personality of that defense.
33:01Look at the surroundings.
33:02The fans, the noise.
33:04This crowd can't get it up.
33:05The weather.
33:06We have a heat wave here at the stadium today with a windchill factor of about five.
33:11Frank Minifield and Hanford Dixon fired up Cleveland's faithful fans in the mid-80s.
33:18Then, noon.
33:19They're the ones that really started what he came to do.
33:24It was after one game, Hanford said, I think we got a dog pound out there in the bleachers.
33:31Playing in front of the dog pound.
33:33The dog pound, most people were fanatics.
33:35Can't make the hair stand like one of Becky and Mary.
33:38Between noon and the dog pound, one of the most difficult places in teams to play against.
33:42The pulse of the dog defense was the best set of corners in the game.
33:50All pros Frank Minifield and Hanford Dixon.
33:54They're obviously, as a unit, the best in the National Football League.
33:58Firing at the right side.
34:00Hell of a job, defense.
34:01Hell of a job.
34:03They were dominant because of their athletic greatness.
34:06They were dominant because of their mental will.
34:08The thing that enables them to be effective is their personality, their attitude.
34:13There's no doubt about it that the Cleveland Browns possess the two best cover guys in the game.
34:18We are complete corners.
34:19We hit, we run, we tackle, we can do it all.
34:24These guys were man-to-man.
34:26They doled receivers.
34:27They were in-your-face cornerbacks.
34:29These two guys would push the contact rules to the absolute limit.
34:34And I remember, you know, Sam Weiss just screaming at the wide receivers in practice.
34:38No, you're not going to play that.
34:39They're going to eat you up.
34:40Oh, no.
34:41They're going to take you down.
34:44And if they were playing today, they wouldn't be playing because there would be a flag on every play.
34:50That's a hell of a job by our defense again.
34:55Dixon tormented wide receivers at the line of scrimmage.
35:00There's no place you could have thrown that ball.
35:02In 1987, only seven passes were thrown in the direction of Hanford Dixon.
35:08What?
35:09From 1986 to 1988, Dixon was a regular in Honolulu.
35:15And each one of those years, Frank Minifield joined him.
35:19Fire, he got the right side.
35:20I think there's definitely some competition going on between the two of us.
35:24I think that I'm a pretty good cornerback, and Frank thinks he's the best thing since Superman.
35:29Minifield also thought in the third person.
35:32I think that Frank Minifield has the ability to think that he is never in a situation where he's not going to win.
35:39Hell of a job, Minifield!
35:41You would have had to see them play every week of the season to know how good they were.
35:46They are the only tandem in NFL history to attend three Pro Bowls together.
35:52That's how good they were, and they were the center of the Browns' defense.
35:58So why are Dixon and Minifield only number two?
36:02Two words, the drive.
36:05And the Broncos are 98 yards away from where they need to go.
36:09If you don't win at all, you're a failure.
36:11They came up short in the playoffs.
36:13Maybe their legacy isn't what it should be.
36:16Oh, here's the problem with the drive.
36:18Marty decided, we're only going to rush three guys against John Elway.
36:22Even the best cornerbacks in the world...
36:24...was wide open in that soft middle.
36:26...can't cover a wide receiver forever.
36:28...fires over the middle. Touchdown!
36:30And that's what happened in the drive.
36:35That's an excuse.
36:38You only rushed three guys. That means you had eight in coverage.
36:41They were two of the best-covered cornerbacks in the history of the National Football League.
36:48Intercepted!
36:49Frank Minifield!
36:50Thinking about cornerback tandems, I would put them right at the top.
36:55And now the number one cornerback tandem of all time.
37:00Lester Hayes and Mike Haynes.
37:03Mike and Lester Hayes, they were the guys.
37:06I don't see any two corners that ever played together if it matched those two.
37:10And intercepted!
37:11Sets up, delivers one to Spain, he intercepts it, Hayes.
37:1418-9, and Hayes hit it!
37:18Fearless.
37:19Fearless cornerbacks.
37:21Before becoming the best tandem of all time, Hayes and Haynes were great individual cornerbacks.
37:26Hayes began his career learning from Raider legend Willie Brown.
37:30It didn't take long for the man called the Judge to establish his own brand of cornerback justice.
37:36One of the best cornerbacks at intimidating.
37:40He surely was intimidated.
37:42Lester Hayes, number 37, was leap.
37:45He was a linebacker in college, so a little stronger, a lot bigger than me.
37:49Delivered for Bob, not many people can.
37:51We all know what Lester's like. Lester liked to hit things.
37:54Lester was a more physical guy. He tried to beat up on the line.
37:57He really did go after people.
38:02Lester Hayes had a year in 1980 that was arguably the greatest year a corner has ever had.
38:09As a cover man, and also as a tackler, he was just phenomenal.
38:13He just took the game over.
38:15When it came to covering, no one did it better.
38:18Lester Hayes!
38:20Hayes was the NFL's defense player of the year, leading the league with 13 interceptions.
38:26Down to the 20, the 10, 10 to the end zone!
38:29He added another five in the playoffs, helping him to go 15.
38:34Super Sunday, what a day!
38:35I can't believe it. It's like a dream come true.
38:39It's unbelievable.
38:40Hayes' early success came with scrutiny for artificially improving his hands.
38:52Stick him, baby!
38:52He had that stick him everywhere on his body.
38:55All of his feet, all of his hands, and all of his arms, his jersey, everywhere.
38:59We always used to tell Lester, don't touch us.
39:01We don't want you to touch us.
39:02That's how he got all those interceptions.
39:04Way up the field toward Hill, intercepted!
39:07The thing about that is, he made four Pro Bowls after that was outlawed.
39:13So, you know.
39:17He caught half of them just by the stick him, catching that ball before his hands ever did.
39:21Unfortunately, as the story goes, we had to stick him outlawed several years later.
39:24That's because Lester abused the system.
39:30Like all number one picks, Hayes blitzed into the NFL
39:33with salvos of publicity, which hyped him into instant super stardom.
39:38Hall of Famer Mike Haynes spent his first seven seasons with the Patriots,
39:43making six Pro Bowls.
39:45If you're looking for idea corner, it would be Mike Haynes.
39:47Mike had everything you want to look for.
39:5043-inch vertical, 6'2 and a half, 6'3.
39:52Wearing about 200 pounds.
39:54Had long arms.
39:55Fires in line and deep left side.
39:5650 feet off.
39:57It is!
39:58Tremendous speed.
39:59Faster than blunt.
40:00He's down the sideline!
40:02Look at the speed of that man!
40:03Touchdown!
40:04I studied a lot.
40:06Number 40 succeeded because his helmet was firmly rooted to his head.
40:10It's really scientific.
40:11If I can slow the guy down like one-tenth of a second, I'm really doing a great job.
40:19Our number one cornerback tandem was created as a result of a contract dispute.
40:26Haynes played out his option with the Patriots in 1982.
40:29The following November, his contract was awarded to the Raiders for two draft picks.
40:35It was the greatest steal of all time.
40:37When the Raiders got Mike Haynes, they said, oh my God!
40:40From the start, an intimidating Raider defense dominated.
40:45With big plays by number 37, left corner Lester Hayes.
40:50And by number 22, right corner Mike Haynes.
40:54What do you do if you're at offense?
40:56Now you have two strong guys in there.
40:58Where did they throw the ball?
41:00No way.
41:02Let them do whatever they want to do.
41:05Teams cannot throw a ball all night.
41:07You can forget about anybody throwing it.
41:08Our number one cornerback tandem combined for 14 Pro Bowls
41:13and starred on the Raiders' run to a win in Super Bowl XVIII.
41:19And the celebration will begin.
41:20The Los Angeles Raiders, Kings of the Hill, in Super Bowl XVIII.
41:25The best two I ever coached.
41:26No question about it.
41:27I can take a nap.
41:28Go watch the game on TV.
41:30Okay, Mike.
41:30Yeah, that's it.
41:31Good.
41:31That's it.
41:32All right.
41:33Tremendous.
41:34Tremendous.
41:35Jump ball and intercepted.
41:37It's hard to find damage like that.
41:41There's not two that I can think of who would be better.
41:44Great pick.
41:45The ability to make great picks played a major role in...
41:49Hold it.
41:49Hold everything.
41:51That 83 Redskins team scored nine touchdowns in the divisional round of the playoffs in the
41:59NFC Championship game.
42:02They scored nine points in that Super Bowl.
42:04Determining our list of top ten cornerback tandems...
42:09Many a quarterback has felt the pain of falling victim to the best corners in the game.
42:18The hallmark of great quarterback play is blanket coverage.
42:21And we have now provided blanket coverage for each of the top ten cornerback tandems of all time.
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