Thursday, Sept. 2, 1999

Winners all

Don’t judge their performances by their teams’ records

By Ron Pollack, Editor-in-chief

Or so the saying goes.

Stars from winning teams get all kinds of glory, endorsements, newspaper headlines and TV interviews.

Stars from losing teams may not get quite as much attention, but that doesn’t mean they are chopped liver. There are plenty of prime-time performers from not-ready-for-prime-time teams.

With that in mind, here are the players whom I consider to be the top 10 performers in the NFL who are currently on clubs that finished with losing records last season:

1. LB Junior Seau, Chargers — His motor is always going 100 mph. You just have to love his intensity and enthusiasm. He is a playmaker who flies to the ball.
2. C Dermontti Dawson, Steelers — He’s not what he once was, but Dawson is still the best center in all of football. Kevin Mawae (Jets) and Tom Nalen (Broncos) are hot on his heels, but Dawson still wears the crown as the best at his position. The Steeler offensive line slipped last season, but don’t blame Dawson for that decline in productivity.
3. OT Jonathan Ogden, Ravens — The second-best offensive tackle in all of football behind only Tony Boselli of the Jaguars. Ogden has all the tools to be a great one for a long time to come.
4. OT William Roaf, Saints — If Ogden is the No. 2 offensive tackle in the NFL behind Boselli, then Roaf is No. 2A. They were very even last season. It should be a lot of fun to watch Roaf clear a path for RB Ricky Williams in the coming years.
5. DE Robert Porcher, Lions — Has become a very consistent star. He plays the run well. He plays the pass well. He has the type of outstanding attitude that makes it highly unlikely that he will have erratic swings in play from one year to the next. He doesn’t have a huge amount of name recognition to the casual fan, but you’d better believe that opposing teams are aware of his presence.
6. DE Michael McCrary, Ravens — Like Porcher, this player does not get nearly as much attention as he deserves. He does a great job of getting sacks, plays hard and is a nice all-around player.
7. ILB Levon Kirkland, Steelers — The best inside/middle linebacker in the entire NFL. It’s hard to believe that someone this large can play the position this well.
8. MLB Ray Lewis, Ravens — Although Kirkland is the best inside/middle linebacker in the NFL, Lewis is only the smallest step behind him. Lewis is a tackle machine.
9. OG Dave Szott, Chiefs — If Szott can return to his pre-injury form, the Chiefs’ running game will benefit mightily. Szott was an enormously underrated player before he got hurt.
10. S Rodney Harrison, Chargers — A big hitter. Teams with Seau to give the Chargers’ defense an exciting 1-2 punch.

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1999 - 2000 Season