10 finest particular person participant rivalries in NFL historical past
BUFFALO, NY – CIRCA 1980: Conrad Dobler #69 of the Buffalo Payments appears on whereas taking in some oxygen throughout an NFL soccer recreation circa 1980 at Wealthy Stadium in Buffalo, New York. Dobler performed for the Payments from 1980-81. (Picture by Deal with Sport/Getty Photographs)
With the 2022 season wrapped up, right here’s a have a look at ten of the perfect rivalries between particular person gamers in all of NFL historical past.
Within the NFL’s illustrious 103-year historical past, the league has inspired soccer in its most pristine kind. Within the Twenties, that meant leather-based helmets and victory formation. Within the Seventies, defenders slammed into ability gamers with plastic helmets, laying them out on the inexperienced. And within the 2000s, a fierce rivalry between the New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts birthed the strict cross interference guidelines seen at this time.
The NFL has typically introduced out the perfect in its gamers, however gridiron grit additionally has a historical past of bringing out the worst. The closest teammates labored in telepathic tandem, whereas bitter rivals sized one another up and tore one another down at any time when potential.
Rivalries have are available in a large number of kinds over the century, from Sam Huff slowing down Jim Brown to Ndamukong Suh riling up Aaron Rodgers with an ankle stomp. Some rivalries had been primarily based on mutual respect for a participant’s craft, whereas others bubbled up into forceful shoves, slaps and slams.
There are rivalries between dueling quarterbacks, reminiscent of Jim Kelly versus Dan Marino or Tom Brady versus Peyton Manning, and there are rivalries between offensive and defensive gamers immediately dealing with each other, reminiscent of Ray Lewis versus Eddie George.
Whereas there are a large number of feuds to select from, the next checklist was compiled in consideration of diversifying period and place. A listing could possibly be devoted to the quite a few quarterback rivalries in NFL, whereas one other may include big-name rivalries earlier than 1970. Rating them is completely subjective, however this assortment options notable rivalries involving quite a lot of positions, reminiscent of linebackers and defensive linemen concentrating on operating backs and quarterbacks.
10 finest particular person participant rivalries in NFL historical past
10. Invoice Bergey vs. Conrad Dobler
Within the Seventies, NFL soccer adhered to fewer restrictions, however there was nonetheless a notion of enjoying with etiquette. Even at this time, each play has the potential to attract a flag — there’s at all times an unlawful shove or late deal with that goes unnoticed. The gamers who persistently flout the foundations, particularly to trigger pointless hurt, garner a popularity for being “soiled.” Within the late Seventies, that was Saints guard Conrad Dobler.
Dobler handed away this February, and when the information broke, he was characterised as “one of NFL’s dirtiest players” in a New York Put up headline. In accordance with the NY Put up, Dobler steadily relied on “unlawful techniques like holding, eye-gouging, leg-whipping and biting amongst them.”
“It’s nonetheless the one sport the place there may be managed violence blended with cautious technical planning,” Dobler as soon as stated in an NFL survey. “I’ll do something to guard my quarterback,” he informed Sports Illustrated in 1977.
In his prolonged SI profile, Dobler responded with humor when questioned about his popularity within the league.
“In a single recreation I used to be referred to as for tripping a man who was standing up,” Dobler stated. “Certain I attempted to journey him, however I didn’t succeed, and tried tripping is just not unlawful.”
Dobler could have joked, however as his profile advised, he was thought of the dirtiest participant within the NFL throughout that period. Rams defensive deal with Merlin Olsen could have sworn off even saying Dobler’s title, nevertheless it was legendary Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Invoice Bergey who took subject with Dobler’s questionable techniques.
An excerpt from one other article in SI’s Vault delineates the strain that grew between these two rivals:
“Eagles linebacker Invoice Bergey and Saints guard Conrad Dobler developed one thing of a blood rivalry within the late ’70’s, a passionate hatred that usually resulted in cheap-shot contests and verbal altercations. Bergey, some of the ferocious tacklers within the league and a proponent for enjoying the sport the ”proper approach,” couldn’t stand the notoriously ”soiled” Conrad Dobler. Sarcastically, Bergey’s career-ending knee harm got here on a play by which he was lined up in opposition to Dobler (although blame goes to the Astroturf, not Dobler).”
Moreover, a Reddit post on Bergey’s profession highlights his feud with Dobler, noting that it’s believed to have begun throughout the 1973 season as a result of Dobler appeared to focus on Bergey excessively. A blog site devoted to the NFL within the Seventies claims that Dobler as soon as admitted Bergey was the higher soccer participant, so Dobler needed to distract him together with his antics. In flip, Bergey reportedly stated that he “hated all the pieces about him.”
Bergey wasn’t the one participant to hate Dobler, however he was the one to forge a longstanding, heated rivalry with him. It’s unusual to see guards brawling with linemen and linebackers, and it’s even rarer to see one chew an opponent’s ankle. In an earlier time, each Dobler and Bergey developed their ideas on the “proper approach” to play the sport, and that’s partially what they battled over each time they confronted each other.
