Front and center

Workmanlike Webster among the all-time best at his trade

Where does Mike Webster rate in the pantheon of all-time NFL centers? I'd put him at No. 3, behind the Dolphins' Dwight Stephenson and Oakland's Jim Otto. Webster came into the league as an undersized fifth-round draft choice, learned his trade as a backup on two Pittsburgh Super Bowl champions, and when he took over as a starter in his fourth year in the league, he took over everything, the line calls, the switches, all the nuances. He was a leader on one of the greatest collections of talent ever assembled, plus he was a powerful and technically correct pass defender and drive blocker.

Writers never came away with a collection of Mike Webster postgame quotes. He was a solid workman doing a job -- better, of course, than anyone except the Raiders' Otto, had ever done it before -- but still, a hard, tedious job.

I used to like talking to Webster because he would never lie or sugarcoat anything, and if I needed technical information, he was the one I'd turn to. He'd always thank me for spending the time with him, and then he'd smile and point to the crowded section of the locker and say, "Better go talk to the superstars." He never considered himself anything but a player fortunate enough to have a long and productive career.

In the old days, center was where you hid a weak sister on the offensive line. There was a guard on either side for protection. Still, no one wanted to play there because he had to make the long snap with someone across the line hammering on his head.

The advent of the 4-3 defense brought in a new type of center. He had to be quick and agile, because his prime responsibility was the cutoff block on the middle linebacker. Jim Ringo on the early Vince Lombardi championship teams in Green Bay was the master of this. Mick Tingelhoff of the Vikings, a perennial All-Pro of the late 1960s, was another one.

In the rival AFL, though, coaches were more innovative, both offensively and defensively, and if a team thought an opposing center was a pigeon it would use an odd-front defense, with someone playing him head-up and putting him to the test. The Chiefs did that to Tingelhoff in the 1970 Super Bowl, giving him a full afternoon of Curly Culp, a devastating 280-pound nose tackle, and the results were heavily in Kansas City's favor. It marked the end of the undersized center.

Otto had been earning his living facing those kinds of defenses, though, and he made All-AFL for each of the 10 years the league existed as a separate entity. By the time Webster entered the arena, in 1974, centers had to be sturdier as well as quick because they never knew what kind of an alignment they would face. Webster passed the test and was the consensus All-Pro for seven years.

The mantle finally passed to Stephenson, who brought an electric quickness to the position, more than ever had been seen. But until his arrival, Webster and Otto generally were conceded to be the greatest ever to have played the game.

Following is the list of my top 10 centers of all-time. A few asterisk notations: Three who are generally considered to be among the greatest in history, Mel Hein, Bulldog Turner and Chuck Bednarik, are not included because they earned their fame as linebackers on defense. Also omitted is Bruce Matthews, who played center when he had to but was primarily a guard.

1) Dwight Stephenson, Miami -- Adequate size and the most agile and blazingly fast offensive lineman who ever lived.

2) Jim Otto, Oakland -- A warrior. A tireless battler.

3) Mike Webster, Pittsburgh -- Solid and relentless in all phases of the game.

4) Dermontti Dawson, Pittsburgh -- Webster's successor. Tremendous range. Gifted blocker on the move.

5) Jim Ringo, Green Bay -- The best of the old-style, quick centers.

6) Kent Hull, Buffalo -- Underrated and unappreciated, his line calls and heady blocking adjustments were a big factor in the success of the run-and-gun offense.

7) Frank Gatski, Cleveland -- Otto Graham's personal bodyguard. A powerhouse.

8) Jim Langer, Miami -- The fulcrum of one of the greatest middle threes in history; Langer, Larry Little and Bob Kuechenberg.

9) Mark Stepnoski, Dallas -- Small for the modern era, but he keyed the line on the Dallas Super Bowl teams of the '90s and created the cutback lanes for Emmitt Smith.

10) George Trafton, Decatur and Chicago -- My nod to history. Pro football's most dominating lineman in the decade of the 1920's.

Sports Illustrated senior writer Paul Zimmerman covers the NFL beat for the magazine and is a regular contributor to CNNSI.com. To send a question to Dr. Z's Mailbag, click here.

The opinions expressed here are solely those of the writer.

 

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