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NFL: The 1990s All-Decade Team

By Phil Watson

John Elway had the mother of all walk-offs ... Super Bowl MVP before heading into retirement.
John Elway had the mother of all walk-offs ... Super Bowl MVP before heading into retirement. /
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Kevin Greene played for four teams in the 1990s, including the Los Angeles Rams.
Kevin Greene played for four teams in the 1990s, including the Los Angeles Rams. /

Linebacker: Kevin Greene, Los Angeles Rams (1990-92), Pittsburgh Steelers (1993-95), Carolina Panthers (1996, 1998-99), San Francisco 49ers (1997)

Greene’s career took off in the late 1980s when Los Angeles Rams defensive coordinator Fritz Shurmer decided to stand him up at an outside linebacker position and turn him loose on the pass rush.

It was a role he continued with three other teams in the 1990s, twice leading the NFL in sacks—in 1994 with the Steelers and 1996 with the Panthers.

Greene was a two-time All-Pro in the 1990s and tied with Bruce Smith for the second-most sacks in the decade with 113.5. The only season he had fewer than nine sacks in the decade was with the Rams in 1991, when then-defensive coordinator Jeff Fisher tried to turn him into a hand-in-the-dirt defensive end, an experiment that ended at the end of that season.

Junior Seau was a linebacker who could do it all.
Junior Seau was a linebacker who could do it all. /

Linebacker: Junior Seau, San Diego Chargers (1990-99)

Seau was the fifth overall pick by the Chargers out of USC in 1990 and he rapidly became one of the best middle linebackers in football.

Seau was an All-Pro selection five times in the 1990s and went to nine straight Pro Bowls.

Not only was Seau a terrific run stopper, but he also intercepted 11 passes in the decade, tied for fifth among linebackers and his 41 sacks were second among inside/middle linebackers in the 1990s.

No one had more sacks in the 1990s than Derrick Thomas.
No one had more sacks in the 1990s than Derrick Thomas. /

Linebacker: Derrick Thomas, Kansas City Chiefs (1990-99)

No player in the 1990s had more sacks than Derrick Thomas’ 116.5, highlighted by a record seven sacks in a game against the Seattle Seahawks in 1990.

Thomas led the NFL with 20 sacks that season and was a two-time All-Pro selection and went to eight straight Pro Bowls.

He is also tied for fourth all-time with three safeties, a testimony to his ability to disrupt an offense.

The Chiefs picked Thomas fourth overall out of Alabama in 1989 and never regretted the choice.

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