On a team celebrating the best players to play each position, the NFL 100 All-Time Team completely disrespected Minnesota Vikings safety Paul Krause.
Normally, it’s best to try to ignore lists created by NFL.com or other media outlets because they are meant to get a conversation going. However, when a particular Minnesota Vikings player was ignored on a recent team,
The NFL has been slowly revealing their All-Time Team at each position and so far they had done a solid job in getting Minnesota legends on the roster. They got it right with Alan Page, John Randle, and Jan Stenerud all making the cut, but missing out on one particular player at safety is inexcusable.
Although he was a finalist for the team, the NFL decided not to include Pro Football Hall of Fame member Paul Krause. And that decision is baffling.
When it comes to ball-hawking safeties in NFL history, nobody has done it better in their career than Krause. In an era that still hadn’t become extremely pass-happy, Krause is the league’s all-time leader in interceptions with 81, and that’s something it’s surprising that voters ignored.
The eight-time Pro Bowl player was consistently getting turnovers. He had nine seasons where he registered at least five interceptions, which is a pretty crazy statistic for a career that spanned from 1964-1979.
Sadly, it appears as though voters were looking at championship rings instead of individual accomplishments when creating the team. Other players with lesser statistics or impact on the league made the team but have Super Bowl rings to show for their time playing. Team accomplishments shouldn’t be weighed as heavily when looking at individual players, otherwise outstanding individuals get overlooked.
If Paul Krause was left off the team for another reason, it is one that isn’t obvious. But one thing that is obvious is how this snub should leave a bad taste in the mouth of Minnesota Vikings fans as well as fans of the game in general who got to watch the absolute best ball-hawking safety in NFL history during his NFL career.