[This is the fourth of five articles I wrote in 2017 on the greatest players in women’s football history. For the next installment in the series, read here.]

In previous installments of this discussion, we took a look at quarterbacks and running backs in women’s football, the two most analyzed positions in the sport. Sadly, I can’t go into the same level of detail with the other positions, for a number of reasons. Each position provides its own unique challenges in identifying great players, as I will explain below.

The Greatest Players in Women’s Football History – Positional Breakdown

I think there is a huge benefit to breaking down great women’s football players by position. Generally speaking, when you ask fans of women’s football to name, say, the ten greatest players in the sport, most of the time their lists are dominated by quarterbacks and running backs. Those two positions just naturally generate a ton of attention and discussion.

In my experience, here are the positions, in order, that receive the greatest attention in women’s football:

Quarterbacks

Running backs

Linebackers/wide receivers

Defensive/offensive linemen

Defensive backs/kickers

All other positions

We took a look at some of the all-time great quarterbacks and running backs in women’s football in previous installments of this series. With that in mind, let’s take a look at the other positions in the game, talk about the challenges of measuring “greatness” at those positions, and name-drop a few players for good measure. Here we go!

Measuring Linebacker Greatness and Defining a Tackle

When talking about the best players in women’s football, offense definitely gets more love. And that’s unfair, but life’s unfair, so there you have it.

I’ve found that when people do start talking about defensive players, linebackers usually attract most of the attention. There’s something about a linebacker flying around the field and tackling people that really gets people fired up. Identifying the best linebackers to play the game, however, is a tricky thing.

As usual, my first instinct is to head to the stats – principally tackles, which is the most-watched stat for almost any defensive player and particularly for linebackers. There’s a problem with that, though. For instance, I’m a member of the Pro Football Researchers Association, and one of the old jokes within the group is: “If you want to start an argument, ask someone to define what constitutes a tackle.” It’s a joke, because, well, a lot of knowledgeable people disagree on what a tackle exactly is. It should be easy, but it’s not.

Let’s start with the biggest disparity: solo tackles vs. assisted tackles. A solo tackle is a tackle one player makes by themselves and counts as one tackle. But what if two players make a tackle? With the D.C. Divas, we give each player an assisted tackle that counts for 0.5 tackles. But some teams actually count an assisted tackle as one full tackle, essentially handing out two tackles on that play.

And what if three players make a tackle? In the rare instances (probably two or three times a game, tops) where three players are equally responsible for the tackling of the ballcarrier, we will award all three an assisted tackle worth 0.5 tackles. But never four…if four players are in on a gang tackle, you have to do your best to pick three. 1.5 tackles on any given play is a hard limit with me…otherwise you could start handing out three tackles on a single play! But while I’m pretty strict about that, not every stat-keeper is.

It should go without saying that to be credited with a tackle, you have to have played an instrumental role in bringing the ballcarrier to the ground. But some teams will hand out an assisted tackle just for having a player in the same vicinity (or sometimes just for being in the same zip code) of where a tackle took place. And what about when a player is pushed out of bounds at the sidelines? Is that a tackle or not? By my scoring, yes, that is a tackle…but not everyone scores that the same way, either. Some might suggest that it’s only a tackle if the offensive player is touched – in other words, that the ballcarrier must be contacted and forced out, as opposed to having stepped out of bounds on their own accord merely because a defender was closing in.

I think in a perfect world you could nearly predict the number of tackles that took place in a game. Take the number of offensive plays for a team and subtract plays that result in a touchdown, incomplete passes, and plays where the offensive player willingly gives themselves up (such as taking a knee at the end of the contest). Then add in 0.5 times a reasonably small number of “gang tackles” made by three players simultaneously. Add it all up, and that’s the total number of tackles. Simple, straightforward, and easy to calculate.

However, one thing that surprises people – in fact, it usually stuns them – is that even the NFL doesn’t have a standard interpretation for what constitutes a tackle! Actually, every team in the NFL calculates tackles in their own way; the NFL leaves tackle stats up to the discretion of each individual team. Some teams, then, are known for inflating tackles, while others are known for being stingy with them.

For instance, the Atlanta Falcons for years were known as a team that was, let’s just say, generous in their awarding of tackles. Anyway, when the Falcons reported that one of their players had a remarkably high number of tackles compared to other players around the league, experts would obviously take that stat with a grain of salt, knowing the Falcons’ reputation for tackling generosity.

The same theory applies in women’s football. It’s actually not terribly informative to compare one linebacker’s tackle numbers with those of a player from another team…because those two teams may not calculate tackles the same way. One linebacker may have a greater number of tackles than another due to how their team tallies the stat rather than it being a true indication of superior play.

Furthermore, it’s easier for a player to produce a high tackle total for a poor team than a good one. First, defenses of good teams usually have numerous standout defensive players, causing tackles to be more evenly distributed. Second, defenses of poor teams are usually on the field more often than defenses of good teams, leading to more tackle opportunities overall. Good teams tend to control the time of possession on offense and force more three-and-outs defensively against opposing offenses, which reduces the number of tackle opportunities available.

The Greatest Linebackers in Women’s Football History

As you can see, this issue is not as simple as it may seem at first glance. My way of identifying great linebackers is two-fold: either they are (legitimate, as best I can tell) stat machines, who are all over the field for a franchise not known for exaggerating such stats, or they are considered one of the top linebackers in franchise history of one of the top franchises in the sport.

This is where things start to get tricky. For the quarterback position, I tried to put together my personal list of the 12 best signal-callers in women’s football history. For the running back position, I gave a fairly comprehensive list of some of the all-time greats at the position, while acknowledging that I almost certainly missed a few greats here and there.

With all of these remaining positions, however, I will fully admit that even after four years of being involved with this sport, I am nowhere near knowledgeable enough to compile a list of great players at these positions that could be considered anything close to complete or “comprehensive”. As such, I’m just going to list off a few players at each position that I believe have proven themselves deserving of being mentioned as one of the all-time greats, while allowing for the fact that there are many – many – that I have overlooked. With further reflection, I hope these lists can be refined for completeness, while calling upon the women’s football community to offer their suggestions as well.

Here, then, is just a small sampling of a few great linebackers that have graced women’s football, particularly in the last decade or so:

Beth Amato, Pittsburgh
Holly Custis, Seattle/Portland
Jen Dulski, Chicago/Boston
Vicky Eddy, Boston
Misty Findlay, Detroit
Molly Goodwin, Boston
Angellica Grayson, Dallas
Olivia Griswold, Pittsburgh/Dallas
Carol Grubb, Philadelphia
Jennifer Hirakawa, Iowa
Jennifer Hutchison, Columbus
Kelly Kozlen, St. Louis
Darcy Leslie, Chicago
Knengi Martin, San Diego
Trigger McNair, D.C.
Jen Olivieri, Boston
Jennifer Plummer, West Michigan/Chicago
Lindsay Rice, Columbus
Veronica Rucker, Cleveland
Pam Schaffrath, Chicago
Angelique Smith, Chicago
Ivy Tillman, D.C.
Kim Walters, Detroit
Jen Welter, Dallas
Mindy White, Kansas City

Once again, this list is not designed to be comprehensive. It’s a conversation starter, nothing more. Not every great linebacker is on this list, but every linebacker on this list was a great one, IMO.

The Greatest Wide Receivers in Women’s Football History

The wide receiver position in women’s football is an interesting one. For the first decade after women’s football was resurrected in 1999, the passing game in the sport was almost an afterthought. Because the running aspect of the offense was easier to master, most teams in the first decade of the modern era focused on running the ball offensively, and the passing attacks were often crude.

As a result, some great wide receivers of the early era were utilized more as blockers than pass receivers, which depressed their receiving stats. But just because their stats pale in comparison to more recent wideouts doesn’t mean that they weren’t excellent wide receivers in their time.

A few of the old-school wide receivers who racked up some pretty impressive stats in the early days were Lindsay Eckles (Columbus Comets), Gail Graff (St. Louis Slam), Christine Huber (Connecticut Crush), Tara Kallal (D.C. Divas), Shauna Nevel (Cleveland Fusion), Ginger Snow (Massachusetts Mutiny), Lisa Waters (Austin Outlaws), and Nikki Williams (D.C. Divas). I’m certain there are others, but this list is a start, I think.

Women’s football continues to develop and evolve, however, and the passing game in women’s football has really exploded over the past six to eight years or so. Wide receivers are racking up stats like never before, and that makes it even easier to spot the cream of the crop. Just for fun, here are the 11 players who, by my count, have nearly 2,000 career receiving yards in WFA play:

Leading Receivers in WFA History (2009-2016)

Ashley Whisonant D.C. Divas 4053
Liz Sowers West Michigan Mayhem/Kansas City Tribe/ Kansas City Titans 3974
Jeanette Gray Chicago Force 3136
Lisa King Central Cal War Angels 3083
Adrienne Smith Boston Militia/Boston Renegades 2539
Jamie Fornal Seattle Majestics/Chicago Force 2254
Carrie Walters Las Vegas Showgirlz 2191
Maria Jackson Cleveland Fusion 2173
Rachel Wojdowski Pittsburgh Passion 2004
Cori Young Keystone Assault 1951
Brittany Satterwhite Lone Star Mustangs/Dallas Diamonds/Dallas Elite 1946

Note again that, as with all stats, the totals on this list are limited by the information supplied by the teams themselves. And as always, stats don’t necessarily tell the entire story when evaluating any player in any sport. Nevertheless, this is a good cross-section, I think, of a few of the greatest women’s football wide receivers of the past decade. There are some outstanding names on this list, including several of the top receiving threats of the decade.

Linemen, Kickers, and Defensive Backs in Women’s Football

Quarterback, running back, linebacker, and wide receiver are easily the four positions that get the most attention in women’s football. The next four positions in line are defensive line, offensive line, defensive back, and kicker. Let’s take a look at these four positions briefly and discuss why it’s so hard to identify all-time greats at those positions.

Defensive line: An outstanding defensive lineman can be an absolute terror for an opposing offense. If you can’t win the battle up front, even an offense with skilled playmakers at QB, RB, and WR will struggle.

But identifying great defensive linemen is often tough. Sacks and runners tackled for loss are the flashy stats for defensive linemen that grab the attention of many spectators. There are problems with that, though. First of all, those stats tend to favor defensive ends – who create pressure on the edge of the line – over defensive tackles, whose main job is to clog up the middle and gum up the center of the field for the opposing offense.

More than that, while sacks and tackles for loss are usually indicators of great play, they can also indicate a player that is over-aggressive to the point where an opposing offense can take advantage of them. I’d argue that most of a defensive lineman’s job doesn’t show up in the stat sheet. For instance, protecting the edge and keeping the quarterback in the pocket is an important job for linemen in many defenses. A defensive lineman who overpursues the quarterback or running back may be rewarded with an occasional TFL or sack, but she might also be allowing a playmaker to break containment and make a big play down the field. In fact, in many defensive schemes, the defensive lineman’s primary job is not to make a tackle necessarily – although they’ll always take it if it’s there – but rather to occupy blockers, string out the play, and allow the linebackers to fill the gaps and make a play. The linebacker gets rewarded with a tackle, while the defensive lineman gets no recognition for doing her job.

Offensive line: Offensive linemen are even harder to judge, because it’s the one position on the field where there are literally no commonly accepted stats to recognize great play. There are a few advanced metrics – like sacks allowed – that do the job, but they’re not usually tracked by the public and can only be culled from a close watch of game film. It makes judging great offensive line play very, very difficult, and it gets more difficult as you move toward the interior of the line.

It’s also worth mentioning that on many smaller teams, offensive linemen double as defensive linemen. As a result, great linemen who are on a team that allows them to specialize on one side of the ball are going to be much fresher and able to put on a dominant performance, because they’re on the field for shorter periods of time.

Premo’s Picks: Sarah Schkeeper

Let’s quickly revisit the email that caused me to engage in this whole conversation: Patrick Premo’s list of eight great women’s football standouts. He listed three pre-modern era players and five more recent players. Of his five modern era selections, two were quarterbacks and two were running backs, which just reinforces what I’ve been saying about the much higher profile of those two positions than the others.

His one non-QB, non-RB, modern-era selection was former New York Sharks offensive lineman Sarah Schkeeper. It strikes me as an odd choice, which, to be clear, is not the same as a bad choice. Schkeeper was, by all accounts, an excellent offensive lineman…but I honestly don’t have any insight about her play that would lead me to choose her over probably 100 other relatively nameless, faceless women’s football players. If you’re going to pick one, there’s no reason not to pick Schkeeper…but personally, I wouldn’t have any reason to choose her over any number of other, equally deserving players.

Again, no disrespect to Sarah Schkeeper, who was a fine player, but I can’t say that I have enough insight to even begin naming the greatest female offensive linemen to play this sport. To be honest, I’m not sure anyone could…maybe an O-Line guru who watches a ton of film, like Mark Ring for instance, could take a shot at it. I’m certainly not the man for the job, though.

Defensive back: Women who play defensive back exclusively are often overshadowed. Most defenses want their front seven of linebackers and defensive linemen making most of the tackles, so often a defensive back with a high tackle count is actually a troubling stat for the defense as a whole and something many defenses try to avoid.

There are other stats like interceptions and pass breakups that can be measured, but most offenses know who the top defensive backs are on the opposing team and actively try to avoid throwing the ball in their direction. A great defensive back will usually find a way to get her stats anyway, but it can have a depressive effect on the totals.

In addition, many great defensive backs are athletically gifted enough to play wide receiver as well. In big games, you’ll often see elite teams shift their wide receivers and even running backs and give them time at the defensive back position. Women who play defensive back exclusively can be overshadowed by these WR/DB combo players.

These are a few of the challenges in identifying elite defensive backs in women’s football. It’s more of a problem for cornerbacks, in my experience…in fact, the few defensive backs who really get a lot of attention are usually hard-hitting strong safeties, who function like linebackers in many defenses and receive the attendant recognition that goes along with that position.

Kicker: Ah, the lowly kicker. It’s never been the most glamorous position in the game of football, and in the women’s game, great kickers are few and far between. It’s actually quite hard to find a good, reliable kicker in women’s football, which is why so many teams – including several top teams – just automatically go for two.

It should be easy to identify who some of these top kickers are, as kicking stats like PATs scored and kicking percentage are relatively straightforward to track. Yet I’ve never actually sat down and tried to identify the greatest kickers in women’s football history, and that’s a good indication of how little respect kickers get!

Other Positions in Women’s Football

Outside of QB, RB, LB, WR, and rarely OL/DL, DB, and K, I’ve found that it’s very difficult to really get recognition as an all-time great at any other position. That’s mostly for two reasons: it’s either very difficult to distinguish between the great players and the average ones at that position, or it’s that great players at those positions often play other positions as well.

Take the fullback position, for example. Most true fullbacks don’t get a lot of publicity…those who do are generally either power running backs (who are simply labeled as fullbacks) or they make their mark as two-way players, usually playing linebacker in addition to fullback. A truly standout blocking fullback is rare, because coaches get greedy and decide to to utilize their talents in other ways. Either their running skills are used to have them carry the ball as a RB or their physical style is exploited on defense as a LB.

It’s the same with tight ends. Great pure tight ends are rare in women’s football. If a tight end has outstanding receiving skills, she’s usually used as a big wide receiver (although she may still retain the title of “tight end”), and if she’s an excellent blocker, she’ll usually find her way onto the offensive line.

Punters can be overlooked difference-makers. Unfortunately, most women’s football teams – even the well-run ones – don’t keep punting stats. And most punters don’t focus solely on that…great punters are often placekickers as well.

Finally, outstanding special teams performers can truly change the scope of a game. But it is almost unheard of for a player to excel solely on special teams…great kickoff and punt returners are almost always also standout running backs and/or wide receivers.

The message I’m trying to convey is this: identifying great women’s football players beyond the positions I’ve already mentioned in detail is a task well beyond my level of understanding and expertise. Perhaps other fans can chime in with a solution, but I don’t have one at the ready.

As you can see, we have only scratched the surface of identifying some of the truly great players in the history of women’s football. However, if we want to grow the sport, we need to be better at promoting the excellent individual talents that make up this game. It is the individuals that people come to see, and they are the ones who are going to be able to carry this sport where it needs to go. This is only a first step toward mentioning but a few of the terrific female athletes who have built the foundation of our great sport, but it’s a start.