NFL: Three Chargers named to All-Decade team
Tomlinson, Gates, Neal among 53 honored by Pro Football Hall of Fame
Tuesday, February 02, 2010
NC Times
Tomlinson, Gates, Neal among 53 honored by Pro Football Hall of Fame
Running back LaDainian Tomlinson, tight end Antonio Gates and fullback Lorenzo Neal were among 53 players announced Sunday as members of the NFL's All-Decade team.
Tomlinson and Gates have spent their entire careers with the Chargers, while Neal played for the team from 2003-07, helping Tomlinson rush for at least 1,300 yards in five straight seasons.
Joining them on the team, which has selected by the Pro Football Hall of Fame selection committee, are quarterbacks Peyton Manning and Tom Brady, and two-time selections Willie Roaf, Larry Allen and Warren Sapp. Roaf, Allen and Sapp were also part of the 1990s team.
Bill Belichick and Tony Dungy were selected as the best coaches of the decade, and Dante Hall made it as both a kick and punt returner.
Tomlinson, the Chargers' all-time leading rusher, will almost certainly be released by the team before March 1. He rushed for a career-low 730 yards in 2009.
Gates participated in Saturday's Pro Bowl and remains one of the game's elite tight ends. He led the Chargers with 79 receptions in 2009 and caught at least eight touchdowns for the sixth straight season.
Manning and Colts defensive end Dwight Freeney, along with New Orleans safety Darren Sharper, were part of the team and will be playing in the Super Bowl. A dozen players on the 2000s squad also were playing in Sunday's Pro Bowl.
Shaun Alexander, Jamal Lewis and Edgerrin James joined Tomlinson among the running backs, with Neal at fullback.
Marvin Harrison, Torry Holt, Randy Moss and Terrell Owens were the wide receivers, and Tony Gonzalez joined Gates at tight end.
Completing the offense were linemen Walter Jones, Jonathan Ogden, Orlando Pace, Alan Faneca, Steve Hutchinson, Will Shields, Olin Kreutz and Kevin Mawae, Roaf and Allen.
On defense, Ray Lewis, Derrick Brooks, Joey Porter, Zach Thomas, Brian Urlacher and DeMarcus Ware were the linebackers, Julius Peppers, Michael Strahan, Jason Taylor and Freeney were the ends, with La'Roi Glover (San Diego State), Richard Seymour, Kevin Williams and Sapp at tackle.
The secondary included Ronde Barber, Champ Bailey, Ty Law, Charles Woodson, Brian Dawkins, Troy Polamalu, Ed Reed and Sharper.
Specialists were kickers David Akers and Adam Vinatieri, and punters Shane Lechler and Brian Moorman. Devin Hester and Joshua Cribbs, the NFL's career leader with eight kick return touchdowns, joined Hall as returners.
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