Team RESPECT: Defense

With the bye week this week, we decided to do something a little different here at the blog. 

In the build-up to the Ravens game, we saw a lot of accolades flying around for a lot of players on the Ravens team. Not that this was a problem for us, there are guys on the team we respect; namely Anquan Boldin. But that got us thinking: what players around the league are most respected and most hated by Steelers fans? A natural progression of that was to wonder which players were the most hated.

So we reached out on Twitter, Facebook, and on the blog to collect "rosters" for both Team Hate and Team Respect. We'll be unveiling the teams over the next few days.

The only rule for the rosters was that they could not include any current or former Steelers, which meant players like Alan Faneca, Joey Porter, Chris Hope, and Nate Washington (amongst others) were out of contention.

In addition to our roster, we had 6 people submit rosters for the project, so a shout-out of thanks to: Anthony (@pinkfrizzy), Mike (@killam1ke), James (Black and Gold World), Cotter (One For the Other Thumb @OFTOT), Cory (Three Rivers Burgh Blog, @ThreeRiversBlog) John H, and Ian's Dad. 

We allowed everyone to vote for 1 player per starting position and include 5 "Honorable Mentions" on their roster. A "Starting" vote was worth 1 point, and Honorable Mention worth a half a point. The players with the most points officially made the roster.

Today, we announce the Defensive lineup for TEAM RESPECT.

Defensive End

Jared Allen (3 votes)

Kyle Vanden Bosh (3 votes)

Others Receiving Votes:

Dwight Freeney (3)

Osi Umenyiora (2)

Julius Peppers (2)

Mario Williams (1.5)

Justin Tuck (1)

Jason Taylor (1)

Defensive Tackle

Haloti Ngata (6.5 votes)

Others Receiving Votes:

Kevin Williams (3.5)

Amobi Okoye (1)

Darnell Dockett (1)

Nose Tackle

Kris Jenkins (2 votes)

Others Receiving Votes:

Vince Wilfork (2)

Outside Linebacker

DeMarcus Ware (4 votes)

Clay Matthews (4 votes)

Others Receiving Votes:

Julien Peterson (1)

Brian Cushing (1)

Tamba Hali (1)

Derrick Brooks (1)

Inside Linebacker

Patrick Willis (4 votes)

Lofa Tatupu (3 votes)

Others Receiving Votes:

London Fletcher (2)

Ray Lewis (2)

Brian Urlacher (1)

David Harris (1)

Jerrod Mayo (1)

Bart Scott (1)

Keith Bulluck (0.5)

Cornerback

Nnamdi Asomugha (6 votes)

Darrelle Revis (3.5 votes)

Others Receiving Votes:

Charles Woodson (3)

Champ Bailey (2)

Lito Sheppard (1)

Safety

Brian Dawkins (3 votes)

Ed Reed (3 votes)

Others Receiving Votes:

Adrian Wilson (2)

Bob Sanders (1)

Jim Leonhard (1)

Eric Berry (1)

Darren Sharper (1)

Oshiomogho Atogwe (1)

Punter

Sav Rocca (2)

Others Receiving Votes:

Brian Moorman (1)