91 #DaysToFootball

Yesterday marked three months exactly to the start of the NFL season; today we look at the best 91s in NFL history:

5. Aaron Smith, DE
1999-2011 (Pittsburgh); One Pro Bowl; 326 career tackles

(Keith Srakocic/Associated Press)

Aaron Smith was never flashy in his 13 years with the Steelers, but he was one of their most dependable players on defense throughout the 2000s. A fourth-round selection out of Northern Colorado, Smith became a starting defensive end for Pittsburgh in his second season. 2004 was his lone Pro Bowl season; Smith forced three fumbles, recovered two and provided eight sacks for the top-ranked Pittsburgh defense. After being a key contributor to both Super Bowl-winning Steelers teams last decade, Smith was plagued by injuries for the last three seasons of his career.

4. Cameron Wake, DE/LB
2009-Present (Miami); Five Pro Bowls; One First-Team All-Pro; 81.5 career sacks

(Bill Ingram/The Palm Beach Post)

Cam Wake is among the more underrated edge rushers in today's NFL, which is saying something because five of his eight NFL seasons have ended at the Pro Bowl. Undrafted out of Penn State, Wake spent part of the 2005 offseason with the Giants before playing two seasons with the Canadian League's BC Lions. After both of his CFL seasons ended with Wake being named the league's best defensive player, the Dolphins came calling. The 27-year-old first year NFL player earned five and a half sacks in 2009, mostly playing as a backup. Wake has been a full-time starter in Miami since 2010 and has continued to have a knack for getting to the quarterback. His finest season to date was 2013, in which the All-Pro recorded 15 sacks and three forced fumbles. Wake's fifth Pro Bowl season last year led him to sign a two-year extension with the Phins; he'll be wearing aqua and orange at least through 2018.

3. Tamba Hali, DE/LB
2006-Present (Kansas City); Five Pro Bowls; 89.5 career sacks

(Peter G. Aiken/Getty)

Wake's teammate at Penn State, Tamba Hali made an immediate impact in his pro career. Hali, the Chiefs' first-round draft pick in 2006, started every game but one at defensive end for his first three seasons. After switching to a 3-4 outside linebacker in 2009, the Liberian native reached his first Pro Bowl in 2011 as a sixth-year pro. He made the all-star game in each of the next four years; his streak of consecutive Pro Bowls ended after last season. In addition to being statistically productive, Hali is reliable; in 11 years he has only missed four games. Like his former college teammate, Hali is under contract with his current team through 2018.

2. Leslie O'Neal, DE/LB
1986-1999 (Chargers, Rams, Kansas City); Six Pro Bowls; 1986 Defensive Rookie of the Year; 132.5 career sacks



Leslie O'Neal burst onto the scene in 1986. The Defensive Rookie of the Year showed signs of what was to come later on when he produced 12.5 sacks, forced three fumbles and even returned an interception for a touchdown. In one game alone against Dallas, O'Neal churned out a Chargers record five sacks. A knee injury suffered near the end of his phenomenal debut season kept O'Neal from returning to his 1986 form for two full seasons; he missed the entirety of 1987 and only started once in nine total game appearances throughout 1988. The former Oklahoma State Cowboy made his first of six Pro Bowl games after making a career-high 96 tackles in the 1989 season, and avoided any more major injuries for the rest of his career. O'Neal left San Diego prior to the 1996 season; after two seasons in St. Louis and two with the Chiefs, he retired among the top 10 in sacks in league history.

1. Kevin Greene, LB
1985-1999 (Four teams, notably LA Rams); Five Pro Bowls; Two First-Team All-Pro; NFL All-1990s Team; Pro Football HOF class of 2016; 160 career sacks (third all-time)

(Doug Sheridan/Associated Press)

Auburn alum Kevin Greene was for the better part of a decade one of the most underrated defensive players in the NFL. He made one Pro Bowl in his eight-year Rams career despite averaging a dozen sacks a year once he became a starter in 1988. Greene joined the star-studded cast of the first-ever NFL free agency frenzy in 1993 and wound up as a member of the vaunted Pittsburgh defense. The switch back to a 3-4 defensive scheme suited Greene, who earned his first all-pro nod as a 10th-year pro in 1994. Playing left outside linebacker, Greene led the Steelers to a conference title in 1995. A Super Bowl XXX loss was the closest the sack master got to a championship ring, however. In 1996 he helped the Panthers reach the NFC Championship game in the team's second year of existence. After one final playoff run as a member of the 49ers stalled in 1997, Greene returned to Carolina to finish out the last two years of his career. It took 12 years for the Hall of Fame to recognize his contributions; Greene and his wavy blond hair were finally inducted into Canton last August.