I just figured ESPN.com's Mike Sando got a few head coaches on the horn, asked them some questions about why Rodney Harrison is such a dirty player, and then wrote up a nifty column about the findings. Turns out, the entire Hashmarks crew got in on the action, which is why I'm happy to announce that soulja boy aficionado Zach Thomas has been named the NFL's brainiest player! Unfortunately, there won't be any trips to the Playboy Mansion for the winner; instead, Thomas will be rocking a set of new encyclopedias. Nerd.
The smartest defensive player in the NFL is ... linebacker Zach Thomas, according to ESPN.com's survey of head coaches. ... With votes from six head coaches, Thomas beat out Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis for the top spot. Lewis was the second-leading vote-getter with four nominations. ...I can't argue with the findings -- Thomas, a fifth-round pick, was considered too small to handle the rigors of the position in the NFL. I'd say he's done a little more than that.
In addition to Thomas and Lewis, five defenders earned multiple nominations. That list included Ravens safety Ed Reed (three votes), Denver Broncos safety John Lynch (three), St. Louis Rams safety Corey Chavous (two) and two recently retired defensive linemen in Michael Strahan (two) and Warren Sapp (two).
And for as easy as it is to make a "Ray Lewis will kill you!" joke, he's one of the best linebackers in the history of the game. And, yeah, it hurts to admit that. A lot.
Perhaps one of the most underrated smart guys in the league is Corey Chavous, and I'm happy to see him get some recognition here. The thing is, he might be a better teevee analyst than a football player. Two years ago, he and Mike Mayock made the NFL Network's draft coverage roughly 10 billion times better than ESPN.
And, yes, Rodney Harrison is offended by the findings.
