Today's NFL: Who Has The Best "Football" Names?

What's the NFL without NFL names? Names like Nagurski, Nitschke, Brown, Slater, Youngblood, Csonka, and any last name that has Van before it, all sound like football names. Names you should be scared of if you are playing against them. Names that bounce around a locker room during the week and in pre-game warm ups.

I think today, there are more "football" names in the league than there was before. Expansion and larger rosters are a contributing factor to that. However, I don't think the quality of the names has been diminished though.

My selections are based on the best combination of first and last name and of course, my own opinion. Some of the last names are so good, that no matter how bad the first name, it makes up for it.

So what are some of the names on current NFL rosters that have that "NFL" sound to them?

These are my top picks:

 Scott Mruczkowski
 Dre' Bly
 John Engelberger
 Dantrell Savage
 Matt Turk
 Melvin Bullitt
 Alge Crumpler
 Terrell Suggs
 Travis Kirschke
 Troy Polamalu
 Jerricho Cotchery
 Matthew Slater
 Vince Wilfork
 R.W. McQuarters
 James Thrash
 DeMarcus Ware
 Dan Klecko
 Jon Runyan
 Rex Grossman
 Olin Kreutz
 Brian Urlacher
 Cato June
 Jeremy Trueblood
 Na'il Diggs
 Tully Banta-Cain
 Takeo Spikes

The names I listed I feel all deserve to be in the category of the best "football" names in today's NFL. Unfortunately, some of the names do not match the play of the owner of said name. Rex Grossman (a very football name, like him or not) probably doesn't invoke a lot of fear in opposing defenses these days.

Then there's names like Troy Polamalu. Seriously, if your family's last name is Polamalu and no one is playing football in your family, that is a travesty of travesties. Even grandma Polamalu should be playing football.

Of course there are the classic Klecko and Slater names. Two great football names in my opinion.

Then there are the new generation of 'football' names; Urlacher, Runyan, Diggs, Spikes, etc. These names, in the future, will possibly bring people back to the late 20th and early 21st centuries, much like the names of Nitchske and Nagurski bring us back to the '50s and '60s era of professional football.

No scientific data or evidence was used or harmed in the writing of this article.