New York's All-Time Football Team

The state of New York has three NFL teams: the Bills, Giants and Jets. Sure, the Giants and Jets technically play in New Jersey, but they're both New York teams. Between the three teams, there have been thirty-six Hall of Famers that have, at one time, played for one of the three teams and there are certainly more additions on the way.

Now, let's get to it. Here is New York's all-time football team.

OFFENSE

Quarterback: Y.A. Tittle (Runner up: Jim Kelly)

There have been a solid group of quarterbacks between the three teams with Tittle, Kelly, Joe Namath, Fran Tarkenton and Phil Simms at the top of the list. Although Y.A. Tittle only played four seasons with the Giants, he led them to three straight NFL Championship games from 1961 to 1963, even though they lost in all three. Here's the reason why he's New York's best quarterback ever: He led the league in touchdowns in 1962 and 1963, was the first quarterback to ever throw for at least 30 touchdowns two seasons in a row and held the record for most touchdowns in a season with 36 until Dan Marino broke the record in 1984. One last thing: Tittle was the NFL MVP in 1963.

Running Back: O.J. Simpson (Runner up: Thurman Thomas)

Despite his many off the field problems, Simpson is still one of the best running backs of all-time. Throughout his career, he led the league in rushing four times, was the first running back to run for more than 2,000 yards in a season and was a first-team All-Pro selection five times.

Fullback: Matt Snell

In Super Bowl III, Snell rushed for more than 120 yards and scored the Jets' lone touchdown in their shocking win over the Baltimore Colts.

Wide Receivers: Don Maynard and Andre Reed

Maynard was actually first with the Giants, recording only five catches in 1958. He put together his Hall of Fame career becoming Namath's go-to guy and led the league in receiving yards in 1967. Andre Reed, who is still waiting for his name to be called at Canton, made the Pro Bowl seven seasons in a row and currently sits eleventh on the all-time receiving yards list with more than 13,000.

Tight End: Mark Bavaro

One of the toughest tight ends in history, Bavaro helped the Giants win two Super Bowls and was named a first-team All-Pro twice.

Left Tackle: Rosey Brown

The Hall of Fame tackle was a first-team All-Pro six times during his thirteen year career and helped the Giants win the NFL Championship in 1956.

Left Guard: Billy Shaw

Shaw, another Hall of Famer, was a first-team All-Pro on five occasions with the Bills in the AFL and is actually the only player to have ever been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame without actually ever playing in the NFL.

Center: Kevin Mawae

The future Hall of Famer was a first-team All-Pro three times and was named to the All-Decade team for the 2000s.

Right Guard: Joe DeLamielleure

DeLamielleure was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2003 after playing thirteen seasons (eight with the Bills). He made six straight Pro Bowls from 1975 to 1980 and was the leader of the offensive line that opened the holes for O.J. Simpson.

Right Tackle: Marvin Powell

A three-time first-team All-Pro, Powell played right tackle for the Jets from 1977 to 1985.

DEFENSE

Defensive Ends: Bruce Smith and Michael Strahan (Runner up: Andy Robustelli)

Smith and Strahan: Two players that could really rush the quarterback. They sit number one and number five, respectively, on the all-time career sacks list. Although Bruce Smith has the most sacks in history, he never actually led the league in any season. Strahan, on the other hand, holds the single season sacks record (albeit controversially) with 22 ½.

Defensive Tackles: Rosey Grier and Joe Klecko

Grier played with the Giants from 1955 to 1962 before heading out to Los Angeles to help form the "Fearsome Foursome" on the Rams. Klecko, arguably a Hall of Famer in his own right, played three different positions with the Jets and went to four Pro Bowls.

Outside Linebackers: Larry Grantham and Lawrence Taylor (Runner up: Mike Stratton)

Grantham played his whole career with the Titans/Jets and was selected as a first-team All-Pro five times. Lawrence Taylor is, quite simply, the greatest outside linebacker of all-time and arguably the best defensive player in NFL history.

Middle Linebacker: Sam Huff (Runner up: Harry Carson)

Sam Huff was the centerpiece of then-Defensive Coordinator Tom Landry's Giants defense. The Hall of Famer later finished his career with the Redskins after one of the worst trades in Giants history.

Cornerbacks: Aaron Glenn and Dick Lynch

A three-time Pro Bowler, Glenn played for the Jets from 1994 to 2001 and was one of the more underrated cover guys in the game. Lynch, later a color commentator on the radio for Giants games, led the league in interceptions twice.

Safeties: Jimmy Patton and Emlen Tunnell

Patton was selected to five straight first-team All-Pro teams and led the league in interceptions in 1958. Emlen Tunnell, his teammate for four seasons, was elected into the Hall of Fame in 1967. He also holds the honor of being the first African American to play with the Giants.

Punter: Jeff Feagles

Ray Guy is the only punter in the Hall of Fame but he could one day be joined by Feagles, who retired after the 2009 season. A master of the coffin corner punt, Feagles holds the record for most punting yards in a career.

Kicker: Steve Christie

It's a known fact that it's difficult to kick in both the Meadowlands and in Buffalo. With that said, Christie was the best of the bunch and holds the record for the longest field goal in Super Bowl history.

Last but not least...

Head Coach: Bill Parcells

Parcells won two Super Bowls with the Giants and later led the Jets to the AFC Championship game, two seasons after the team went 1-15.

To wrap things up, here is the breakdown by team. (Note: a few of the players played for more than one of the New York area teams so, for this purpose, we'll go by which team they played the majority of their career with.)

Out of the 24 player roster: 11 Giants, 7 Jets and 6 Bills.

What is your all-time New York football team?