To put on an NFL uniform, one of the requirements is that you have to be tough. Even if you’re a kicker, you need to be able to 'tackle' if a ball is returned passed everyone else, but more importantly, you’d need to take a tackle from a 300 plus pound beast if they were able to get through.

But kickers are rarely put in those positions. Imagine having to wrestle a 300 pounder every play, that’s exactly what most offensive and defensive linesmen do each and every game. Or worse, getting sacked by one of them when you’re a quarterback that’s half the size. Now that requires extreme toughness.

Here are the toughest NFL players to ever step foot on the field:

50. Doug Flutie, Position: Quarterback

Toughness goes beyond just the physical, and the first player on the list had great mental tenacity as well as physical toughness. Most people thought Doug Flutie would never succeed in the NFL, being less than 6’ tall and half the size of everyone, but he sought out to prove them wrong.

When experts said Flutie was too small and unable to play the game at a professional level, he excelled at all stages of the game and provided inspiration to “under-sized” quarterbacks who are now some of the stars of the league.

Flutie didn’t just play in the NFL, but had a career that lasted until he was 43. He may have been smaller than most, but his career was lengthy.

49. Bruce Matthews, Position: Offensive Line

One of the most desirable traits in an offensive lineman is reliability, and number 49 on our list personifies that.

Over a 19 year career, Bruce Matthews dominated every position on the offensive line. He showed his durability by not missing a single game in the final 14 years of his career. Some kickers don’t last 19 years in the NFL, and it is safe to say offensive line takes a little more of a beating.

48. Jerome Bettis, Position: Running Back

Football is a game of aggression, and Jerome “The Bus” Bettis built his career off that basest instinct. To run over anyone in your way. “The Bus” never saw a path around defenders, but rather saw it much simpler to run through them and did that as well as anybody in the history of the league.

47. Texas's "Dandy"Don Meredith,Position: Quarterback

Bob Lilly once described Don Meredith as really tough! He recalled a story of when Meredith was beat up so bad, he was sent to the hospital in Cleveland. Instead of getting the proper treatment he needed, he left to play with a broken rib, pneumonia and a punctured lung. That’s coming from the Hall of Famer, “Mr. Cowboy” Bob Lilly, need we add more?

46. Lynn Swann, Position: Wide Receiver

Before you start freaking out, give us a chance to explain. As opposed to the current league, where 15 flags may fly in the first half, the league Swann played in was very different. Defensive contact rules were just about nonexistent. This resulted in teams just hitting Swann just so he couldn’t explode as a deep threat. In the AFC title game, Swann got a concussion so bad he was hospitalized for two days. He then went on to play in and win Super Bowl X. For someone severely concussed, Swann held his own. He was able to rack up 161 yards and a touchdown on his way to securing Super Bowl MVP honors, which was the first time a wide receiver had won the award!

45. John Riggins, Position: Running Back

Riggins was what you want in your fullback. One of his favorite things to do was hit defending players.

When “the Diesel” got his engine going, opposing linebackers didn’t stand a chance! “Riggo” got hit about as many times as he dealt the punishment, but still had a respectable, 14 year career.

44. Jackie Slater, Position: Offensive Tackle

In today’s NFL, offensive linemen often don’t get the credit they deserve. That’s what we’re here for.

Jackie Slater definitely earned his Hall of Fame Gold Jacket. Slater was drafted in the third round of the 1976 draft during the Gerald Ford administration. When Slater hung up his pads, clinton was in office. Slater played for the Rams organization for 20 years, with their first year in St. Louis being his last.

43. Bruce Smith,Position: Defensive End

For most defensive linemen, having a few seasons with double digit sacks is something to be proud of. During his 19-year career, Bruce Smith was able to accumulate 10 or more sacks in 13 of those seasons. He was able to accomplish this even as he was "double teamed" most of the time and hit with many cheap shots to slow him down. None of that mattered.

42. “Iron Mike” Mike Webster, Position: Center

“Iron Mike” Webster is one of the most legendary Pittsburgh Steelers, helping to anchor their offensive line as they won four Super Bowls. Webster wasn’t the most physically imposing player on the field, but he still worked to be one of the greatest on the field! “Iron Mike” was one of the first players to draw attention to potential brain damage caused by football, but played his career until he decided he was done. He still holds the record as the player to longest wear the Steelers uniform!

41. Roger Craig, Position: Running Back

While being the first NFL player to accumulate 1,000 yards both rushing and receiving, Craig was as hard a hitter as he was hard to bring down. Craig was a defensive player’s worst nightmare as he brought the pain to them instead of the other way around.

40. Tom Rathman, Position: Fullback

It seems only right to have one of the most bruising backfields of all-time ranked side by side.

The 49ers may have been the “finesse” team of the day but Rathman brought some extra pack to the punch!

39. Brian Dawkins, Position: Safety

A member of the most recent 2018 inductee class to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Brian Dawkins earned his jacket. Dawkins had 13 bruising years with the Eagles before he ended his career in Denver. Dawkins cracked the code for cracking skulls in football: just hit that guy.

38. Randy White, Position: Defensive Tackle

“The Manster” put grown men in their place for as long as he played football. A pillar of the Dallas “Doomsday Defense”, opposing offensive lines and quarterbacks would quake in their boots when Randy White was on the other side of the ball. White wasn’t usually the biggest guy on the field, but this Hall of Famer’s grit enabled him to be exceptionally successful in the league!

37. Mark Bavaro, Position: Tight End

Mark Bavaro was what the Giants strived to be in the 1980s. He played games with a broken jaw, made clutch catches, and helped lead the G-men to the Super Bowl. He wouldn’t just carry his own team on his back, but in 1986 famously carried most of the San Francisco defensive backfield on Monday Night Football.

36. Walt Garrison, Position: Running Back

Walt Garrison not only played for the Dallas Cowboys, but would actually compete on the professional rodeo circuit during the offseason. In the 1970 NFC championship game against the 49ers, he played just about the whole game with a cracked collarbone and serious ankle injury. That's Tough!!

35. Mel Hein, Position: Offensive Line

There are two things you need to know about Mel Hein:
1.) He became the first (and only) offensive lineman to ever win NFL MVP.
2.) His nickname was “Old Indestructible” Yeah, that sums it up.

34. Reggie White, Position: Defensive End

Reggie White has cemented his place in the record books. White’s path to success was not easy, but was paved with double-teams, which he was fighting as soon as he stepped into the league. Despite being the main focus of every opposing O-line coach, White chalked up 198.0 sacks in his career, the second most career sacks to date. Not just anyone can rack up those kinds of numbers.

33. Kellen Winslow Sr., Position: Tight End

Kellen Winslow Sr. was a tough player, but there’s really one game in particular that guaranteed him a spot on this list. His performance in the 1982 playoff game against the Miami Dolphins will forever be one of the greatest.

He led his team to victory with over 100 receiving yards, a touchdown, and a blocked game-winning field goal. And, he did that with four injuries.

32. Conrad Dobler, Position: Guard

Conrad Dobler is considered to have been one of the dirtiest players in the league. When opponents expect dirty, they’re going to try to beat you to the punch. Dobler could never let his guard down (pun not intended). He had a target on his back, and his toughness is the only thing that made him last.

31. Emmitt Smith, Position: Running Back

Emmitt Smith has rushed for considerably more yards than anyone who has ever played the game of football.

It was more than just his offensive line that led to his success as Emmitt Smith was a crucial part to bringing three Super Bowls to Dallas in four years.

30. Y.A. Tittle, Position: Quarterback

In one of the most iconic photographs of all time, Tittle had just thrown a pick six while having his face bloodied, sternum cracked, and became concussed. That didn’t stop him from playing the rest of the season.

Often forgotten, but one of the toughest quarterbacks to play the game!

29. George Atkinson, Position: Safety

After Atkinson had knocked Lynn Swann unconscious with a concussion twice in two years, some said that Atkinson had “the criminal element.” People often forget that Atkinson was an undersized safety, so being known as one of the hardest hitting is a testament to his strength and grit.

28. George Blanda, Position: Almost Everything

There was nothing on the field Blanda didn’t do! Blanda was best known as a quarterback, but was just as comfortable as linebacker before he finished his career as a kicker.

27. Earl Campbell, Position: Running Back

Teammates and coaches often admired Campbell’s punishing running style saying he would run with “reckless abandon.”

26. Sam Huff, Position: Linebacker

Huff was one of the first great defensive players as he used a combination of brains and brawn to bring the new 4-3 defense tactic to life.

25. Bob Lilly, Position: Defensive Tackle

Bob “Mr. Cowboy” Lilly is regarded as one of the greatest defensive players in football history, but he’s also one of the toughest. Lilly didn’t miss a game in 14 years. Most people can’t say that about what they do every day, and they didn’t have broken bones. He was as much as you can ask for in a defensive tackle.

24. Jerry Kramer, Position: Guard

Kramer was a versatile player who was able to anchor the Green Bay offensive line as Vince Lombardi coached them to five NFL titles and winning the first two Super Bowls. Kramer was known for playing through fatigue and injury. Over his 11-season career, Kramer underwent 22 surgeries. TOUGH!

23. Larry Csonka, Position: Fullback

Larry Csonka’s coach once said if he went on a safari, the lions would roll their windows up. Csonka was one of those offensive players we love to see who craved contact and would generally be the first one to initiate it with the defense instead of the other way around.

22. Jim Marshall, Position: Defensive End

Marshall played 282 consecutive games. In that time span, he suffered an ulcer and literally got shot with a shotgun. I’m going to say it again, he played, and started in, 282 consecutive football games. That’s the most by a defensive player in NFL history. Now,That’s tough.

21. Jim Otto,Position: Center

Otto didn’t always get the credit of being one of the strongest or most athletic men on the field, but he was able to play in the league for 15 years. In that time span, he put even Jim Marshall to shame by undergoing 35 surgeries in that time span. Jim Otto spelled football T-U-F-F, and if you didn’t like it, you could go play with the girls.

20. Hines Ward,Position: Wide Receiver

Just because he was on Dancing with the Stars doesn’t mean Hines Ward isn’t one of the toughest wide receivers to play the game. Ward doled out some of the hardest hitting blocks given by any receivers, and he also had some of the most reliable hands when the game was coming down to the wire.

19. Deacon Jones, Position: Defensive End

This man is honestly just terrifying! Sacks weren’t a statistic when he played the game, but he got so many of them he literally coined the term, “sack”.

Deacon Jones always said he was the toughest guy on the field, and he sure played like it.

18. Ray Nitschke, Position: Linebacker

Another Lombardi player, Nitschke once had a 1,000-pound coaching tower fall on him during practice and once Lombardi found out it was Nitschke underneath he stated, “He’ll be fine. Get back to work!” Yeah that’s right.

17. Steve McNair,Position: Quarterback

With little practice time, "Air" McNair was still able to make that ball fly when it mattered most.

Steve McNair was able to make magic happen whenever he took the field, which is all the more impressive considering how often he would sustain a new injury. McNair was tragically murdered in 2009, another player taken too soon. RIP Air McNair.

16. Rocky Bleier, Position: Running Back

Rocky Bleier deserves all of our respect and admiration for his story. After being drafted into the NFL and playing his rookie season for the Steelers, Bleier was drafted again. This time by the U.S. Military.

After taking a bullet to the leg and shrapnel from a grenade and earning himself a Purple Heart, doctors told him he’d never play football again. After receiving a personal postcard saying the team needed him from the Steelers’ owner, Rocky began training again. From the time he returned to the Steelers’ camp, it took him four years to work his way back jnto the starting lineup, where he helped forge the 1970s Steelers dynasty.

15. Johnny Unitas, Position: Quarterback

Unitas is more of a household name than some of the men on this list, but that doesn’t mean he wasn’t just as tough as some of the other bone-rattling players on this list. The league Unitas played in was about as different as could be from the current NFL, because defensive players could do just about anything they wanted to a quarterback. But Unitas never caved, even after being injured for the majority of the season with most of the muscles in his throwing arm being torn, he still came off the bench and played in Super Bowl III.

14. Jack Tatum, Position: Safety

Tatum was known as “the Assassin”, and for good reason. Tatum, paired with George Atkinson, created one of the most punishing secondaries in NFL history. Tatum’s hits were nothing short of brutal. People were knocked unconscious and even left paralyzed by some of the hits Tatum dealt out.

13. Mike Ditka, Position: Tight End

Mike Ditka embodied everything you want in a tight end. He had a good head on his shoulders, had reliable hands, and had no problem taking a hit. Ditka was not easy to bring down, and even some of the bigger linebackers had to figure out new ways to tackle him, which Ditka did not shy away from.

Ditka has become a cultural icon, but he was first and foremost a great football player!

This picture shows a U.S. Army vehicle supporting the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in Hajin, in the Deir Ezzor province, eastern Syria, on Dec. 15, 2018.

The Syriac Military Council, a small U.S.-backed militia in Syria, told Military Times on Wednesday that they had not heard of a planned withdrawal from their U.S. allies prior to the media reports.

Officials estimate there are about 2,000 U.S. troops in Syria, but the precise number is not disclosed publicly. Those U.S. forces are spread across the region in a network of forward operating bases and small units of combat advisers embedded with local allies, mainly Syrian Kurds.

Ten bases, including two with air strips, where U.S. troops have previously operated in northern Syria were identified in July 2017 on a map published by Turkey’s state-run news agency. The Pentagon expressed operational security concerns with Turkey over the identification of those outposts, and they may have shifted since then.

U.S.-backed local forces have eliminated ISIS' last major holdout in the Hajin pocket, near the Syria-Iraq border. However, ISIS still has several thousand fighters in the Middle Euphrates River Valley.

ISIS has also shown an ability to launch major counter-offensives whenever U.S. air power is not in the area, such as an October incident when U.S. aircraft were grounded due to a sandstorm.

U.S. troops in Syria have worked alongside a mix of Arab and Kurdish local militias that combine to form the Syrian Democratic Forces.

Turkey has long been angered by U.S. support for Kurdish fighters, which Turkey says are members of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, an ethnically Kurdish terrorist group that has waged an insurgency in southeast Turkey for decades.

Trump wants troops out of Syria, but his generals may resist.

On Monday, though, U.S. Ambassador on Syrian Affairs Jim Jeffrey appeared to contradict Erdogan.

“We think that any offensive into northeast Syria by anyone is a bad idea, and that was a position that I conveyed when I was in Ankara, that everybody from the President on down has conveyed,” Jeffrey said, according to Voice of America.

Pentagon leaders have also repeatedly stated that the U.S. must maintain a presence to ensure a lasting defeat of ISIS, as well as prevent the movement of Iranian proxy forces.

Trump’s national security adviser, John Bolton, backed that school of thought this fall.

The White House pushing for a “rapid end” to the mission in Syria, but experts on the region see the Pentagon’s operational momentum as the key hurdle.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said earlier this week that U.S. President Donald Trump had “responded positively” to Erodgan’s demands to remove Kurdish militias from Manbij, a region where U.S. troops are posted in northern Syria.

ISW @TheStudyofWar

ISIS is not defeated in Syria. It controls territory, retains significant fighting forces and is reconstituting those forces. ISW’s assessment of the #ISIS footprint in #Syria/#Iraq as of last month.

“We’re not going to leave as long as Iranian troops are outside Iranian borders, and that includes Iranian proxies and militias,” Bolton said in September.

Another dynamic in the whole situation is the tensions between U.S. and Russian forces in Syria. Americans and Russian mercenaries have reportedly exchanged gunfire on more than one occasion in the country.

“There have been various engagements, some involving exchange of fire, some not,” U.S. Ambassador James Jeffrey said in late November. “Again, we are continuing our mission there and we are continuing to exercise our right of self-defense.”

Trump’s Syria withdrawal flies in the face of statements from top military and national security leaders.

Many top officials see the current Syria operations as necessary to ensure ISIS defeat.

The Trump administration’s sudden decision to order the immediate withdrawal of U.S. forces from Syria has caught the U.S. national security establishment by surprise — with many experts calling the decision a mistake.

President Donald Trump tweeted on Wednesday that ISIS had been defeated in the region, but many experts and national security analysts say that’s not the case.

“I think the most critical problem with this decision is actually the simplest: ISIS is not defeated,” said Jennifer Cafarella, an expert covering the Syria conflict for the Institute for the Study of War.

For one, ISIS still holds onto some rural villages scattered across the Middle Euphrates River Valley, where the terrorist group has shown some resiliency in launching large-scale counteroffensives.

Trump’s tweet came several days after U.S. partner forces liberated the last urban ISIS stronghold of Hajin, Syria, following months of coalition air and artillery support.

“We’re not going to leave as long as Iranian troops are outside Iranian borders, and that includes Iranian proxies and militias,” Bolton said in September.

President Donald Trump tweeted on Wednesday that ISIS had been defeated in the region, but many experts and national security analysts say that’s not the case.

For one, ISIS still holds onto some rural villages scattered across the Middle Euphrates River Valley, where the terrorist group has shown some resiliency in launching large-scale counteroffensives.

Trump’s tweet came several days after U.S. partner forces liberated the last urban ISIS stronghold of Hajin, Syria, following months of coalition air and artillery support.

The Trump administration believes the remaining 1% of ISIS fighters can be eliminated by other regional and partner forces, a senior administration official told reporters Wednesday evening.

But ISIS has shown itself capable of bouncing back, even after major defeats and setbacks on the battlefield, and it’s not entirely clear U.S. partner forces have the willingness or ability to clear small scattered pockets of ISIS fighters without coalition support.

A potential major spoiler for the White House plan could be a large-scale Turkish military incursion into northern Syria to root out Kurdish fighters in the region — upending the primary U.S. ally fighting ISIS in the Euphrates Valley. -- Such an operation would buy ISIS time and space to regroup and plan their next steps.

At the end of October, ISIS fighters launched a major attack as the local weather limited the U.S.-led coalition’s ability to back its partner force known as the Syrian Democratic Forces, or SDF, with air power.

The Associated Press reported that nearly 40 SDF fighters were killed and some captured in the large-scale ISIS counteroffensive.

In fall 2017, ISIS fighters attempted a similar feat against Russian and Syrian regime forces near al-Shula.

ISIS’ propaganda outlet Amaq claimed the attacks resulted in the deaths of 65 Russian and Syrian troops, and the capture of two Russian soldiers. Amaq posted images of the captured troops.

Despite Russia’s rosy assessments of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s ability to counter ISIS in the region, his regime’s battle record against the terror group has mixed reviews.

“Trump’s own Defense Department has been saying that Assad doesn’t have the will or ability to keep ISIS from re-surging in regime-held areas,” Cafarella said.

And without U.S. and coalition air support, the very real possibility exists that ISIS could break through SDF lines and re-capture lost territory.

ISIS is still operational:

Attacks by ISIS militants in the vicinity of Hajin are still ongoing today.

U.S. military officials say a couple thousand ISIS fighters are still operating in the region.

And it’s not just territory ISIS could win back. The coalition’s inability thus far to help partner forces piece together the ruins of major urban population centers after liberation from ISIS has put the entire campaign at risk — giving ISIS fighters potentially a political and propaganda victory.

“ISIS is already gaining in eastern Syria in political terms — putting aside the still-unfinished shreds of the “caliphate” around Hajin,” said Kyle Orton, an expert on the Syrian civil war and former research fellow at the Henry Jackson Society.

“The PKK’s exclusivist and repressive governance, which has failed even to provide basic security against ISIS guerrilla attacks and assassinations, combined with the lack of international action to rebuild, has meant the Arab-majority zones like Deir Ezzor and particularly Raqqa have been simmering for months, providing ISIS with space to move,” Orton explained.

The SDF are comprised of a number of Syrian militia groups. Most controversial among them is the YPG and YPJ, a Kurdish group with deep connections to the internationally recognized terrorist group, the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK.

America’s reliance and partnership with the SDF has strained relations between Washington and Ankara, as Turkey sees the rise of a semi-autonomous Kurdish region on its borders as a terrorist threat.

But Orton’s argument that failures to rebuild regions left in utter ruin by U.S. and coalition air support has been sung by other U.S. officials.

“We recognize the long-term stability in these areas must come from civil and diplomatic lines of effort, with the support of the Global Coalition, and we remain committed to ensuring these organizations can do their job in a safe and secure environment so that essential services can be restored, markets and schools can reopen, and life can return to normalcy,” the former spokesman for Operation Inherent Resolve. Col. Ryan Dillon said in February.

It’s a realization that the task of defeating ISIS goes beyond the physical dropping of bombs and capturing of terrain. It also involves ensuring a functioning society that can maintain stability in a post-ISIS world, and further denying ISIS propaganda efforts.

But the U.S. has been reluctant to engage in what it views as a nation-building mission or pay the bill for the expensive endeavor.

“Don’t look to the United States to fit the bill for long-term reconstruction,” said Brett McGurk, Trump’s special presidential envoy for the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, Time reported.

Russia and Iran

Analysts and national security experts on Wednesday also described the Trump administration’s decision to withdraw from Syria as conceding to some of America’s major geopolitical foes.

The former supreme allied commander of NATO, retired Adm. James Stavridis, took to social media Wednesday to call the White House’s decision the “wrong move.”

“Pulling troops out of Syria in an ongoing fight is a big mistake. Like waking away from a forest fire that is still smoldering underfoot,” Stavridis wrote.

The former NATO commander added that the big winners from the U.S. leaving the region would be Iran, Russia, and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Allies could also be hurt. A small U.S. garrison near the Iraq-Syria border called Tanf exists largely to keep Iranian influence at bay and to help defend Jordan’s border from ISIS fighters creeping through the desert.

The base has been the focus of much drama between Russia, Syrian regime forces and their Iranian proxy allies and a symbol of America’s entanglement in the politics of Syria’s civil war. Several times the base has had to defend itself from proxy forces aligned to the Syrian regime by launching deadly air and artillery strikes against encroaching forces.

A U.S. Marine fires an FGM-148 Javelin, a shoulder-fired anti-tank missile near At Tanf Garrison, Syria September 7, 2018. (Cpl. Carlos Lopez/Marine Corps)

A U.S. Marine fires an FGM-148 Javelin, a shoulder-fired anti-tank missile near At Tanf Garrison, Syria September 7, 2018.

“In the maelstrom

of changing front lines, as Turkey and the pro-Assad coalition carved up Rojava, ISIS would surely find more openings to exploit,” Orton said. Rojava refers to the self-governing Kurdish cantons of northern Syria.

It’s still unclear what the actual status is of American troops on the ground in Syria.

"The Coalition has liberated the ISIS-held territory, but the campaign against ISIS is not over. We have started the process of returning U.S. troops home from Syria as we transition to the next phase of the campaign,” Dana W. White, chief Pentagon spokeswoman, told reporters in an statement Wednesday.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders made similarly ambiguous remarks. "These victories over ISIS in Syria do not signal the end of the Global Coalition or its campaign. We have started returning United States troops home as we transition to the next phase of this campaign,” Sanders said.

How many troops are returning home and when is currently a mystery. A senior U.S. administration official told reporters Wednesday evening that a timeline of withdrawal was still being worked with the Pentagon.

Comment by Bullheaded Texan on December 23, 2018 at 11:02pm: 12. Jack Lambert, Position: Linebacker

Lambert knew he wouldn’t likely be the strongest player on the field, but he was able to use his toughness and knowledge of the game to help popularize what became known as "Tampa 2 Defense".

11. John Elway and Steve Young, Position: Quarterbacks

You know every good ranking list has to have a tie. You can’t say you’re too shocked by this. Both quarterbacks were some of the mentally toughest players the league has seen. While facing constant criticism that neither of them could win a big time game, they fought even harder. They each went on to win at least Super Bowls.

Both of these players’ styles tended to put them in more dangerous situations than other quarterbacks, but they did what they had to do to win.

10. Lawrence Taylor, Position: Linebacker

LT had one of the greatest rookie seasons of all time, and kept it up throughout his career. Even though he struggled with drugs and other issues, he was still able to be an elite player.

Could you imagine if he didn’t?

While a different kind of tough, to be able to perform at the level he did with the condition his body was in is definitely notable.

9. Walter Payton, Position: Running Back

Walter Payton may have been known as “Sweetness” around the NFL, but his opponents thought he was anything but sweet. Payton’s astounding run totals, as well as some sketchy play by his offensive line, resulted in Payton racking up hit after hit. Everything about Walter Payton was legendary from his training regimen to his character. Paton embodied mental and physical toughness as he wasn’t born great, but worked until he was.

8. Joe Greene, Position: Defensive Tackle

"Mean Joe" Greene was so tough on the football field, he’s labeled mean for life. Mean Joe was the strength of Pittsburgh’s Steel Curtain defense. The Steelers’ defense started and ended with Greene and his ability to occupy multiple blockers at once.

7. Chuck Bednarik, Position: Linebacker

Chuck Bednarik was the one of the last “Sixty-Minute Men” who were known for playing offense and defense for the entirety of the game. If you want to know what Bednarik thinks of the modern league, he thinks players are “pussyfoots.”

6. Brett Favre, Position: Quarterback

Whether you love or hate him, you have to agree his absurd streak of games played in has earned him a high spot on this list. He battled with pain killer addiction and so he started 297 consecutive games with bruises and other injuries without being able to ameliorate that pain like other players may.

5. Jack Youngblood, Position: Defensive End

Over Youngblood’s 14-year career, he became known as a player who never wanted to leave the field.

So, when his Los Angeles Rams, improbably made a run to Super Bowl XIV, not even a broken leg would stop him. You heard me. Youngblood played the entirety of the 1979 playoffs and that Super Bowl with a fractured left fibula as they almost upset the Steelers.

4. Bronko Nagurski, Position: Fullback

Sometimes, if Nagurski felt he was injured, the coach would just put him in at offensive lineman instead of fullback. He also played defense and some special teams. If you’re on the one-yard line and you can pick anyone to run the ball in, pick Nagurski. ***NOTE the Leather Helmet ***

3. Ronnie Lott, Position: Safety

Lott was a leader of the four-time Super Bowl champion 49ers. Arguably the craziest story on this list, he once had part of his pinky amputated at halftime in a game due to a circulation problem. He only ever thought about getting serious medical attention after he finished playing the entire game.

2. Jim Brown, Position: Running Back

There wasn’t a player who walked onto a football field that intimidated Jim Brown. In fact, most players feared for their life when playing against him. He once said, “make sure when anyone tackles you, he remembers how much it hurt.” Yes, you read that right.

1. Dick Butkus, Position: Linebacker

Number one on this list deserves two greats to talk to accurately depict his playing style.

Fellow list-maker Deacon Jones said Butkus “was a well-conditioned animal, and every time he hit you, he tried to put you in the cemetery, not the hospital.” Steve Sabol said Butkus was a sustained work of devastation, which would have to lock him in at the number one.

Comment by Bullheaded Texan on December 23, 2018 at 10:40pm: Toughest Players To Ever Play In The NFL.

To put on an NFL uniform, one of the requirements is that you have to be tough. Even if you’re a kicker, you need to be able to 'tackle' if a ball is returned passed everyone else, but more importantly, you’d need to take a tackle from a 300 plus pound beast if they were able to get through.

But kickers are rarely put in those positions. Imagine having to wrestle a 300 pounder every play, that’s exactly what most offensive and defensive linesmen do each and every game. Or worse, getting sacked by one of them when you’re a quarterback that’s half the size. Now that requires extreme toughness.

Here are the toughest NFL players to ever step foot on the field:

50. Doug Flutie, Position: Quarterback

Toughness goes beyond just the physical, and the first player on the list had great mental tenacity as well as physical toughness. Most people thought Doug Flutie would never succeed in the NFL, being less than 6’ tall and half the size of everyone, but he sought out to prove them wrong.

When experts said Flutie was too small and unable to play the game at a professional level, he excelled at all stages of the game and provided inspiration to “under-sized” quarterbacks who are now some of the stars of the league.

Flutie didn’t just play in the NFL, but had a career that lasted until he was 43. He may have been smaller than most, but his career was lengthy.

49. Bruce Matthews, Position: Offensive Line

One of the most desirable traits in an offensive lineman is reliability, and number 49 on our list personifies that.

Over a 19 year career, Bruce Matthews dominated every position on the offensive line. He showed his durability by not missing a single game in the final 14 years of his career. Some kickers don’t last 19 years in the NFL, and it is safe to say offensive line takes a little more of a beating.

48. Jerome Bettis, Position: Running Back

Football is a game of aggression, and Jerome “The Bus” Bettis built his career off that basest instinct. To run over anyone in your way. “The Bus” never saw a path around defenders, but rather saw it much simpler to run through them and did that as well as anybody in the history of the league.

47. Texas's "Dandy"Don Meredith,Position: Quarterback

Bob Lilly once described Don Meredith as really tough! He recalled a story of when Meredith was beat up so bad, he was sent to the hospital in Cleveland. Instead of getting the proper treatment he needed, he left to play with a broken rib, pneumonia and a punctured lung. That’s coming from the Hall of Famer, “Mr. Cowboy” Bob Lilly, need we add more?

46. Lynn Swann, Position: Wide Receiver

Before you start freaking out, give us a chance to explain. As opposed to the current league, where 15 flags may fly in the first half, the league Swann played in was very different. Defensive contact rules were just about nonexistent. This resulted in teams just hitting Swann just so he couldn’t explode as a deep threat. In the AFC title game, Swann got a concussion so bad he was hospitalized for two days. He then went on to play in and win Super Bowl X. For someone severely concussed, Swann held his own. He was able to rack up 161 yards and a touchdown on his way to securing Super Bowl MVP honors, which was the first time a wide receiver had won the award!

45. John Riggins, Position: Running Back

Riggins was what you want in your fullback. One of his favorite things to do was hit defending players.

When “the Diesel” got his engine going, opposing linebackers didn’t stand a chance! “Riggo” got hit about as many times as he dealt the punishment, but still had a respectable, 14 year career.

44. Jackie Slater, Position: Offensive Tackle

In today’s NFL, offensive linemen often don’t get the credit they deserve. That’s what we’re here for.

Jackie Slater definitely earned his Hall of Fame Gold Jacket. Slater was drafted in the third round of the 1976 draft during the Gerald Ford administration. When Slater hung up his pads, clinton was in office. Slater played for the Rams organization for 20 years, with their first year in St. Louis being his last.

43. Bruce Smith,Position: Defensive End

For most defensive linemen, having a few seasons with double digit sacks is something to be proud of. During his 19-year career, Bruce Smith was able to accumulate 10 or more sacks in 13 of those seasons. He was able to accomplish this even as he was "double teamed" most of the time and hit with many cheap shots to slow him down. None of that mattered.

42. “Iron Mike” Mike Webster, Position: Center

“Iron Mike” Webster is one of the most legendary Pittsburgh Steelers, helping to anchor their offensive line as they won four Super Bowls. Webster wasn’t the most physically imposing player on the field, but he still worked to be one of the greatest on the field! “Iron Mike” was one of the first players to draw attention to potential brain damage caused by football, but played his career until he decided he was done. He still holds the record as the player to longest wear the Steelers uniform!

41. Roger Craig, Position: Running Back

While being the first NFL player to accumulate 1,000 yards both rushing and receiving, Craig was as hard a hitter as he was hard to bring down. Craig was a defensive player’s worst nightmare as he brought the pain to them instead of the other way around.

40. Tom Rathman, Position: Fullback

It seems only right to have one of the most bruising backfields of all-time ranked side by side.

The 49ers may have been the “finesse” team of the day but Rathman brought some extra pack to the punch!

39. Brian Dawkins, Position: Safety

A member of the most recent 2018 inductee class to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Brian Dawkins earned his jacket. Dawkins had 13 bruising years with the Eagles before he ended his career in Denver. Dawkins cracked the code for cracking skulls in football: just hit that guy.

38. Randy White, Position: Defensive Tackle

“The Manster” put grown men in their place for as long as he played football. A pillar of the Dallas “Doomsday Defense”, opposing offensive lines and quarterbacks would quake in their boots when Randy White was on the other side of the ball. White wasn’t usually the biggest guy on the field, but this Hall of Famer’s grit enabled him to be exceptionally successful in the league!



37. Mark Bavaro, Position: Tight End

Mark Bavaro was what the Giants strived to be in the 1980s. He played games with a broken jaw, made clutch catches, and helped lead the G-men to the Super Bowl. He wouldn’t just carry his own team on his back, but in 1986 famously carried most of the San Francisco defensive backfield on Monday Night Football.

36. Walt Garrison, Position: Running Back

Walt Garrison not only played for the Dallas Cowboys, but would actually compete on the professional rodeo circuit during the offseason. In the 1970 NFC championship game against the 49ers, he played just about the whole game with a cracked collarbone and serious ankle injury. That's Tough!!

35. Mel Hein, Position: Offensive Line

There are two things you need to know about Mel Hein:
1.) He became the first (and only) offensive lineman to ever win NFL MVP.
2.) His nickname was “Old Indestructible” Yeah, that sums it up.

34. Reggie White, Position: Defensive End

Reggie White has cemented his place in the record books. White’s path to success was not easy, but was paved with double-teams, which he was fighting as soon as he stepped into the league. Despite being the main focus of every opposing O-line coach, White chalked up 198.0 sacks in his career, the second most career sacks to date. Not just anyone can rack up those kinds of numbers.

33. Kellen Winslow Sr., Position: Tight End

Kellen Winslow Sr. was a tough player, but there’s really one game in particular that guaranteed him a spot on this list. His performance in the 1982 playoff game against the Miami Dolphins will forever be one of the greatest.

He led his team to victory with over 100 receiving yards, a touchdown, and a blocked game-winning field goal. And, he did that with four injuries.

32. Conrad Dobler, Position: Guard

Conrad Dobler is considered to have been one of the dirtiest players in the league. When opponents expect dirty, they’re going to try to beat you to the punch. Dobler could never let his guard down (pun not intended). He had a target on his back, and his toughness is the only thing that made him last.

31. Emmitt Smith, Position: Running Back

Emmitt Smith has rushed for considerably more yards than anyone who has ever played the game of football.

It was more than just his offensive line that led to his success as Emmitt Smith was a crucial part to bringing three Super Bowls to Dallas in four years.



30. Y.A. Tittle, Position: Quarterback

In one of the most iconic photographs of all time, Tittle had just thrown a pick six while having his face bloodied, sternum cracked, and became concussed. That didn’t stop him from playing the rest of the season.

Often forgotten, but one of the toughest quarterbacks to play the game!

29. George Atkinson, Position: Safety

After Atkinson had knocked Lynn Swann unconscious with a concussion twice in two years, some said that Atkinson had “the criminal element.” People often forget that Atkinson was an undersized safety, so being known as one of the hardest hitting is a testament to his strength and grit.

28. George Blanda, Position: Almost Everything

There was nothing on the field Blanda didn’t do! Blanda was best known as a quarterback, but was just as comfortable as linebacker before he finished his career as a kicker.

27. Earl Campbell, Position: Running Back

Teammates and coaches often admired Campbell’s punishing running style saying he would run with “reckless abandon.”

26. Sam Huff, Position: Linebacker

Huff was one of the first great defensive players as he used a combination of brains and brawn to bring the new 4-3 defense tactic to life.

25. Bob Lilly, Position: Defensive Tackle

Bob “Mr. Cowboy” Lilly is regarded as one of the greatest defensive players in football history, but he’s also one of the toughest. Lilly didn’t miss a game in 14 years. Most people can’t say that about what they do every day, and they didn’t have broken bones. He was as much as you can ask for in a defensive tackle.

24. Jerry Kramer, Position: Guard

Kramer was a versatile player who was able to anchor the Green Bay offensive line as Vince Lombardi coached them to five NFL titles and winning the first two Super Bowls. Kramer was known for playing through fatigue and injury. Over his 11-season career, Kramer underwent 22 surgeries. TOUGH!

23. Larry Csonka, Position: Fullback

Larry Csonka’s coach once said if he went on a safari, the lions would roll their windows up. Csonka was one of those offensive players we love to see who craved contact and would generally be the first one to initiate it with the defense instead of the other way around.

22. Jim Marshall, Position: Defensive End

Marshall played 282 consecutive games. In that time span, he suffered an ulcer and literally got shot with a shotgun. I’m going to say it again, he played, and started in, 282 consecutive football games. That’s the most by a defensive player in NFL history. Now,That’s tough.

21. Jim Otto,Position: Center

Otto didn’t always get the credit of being one of the strongest or most athletic men on the field, but he was able to play in the league for 15 years. In that time span, he put even Jim Marshall to shame by undergoing 35 surgeries in that time span. Jim Otto spelled football T-U-F-F, and if you didn’t like it, you could go play with the girls.

20. Hines Ward,Position: Wide Receiver

Just because he was on Dancing with the Stars doesn’t mean Hines Ward isn’t one of the toughest wide receivers to play the game. Ward doled out some of the hardest hitting blocks given by any receivers, and he also had some of the most reliable hands when the game was coming down to the wire.

19. Deacon Jones, Position: Defensive End

This man is honestly just terrifying! Sacks weren’t a statistic when he played the game, but he got so many of them he literally coined the term, “sack”.

Deacon Jones always said he was the toughest guy on the field, and he sure played like it.

18. Ray Nitschke, Position: Linebacker

Another Lombardi player, Nitschke once had a 1,000-pound coaching tower fall on him during practice and once Lombardi found out it was Nitschke underneath he stated, “He’ll be fine. Get back to work!” Yeah that’s right.

17. Steve McNair,Position: Quarterback

With little practice time, "Air" McNair was still able to make that ball fly when it mattered most.

Steve McNair was able to make magic happen whenever he took the field, which is all the more impressive considering how often he would sustain a new injury. McNair was tragically murdered in 2009, another player taken too soon. RIP Air McNair.

16. Rocky Bleier, Position: Running Back

Rocky Bleier deserves all of our respect and admiration for his story. After being drafted into the NFL and playing his rookie season for the Steelers, Bleier was drafted again. This time by the U.S. Military.

After taking a bullet to the leg and shrapnel from a grenade and earning himself a Purple Heart, doctors told him he’d never play football again. After receiving a personal postcard saying the team needed him from the Steelers’ owner, Rocky began training again. From the time he returned to the Steelers’ camp, it took him four years to work his way back jnto the starting lineup, where he helped forge the 1970s Steelers dynasty.

15. Johnny Unitas, Position: Quarterback

Unitas is more of a household name than some of the men on this list, but that doesn’t mean he wasn’t just as tough as some of the other bone-rattling players on this list. The league Unitas played in was about as different as could be from the current NFL, because defensive players could do just about anything they wanted to a quarterback. But Unitas never caved, even after being injured for the majority of the season with most of the muscles in his throwing arm being torn, he still came off the bench and played in Super Bowl III.

14. Jack Tatum, Position: Safety

Tatum was known as “the Assassin”, and for good reason. Tatum, paired with George Atkinson, created one of the most punishing secondaries in NFL history. Tatum’s hits were nothing short of brutal. People were knocked unconscious and even left paralyzed by some of the hits Tatum dealt out.

13. Mike Ditka, Position: Tight End

Mike Ditka embodied everything you want in a tight end. He had a good head on his shoulders, had reliable hands, and had no problem taking a hit. Ditka was not easy to bring down, and even some of the bigger linebackers had to figure out new ways to tackle him, which Ditka did not shy away from.

Ditka has become a cultural icon, but he was first and foremost a great football player!

Comment by Bullheaded Texan on December 23, 2018 at 8:41pm: The wall fight should go into January. This is the GOP's last best chance to push for border security!

12/20/18: By Deroy Murdock | Fox News

Trump, Congress fail to agree, government partial shutdown.

President Trump correctly opposed the continuing resolution that slithered out of the Senate on Thursday night. Instead, he should tell members of the 115th Congress to keep voting until they send him a budget that funds a southern border wall.

Senate Majority Leader mitch mcconnell must have fallen into a barrel. Only that could explain the Kentucky Republican’s belief that kicking the budget into next February would simplify matters for President Trump and the GOP. Sorry assed, mcconnell would have kicked that can right into hell.
If things are tough in Washington with a unified Republican government, just wait until San Francisco Democrat nancy pukelosi controls the House on January 3. She will lead a far-left caucus interested in resisting President Trump’s every move, at best, and jailing him, at worst. Such über-liberals as Mexifornia’s maxine waters and New York’s jerrold nadler — and such full-on socialists as New York’s mexican alexandria ocasio-cortez — will salivate over President Trump’s impeachment, not funds for his signature border wall.

“Punting to Feb. 8 on a CR not only gives Democrats a Christmas present, it offers them a Valentine’s Day gift,” House Freedom Caucus chairman Mark Meadows (R., N.C.) said via Twitter. “No more excuses. No more games. Stand up and fight.”
President Trump should sign a measure to fund the government through December 31. He then should keep Congress in town, voting around the clock except for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Postmen deliver the mail throughout the Yuletide. Members of Congress should labor at least as hard. If a solution is not reached by New Year’s Eve, another continuing resolution should fund the government through January 3, giving the Republican Congress three more days to fix this mess, before pukelosi and the Resistance take over.

If this seems unfair to Republican lawmakers, remember that Senate Democrats voted for obumaCare on Christmas Eve 2009. While Democrats and the left have horrible, destructive policies, Republicans and the right should admire and emulate their focus, dedication, and discipline. While Republicans scatter like chickens in a barnyard struck by lightning, Democrats march in lockstep, like parading North Korean soldiers.

The House should pass an array of spending plans, with wall money, and give the Senate ample options to concur.

The first vote should be the Freedom Caucus’ amendment for $5 billion in border wall funds.

On Thursday morning, Freedom Caucus members begged House speaker Paul Ryan and Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy for such a vote. This is mind-blowing. Why on earth was this vote not held — a week ago? A month ago?

If the Senate defeats a House bill with $5 billion in wall money, the House should transmit a separate bill with $4.5 billion, and then another $4 billion, etc. At some point, public pressure, fatigue, and homesickness should trigger Senate consent.

The House also should pass a bill co-sponsored by Representative Mo Brooks, R., Ala. and Senator Ted Cruz, R., Texas. The three-page EL CHAPO Act — or Ensuring Lawful Collection of Hidden Assets to Provide Order — would finance the border wall with any money recovered from jailed Mexican drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, and other narco-traffickers. The U.S. government seeks some $14 billion in Guzman’s illicit cash. Republicans should dare House and Senate Democrats to oppose such common-sense and, essentially, no-cost wall funds.

Another relevant idea — President Trump should offer Senate Democrat leader chuck schumer of New York this simple deal: In exchange for Democrat support of the House’s $5.7 billion in wall funds, President Trump will back the Gateway Tunnel to augment today’s dilapidated, leaky trans-Hudson River passage between New York and New Jersey. This federal expenditure can be justified on the basis of interstate commerce. If the old tunnel were to close (or collapse catastrophically, drowning thousands), this would be a devastating blow to rail service up and down the Eastern Seaboard.

A wall-tunnel swap would be a perfect compromise that could satisfy both sides of the aisle.

Comment by Bullheaded Texan on December 23, 2018 at 8:11pm: Lindsey Graham Urges POTUS to ‘Break’ Democrats on Border Wall Before 2019: ‘Mr. President, Dig in’.

one day ago by Carlin BeAppearing on “Fox News @ Night” on Friday, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) called upon President Donald Trump to “break” Democrats in Congress when it comes to border wall funding now — or risk a “terrible” 2019 “After the caravan, if you don’t see the need for more border security, you’re blind,” Graham told Fox News’ Shannon Bream.

After stressing the need to fund the president’s proposed border wall, the senator suggested that Democrats are holding out on the issue due to their dislike of Trump.

“I think Democrats hate Trump so much, they want him to lose even though it would be good for the country to work with him on border security,” he said. “And if he doesn’t break them now, it’s going to be a terrible 2019. So Mr. President, dig in!”

Watch his interview: https://youtu.be/EvFP5J_UyOg

Graham went on to say "Democratic lawmakers better get used to working with Trump instead of acting “like children” or else they’ll “hear it from the American people in 2020.”

Trump has come under pressure from his base as of late to follow through with his campaign promise of constructing a wall along our southern border. Even some of his most vocal supporters suggested they may not show up again in 2020 if the important issue of immigration isn’t tackled soon.

Lawmakers went back and forth this week over whether to include $5 billion in a short-term spending bill to fund the wall. After the president indicated he wouldn’t sign spending legislation that omitted wall funding, the House included the money in its version of the bill and passed it.

The Senate, refused to come to an agreement before the deadline on Friday night, sending the federal government into a partial shutdown on Saturday. After putting pressure on Democrats to “get it done” on border security, the president warned it could be a long shutdown.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Trump Mocks Alternative Border Security Like Drones as ‘Lots of Fun’ but Ineffective — He Wants a Wall. !!!

President Donald Trump won’t settle for an alternative type of border security. He wants a wall.

The president has been engaged in a battle to secure wall funding since he first promised it during the launch of his presidential campaign.

His calls for a wall were amplified after a caravan of thousands of Central Americans made their way toward the United States.

As the caravan neared, President Trump deployed troops to the border to assist law enforcement and completely shut down portions of the border to prevent migrants from entering the country to try and claim asylum — despite many of them not qualifying as asylum seekers.

The president explained on Twitter on Sunday that this expensive operation to stop the caravan could have been avoided had a border wall been built already!:

"Arizona, together with our Military and Border Patrol, is bracing for a massive surge at a NON-WALLED area. WE WILL NOT LET THEM THROUGH. Big danger. nancy and chuck must approve Boarder Security and the Wall! Ice, Border Patrol and our Military have done a FANTASTIC job of securing our Southern Border. A Great Wall would be, however, a far easier & less expensive solution. We have already built large new sections & fully renovated others, making them like new. The Democrats,...."

In his most recent fight with Democrats over border security, President Trump refused to sign an appropriations bill unless it had additional funds for building a border wall between the U.S. and Mexico. Because he and Democratic leadership did not reach an agreement by Friday night, the U.S. government entered a partial shutdown.

Although President Trump canceled his trip to Florida for Christmas, most of the Senate went home and will not return to D.C. until an agreement has been made between Minority Leaders chuck schumer (D-N.Y), nancy pukelosi (D-Mexif.) and President Trump.

Although President Trump conceded building a concrete wall, he still remains adamant that a physical barrier of steel slats is built along the border:

As part of these negotiations, there have been proposals to increase alternative forms of border security without building a wall. This would include deploying high tech means of searching cars and advanced surveillance using drones.

President Trump took to Twitter to double down on his demand for an “old-fashioned wall” instead of a “fun” high tech alternative, claiming that a wall is the only effective way to stop criminals and drugs from entering the country:

During his heated exchange with Schumer and Pelosi prior to the shutdown, Trump noted that the wall used by Israel is incredibly effective, which has been verified by Politifact. However, the Department of Homeland Security published a report by the U.S. Senate claiming border patrol leadership would prefer an increase in technology to a wall.

Either way, the president must get 60 votes in the Senate to pass any funding, so he must get the Democrats on board with the wall — a move that doesn’t seem likely. According to Trump’s acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney, the shutdown could continue into the New Year and the new Congress.

Of course, they went home. Their dedication to the position they were elected to hold is underwhelming. Had to check that this is "I Didn’t see evidence of President Trump mocking drones." His observation was spot on. I don’t think that President Trump was mocking the use of drones generally, rather he was mocking the use of drones as an exclusive method of border security as some have suggested. That is why he referred to them as “fun” instead of effective. Name ONE of Trump’s companies that’s even being considered for building the wall? Go ahead, anyone, name ONE. And anyone who has a brain agrees with the President.

Being from Tucson, we must have the border wall built, and soon!!! Tired of all the illegal aliens coming here and getting benefits for free!!

Comment by Bullheaded Texan on December 22, 2018 at 2:48pm: Trump Tweets Photo Of New Proposed Border Wall. Internet Explodes.

12/21/18 By Ryan Saavedra

President Donald Trump tweeted out a photo of his new proposed border wall on Friday which shows a wall comprised solely of metal bars with spikes on top. Trump's tweet comes after he said earlier in the day: "I hope we don't but we are totally prepared for a very long shutdown." "A design of our Steel Slat Barrier which is totally effective while at the same time beautiful!" Trump tweeted.

I love the emphasis on the pointy part....don't worry folks, these aren't nice slats...you could easily impale yourself!" Donald J. Trump

A design of our Steel Slat Barrier which is totally effective while at the same time beautiful!

The reaction online was mostly negative across the spectrum. Writers for HuffPost, CNN, and NBC criticized and mocked the design:
Others supported the design: I don’t care if the wall is see through or has spikes on top. Just build it. This is crucial. Especially in places where our border has no fencing, barrier and leaves our country wide open.
I’ll take what ever. Make it happen!

"Trump shows in very specific detail what he wants in a border wall: A bollard-style fence (similar to ones obuma built) topped with spikes to deter climbers!" John Binder

Trump announced on Thursday "that he would not sign a short-term continuing resolution approved by the Senate — a bill that did not include funding for a border wall," The Daily Wire reported.
After Trump's announcement, the U.S. House of Representatives approved "$5.7 billion for President Donald Trump's proposed border wall on Thursday night after Trump said that he would not sign a short-term continuing resolution approved by the Senate because it did not include funding for the wall."

Late on Friday evening, the Senate voted 48-47, with Vice President Mike Pence breaking the tie, in favor of advancing the House's bill to the Senate floor for a vote.

Comment by Bullheaded Texan on December 21, 2018 at 4:59pm: Trump Orders McConnell To ‘Go Nuclear’ To Get The Wall.

12/21/18 Saagar Enjeti | White House Correspondent

President Donald Trump instructed Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to use the nuclear option to end the filibuster and pass funding for the border wall, in a Friday morning tweet. "Mitch, use the Nuclear Option and get it done! Our Country is counting on you!"

Trump’s tweet came moments after White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told Fox News explicitly that the White House wants the Senate to end the filibuster.

“The Senate has a constitutional duty and a constitutional authority to actually protect our country. We can’t be a sovereign country if we don’t have borders and we don’t have protection of the American citizens,” Sanders declared.

Trump’s tweet is the latest in a series he sent Friday morning urging the Senate to pass a bill which cleared the House of Representatives Thursday night, and fully provides 5 billion dollars for his proposed wall along the U.S. southern border.

"Shutdown today if Democrats do not vote for Border Security! No matter what happens today in the Senate, Republican House Members should be very proud of themselves. They flew back to Washington from all parts of the World in order to vote for Border Security and the Wall.

Not one Democrat voted yes, and we won big. I am very proud of you!" 6:31 AM - Dec 21, 2018

This option was originally thought to be untenable in the Senate because it could not garner the necessary 60 votes. All legislation that passes the upper chamber of Congress must have 60 votes of support in order to clear a filibuster-proof majority. The Senate, however, reserves the ability to remake its own rules and end the historical filibuster.

Trump’s instruction for McConnell may, however, fall on deaf ears with the senate leader promising in 2017 that he would never end the filibuster in order to advance legislation.

“There’s not a single senator in the majority who thinks we ought to change the legislative filibuster,” McConnell declared in 2017. “Not one.”

Comment by Bullheaded Texan on December 21, 2018 at 4:46pm: Policy Forces Migrants To Wait In Mexico After Claiming Asylum.

12/20/18 | US Jason Hopkins | Energy Investigator

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced migrants who seek asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border must return and wait in Mexico while their claims are processed.

In what might be one of the Trump administration’s most aggressive reforms of the U.S. immigration system to date, Secretary of Homeland Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen revealed Thursday her department will no longer allow migrants to enter the U.S. after claiming asylum. Instead, asylum seekers who tried getting into the country through the U.S. southern border will have to wait in Mexico while their cases move through the immigration courts.

It won’t apply to “children traveling alone or to Mexican asylum seekers,” according to The Associated Press.

The change in policy comes after immigration officials have had to deal with an influx of Central American migrants attempting to cross the U.S. border with Mexico. Applications for asylum reached all-time highs.

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recorded 78,564 requests for asylum in 2017, a

dramatic increase from the 13,880 requests made in 2012. The numbers have only gotten higher, with the USCIS recording a record-setting 99,035 asylum requests — 62,609 of which included Salvadorans, Guatemalans and Hondurans — during the 2018 fiscal year.

“They will not be able to disappear into the United States,” Nielsen said Thursday while testifying before a House Judiciary Committee hearing. “They will have to wait for approval. If they are granted asylum by a U.S. judge, they will be welcomed into America. If they are not, they will be removed to their home countries.”

The name of the policy is known as the “Remain in Mexico” plan.

“‘Catch and release’ will be replaced with ‘catch and return.’ In doing so, we will reduce illegal migration by removing one of the key incentives that encourages people from taking the dangerous journey to the United States in the first place,” Nielsen said in a press statement following the hearing. “This will also allow us to focus more attention on those who are actually fleeing persecution.”

The policy was made in conjunction with the Mexican government, which agreed to give foreigners temporary permission to stay in Mexico and seek work authorization after receiving a notice to appear in U.S. immigration court.

The “Remain in Mexico” plan comes just days after the American government pledged to give southern Mexico and Central America $10.6 billion in aid.

Comment by Bullheaded Texan on December 21, 2018 at 4:38pm: House Passes $5.7 Billion For Trump's Proposed Border Wall.

12/20/18
The U.S. House of Representatives approved $5.7 billion for President Donald Trump's proposed border wall on Thursday night after Trump said that he would not sign a short-term continuing resolution approved by the Senate because it did not include funding for the wall.
Funding for the border wall passed 217-185 along party lines and now goes to the Senate for a vote.
"The Democrats, who know Steel Slats (Wall) are necessary for Border Security, are putting politics over Country," Trump tweeted on Thursday. "What they are just beginning to realize is that I will not sign any of their legislation, including infrastructure, unless it has perfect Border Security. U.S.A. WINS! With so much talk about the Wall, people are losing sight of the great job being done on our Southern Border by Border Patrol, ICE and our great Military. Remember the Caravans?" Trump continued. "Well, they didn’t get through and none are forming or on their way. Border is tight. Fake News silent!"
"When I begrudgingly signed the Omnibus Bill, I was promised the Wall and Border Security by leadership," Trump concluded. "Would be done by end of year (NOW). It didn’t happen! We foolishly fight for Border Security for other countries - but not for our beloved U.S.A. Not good!"
"Republicans in Congress have continually told the American people that we would fight for wall funding, and today the House of Representatives took its first step toward fulfilling that promise," The House Freedom Caucus wrote on Twitter. "The Senate must follow our lead."
"It’s time we do what we said and work with President Trump and the American people to secure our borders," The House Freedom Caucus added.

Comment by Bullheaded Texan on December 20, 2018 at 6:03pm: Troops to immediately withdraw from Syria as Trump declares victory over ISIS

By: Kyle Rempfer 1 day ago

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U.S. Marines train with a Carl Gustaf recoilless rifle in Deir ez-Zor province, Syria, Oct. 9, 2018. Coalition Forces continue to assist in Operation Roundup, the Syrian Democratic Forces-led offensive to liberate the last remaining stronghold of ISIS in the Middle Euphrates River Valley. (Sgt. Matthew Crane/Army)

The Trump administration has ordered an immediate withdrawal of U.S. forces from Syria, and it remains unclear whether any troops will remain on the ground there.

The news seemingly caught the Pentagon and even local Syrian allies off-guard and runs counter to statements of many senior national security leaders.

After multiple media reports that a total withdrawal is underway, the White House said in a statement that the U.S.-led coalition is transitioning to the next phase of the campaign.

“Five years ago, ISIS was a very powerful and dangerous force in the Middle East, and now the United States has defeated the territorial caliphate," White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said. "These victories over ISIS in Syria do not signal the end of the Global Coalition or its campaign. We have started returning United States troops home as we transition to the next phase of this campaign." Sanders did not provide a timeline for a departure, nor elaborate on which troops were coming home.

Smoke billows after bombings in the Deir Ezzor province as a vehicle of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) stops in Hajin, in the Deir Ezzor province, eastern Syria, on Dec. 15, 2018.

The move comes as Turkish leaders are threatening an invasion of Syria that could pit U.S. advisers and U.S.-backed local forces against Turkey, a NATO ally. Meanwhile, the Pentagon has remained much more opaque about the next step.

“We have started the process of returning U.S. troops home from Syria as we transition to the next phase of the campaign,” chief Pentagon spokeswoman Dana White said in a statement Wednesday. "For force protection and operational security reasons we will not provide further details. We will continue working with our partners and allies to defeat ISIS wherever it operates.”

Here’s what may be driving a US troop withdrawal from Syria:

A confrontation between the U.S and Turkey, officially NATO allies, would create a geopolitical crisis at the heart of the world’s most powerful military alliance.

President Donald Trump tweeted Wednesday morning that "the U.S. has defeated the Islamic State in Syria, which was “my only reason for being there," he said.

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and other top military officials tried to discourage Trump from ordering the withdrawal, saying it was a bad idea and would risk ceding control of Syria to Iran and Russia or give the Islamic State a chance to regroup, according to the New York Times.

The Wall Street Journal broke the news that the withdrawal is already being prepared. The Associated Press reported that planning for the pullout has already begun and troops will begin leaving as soon as possible.

The Pentagon initially declined to confirm the media reports, issuing an earlier statement Wednesday morning that made no mention of withdrawal.

“At this time we continue to work by, with and through our partners in the region," said Col. Rob Manning, a Pentagon spokesman early Wednesday morning.

Last week, Trump administration officials appeared to brush aside the idea of a withdrawal.

“The military mission is the enduring defeat of ISIS,” Brett McGurk, Trump’s special presidential envoy for the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, told reporters at a Dec. 11 press conference. “We have obviously learned a lot of lessons in the past, so we know that once the physical space is defeated, we can’t just pick up and leave.

“So we’re prepared to make sure that we do all we can to ensure this is enduring … Nobody is saying that (ISIS is) going to disappear. Nobody is that naive. So we want to stay on the ground and make sure that stability can be maintained in these areas.”

Comment by Bullheaded Texan on December 20, 2018 at 6:03pm: This picture shows a U.S. Army vehicle supporting the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in Hajin, in the Deir Ezzor province, eastern Syria, on Dec. 15, 2018.

The Syriac Military Council, a small U.S.-backed militia in Syria, told Military Times on Wednesday that they had not heard of a planned withdrawal from their U.S. allies prior to the media reports.

Officials estimate there are about 2,000 U.S. troops in Syria, but the precise number is not disclosed publicly. Those U.S. forces are spread across the region in a network of forward operating bases and small units of combat advisers embedded with local allies, mainly Syrian Kurds.

Ten bases, including two with air strips, where U.S. troops have previously operated in northern Syria were identified in July 2017 on a map published by Turkey’s state-run news agency. The Pentagon expressed operational security concerns with Turkey over the identification of those outposts, and they may have shifted since then.

U.S.-backed local forces have eliminated ISIS' last major holdout in the Hajin pocket, near the Syria-Iraq border. However, ISIS still has several thousand fighters in the Middle Euphrates River Valley.

ISIS has also shown an ability to launch major counter-offensives whenever U.S. air power is not in the area, such as an October incident when U.S. aircraft were grounded due to a sandstorm.

U.S. troops in Syria have worked alongside a mix of Arab and Kurdish local militias that combine to form the Syrian Democratic Forces.

Turkey has long been angered by U.S. support for Kurdish fighters, which Turkey says are members of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, an ethnically Kurdish terrorist group that has waged an insurgency in southeast Turkey for decades.

Trump wants troops out of Syria, but his generals may resist.

On Monday, though, U.S. Ambassador on Syrian Affairs Jim Jeffrey appeared to contradict Erdogan.

“We think that any offensive into northeast Syria by anyone is a bad idea, and that was a position that I conveyed when I was in Ankara, that everybody from the President on down has conveyed,” Jeffrey said, according to Voice of America.

Pentagon leaders have also repeatedly stated that the U.S. must maintain a presence to ensure a lasting defeat of ISIS, as well as prevent the movement of Iranian proxy forces.

Trump’s national security adviser, John Bolton, backed that school of thought this fall.

The White House pushing for a “rapid end” to the mission in Syria, but experts on the region see the Pentagon’s operational momentum as the key hurdle.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said earlier this week that U.S. President Donald Trump had “responded positively” to Erodgan’s demands to remove Kurdish militias from Manbij, a region where U.S. troops are posted in northern Syria.

ISW @TheStudyofWar

ISIS is not defeated in Syria. It controls territory, retains significant fighting forces and is reconstituting those forces. ISW’s assessment of the #ISIS footprint in #Syria/#Iraq as of last month.

“We’re not going to leave as long as Iranian troops are outside Iranian borders, and that includes Iranian proxies and militias,” Bolton said in September.

Another dynamic in the whole situation is the tensions between U.S. and Russian forces in Syria. Americans and Russian mercenaries have reportedly exchanged gunfire on more than one occasion in the country.
“There have been various engagements, some involving exchange of fire, some not,” U.S. Ambassador James Jeffrey said in late November. “Again, we are continuing our mission there and we are continuing to exercise our right of self-defense.”

Trump’s Syria withdrawal flies in the face of statements from top military and national security leaders.

Many top officials see the current Syria operations as necessary to ensure ISIS defeat.

The Trump administration’s sudden decision to order the immediate withdrawal of U.S. forces from Syria has caught the U.S. national security establishment by surprise — with many experts calling the decision a mistake.
President Donald Trump tweeted on Wednesday that ISIS had been defeated in the region, but many experts and national security analysts say that’s not the case.

“I think the most critical problem with this decision is actually the simplest: ISIS is not defeated,” said Jennifer Cafarella, an expert covering the Syria conflict for the Institute for the Study of War.

For one, ISIS still holds onto some rural villages scattered across the Middle Euphrates River Valley, where the terrorist group has shown some resiliency in launching large-scale counteroffensives.

Trump’s tweet came several days after U.S. partner forces liberated the last urban ISIS stronghold of Hajin, Syria, following months of coalition air and artillery support.

“We’re not going to leave as long as Iranian troops are outside Iranian borders, and that includes Iranian proxies and militias,” Bolton said in September.

The Trump administration’s sudden decision to order the immediate withdrawal of U.S. forces from Syria has caught the U.S. national security establishment by surprise — with many experts calling the decision a mistake.

President Donald Trump tweeted on Wednesday that ISIS had been defeated in the region, but many experts and national security analysts say that’s not the case.

“I think the most critical problem with this decision is actually the simplest: ISIS is not defeated,” said Jennifer Cafarella, an expert covering the Syria conflict for the Institute for the Study of War.

For one, ISIS still holds onto some rural villages scattered across the Middle Euphrates River Valley, where the terrorist group has shown some resiliency in launching large-scale counteroffensives.

Trump’s tweet came several days after U.S. partner forces liberated the last urban ISIS stronghold of Hajin, Syria, following months of coalition air and artillery support.

The Trump administration believes the remaining 1% of ISIS fighters can be eliminated by other regional and partner forces, a senior administration official told reporters Wednesday evening.

But ISIS has shown itself capable of bouncing back, even after major defeats and setbacks on the battlefield, and it’s not entirely clear U.S. partner forces have the willingness or ability to clear small scattered pockets of ISIS fighters without coalition support.

A potential major spoiler for the White House plan could be a large-scale Turkish military incursion into northern Syria to root out Kurdish fighters in the region — upending the primary U.S. ally fighting ISIS in the Euphrates Valley. -- Such an operation would buy ISIS time and space to regroup and plan their next steps.

At the end of October, ISIS fighters launched a major attack as the local weather limited the U.S.-led coalition’s ability to back its partner force known as the Syrian Democratic Forces, or SDF, with air power.

The Associated Press reported that nearly 40 SDF fighters were killed and some captured in the large-scale ISIS counteroffensive.

In fall 2017, ISIS fighters attempted a similar feat against Russian and Syrian regime forces near al-Shula.

ISIS’ propaganda outlet Amaq claimed the attacks resulted in the deaths of 65 Russian and Syrian troops, and the capture of two Russian soldiers. Amaq posted images of the captured troops.

Despite Russia’s rosy assessments of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s ability to counter ISIS in the region, his regime’s battle record against the terror group has mixed reviews.

“Trump’s own Defense Department has been saying that Assad doesn’t have the will or ability to keep ISIS from re-surging in regime-held areas,” Cafarella said.

And without U.S. and coalition air support, the very real possibility exists that ISIS could break through SDF lines and re-capture lost territory.

ISIS is still operational:

Attacks by ISIS militants in the vicinity of Hajin are still ongoing today.

U.S. military officials say a couple thousand ISIS fighters are still operating in the region.

And it’s not just territory ISIS could win back. The coalition’s inability thus far to help partner forces piece together the ruins of major urban population centers after liberation from ISIS has put the entire campaign at risk — giving ISIS fighters potentially a political and propaganda victory.

“ISIS is already gaining in eastern Syria in political terms — putting aside the still-unfinished shreds of the “caliphate” around Hajin,” said Kyle Orton, an expert on the Syrian civil war and former research fellow at the Henry Jackson Society.

“The PKK’s exclusivist and repressive governance, which has failed even to provide basic security against ISIS guerrilla attacks and assassinations, combined with the lack of international action to rebuild, has meant the Arab-majority zones like Deir Ezzor and particularly Raqqa have been simmering for months, providing ISIS with space to move,” Orton explained.

The SDF are comprised of a number of Syrian militia groups. Most controversial among them is the YPG and YPJ, a Kurdish group with deep connections to the internationally recognized terrorist group, the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK.

America’s reliance and partnership with the SDF has strained relations between Washington and Ankara, as Turkey sees the rise of a semi-autonomous Kurdish region on its borders as a terrorist threat.

But Orton’s argument that failures to rebuild regions left in utter ruin by U.S. and coalition air support has been sung by other U.S. officials.

“We recognize the long-term stability in these areas must come from civil and diplomatic lines of effort, with the support of the Global Coalition, and we remain committed to ensuring these organizations can do their job in a safe and secure environment so that essential services can be restored, markets and schools can reopen, and life can return to normalcy,” the former spokesman for Operation Inherent Resolve. Col. Ryan Dillon said in February.

It’s a realization that the task of defeating ISIS goes beyond the physical dropping of bombs and capturing of terrain. It also involves ensuring a functioning society that can maintain stability in a post-ISIS world, and further denying ISIS propaganda efforts.

But the U.S. has been reluctant to engage in what it views as a nation-building mission or pay the bill for the expensive endeavor.

“Don’t look to the United States to fit the bill for long-term reconstruction,” said Brett McGurk, Trump’s special presidential envoy for the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, Time reported.

Russia and Iran

Analysts and national security experts on Wednesday also described the Trump administration’s decision to withdraw from Syria as conceding to some of America’s major geopolitical foes.

The former supreme allied commander of NATO, retired Adm. James Stavridis, took to social media Wednesday to call the White House’s decision the “wrong move.”

“Pulling troops out of Syria in an ongoing fight is a big mistake. Like waking away from a forest fire that is still smoldering underfoot,” Stavridis wrote.

The former NATO commander added that the big winners from the U.S. leaving the region would be Iran, Russia, and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Allies could also be hurt. A small U.S. garrison near the Iraq-Syria border called Tanf exists largely to keep Iranian influence at bay and to help defend Jordan’s border from ISIS fighters creeping through the desert.

The base has been the focus of much drama between Russia, Syrian regime forces and their Iranian proxy allies and a symbol of America’s entanglement in the politics of Syria’s civil war. Several times the base has had to defend itself from proxy forces aligned to the Syrian regime by launching deadly air and artillery strikes against encroaching forces.

A U.S. Marine fires an FGM-148 Javelin, a shoulder-fired anti-tank missile near At Tanf Garrison, Syria September 7, 2018.

“In the maelstrom

of changing front lines, as Turkey and the pro-Assad coalition carved up Rojava, ISIS would surely find more openings to exploit,” Orton said. Rojava refers to the self-governing Kurdish cantons of northern Syria.

It’s still unclear what the actual status is of American troops on the ground in Syria.

"The Coalition has liberated the ISIS-held territory, but the campaign against ISIS is not over. We have started the process of returning U.S. troops home from Syria as we transition to the next phase of the campaign,” Dana W. White, chief Pentagon spokeswoman, told reporters in an statement Wednesday.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders made similarly ambiguous remarks. "These victories over ISIS in Syria do not signal the end of the Global Coalition or its campaign. We have started returning United States troops home as we transition to the next phase of this campaign,” Sanders said.

How many troops are returning home and when is currently a mystery. A senior U.S. administration official told reporters Wednesday evening that a timeline of withdrawal was still being worked with the Pentagon.

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