Determining All-Decade team for 2010s no easy chore

The Pro Football Hall of Fame is embarking on a difficult assignment: determining the All-Decade team of the 2010s.

Yes, there are some slam dunks on both sides of the ball and on special teams. There also are some real tough decisions to be made.

All-Decade teams are of value in assessing credentials for potential Hall of Fame candidates. They carry with them a significantly unfair element, though. Players who arrive in the NFL in the middle of a decade and last into the middle of the next decade are at a severe disadvantage for making such squads.

Consider Curtis Martin, who was inducted in the Canton, Ohio, shrine in 2012. He played from 1995-2005, rushing for at least 1,000 yards — usually much higher — in all but one season. He didn't make either All-Decade team, though. At least he had such overwhelming credentials that he made the hall.

On defense, look at Buffalo's Nate Odomes, one of the best cover cornerbacks from 1987-96 before injuries short-circuited his career. Not a sniff of an All-Decade roster for Odomes.

Still, selecting such teams makes sense. Why not honor the best of a decade, especially in such a team sport? In some ways, short of making the Hall of Fame, it's as big an honor as many offensive linemen and special teamers will ever receive.

There are a bunch of obvious choices for the team of the 2010s, of course. Tom Brady at quarterback. Adrian Peterson at running back. Joe Thomas at left tackle.

J.J. Watt on the D-line. Luke Kuechly and Von Miller as linebackers. Justin Tucker as the placekicker.

Rick Gosselin of Talk Of Fame Network, a Hall of Fame voter, makes a strong argument for the talented but disruptive Antonio Brown and the prematurely retired Calvin Johnson at wide receiver.

“Brown may have had his issues off the field but not...