Men of substance

 

Amid the "hackedelic" haze of media-driven perception, the Cold, Hard Football Facts always provide a sobering dose of reality. This is equally true when we tackle the touchy subject of drugs and alcohol. While substance-abuse suspensions and allegations continue to haunt other professional athletes, from Rafael Palmeiro to Lance Armstrong, the transgressions of football stars have often been overlooked or quickly forgotten.

 

But we remember them well. In fact, we thought we could build a star-studded team consisting only of those who have been busted for substance abuse. And now we have.

 

Assembling the best NFL players who inject, ingest, inhale and otherwise indulge, we boldly present the All-User Team, our Substance Abuse All-Stars. Every member was at least in a training camp last year, and the majority of them are currently active. (Non-starters on our team are denoted with an asterisk.)

 

Friday, Aug. 26: wide receivers

Monday, Aug. 29: quarterbacks, tight end and offensive line

Wednesday, Aug. 31: running backs

Friday, Sept. 2: defensive line

Monday, Sept. 5: linebackers

Wednesday, Sept. 7: defensive backs

???: the All-Century All-User Team