I think that great defenses—great teams in general—are made up of people like Chris Hoke. I say people, rather than players, because Hoke brought a lot to the table outside of what he delivered on the field for the Pittsburgh Steelers as well.
Considering the fact that he only started 18 games over an 11-year career, the guy is awfully well-known, and awfully popular, but he drew people to him both on and off the field. Hoke, the backup nose tackle to Casey Hampton throughout his career—or at least from 2004 to 2011—was a player who just did everything the right way.