What separated Merlin Olsen from perhaps every other defensive lineman who has played the game - perhaps any player, period, who has ever played the game - was that the physical demands of the game were not as great as the mental challenge it presented.

It was Olsen's career-long quest to master the intellectual side of football, and he achieved his goal during a marvelous 15-year career that was rewarded with induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame the first year he was eligible.

"The key to consistency of performance is concentration," he once said. "I probably held my ability to concentrate over a longer period of time than some athletes. Each game, at the beginning of each play, I thought of it as the most important play of the year. I went into every play as if the game depended on it."

Olsen played for five different head coaches during his days with the Rams, and though they had different styles and philosophies, those five men had one thing in common: Their belief that Olsen never had a bad year, a bad game, or a bad play.

"I constantly look for new ways to improve my performance," he said late in his career. "I critique myself. I say to myself, 'maybe there's a better way to rush the passer or fight off a blocker.' Just because you've been doing it a certain way for 50 years doesn't mean there can't be a better way."

But in truth, he could have searched forever and not found a better way than the way he was doing it. After all, how else could he have made an NFL record 14 straight Pro Bowls?

"Merlin had some of the best techniques of any lineman ever," said former lineman and assistant coach Torgy Torgeson. "He had great leverage and balance, and never was in a bad position. He was always ready to make a play."

Tag-teaming with Jones, there were many times when Olsen had to play off what Jones was doing. Jones was never a great run stuffer because in his haste to get upfield, he would often leave a gap for the opposing offense to exploit. But with Olsen by his side, that rarely happened. "He was quicker than I was, which meant that sometimes he would be leaving some territory uncovered," Olsen said. "So I accepted the responsibility of covering that territory. That's how we got the job done."

Jones knew he was blessed to have Olsen as a partner. "I wouldn't want to play on a team without the Mule," he said.

Two years after Jones was inducted into the Hall of Fame, Olsen joined him and they will now forever be teammates in Canton.