Daniel Jeremiah of NFL.com has decided to get into the upcoming Olympic spirit by handing out the Gold, Silver and Bronze medals to the top three players at each position in what he is calling the NFL Podium Awards. At the defensive tackle position, Baltimore Ravens DT Haloti Ngata was awarded the Silver medal, just behind Gold medal-winner Justin Smith of the San Francisco 49ers.

Jeremiah was the west coast area scout for the Ravens back when they selected Ngata in the first round of the 2006 NFL draft. In a very deep position, it is an honor to be considered the second best in the entire league, although Ravens fans may take issue and argue that Haloti is the best all-around player at the defensive tackle position.

Click on the link above to see the full story and here is a part of what Jeremiah said about Ngata:

"In scouting, there are some players that take a long time to figure out. That wasn't the case with Ngata. As dominant as he was on defense, it was his play on special teams that I will always remember. Against the University of Arizona, he blocked a punt and then pursued the punter after he had scooped up the ball. Ngata eventually caught up to the punter, tackled him in the open field and broke the punter's leg. That's when I realized this was a unique talent. "