N.F.L. Notables Who Died in 2012 A look back at how we remembered some notable pro football figures who died in 2012, on The Fifth Down and elsewhere in The Times: Andy Barall, The Fifth Down: Alex Karras loved to perform. He was smart, funny and often controversial. He wasn't a big fan of authority. His many fights with his employers (and his coaches) over the years usually led to trouble, but he didn't seem to mind. Andy Barall, The Fifth Down: Few players brought more passion and intensity to the football field than Junior Seau. For more on Seau and his post-career troubles, a praiseworthy two-part series by Jill Lieber Steeg of U-T San Diego: Junior Seau: Song of Sorrow Junior Seau: Bitter Endgame Douglas Martin, Times obituary: Steve Sabol was the creative force behind NFL Films, his father's innovative enterprise that melded cinematic ingenuity, martial metaphors and symphonic music to lend professional football the aura of myth and help fuel its rise in popularity. Richard Sandomir on Sabol: Boy, he could talk, on the air, on the phone, in a restaurant, at a banquet. He brought passion, detail and humor to his storytelling, whether he was explaining how a shot was made, how the martial music in his programs was composed or how Coach Hank Stram was fitted for a microphone during Super Bowl IV, when he was heard exhorting his Kansas City Chiefs to "matriculate the ball down the field." Andy Barall, The Fifth Down: Steve Van Buren led the Philadelphia Eagles to three straight Eastern Division titles and their first two N.F.L. championships, in 1948 and 1949. He retired as the leading rusher in league history. Van Buren was born in La Ceiba, Honduras, where his father was a fruit inspector. As a child he was sent to live with his grandparents in Louisiana after his parents died. Andy Barall, The Fifth Down: Ben Davidson didn't just come to embody the renegade image of the Oakland Raiders. Under Al Davis, he helped to create and popularize it, starting in the mid-1960s. In an era when all but a few defensive players were anonymous, Davidson was a star. He was a showman who used his football career to gain fame, fortune and the freedom to live as he wished. Mike Tierney, The Times: An autopsy report released this week, just before N.F.L. training camps opened, concluded that the former Atlanta Falcons safety Ray Easterling, who committed suicide in April, had a degenerative brain disease widely connected to athletes who have absorbed frequent blows to the head. Andy Barall, The Fifth Down: Alex Webster was an important part of one of New York's legendary teams, the Giants of the late '50s and early '60s. For the first time, pro football players became celebrities in the media and financial capital of the world. Greg Hanlon, The Fifth Down: Stacy Robinson was comfortable enough with himself to admit that he harbored some regret about his career, if not bitterness. It was General Manager George Young who had lobbied to pick Robinson - Young was always fond of players with "measurables"- and Robinson always felt that Bill Parcells held the fact that he was Young's pick, and not his own, against him. Andy Barall, The Fifth Down: Rich Saul played his entire 12-year career with the Los Angeles Rams. When he finally got his chance to start, he quickly developed into one of the N.F.L.'s best centers of the late 1970s and early '80s. Andy Barall, The Fifth Down: Greg Cook was one of pro football's shooting stars. Although his career consisted of just 12 games, he left an impression that hasn't been forgotten, especially by his teammates and coaches. Cook, as his offensive coordinator, Bill Walsh, once told NFL Films, "could very well have been remembered or noted as the greatest quarterback of all time." Richard Goldstein, Times obituary: Ron Erhardt devised the offensive schemes for two Super Bowl championship teams with the Giants in the Bill Parcells era. Dave Zirin, in this week's New York Times Magazine: The death of Art Modell brought with it not only tributes and tearful remembrances but also a new round of denunciations from the Cleveland Browns faithful. Modell had effectively told them to go to hell, and Cleveland Browns fans have spent the last three months returning the favor, some 17 years since he took the team from the city.