posted in baseball thread, applies here, as well: I don't agree with the X-Factor stuff. In these football and baseball tournaments all the players will be good to great. In a real regular season game individual players can sometimes dominate in baseball (football not so much). I just don't think an individual player would dominate in these all time fantasy games. You won't see me write that "Player A will be the X-Factor". I have to stick to who has the better, more complete team. If Joe Blow has Babe Ruth, but the rest of his team grades out worse than Slim Jim's team, then Slim Jim's got the better team and will get my vote. Babe Ruth is just another player in the pot. He's not going to be a tiebreaker for me. Even in a dead heat Ruth will not be a tiebreaker. Otherwise, that would be wholly unfair to anyone who didn't have the first selection. Ruth will grade out as my #1 player and #1 RF and Jetfanmack will get credit for having Ruth, of course. But my point is, it takes a lot more than Ruth. By the way, his offense is not jumping out as "unbeatable" to me. I think there are several other people who have just as good an offense. I think too many people are trying to fantasize about these games. As I wrote somewhere this week, I apply the KISS principle- Keep It Simple, Stupid. Just rate the players instead of speculating about what might play out on the field. Doing that a little is okay and maybe fun, but you need not go too in-depth with it. I have a ranking system for the football teams. These rankings were based on my exhaustive reseach (reading about the NFL, and watching it, including live action and old films for the past 20 years). I weighed my ratings with experts' ratings so as to be as fair as possible (as an example- I openly admit I have the worst left tackle in the tournament; I actually have the 13th! best left tackle, which is absolutely ridiculous when you realize there are only ten teams; three people took left tackles I wanted and moved them to right tackle- which I am steamed about!). Then I looked at the official All Time NFL Teams, such as the All-Decade Teams, the 75th Anniversary Team, etc. I was then able to rank the teams 1-10. To me, it is about how well we drafted and not about fantasizing. We really don't know if Frank Robinson could have hit Cy Young or Pedro Martinez. We'd be speculating all over the place (obviously we wouldn't in cases where players really played against one another like Rose vs Carlton, for instance; we can go to www.retrosheet.org for those stats). I post some Xs and Os stuff in the NFL game threads if there is a big hole in a team somewhere. Then other times I do it just to give people something to think about. But, generally I don't like to do it because there is way too much speculatin'. With the baseball tourny I will research actual pitcher-batter face-offs such as Aaron vs Koufax and I'll look at park factors. But that will really only make a difference if a game is otherwise very close. I really, really think the best way to go about casting votes is to compare teams, position-by-position. If Joe Blow has the better 1B, the better 2B, the better CF, etc. and at the end if Joe Blow wins out over Slim Jim 17-10 (that includes manager and ballpark), he should get your vote. Now what do you do if in those 17 wins Joe Blow only has a slight edge but the 10 wins for Slim Jim are landslides? That's where my ranking system comes in. I'll use my starting QB-#1 WR matchup with MSUJet85 as an example: I have Unitas 1, Montana (MSU's QB) 2, Elway 3, Marino 4, Staubach (my QB) 5. Montana gets 2 points, Staubach 5. The lower the point total, the better. Jerry Rice (my WR) is my #1 receiver and Largent (MSU's WR) 5. So far, that would be Cakes 6, MSUJet85 7. I then go on and on down the list position-by-position. The way I have been presenting so far in some of the game threads, it would read Cakes 1, MSUJet 1 (Rice over Largent, Montana over Staubach). I have been comparing players and simply awarding the point to whoever had the better player. The stuff I haven't been presenting is where those larger numbers come into play. I may put my full rankings out there some day. If nothing less, it would lead to debate and get more people writing over there. Those 10 Slim Jim landslides could be pretty stark. Maybe I have his SS #4 and Joe Blow's SS 15 (and his other nine wins are all similar landslides). Maybe I have Joe Blow's 1B at #7 and Slim Jim's 1B at #8 (and his other 16 wins are close ones). Slim Jim may then actually grade out better. Of course, I will also make sure teams have balance in their lineups and players at their primary positions and other stuff of that nature. If Team A grades out better but has lineup imbalance and other weird stuff going on, I may vote for Team B. It will be harder with the baseball. The football is much easier. In conclusion, I can't penalize people because they didn't have the #1 selection and therefore couldn't take Ruth. To me, it comes across like if Jetfanmack even drafts decently he should win because he has the great X-Factor in Babe Ruth. Luck of the draw, he drafted first, he wins. That's what it looks like to me when you write that X-Factor stuff. Likewise, I don't like the Joe Montana X-Factor thing. I have seen you go to it twice (but interestingly not in the game when you faced Montana). I especially don't like it there because I don't even have Montana as the best player at his own position. Well, that's my take on the whole thing and how I'll be voting. 16 people here, there might be 16 different ways to go about the voting.
I can understand people thinking, "Well, of course Cakes will find for his own players." I'll note the all-time team decorations today. There it will be not my opinion, but rather the opinion of league personnel and the Hall of Fame Selection Committee.
Why did we even have this thing then? I can say this Montana X-Factor stuff is hogwash, too. He's simply not significantly better than Staubach (or Elway or Marino or Graham or Baugh, etc.) If Team A has a player widely considered to be a dominant tight end and Team B has a player widely considered to be pretty good, then Team A has the better player, regardless of what era the players played in. There are ways to judge these things. When the experts put Stenerud on the 75th Anniversary team and not Lou Groza, they were saying Stenerud was better than Groza.
If you are unsure of how a player rates, check out these official teams: Code: [B][U]75th Anniversary All-Time Team[/U][/B] Chosen by a selection committee of media and league personnel in 1994. OFFENSE QB- Sammy Baugh QB- Otto Graham QB- Joe Montana QB- Johnny Unitas RB- Jim Brown RB- Marion Motley RB- Bronko Nagurski RB- Walter Payton RB- Gale Sayers RB- O.J. Simpson RB- Steve Van Buren WR- Lance Alworth WR- Raymond Berry WR- Don Hutson WR- Jerry Rice TE- Mike Ditka TE- Kellen Winslow T- Roosevelt Brown T- Forrest Gregg T- Anthony Munoz G- John Hannah G- Jim Parker G- Gene Upshaw C- Mel Hein C- Mike Webster DEFENSE DE- Deacon Jones DE- Gino Marchetti DE- Reggie White DT- Joe Greene DT- Bob Lilly DT- Merlin Olsen LB- Dick Butkus LB- Jack Ham LB- Ted Hendricks LB- Jack Lambert LB- Willie Lanier LB- Ray Nitschke LB- Lawrence Taylor CB- Mel Blount CB- Mike Haynes CB- Dick (Night Train) Lane CB- Rod Woodson S- Ken Houston S- Ronnie Lott S- Larry Wilson SPECIAL TEAMS P- Ray Guy K- Jan Stenerud PR- Billy (White Shoes) Johnson KR- Gale Sayers [B][U]75th Anniversary All-Two-Way Team[/U][/B] Positions Quarterback, Defensive Halfback, Punter- Sammy Baugh Center, Linebacker- Chuck Bednarik Quarterback, Defensive Halfback, Punter- Earl (Dutch) Clark Tackle, Defensive Tackle- George Connor Guard, Defensive Tackle- Danny Fortmann Center, Defensive Tackle- Mel Hein Tackle, Defensive Tackle, Punter- Wilbur (Pete) Henry Back, Defensive Halfback- Bill Hewitt Fullback, Linebacker, Kicker- Clarke Hinkle Tackle, Defensive Tackle- Cal Hubbard End, Defensive Halfback- Don Hutson Back, Defensive Back- George McAfee Fullback, Linebacker- Marion Motley Guard-Tackle, Defensive Tackle- George Musso Fullback, Linebacker- Bronko Nagurski Halfback, Defensive Halfback- Ernie Nevers End, Defensive Back- Pete Pihos Tackle, Defensive Tackle- Joe Stydahar Running Back, Defensive Back- Steve Van Buren [B][U]50th Anniversary Team[/U][/B] Chosen by the Hall of Fame Selection Committee in 1969. First Team- Quarterback- Johnny Unitas Fullback- Jim Brown Halfback- Jim Thorpe Halfback-Gale Sayers Flanker- Elroy Hirsch Split End- Don Hutson Tight End- John Mackey Tackle- Cal Hubbard Guard- Jerry Kramer Center- Chuck Bednarik Kicker- Lou Groza Defensive End- Gino Marchetti Defensive Tackle- Leo Nomellini Linebacker- Ray Nitschke Cornerback- Dick (Night Train) Lane Safety- Emlen Tunnell Second Team- Quarterback- Sammy Baugh, Norm Van Brocklin Fullback- Bronko Nagurski, Joe Perry Halfback- Red Grange, Hugh McElhenny Split End- Raymond Berry, Dante Lavelli Tight End- Mike Ditka, Ron Kramer Flanker- Boyd Dowler, Lenny Moore Kicker- Ernie Nevers, Ken Strong Offensive Tackle- Forrest Gregg, Joe Stydahar Guard- Danny Fortmann, Jim Parker Center- Mel Hein, Alex Wojciechowicz Linebacker- Joe Schmidt, Bulldog Turner Defensive End- Len Ford, Deacon Jones Defensive Tackle- Art Donovan, Ernie Stautner Defensive Halfback- Herb Adderley, Jack Butler Safety- Jack Christiansen, Larry Wilson All-Decade teams chosen by the Hall of Fame Selection Committee members. [B][U]1920s All-Decade Team[/U][/B] E- Guy Chamberlin E- Lavern Dilweg E- George Halas T- Ed Healey T- Wilbur (Pete) Henry T- Cal Hubbard T- Steve Owen G- Hunk Anderson G- Walt Kiesling G- Mike Michalske C- George Trafton QB- Jimmy Conzelman QB- John (Paddy) Driscoll HB- Red Grange HB- Joe Guyon HB- Earl (Curly) Lambeau HB- Jim Thorpe FB- Ernie Nevers [B][U]1930s All-Decade Team[/U][/B] E- Bill Hewitt E- Don Hutson E- Wayne Millner E- Gaynell Tinsley T- George Christensen T- Frank Cope T- Glen (Turk) Edwards T- Bill Lee T- Joe Stydahar G- Grover (Ox) Emerson G- Dan Fortmann G- Charles (Buckets) Goldenberg G- Russ Letlow C- Mel Hein C- George Svendsen QB- Earl (Dutch) Clark QB- Arnie Herber QB- Cecil Isbell HB- Cliff Battles HB- Johnny (Blood) McNally HB- Beattie Feathers HB- Alphonse (Tuffy) Leemans HB- Ken Strong FB- Clarke Hinkle FB- Bronko Nagurski [B][U]1940s All-Decade Team[/U][/B] E- Jim Benton E- Jack Ferrante E- Ken Kavanaugh E- Dante Lavelli E- Pete Pihos E- Mac Speedie E- Ed Sprinkle T- Al Blozis T- George Connor T- Frank (Bucko) Kilroy T- Buford Ray T- Vic Sears T- Al Wistert G- Bruno Banducci G- Bill Edwards G- Garrard (Buster) Ramsey G- Bill Willis G- Len Younce C- Charley Brock C- Clyde (Bulldog) Turner C- Alex Wojciechowicz QB- Sammy Baugh QB- Sid Luckman QB- Bob Waterfield HB- Tony Canadeo HB- Bill Dudley HB- George McAfee HB- Charley Trippi HB- Steve Van Buren HB- Byron (Whizzer) White FB- Pat Harder FB- Marion Motley FB- Bill Osmanski [B][U]1950s All-Decade Team[/U][/B] OFFENSE E- Raymond Berry E- Tom Fears E- Bobby Watson HB/E- Elroy (Crazylegs) Hirsch T- Roosevelt Brown T- Bob St. Clair G- Dick Barwegan G- Jim Parker G- Dick Stanfel C- Chuck Bednarik QB- Otto Graham QB- Bobby Layne QB- Norm Van Brocklin HB- Frank Gifford HB- Ollie Matson HB- Hugh McElhenny HB- Lenny Moore FB- Alan Ameche FB- Joe Perry K- Lou Groza DEFENSE E- Len Ford E- Gino Marchetti T- Art Donovan T- Leo Nomellini T- Ernie Stautner LB- Joe Fortunato LB- Bill George LB- Sam Huff LB- Joe Schmidt HB- Jack Butler HB- Dick (Night Train) Lane S- Jack Christiansen S- Yale Lary S- Emlen Tunnell [B][U]1960s All-Decade Team[/U][/B] OFFENSE SE- Del Shofner SE- Charley Taylor FL- Gary Collins FL- Boyd Dowler TE- John Mackey T- Bob Brown T- Forrest Gregg T- Ralph Neely G- Gene Hickerson G- Jerry Kramer G- Howard Mudd C- Jim Ringo QB- Sonny Jurgensen QB- Bart Starr QB- Johnny Unitas HB- John David Crow HB- Paul Hornung HB- Leroy Kelly HB- Gale Sayers FB- Jim Brown FB- Jim Taylor K- Jim Bakken DEFENSE E- Doug Atkins E- Willie Davis E- Deacon Jones T- Alex Karras T- Bob Lilly T- Merlin Olsen LB- Dick Butkus LB- Larry Morris LB- Ray Nitschke LB- Tommy Nobis LB- Dave Robinson CB- Herb Adderley CB- Lem Barney CB- Bobby Boyd S- Eddie Meador S- Larry Wilson S- Willie Wood P- Don Chandler [B][U]1970s All-Decade Team[/U][/B] OFFENSE WR- Harold Carmichael WR- Drew Pearson WR- Lynn Swann WR- Paul Warfield TE- Dave Casper TE- Charlie Sanders T- Dan Dierdorf T- Art Shell T- Rayfield Wright T- Ron Yary G- Joe DeLamielleure G- John Hannah G- Larry Little G- Gene Upshaw C- Jim Langer C- Mike Webster QB- Terry Bradshaw QB- Ken Stabler QB- Roger Staubach RB- Earl Campbell RB- Franco Harris RB- Walter Payton RB- O.J. Simpson K- Garo Yepremian DEFENSE E- Carl Eller E- L.C. Greenwood E- Harvey Martin E- Jack Youngblood T- Joe Greene T- Bob Lilly T- Merlin Olsen T- Alan Page LB- Bobby Bell LB- Robert Brazile LB- Dick Butkus LB- Jack Ham LB- Ted Hendricks LB- Jack Lambert CB- Willie Brown CB- Jimmy Johnson CB- Roger Wehrli CB- Louis Wright S- Dick Anderson S- Cliff Harris S- Ken Houston S- Larry Wilson P- Ray Guy [B][U]1980s All-Decade Team[/U][/B] OFFENSE WR- Jerry Rice WR- Steve Largent WR- James Lofton WR- Art Monk TE- Kellen Winslow TE- Ozzie Newsome T- Anthony Munoz T- Jim Covert T- Gary Zimmerman T- Joe Jacoby G- John Hannah G- Russ Grimm G- Bill Fralic G- Mike Munchak C- Dwight Stephenson C- Mike Webster QB- Joe Montana QB- Dan Fouts RB- Walter Payton RB- Eric Dickerson RB- Roger Craig RB- John Riggins DEFENSE E- Reggie White E- Howie Long E- Lee Roy Selmon E- Bruce Smith T- Randy White T- Dan Hampton T- Keith Millard T- Dave Butz LB- Mike Singletary LB- Lawrence Taylor LB- Ted Hendricks LB- Jack Lambert LB- Andre Tippett LB- John Anderson LB- Carl Banks CB- Mike Haynes CB- Mel Blount CB- Frank Minnifield CB- Lester Hayes S- Ronnie Lott S- Kenny Easley S- Deron Cherry S- Joey Browner S- Nolan Cromwell SPECIALISTS P- Sean Landeta P- Reggie Roby K- Morten Andersen K- Gary Anderson K- Eddie Murray PR- Billy (White Shoes) Johnson PR- John Taylor KR- Mike Nelms KR- Rick Upchurch Coach- Bill Walsh Coach- Chuck Noll [B][U]1990s All-Decade Team[/U][/B] OFFENSE WR- Cris Carter WR- Jerry Rice WR- Tim Brown WR- Michael Irvin TE- Shannon Sharpe TE- Ben Coates T- William Roaf T- Gary Zimmerman T- Tony Boselli T- Richmond Webb G- Bruce Matthews G- Randall McDaniel G- Larry Allen G- Steve Wisniewski C- Dermontti Dawson C- Mark Stepnoski QB- John Elway QB- Brett Favre RB- Barry Sanders RB- Emmitt Smith RB- Terrell Davis RB- Thurman Thomas DEFENSE E- Bruce Smith E- Reggie White E- Chris Doleman E- Neil Smith T- Cortez Kennedy T- John Randle T- Warren Sapp T- Bryant Young LB- Kevin Greene LB- Junior Seau LB- Derrick Thomas LB- Cornelius Bennett LB- Hardy Nickerson LB- Levon Kirkland CB- Deion Sanders CB- Rod Woodson CB- Darrell Green CB- Aeneas Williams S- Steve Atwater S- LeRoy Butler S- Carnell Lake S- Ronnie Lott SPECIALISTS P- Darren Bennett P- Sean Landeta K- Morten Andersen K- Gary Anderson PR- Deion Sanders PR- Mel Gray KR- Michael Bates KR- Mel Gray Coach- Bill Parcells Coach- Marv Levy
Two more that couldn't fit in previous post. Code: [B][U]All-Time AFL Team[/U][/B] Chosen by 1969 AFL Hall of Fame Selection Committee members. First Team OFFENSE WR- Lance Alworth WR- Don Maynard TE- Fred Arbanas T- Ron Mix T- Jim Tyrer G- Ed Budde G- Billy Shaw C- Jim Otto QB- Joe Namath RB- Clem Daniels RB- Paul Lowe DEFENSE E- Jerry Mays E- Gerry Philbin T- Houston Antwine T- Tom Sestak LB- Bobby Bell LB- George Webster LB- Nick Buoniconti CB- Willie Brown CB- Dave Grayson S- Johnny Robinson S- George Saimes SPECIAL TEAMS K- George Blanda P- Jerrel Wilson Second Team OFFENSE WR- Charley Hennigan WR- Art Powell TE- Dave Kocourek T- Winston Hill T- Stew Barber G- Bob Talamini G- Walt Sweeney C- Jon Morris QB- Len Dawson RB- Cookie Gilchrist RB- Abner Haynes DEFENSE E- Ron McDole E- Rich (Tombstone) Jackson T- Buck Buchanan T- Tom Keating LB- Mike Stratton LB- Larry Grantham LB- Dan Conners CB- George Byrd CB- Miller Farr S- Austin (Goose) Gonsoulin S- Ken Graham SPECIAL TEAMS K- Jim Turner P- Bob Scarpitto [B][U]All-Time NFL Team[/U][/B] Chosen by members of the Hall of Fame Selection Committee in 2000. OFFENSE WR- Don Hutson WR- Jerry Rice TE- John Mackey T- Roosevelt Brown T- Anthony Munoz G- John Hannah G- Jim Parker C- Mike Webster QB- Johnny Unitas RB- Jim Brown RB- Walter Payton DEFENSE E- Deacon Jones E- Reggie White T- Joe Greene T- Bob Lilly MLB- Dick Butkus OLB- Jack Ham OLB- Lawrence Taylor CB- Mel Blount CB- Dick (Night Train) Lane S- Ronnie Lott S- Larry Wilson SPECIAL TEAMS K- Jan Stenerud P- Ray Guy KR- Gale Sayers PR- Deion Sanders ST- Steve Tasker
While stats don't tell the whole story, this link should provide some perspective. http://home.nc.rr.com/rosmith/nfl/wrat.html
There are two WRs I have a real problem with ranking- Monk and Sterling Sharpe. When both played I thought I was looking at Hall of Famers. Then, Sharpe had to retire early and that basically doomed his HOF chances. Now with Monk, I thought he would have been in a few years ago. Since that time, stats geeks (that's not necessarily a derogatory term), like at Football Outsiders, want to claim Monk doesn't belong. Then you get writers like Dr. Z and Peter King not liking him. These people have made me question my opinion of Monk. Screw them all. I'm going back with my thoughts on Monk the day he retired. He should be a HOFer. So what if he ran those short Dodge patterns? He was very effective. He was very consistent, strong receiver who caught passes inside and outside. Paul Warfield played in an era that was not conducive to catching a lot of passes. D-backs could chuck receivers beyond 5 yards (chucking became illegal in 1978 the year after Warfield retired). Furthermore, he played on two great running teams, the Browns and Dolphins. His small reception numbers aside, he was an all-pro in seasons where he caught as little as 29 passes. Brett Perriman caught 108 one season. That's a difference of 79 receptions and Perriman wasn't even in Warfield's class. Here are Warfield's catches and all-pro nods by season: 1964- 52- 1st team NE All-NFL 1965- 3 1966- 36 1967- 32 1968- 50- 2nd team AP All-NFL, 1st team UP All-NFL, 1st team NE All-NFL, 1st team PW All-NFL 1969- 42- 1st team HF All-Pro, 2nd team FW All-Pro, 1st team NE All-Pro, 1st team NE All-NFL, 1st team PW All-NFL, 2nd team NY All-NFL 1970- 28- 2nd team NE All-NFL, 1st team SN All-AFC 1971- 43- unanimous 1st team All-NFL by four services, unanimous 1st team All-AFC by four services 1972- 29- 2nd team AP All-NFL, 1st team NE All-NFL, 1st team AP All-AFC, 2nd team UP All-AFC, 1st team SN All-AFC 1973- 29- 1st team AP All-NFL, 2nd team FW All-NFL, 2nd team NE All-NFL, unanimous 1st team All-AFC by four services 1974- 27- 2nd team UP All-AFC, 1st team PW All-AFC 1976- 38 1977- 18 He was a Pro Bowler after the 1964, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, and 1974.
I wasn't getting much of anywhere with my own opinions. This is my last ditch effort for the week, I guess. I think what you read below will show my team is a bit better. Some stats: Hall of Famers Cakes 17 MSUJet85 16 Cakes (17)- Roger Staubach, Sonny Jurgensen, Leroy Kelly, John Henry Johnson, Paul Warfield, Jackie Smith, John Hannah, Bulldog Turner, Larry Little, Bob Brown, Jan Stenerud, Bob Lilly, Buck Buchanan, Bobby Bell, Dick Butkus, Jack Ham, Lem Barney MSUJet85 (16)- Joe Montana, Fran Tarkenton, Marcus Allen, Jim Thorpe, Marion Motley, Don Maynard, Steve Largent, Mike Ditka, Jim Parker, Jim Langer, George Musso, Rayfield Wright, Lou Groza, Joe Greene, Willie Lanier, Herb Adderley Breakdown of Hall of Famers- Offense: MSUJet 85 12, Cakes 10 Placekickers: Cakes 1, MSUJet85 1 Punters: Cakes 0, MSUJet85 0 Defense: Cakes 6, MSUJet85 3 Future Hall of Famers?- Cakes 5, MSUJet85 4 Cakes- Marshall Faulk, Jerry Rice, Charles Haley, Brian Dawkins, Roger Wehrli MSUJet85- Warren Sapp, Chris Doleman, Junior Seau, LeRoy Butler Guaranteed Future Hall of Famers- Cakes 2, MSUJet85 1 Cakes- Faulk and Rice MSUJet85- Seau The possible Hall of Famers- Haley and Wehrli were recently finalists for the Hall of Fame. They could get in before the decade is out. Brian Dawkins is probable for the Hall of Fame (75% chance). Sapp is questionable (50% chance), maybe probable. Doleman and Butler are doubtful (25% chance). RE: official all-time NFL teams (see above posts 44 and 45): # of times a player appears on a list- Cakes 43 (39 first team, 4 second team) MSUJet85 37* (34 first team, 3 second team) *Jim Parker appeared 5 times as a guard. MSUJet85 drafted him as a tackle. Therefore, if you want to make the adjustment and not count Parker, it would be Cakes 43, MSUJet85 32. Maybe you want to give MSUJet85 half credit. In that case it would be Cakes 43, MSUJet85 34.5. The most important lists are the all-decade lists, the 75th Anniversary All-Time Team and the 2000 All-Time Team. Those are the most prestigious all-time teams. 75th Anniversary Team- Cakes 6 MSUJet85 6 All-Decade Teams (decade-by-decade in parentheses; 1920s, 1930s, etc.)- Cakes 22 (-, -, 1, 0, 6, 10, 4, 1) MSUJet85 19 (1, 0, 1, 2, 1, 6, 2, 6) 2000 All-Time Team (this is the most prestigious all-time team of them all and is the most recent; only the top of the line players made this team)- Cakes 6 MSUJet85 2 Expert opinions would show for: the Cakes team.
Summer reading: The greatest game-changers By Pat Kirwan NFL.com Senior Analyst (July 7, 2006) -- There's not one coach's car to be found in an NFL parking lot, and every player I have spoken with in the past few days is kicking back and resting up before the long grind of summer camp is upon us. So, it's not a bad time to think about some debatable issues that come up for discussion from time to time. The first one on the table is: Which person changed the modern game the most with his contribution? I'm not going to restrict this question to players -- and of course it might be impossible to really answer -- but it occurred to me after a discussion I had on my Sirius radio show that there are a number of people who are legitimate candidates. After you read through the group I have put together, you might agree, disagree or point out I have left someone off the list. Let me know your thoughts at NFLCALLOFTHEWEEK@aol.com. Quarterbacks had to know where Lawrence Taylor was at all times. 1. Lawrence Taylor: The Hall of Famer revolutionized the outside linebacker position and changed how defenses would attack the quarterback. Soon after Taylor made a name for himself, every team in the league was out looking for its version of L.T. Of course, not many teams came up with such a player. Beyond that, coaches changed defensive schemes based on what the Giants were able to do with Taylor. 2. Bill Walsh: He is known as the designer of the West Coast offense. His coaching disciples are all over the NFL, and they preach the same philosophy Walsh taught: Drive the football with the short passing attack. Many believe that most NFL teams set up the run with the pass, and there's no doubt Bill Walsh took a lot from what he learned early in his coaching career and developed an offense that is the backbone of over half the NFL today. 3. Marshall Faulk: He turned the running back into a wide receiver, and really gave coaches the vision of what the "matchup" game was all about in the NFL. Soon after Marshall stepped on the field as an Indianapolis Colt, opposing teams found out their safeties struggled in space when Faulk would line up as a wideout opposite the two wide receivers. He has 767 receptions and 36 touchdown catches in 176 games. Faulk once caught 80 or more passes in five consecutive seasons. The last draft was a great indication that teams are always looking for matchup nightmares like Reggie Bush and -- more important -- the hybrid defensive backs like Michael Huff, Donte Whitner and Jason Allen, who can cover like corners and play like safeties. 4. Brian Urlacher: The big Chicago middle linebacker played safety in college. When he moved down to the MLB position with safety skills, the position changed for good. The era of the Dick Butkus-type backer disappeared. Now teams expect their Mike backer to drop into the deep middle of the field like a free safety in the Tampa 2 coverage schemes, and they expect them to match up with great running backs coming out of the backfield in man coverages. Before you criticize this candidate, think about the type of players playing middle linebacker around the league and what they are asked to do. 5. Tony Gonzalez: Find a big basketball player who can block, beat linebackers, and line up as wide receivers and outplay safeties and corners when the ball is up in the air. That became an offensive necessity after Gonzalez opened up the Kansas City offense. Now we see Gates, Heap, Shockey, Winslow and others being asked to do the things Gonzalez has been doing since he entered the league. Maybe it was really Hall of Fame tight end Kellen Winslow and his 45 touchdown receptions? Then again, Gonzalez already has 56 touchdowns and going strong. 6. Gil Brandt: He revolutionized the personnel business in the NFL. He was on the ground level of the computerization of evaluating players and developing a way to measure probable athletic success in football while he ran the scouting department for the Dallas Cowboys. His grading system and evaluation process is the backbone of most NFL scouting departments. Although retired from the league for a number of years and a regular contributor to NFL.com, he still has signed more non-football players to NFL contracts than any other personnel man in the business. Ask Gil about any draft pick, and he'll tell you if he has the "traits" to be a success in pro football. 7. Deion Sanders: The term "lockdown cover corner" is defined by how he played the game in his day. Every team that had Sanders on the field let Deion take the top receiver all by himself and let the rest of the defense defend everyone else. He was so good at one point in his career that teams just didn't throw the ball in his direction. Since Deion entered the league, every team has been looking for a lockdown corner to take a receiver out of the game. 8. Alex Gibbs: He changed the way modern offensive lines block for the running game. Gibbs wasn't interested in 350-pound offensive linemen. He wanted 290-pound athletes and he couldn't care what round they were discovered in. In fact, a free-agent tight end willing to change positions was even more his kind of guy than a first-round offensive lineman. His style has to be considered more aggressive than most, and the way he teaches his players to get backside defenders on the ground has been the basis for the great Broncos running games no matter which running back they had in the backfield. He went to Atlanta, and overnight the Falcons became a leading rushing offense in the NFL. Gibbs proved you can still run the ball in the NFL when you want to, as long as you have the aggressive athletes he likes to coach. 9. Dan Marino: Coverages didn't faze him. He had the quick release, confidence and aggressiveness to stick the ball in tight spots. His quick release changed how teams had to play defense against him and now others who get the ball out of their hand as soon as possible. He also proved pocket maneuverability was more important than foot speed. 10. Dick LeBeau: He is not the only coach who was willing to use it, but most coaches believe LeBeau revolutionized the zone-blitz defense. He will drop anyone into coverage and blitz anyone from anywhere. Ask Joe Gibbs what changed the most in pro football while he was away running a NASCAR team, and he will say the ways teams pressure the quarterback and the running game. Watch LeBeau, and you will see defensive ends dropping into hook zones and cornerbacks blitzing while lined up on wide receivers. 11. Ronnie Lott: A cornerback who moved to safety and became one of the most feared hitters in the game. He finished up his career with 63 interceptions and an untold number of big hits, tackles and sacks. Lott says Roy Williams is the guy he likes to watch the most now, and a guy in Pittsburgh by the name of Troy Polamalu plays a lot like him. After Lott made a name for himself, the corner/safety position was redefined. 12. George Allen: Among the other things he did, consider the way he developed special teams. NFL teams have close to 500 special-teams plays a season. Because of Allen, today there are special-teams coordinators and assistant special-teams coaches. There have been some truly great players like Jerry Rice, but did they change how the game is played, or did they simply play it better than anyone else? A guy like Michael Vick has a chance to make the top 10 of people who change how the game is played -- if he can find the success of those listed above. For now, he's on a very short list of possibles. Let me know if one guy jumps out at you as the man who most changed the modern game.
"Dr. Z" Paul Zimmerman would also probably find for my team. Check his all-decade teams, which I have posted here. (Not here as in this thread, but rather elsewhere in the NFL section.) Award three points for each time a player received 1st team honors from Dr. Z. Award two points for each time a player received 2nd team honors from Dr. Z. Award one point for each time a player received 3rd team honors from Dr. Z. Award zero points for each time a player received no honors from Dr. Z. Total Dr. Z points- Cakes- 62 MSUJet85-51 MSUJet85 got two points for Parker at tackle (1950s). Do not count Parker's first team selection at guard in the 1960s, because MSUJet85 is playing him at tackle. Offense- Cakes 27, MSUJet85 26 Kickers- Cakes 6, MSUJet 6 Defense- Cakes 29, MSUJet 19 This team should have received more than six votes.
From page 1 of the introduction to The Truly Great: The 200 Best Pro Football Players of All Time: As far as strong safeties go the best I've seen were Kenny Easley Tim McDonald Joey Browner Ronnie Lott (better at free safety) Ed Reed and Troy Polamalu have to keep at it for several more years to crack that list.
