All-Time Football Draft: The Picks

[WSUCougar]

I PMd Chubby on Wednesday right after my last pick, so you might go ahead with yours, VPI97.

[VPI97]

Head Coach / TE - Mike Ditka

[JAG]

This seems like a good time to take a head coach with one of the longest tenures ever, the third-most victories of all-time, presided over an incredible 20 consecutive years of winning records, 20 playoff seasons, 5 NFC Championships, and 2 Super Bowl victories, was one of the greatest preparers of all-time, and concocted a number of innovations including the 4-3 flex defense, the "multiple formations" offense, reviving the Shotgun formation, and being the first to have a number of different coaches that are now the status quo today (strength and conditioning coaches, quality control). I'm sure most have already figured out based on the above that I am selecting Tom Landry, Head Coach.

Noble Platypus is next and has been pm'ed, followed by mckerney and Comey. If Chubby is still out there, he can jump in anytime.

[Noble_Platypus]

Leslie O'neal
6 time pro bowl selection and 132.5 sacks.

[mckerney]

Head Coach - Paul Bear Bryant

[JAG]

Bumped for Comey

[TLK]

I'm gonna give Comey a few more hours then I'm going to jump in with my picks....

[TLK]

Draft Order

1.1 - TheLionKing - Joe Montana, QB
1.2 - Comey - Barry Sanders, RB
1.3 - mckerney - Jim Thorpe, RB
1.4 - Noble Platypus - Dan Marino, QB
1.5 - JAG - Brett Favre, QB
1.6 - pskov - Lawrence Taylor, LB
1.7 - VPI97 - Jim Brown, RB
1.8 - Chubby - Walter Payton, RB
1.9 - WSUCougar - Jerry Rice, WR
1.10 - Vince - Dick Butkus, LB
1.11 - Bearcat729 - Steve Young, QB
1.12 - BishopMVP - Deacon Jones, DE

2.1 - BishopMVP - Bob Lilly, DT
2.2 - Bearcat729 - Anthony Munoz, T
2.3 - Vince - Johnny Unitas, QB
2.4 - WSUCougar - Dan Fouts, QB
2.5 - Chubby - Jack Lambert, LB
2.6 - VPI97 - John Elway, QB
2.7 - pskov - Joe Greene, DT
2.8 - JAG - Deion Sanders, CB
2.9 - Noble Platypus - Emmit Smith, RB
2.10 - mckerney - Randy White, DT
2.11 - Comey - Dick 'Night Train' Lane, CB
2.12 - TheLionKing - Jack Ham, LB

3.1 - TheLionKing - Don Hutson, WR
3.2 - Comey - Otto Graham, QB
3.3 - mckerney - Bronko Nagurski, FB/DE
3.4 - Noble Platypus - Bruce Smith, DE
3.5 - JAG - Reggie White, DE
3.6 - pskov - O.J. Simpson, RB
3.7 - VPI97 - Mike Singletary, LB
3.8 - Chubby - Ronnie Lott, S
3.9 - WSUCougar - Alan Page, DT
3.10 - Vince - Eric Dickerson, RB
3.11 - Bearcat729 - Willie Lanier, LB
3.12 - BishopMVP - Mel Blount, CB

4.1 - BishopMVP - John Hannah, G
4.2 - Bearcat729 - Gino Marchetti, DE
4.3 - Vince - Merlin Olsen, DT
4.4 - WSUCougar - Willie Brown, CB
4.5 - Chubby - Vince Lombardi, Head Coach
4.6 - VPI97 - Ray Nitschke, LB
4.7 - pskov - Jim Parker, T/G
4.8 - JAG - Roosevelt Brown, T
4.9 - Noble Platypus - Rod Woodson, S
4.10 - mckerney - Sammy Baugh, QB
4.11 - Comey - Gayle Sayers, RB
4.12 - TheLionKing - Mike Webster, C

5.1 - TheLionKing - Emlen Tunnel, CB
5.2 - Comey - Lance Alworth, WR
5.3 - mckerney - Forrest Gregg, T
5.4 - Noble Platypus - Steve Largent, WR
5.5 - JAG - Marion Motley, RB/LB
5.6 - pskov - Bart Starr, QB
5.7 - VPI97 - Gene Upshaw, G
5.8 - Chubby - Roger Staubach, QB
5.9 - WSUCougar - Art Shell, T
5.10 - Vince - Chuck Bednarik, C/LB
5.11 - Bearcat729 - Paul Warfield, WR
5.12 - BishopMVP - Larry Wilson, S

6.1 - BishopMVP - Bill George, LB
6.2 - Bearcat729 - Paul Brown, Head Coach
6.3 - Vince - Herb Adderly, CB
6.4 - WSUCougar - Ray Lewis, LB
6.5 - Chubby - Derrick Thomas, LB
6.6 - VPI97 - Dwight Stephenson, C
6.7 - pskov - George Halas, Head Coach
6.8 - JAG - John Mackey, TE
6.9 - Noble Platypus - Buck Buchanan,DT
6.10 - mckerney - Red Grange, RB
6.11 - Comey - Ken Houston, S
6.12 - TheLionKing - Earl Campbell, RB

7.1 - TheLionKing - Bill Walsh, Head Coach
7.2 - Comey - Don Shula, Head Coach
7.3 - mckerney - Ron Yary, T
7.4 - Noble Platypus - Kellen Winslow, TE
7.5 - JAG - Sam Huff, LB
7.6 - pskov - MIA
7.7 - VPI97 - Paul Krause, S
7.8 - Chubby - Fred Biletnikoff, WR
7.9 - WSUCougar - Marcus Allen, RB
7.10 - Vince - Larry Little, G
7.11 - Bearcat729 - Larry Csonka, RB
7.12 - BishopMVP - Ted Hendricks, LB

8.1 - BishopMVP - Jim Otto, C
8.2 - Bearcat729 - Lou Groza, T/K
8.3 - Vince - Elroy "Crazy Legs" Hirsch, WR
8.4 - WSUCougar - Joe DeLamielleure , G
8.5 - Chubby - Kent Hull, C
8.6 - VPI97 - Mike Haynes, CB
8.7 - pskov - MIA
8.8 - JAG - Willie Davis, DE
8.9 - Noble Platypus - Cris Carter, WR
8.10 - mckerney - Derrick Brooks, LB
8.11 - Comey - Joe Schmidt, LB
8.12 - TheLionKing - Bobby Bell, DE/LB

9.1 - TheLionKing - Raymond Berry, WR
9.2 - Comey - Randy Moss, WR
9.3 - mckerney - Dave Casper, TE
9.4 - Noble Platypus - Marvin Harrison, WR
9.5 - JAG - Tony Dorsett, RB
9.6 - pskov - MIA
9.7 - VPI97 - Art Donovan, DT
9.8 - Chubby - Darryl Johnston, FB
9.9 - WSUCougar - Ozzie Newsome, TE
9.10 - Vince - Darrell Green, CB
9.11 - Bearcat729 - Jack Christiansen, DB
9.12 - BishopMVP - Peyton Manning, QB

10.1 - BishopMVP - Ty Law, CB
10.2 - Bearcat729 - John Randle, DT
10.3 - Vince - Warren Sapp, DT
10.4 - WSUCougar - Steve Atwater, S
10.5 - Chubby - MIA
10.6 - VPI97 - Mike Ditka, Head Coach/TE
10.7 - pskov - MIA
10.8 - JAG - Tom Landry, Head Coach
10.9 - Noble Platypus - Leslie O'Neal, LB
10.10 - mckerney - Paul Bear Bryant, Head Coach
10.11 - Comey
10.12 - TheLionKing

[Comey]

Wow. I had no idea I was even up!

I'll take OT Bruce Matthews, a 14-time Pro Bowler.

[TLK]

Best player available time....

Mel Hein C/LB

Lem Barney CB

[mckerney]

Ooops. Must have forgoten to PM you Comey. My bad.

[Comey]

I'll take TE Shannon Sharpe. 8-time Pro Bowler, leads TEs in catches, yardage, and has 60 TD. Changed the way the position was viewed.

[AgPete]

So just assuming this type of all-time draft could ever happen, do you guys think coaches would be going so soon? I won't fault anyone who picks the Lombardis, Landrys and Shulas of the world but I'm thinking if you have a front seven of Reggie White, LT and Joe Greene or a passing game with Elway, Rice, Irvin and Newsome, you could get by with the Jimmy Johnsons or John Maddens of the world.

[JAG]

The real way to question your example is would you rather have a front seven of Reggie White, LT, Joe Greene, Buck Buchanan, and Lombardi coaching, or a front seven of Reggie White, LT, Joe Greene, and Merlin Olsen with George Halas coaching? Or something like that.

Let's try this: I think Lombardi is the best coach of all-time. Let's say you think coaching is a valuable position for your team and he is considerably better than the next coach in line. Now say you also think WR is a valuable position on your team, but you think the difference between Marvin Harrison, Raymond Berry, and Fred Biletnikoff is negligable. Might you risk taking Lombardi hoping one of those three receivers will be around or would you risk losing a guy head and shoulders above the competition? Some people may not draft a coach, figuring they'd rather get another stud player than have a great coach in the fold.

That's what's great about this draft. It's interesting to see everyone's opinions on how they would build a team.

[JAG]

Bumped for mckerney

[mckerney]

More offensive line help in the form of guard Randall McDaniel

[JAG]

I'm thinking you like the running game mckerney. Multiple RB's, a full OL, TE...

Noble Platypus is up next, followed by myself and VPI97.

[Noble_Platypus]

LB Junior Seau
11 time pro bowler

[JAG]

Good pick...you dirty no-good son of a ...

[Noble_Platypus]

Thanks Jag. I almost coulnt believe he was still there this late. I thought about him after my last pick. I didnt think he would be there when it came back to me.

[JAG]

That's the second time this draft that the player I was going to take was selected right before me. I don't know how I was going to fit him in with Sam Huff already at MLB, but he would've been too good to pass up.

Nevertheless, I'm pretty happy with my current pick of DT-DE Dan "The Danimal" Hampton. He'll plug up the middle and draw double-teams away from my DE's and Sam Huff. Without this guy taking up double-teams, no one would know who that Mike Singletary guy was. Even through the hordes of double-teams, he still managed to get double-digits sacks twice in his career. Stats don't tell the story with him though. He had tremendous heart and desire to win. He went through 8 arthroscopic operations and still missed only 10 games in his career. (He once suggested the NFL rename the headings in its weekly injury report, which lists players as probable, questionable and doubtful. “They would be closer to the truth,” he said, “if the league made the categories Sissy, Pussing Out and Squirreling Out.”) Too many great quotes/stories with him, but I will share one more good one:

Hampton is nowhere to be found in the Bears' 1985 Super Bowl Shuffle rap video, because, he says, “I thought it was pretentious.” And he declined to speak to the press the season after Chicago's victory in Super Bowl XX. That was his way of protesting his teammates' selfish behavior. “Everybody on the team was too busy with their own selves, who they were, how much airtime they got, rather than worrying about the team,” says Hampton. “They were driven by money and star power, what they could become. It's not important for me to show up at all the restaurant openings or have a different BMW or Mercedes in my driveway for every day of the week.

“I felt that was the team of the decade. If you had told me we weren't going to repeat, I'd have laughed at you. I was naive. Nineteen eighty-six was a tumultuous year (the Bears went 14-2 and were defeated in the divisional playoffs by the Washington Redskins), and it still bothers the hell out of me. When I retire, I'll be happy with what I accomplished, but there'll always be a part of me that says, I wish our team could've played up to its potential.”

VPI97 is on the clock, and has been pm'ed.

[mckerney]

Originally Posted by JAG

I'm thinking you like the running game mckerney. Multiple RB's, a full OL, TE...

And Bear Bryant to call the plays. Yes, yes I do like the running game.

[VPI97]

It's interesting that you picked Hampton, because I've had my next pick determined for a while....

DE Richard Dent
137.5 Career sacks
MVP of Super Bowl XX
Four-time Pro Bowler

[WSUCougar]

Gary Fencik, where are you?

[JAG]

Heh!

I should take Buddy Ryan, Defensive Coordinator for my last pick, since I've now got two of his former players.

[WSUCougar]

Don't do that to me. I lived in Philly during the Buddy Ryan years. *convulsions*

[JAG]

I think there might be a Strong Conflict in having him on the team with Landry...but making Buddy serve under Landry would be worth it.

[VPI97]

Originally Posted by JAG

I think there might be a Strong Conflict in having him on the team with Landry...but making Buddy serve under Landry would be worth it.

3.7 - VPI97 - Mike Singletary, LB
10.6 - VPI97 - Mike Ditka, Head Coach/TE
11.6 - VPI97 - Richard Dent, DE

Yet Buddy Ryan + Mike Ditka produced the greatest defense to play the game...

[JAG]

I would've liked to have seen Buddy Ryan run the Landry Mile.

[WSUCougar]

DE Jack Youngblood

Vince, you're up.

[Vince]

Huh, my PM notification must not be working. I'll try to put my pick up before I leave for work.

[Vince]

Well, here's a place I'm going to make a 'stretch' pick, I think. I'm sure there are more talented people out there, but I really want this guy, and I wanted my team to be solid in this position...

WR Lynn Swann

A Hall of Famer who made some of the most acrobatic catches ever, Swann was a delight to watch. Not as great statistically as most WRs...but definitely someone I'd enjoy watching opposite Elroy Hirsch.

Bearcat is on the clock.

[Bearcat729]

I'll select WR James Lofton

A deep-threat receiver, possessed both speed and great hands. . .recorded more than 50 receptions in a season nine times. . .First NFL player to score a touchdown in 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. . .In 16 seasons, he caught 764 passes for 14,004 yards - an NFL record at the time of his retirement. . .Named All-Pro four times, All-NFC three times, selected to play in eight Pro Bowls

[JAG]

I think Lofton's a good choice.

BishopMVP is up to end the 11th round and begin the 12th and final round.

[BishopMVP]

I select DE Michael Strahan and RB LaDainian Tomlinson. This makes my team:


QB Peyton Manning
RB LaDainian Tomlinson
C Jim Otto
G John Hannah
DE Deacon Jones
DT Bob Lilly
DE Michael Strahan
OLB Jim Hendricks
MLB Bill George
CB Ty Law
CB Mel Blount
S Larry Wilson

[JAG]

Hm, maybe now I can't claim I have the best DL. Tomlinson is a huge shocker considering how few seasons he's played though.

[Vince]

Originally Posted by JAG

I think Lofton's a good choice.

Read: Vince, why didn't you pick him?

[JAG]

LOL

The real translation is, "You're a scum for taking this guy, because I was considering taking him."

And while I still can't sleep, I may as well do my personal grading of BishopMVP's team. Note: this is my own personal biased look at your team, amazingly this is not necessarily truth.

Best selections: Deacon Jones, Bob Lilly, Peyton Manning in round 9, Michael Strahan in round 12
"Worst" selections: LaDanian Tomlinson (in 5-6 years, I could be wrong), Ty Law.

Positives: Already can claim best defensive line among all-time teams. QB's especially will have a tough time against the pass rush and cover skills of BishopMVP's defense. Playmakers all over the D. Lack of a head coach is nicely offset by having Manning run the show on offense. A couple of outstanding OLers.

Negatives: A lot is being put on Manning's shoulders offensively. No downfield threat allows teams to crowd the line to stop Tomlinson and send blitzers after Manning. Tomlinson is unproven (all-time speaking) at RB.

Overall: Hard to say where I rank it yet, since no one else has finished a team. I would've preferred a little more offensive punch and a pick other than LT, but I can probably say this team will have my favorite D of anyone's team.

[Bearcat729]

I select LB Kevin Greene and his 157 Sacks

[VPI97]

I thought about taking Greene with my last pick, but I needed more of a down lineman (Dent) than a pass rushing LB... Good pick.

[JAG]

Bearcat729's team:

1.11 - Steve Young, QB
2.2 - Anthony Munoz, T
3.11 - Willie Lanier, LB
4.2 - Gino Marchetti, DE
5.11 - Paul Warfield, WR
6.2 - Paul Brown, Head Coach
7.11 - Larry Csonka, RB
8.2 - Lou Groza, T/K
9.11 - Jack Christiansen, DB
10.2 - John Randle, DT
11.11 - James Lofton, WR
12.2 - Kevin Greene, LB

Best selections: Anthony Munoz (to a great gnashing of almost everyone's teeth), Paul Brown (touched off 3 more head coach selections in the following 12 picks), Christiansen in round 9, Greene in round 12

"Worst" selections: Steve Young (personal preference, but I preferred Unitas at least), Willie Lanier (felt there were numerous better players on the board), Larry Csonka (other RB's I would've preferred).

Positives: Very complete team. Especially good in the passing game with two great speedy wideouts and a very accurate passer. Strong pass rush with Greene, Randle, and Marchetti all capable of bringing solid pressure. Helped his special teams with Groza as kicker. Absolute genius in Paul Brown to offset team deficiencies.

Negatives: Soft defensively against the running game. A little weak in the secondary, but the pass rush helps there.

Overall: While I liked BishopMVP's team more defensively, I feel like Bearcat's team is a better overal team and would win a head-to-head matchup. Probably will end up being one of the upper-echelon teams.

[Vince]

My team could use some help in other areas (D-Line or Linebacker probably most), but I think that I need a coach more than anything else. With my final pick -

Head Coach John Madden.

Proud record holder of the highest win percentage in NFL history for a coach (.750), John Madden led the Raiders for 10 years, and had a regular season record of 103-32-7. During his tenure, the Raiders won 7 Western Division titles, and defeated the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl XI in 1976.

WSUCougar, you're up.

[Vince]

Dola - My team in it's entirety -

Pick #		Name				Pos	Name
1.10		Dick Butkus, LB				QB	Johnny Unitas
2.3		Johnny Unitas, QB				RB	Eric Dickerson
3.10		Eric Dickerson, RB				WR	Elroy "Crazy Legs" Hirsch
4.3		Merlin Olsen, DT				WR	Lynn Swann
5.10		Chuck Bednarik, C/LB				C	Chuck Bednarik
6.3		Herb Adderly, CB				G	Larry Little
7.10		Larry Little, G				DT	Merlin Olsen
8.3		Elroy "Crazy Legs" Hirsch, WR				DT	Warren Sapp
9.10		Darrell Green, CB				LB	Dick Butkus
10.3		Warren Sapp, DT				CB	Herb Adderly
11.10		Lynn Swann, WR				CB	Darrell Green
12.3		John Madden, Head Coach				Coach	John Madden

Edit - Formatting

[JAG]

Thank you Vince. And for your grades...

Best selections: Unitas in Round 2, Merlin Olsen, Darrell Green in Round 9 (punt returning skills a plus).

"Worst" selections: Lynn Swann (not so bad in the 11th round though)

Positives: One of the most balanced teams out there. Perfectly complimentary pair of DT's in Sapp and Olsen. Bednarik's versatility (2-way player) is like adding a free LB to the team. Two excellent cover corners and a top set of skill players in Unitas-Dickerson-Hirsch.

Negatives: Little to no pass rush outside of Sapp. Only one DE/OLB (Bednarik) makes it tougher to guard outside runs / screen passes (but hey, you can't have everything).

Overall: A very solid team. Tough to compare to Bearcat's team. On one hand, superior QB/RB tandem for Unitas/Dickerson vs. Young/Csonka, but I'm higher on most of the other talent and playmaking ability on Bearcat's team, so I'd probably go with them. Still, this may be one of best put together teams out there as far as all the parts fitting well with each other.

[Vince]

Yeah, with my pick I was going to get either a pass-rushing end or LB, or a coach. In the end, I decided that since we were given the option to select coaches, that I probably should.

[JAG]

dola

If people out there have time, I'd like to see a paragraph or so from the guys who have completed their teams to see what they were thinking as they put together their squad and kind of toot your team's horn some. I think it'd be interesting to see what team FOFC likes out of all our teams (as per pskov's original intentions), so think of it like an ad for your team, then we can cut/paste everyone's comments on their own team into the voting thread.

Just a thought.

[JAG]

Hey Vince, for what it's worth, I agree with you. I personally would rather have a really good coach than one more star player as I think a good coach can improve the whole team. I can see the other side of the coin as well though, because a star player can bring something to the table that even a great coach can't scheme.

[TLK]

Originally Posted by JAG

(as per pskov's original intentions)

whatever happen to that doodsicle anyways?

[WSUCougar]

With my final pick, I'll add a little local STL flavor...

T Dan Dierdorf

Chubby's up, or VPI as the case may be.

[VPI97]

Originally Posted by WSUCougar

With my final pick, I'll add a little local STL flavor...

T Dan Dierdorf

Chubby's up, or VPI as the case may be.

Chubby's been around...I'll wait a little before I pick.