Man coverage

Hey, I'm Bob.

Here are my thoughts on the all-time NFL team. I've written more than is probably healthy.

The Team 

QB: Joe Montana.                      Bart Starr, Sid Luckman

HB: Jim Brown.                          Barry Sanders, Walter Payton

FB: Marion Motley.                    Bronko Nagurski

TE: John Mackey.                      Mike Ditka, Tony Gonzalez

WR: Jerry Rice, Don Hutson.     Paul Warfield, Lance Alworth, Cris Carter, Steve Tasker

C: Dwight Stephenson.               Jim Otto, Bruce Matthews

LG: John Hannah, RG: Jim Parker.   Larry Allen

LT: Anthony Munoz, RT: Forrest Gregg.   Jonathan Ogden

RDT: Joe Greene, LDT: Bob Lilly    Alan Page, Merlin Olsen

RDE: Deacon Jones LDE: Reggie White.   Bruce Smith, Gino Marchetti

MLB: Dick Butkus                        Ray Lewis
OLB:                                               Lawrence Taylor, Derrick Brooks       

CB: Deion Sanders, Darrell Green, Rod Woodson.   Willie Brown, Mike Haynes, Champ Bailey

FS: Ronnie Lott,                             Emlen Tunnell

SS: Ken Houston                            Steve Atwater                      

P: Ray Guy.                                 Adam Vinateri

K: Adam Vinateri.                       Ray Guy

PR: Jack Christiansen.                 Darrell Green, Rod Woodson

KR: Darrell Green.                      Jack Christiansen, Rod Woodson

LS: Bobby Bell.                           Bruce Matthews, Jim Otto

H: Ray Guy.                                Bart Starr, Sid Luckman

Responses to probable questions and objections...

Honorable Mentions: There are over 200 players in the NFL Hall of Fame, all of  whom would obviously be outstanding players on this team. The following players are the ones I most wish I had room on the roster for: Johnny Unitas, Emmitt Smith, Lorenzo Neal, Kellen Winslow, Raymond Berry, Mike Webster, Randall McDaniel, Art Shell, John Randle, Willie Davis, Mike Singletary, Derrick Brooks, Darrell Revis, Ken Houston, Larry Wilson

Depth: I have 26 players on offense, 25 on defense, and 2 on special teams. I selected Bruce Matthews to add depth at each position on the offensive line and Rod Woodson to add depth at both safety positions. My special teams players have each both kicked and punted in college, so they are each other's emergency backup.

No Jim Thorpe: I did not feel comfortable putting a player without footage to evaluate on my team.

No Randy Moss or Terrell Owens: While both are incredibly talented players, they are both a toxic presence in the locker room and are therefore not welcome on my team. 

Darrell Green as KR: Due to a cautious Joe Gibbs, Darrell Green returned only one kickoff in his career. However, he is one of the fastest players in NFL history, averaged a career 12.0 yards per punt return on 51 attempts, and once returned a punt for a touchdown in the 1987 NFC divisional playoff game. As a full-time KR, he will be among the elite players at this position.

Strategy...

DEFENSE: All defensive systems have strengths and weaknesses. Coaches usually take their best player and build a system where he does more with less. If you have a shutdown corner, you can put him on an island in man coverage. If you have a great defensive end, you don't have to blitz much. If you have a great MLB, don't need 8 men in the box. The problem with my team is that I don't have a best player. They're all the best. I can do more with less at every position. So what I have ask myself is, "Where do I want the extra guy?". Since I have LT as a linebacker, I will run Cover-1 Man as my base defense so that he can blitz on most plays. My front four would certainly be enough to consistently get to the quarterback. My base five-man rush will be almost unstoppable! Again, I can do more with less elsewhere on the field. My DB's are all capable of running tight man-to-man coverage and my rangy safety can play center-field by himself.  

Let's look at how all the pieces fit together in the base defense.

Front Four

1-T: Bob Lilly 3-T: Joe Greene 5-T: Deacon Jones 5-T: Reggie White

         Since I will be rushing with 5 most plays, I can afford to employ an aggressive one-gap system across the board. Lilly and Greene were both famous for attacking gaps and wreaking havoc in the backfield, so I'm especially excited about my DTs. No concerns with my DE's. 

Linebackers: 

LLB: Jack Ham  MLB: Dick Butkus RLB: Derrick Brooks JB: Lawrence Taylor

        In a 3 WR set, Ham will usually cover the TE and Butkus will cover the RB. If there are 2 RBs, Butkus will usually cover the FB and Ham will cover the HB. I will sub a safety for Butkus if there are two TEs and an empty backfield. As mentioned, Taylor will be blitzing most plays.

Secondary:

LCB: Deion Sanders RCB: Darrell Green SLT: Rod Woodson SFTY: Ronnie Lott

            In a 3 WR set, Sanders, Green, and Woodson will be in man-to-man with help from Lott over the top. If there are two TEs and an empty backfield, Lott will cover the second TE, as he has cornerback experience, and Tunnell will be the free safety. 

OFFENSE: I will use smashmouth, ball-control running to set up play-action passing.While I certainly have the personnel to run a more complex passing scheme, I prefer simple concepts that are well-executed. While I admit I have a much stronger vision for the defense, I do have some offensive ambition. The 1978 New England Patriots set the single-season record for total rushing yards with 3,165. I intend to break this record. Lets say all three of my HB rush for just over 1,000 yards (also a record) and Motley rushes for over 200 (I'm hoping Montana won't have to scramble too much). This beats the record and averages over 200 rushing yards per game, just like the '72 Dolphins and the '76 Steelers. That's my kind of team. Old school.

Again, let's look at each piece.

Offensive line:

          With Jim Parker, John Hannah, and Forrest Gregg on the line, I'm imagining a lot of outside power running with pulling offensive linemen. On inside runs, Dwight Stephenson is quick enough to chip shot a defensive tackle and still make a second level block on a linebacker. 

Running backs:

          I'm imagining using Motley primarily as a lead blocker for Brown and Payton. Sanders generally fared better in a two tight end set which gave him the space he needed to maneuver. Motley will get his 200 yards for the season on a few FB dives on 3rd and short and also on the occasional draw, a play which he helped develop with the Browns. 

Quarterback/Receivers:
         I'm hoping to exploit my power running game for lots of play action passing. On these plays, I imagine Hutson usually going deep, Rice and Mackey on mid range routes, and Motley as the check-down receiver. In general, I have a quarterback known for hitting short, accurate timing routes and Rice, Mackey, and Motley are three of the best receivers after the catch of all time. When the running game isn't quite clicking, we certainly will still have plenty of ways to win.

Quarterback selection: While I've certainly watched plenty of quarterback film, I decided to stick to the facts -- specifically, The Cold Hard Football Facts -- for my quarterback selection process. They argue that Starr and Montana are #1 and #2 all-time, and I agree. However, I think they fundamentally underrated Sid Luckman by the very measures they so convincingly demonstrated the value of:

- Leadership: Read George Halas's letter to Luckman. Have a box of tissues handy.

- Victories: 4 Championships

- Big-game performances: 89.4 post season passer rating, which was absolutely insane for his era. 135.6 passer rating in the 1943 championship game (also nabbed two interceptions and ran eight times for 64 yards). 

- Statistical supremacy: 2nd all-time career yards per pass attempt. 1st all-time TD%. Lead league three times in passing yards, twice lead league in passer rating. Higher career passer rating than (CHFF darling) Sammy Baugh.

I'd love to hear what anyone has to say at stephenproctorjr@gmail.com