My All-time NFL team: My All-Time NFL Team

Honorable Mentions: There are over 200 players in the NFL Hall of Fame (and many more who surely will be), all of whom would obviously be outstanding players on this team. The following players are some of the more obvious candidates that were edged out by only slightly superior talent: Johnny Unitas, Dan Marino, Emmitt Smith, Adrian Peterson, Lorenzo Neal, Kellen Winslow, Randall McDaniel, Jonathan Ogden, Art Shell, Warren Sapp, Vince Wilfork, Lee Roy Selmon, Michael Strahan, Demarcus Ware, Mike Singletary, Willie Brown, Ken Houston, Larry Wilson.

Depth: I have 27 players on offense, 23 on defense, and 3 on special teams (23, 20, and 3 dressed). I've structured the roster so that I can absorb 2 injuries at most positions during a single game. Rod and Charles Woodson can play both CB and S for a super-versatile secondary (Lott could potentially play CB but he was always more of a safety). I have only one fullback dressed, but a TE will do in a pinch. I have only two middle linebackers dressed, but Hendricks is a fine 3rd string option. Ray Guy is my emergency quarterback, as he was with the Raiders. My biggest weakness is at Center, so I'm crossing my fingers that Dwight Stephenson and Bruce Matthews don't go down in the same game (perhaps Larry Allen can put in some reps at Center). My special teams players have each both kicked and punted in college, so they are each other's emergency backup.

Bart Starr as #2 QB: While few would be surprised with Tom Brady or Joe Montana on the roster, most people do not have Starr in their top 10, let alone their top 3. But like Brady and Montana, Starr has incredible regular season stats (in his era) and was a true leader on a championship dynasty team. He also boasts the #1 post-season passer rating of all-time. The fact that these three won 7, 5, and 4 championships respectively is not a coincidence. Special thanks to The Cold Hard Football Facts for pointing out the grave disservice that history has done to Bart Starr.

No Deion Sanders: It's a myth that Sanders can't tackle, but he's not a feared hitter. My CB selections are all among the hardest-hitting corners to ever play the game. My two starters hit so hard that the NFL had to change the rules! This overall preference for hard-hitters eventually shifted my thinking away from man-to-man specialists to the more versatile group of DBs I selected.

No Jim Thorpe: I did not feel comfortable putting a player without footage to evaluate on my team (The player I saw the least footage of was Jack Christiansen. I later cut him, but I was very impressed with the handful of plays I saw.)

Overall: I realize the decision to cut Deion Sanders will not be popular. But I trust my gut and firmly believe I have assembled the best possible team.

For a more detailed discussion of my selections, click here. For further explanation of my snubs, click here.

DEFENSE: While today's NFL is defined by multiple looks and constant rotation, I'm going to be illustrating my defense through the lens of the Cover 6 defense with 3-3-5 personnel. I'm not presuming I will be using this look for the majority of snaps, I'm only using it as a tool to communicate my vision of how this defense can operate. I chose the Cover 6 because it allows each player I selected to do what makes them great. My variation is essentially a 4-3 Nickle package with Taylor as a DE, but the versatility of Polamalu and Taylor in coverage makes it incredibly flexible.

Linebackers:

The key reason I selected the Cover-6 is because it allows Derrick Brooks to play the Will role that sent him to Canton without taking Butkus away from the line of scrimmage. In the Cover-6 Butkus's role will be dropping into the hook/curl zone. Both Brooks and Butkus can stop the run and make plays downfield, so the key to this defense will be putting them in a position to do both.

Secondary:

The Cover 6 takes full advantage of my versatile secondary. Specifically, my corners will alternate between a deep quarter and curl/flat assignment and my safeties will alternate between a rangy deep-half assignment and a quarter-field, fill downhill in run support assignment. While Troy Polamalu's base assignment is technically the field-side flat coverage opposite Brooks, it gives him latitude to make plays all over a wide swath of turf. Lane and Blount both have the physicality to press their man at the line and support the run when they play the Cover-2 side and have the coverage skills to play the deep quarter on the Cover-4 side. Lott and Reed are both ball-hawks and ferocious hitters, both against receivers and runningbacks.

Front Four:

The defensive line will play a one-gap under concept with Greene as the 1-tech, White as the 3-tech, Jones on the strongside, and Taylor to the weakside. In today's pass-heavy NFL, defenses frequently shift gifted pass rushers to the inside to make room for additional outside rushers. White has the versatility to play effectively inside. Taylor is listed here as a pass rusher because i t ought to be his primary role. However, his coverage skills are certainly strong enough to make the defense incredibly flexible.

Overall:

Football is a violent sport. The Cover 6 maximizes the amount of violence each of my players can deliver. While it might be tempting to put "shutdown" corners on every WR, it ultimately makes more sense to run a bend-don't-break scheme and give my players the chance to shed some blood.

OFFENSE: My offense will be something of a throwback to the smashmouth days of yore. Obviously, I cannot simply bust out Vince Lombardi's playbook and expect to win. Gone are the days of 40+ rushing attempts per game. However, there's absolutely no reason a pass behind the line of scrimmage, or some short passes, can't be approached with same mindset that a power toss does. First and foremost, punish the man in front of you. While I must admit I have a much stronger vision of what my defense will be, I hope this core philosophy will ultimately help shape the eventual offensive package.

Passing game:

Rice and Mackey are both among the greatest runners after-the-catch of all-time. And while it was well before his time, Motley perfectly fits the mold of the modern H-back. With these three in mind, I'm imagining a lot of screen passes so as to keep my O-line on the move and blowing-up LBs and DBs. I'm also hoping to exploit my power running game for lots of play action passing.

Running game:

With Jim Parker, John Hannah, and Forrest Gregg on the line, I'm imagining my bread and butter run plays will be outside power running with pulling offensive linemen. I plan on using a tandem backfield system with Brown and Sanders splitting carries -- lets say Brown 15 A/G; Sanders 10 A/G.

Lastly, in today's NFL, I am constantly looking at situations like this. Literally no one inside either of the guards. This is crazy to me! The defense is just giving up the middle of the damn field, and you're not going to take it!? In my system, we will keep the defense honest. Marion Motley will be on the field for most pass plays lining up where 87 is in the picture in the link above. He will play his old "Otto Graham's bodyguard" role, practically as effective as a 6th lineman. But if the defense dare give up the middle, we can audible to an up-the-gut draw play (a concept Motley helped pioneer with the Browns).

Overall: Any "All-Time" team will obviously have weapons at every position. But it's still important to have an overall philosophy, a preferred method of attack, a standard from which to deviate. For me, I want a hard-nosed physically punishing running/short-pass attack to be the cornerstone of the offense.

PS: For a look at my lingering doubts and alternate plans, click here.

My All-time NFL team

Sunday, June 21, 2015

My All-Time NFL Team

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