NFL Draft Round 2 jrpross vs. WilmoreCat

[DraftCat]

Welcome players to the first ever All-Time NFL Draft. Playoff Bracket

The object of the draft was to build a team of past and current NFL players to beat your opposition in a 1 game playoff (SuperBowl)

Voters please vote on who you best felt accomplished that goal. You will have 2 days and will be able to change your vote if the discussion sways your decision.

@jrpross

Offense

QB: Joe Montana
RB: Marshall Faulk
WR: Terrell Owens
WR: Don Hutson
WR: Reggie Wayne
TE: John Mackey
OT: Dan Dierdorf
OT: Tyron Smith
OG: Bruce Matthews
OG: Jerry Kramer
C: Jim Ringo

Defense

DL: Alan Page
DL: Richard Dent
DL: Dwight Freeney
LB: Harry Carson
LB: Jack Ham
LB: Ray Nitschke
LB: Willie Lanier
CB: Jimmy Johnson
CB: Patrick Peterson
S: Rodney Harrison
S: Larry Wilson

vs.

@WilmoreCat

Offense

QB- Terry Bradshaw
RB- Emmith Smith
WR- Jerry Rice
WR- Fred Biletnikoff
WR- Davante Adams
TE- Shannon Sharpe
C- Mike Webster
RT- Ron Mix
LT-Richmond Webb
RG- Joe DeLamielleure
LG- Gene Upshaw

Defense

CB- Ty Law
CB- Stephon Gilmore
SS- Donnie Shell
FS- Jack Tatum
RLB- Junior Seau
MLB- Joe Schmidt
OLB- Gino Marchetti
DE- Michael Strahan
DE- Carl Eller
DT- Casey Hampton
DT- Gerald McCoy

 

[WilmoreCat]

Let’s start with my positions

QB- Terry Bradshaw is a top 3 quarterback all time and has 4 super bowls. Him and Montana will battle it out and make it a duel on each team.

RB - Emmitt Smith is the all team leading rusher and will get LOADS of yards per carry with my insane O Line. He’s going to get 5-6 yards per carry

WR- I have the best WR of all time in Jerry Rice. Fred Biletnikoff is a great deep threat; especially with Terry Bradshaw at QB. Davante Adams is one of the premier route runners in the game and there is absolutely no way any defense can stop them.

TE- If you think my wide receiver core is tough to go against, think about how you’re going to guard 3 time SB winner Shannon Sharpe.

O Line- I have a TOUGH O Line who will give Emmitt Smith all he needs to do his work. Led by Iron Mike Webster, Gene Upshaw, and other HOF talent, they will give up few sacks and give my QB all day to throw dimes to Jerry Rice.

DE- Carl Eller is one of the most underrated players of all time. He’s going to force pressure and be a force on the defense line. Michael Strahan has the all team leading sacks in a season.

DT- Marshall Faulk is a solid running back, but he’s not going to get any rushing yards on “Big Snack” AKA Casey Hampton. Gerald McCoy is another underrated DT who will completely eliminate the rushing game.

LB- My linebacker core is a group of hardworking, tough people who will battle to get to the QB. Junior Seau, Gino Marchetti, and underrated Joe Schmidt will force pressure and give the O Line fits.

S- Jack “The Assassin” Tatum is one of the hardest hitters of all time and Donnie Shell is a top 10 safety who will do it all to keep the passing game as minimal as it can be.

CB- My corner Ty Law will lock up Terrell Owens the majority of the game and Stephon Gilmore will make Don Hutson merely irrelevant in this game.

Overall, my team is better and they will be a nonstop scoring offense. Joe Montana will have a tough time to find open receivers and he will get constant pressure on him. Emmitt Smith will have lots of running room, and my team led by lots of veterans with lots of SB to show for themselves.

 

[UKRuppster]

Only thing Wilmore didn't really do was talk up Joe Schmidt, who dominated the 1957 NFL Championship Game for the Lions against the Paul Brown coached Cleveland Browns that had Jim Brown at fullback. I just love listening to Jerry Glanville glow about Joe Schmidt in that top 100 video. Schmidt was a warrior, and as tough as anyone.

Pross' linebacker and interior O-Line groups are at or near the top of my favorites. I think he got three of the top 10 to 15 linebackers with Nitschke, Ham and Lanier. Harry Carson fits his 3-4 'D' well as an old teammate of Lawrence Taylor's. Wilmore has Jerry Rice, but pross has the Jerry Rice of the 1940s. Don Hutson's numbers won't stand out as much except in the TD department, but they played fewer games then and passing games weren't nearly as advanced then. Still, his numbers are outstanding for his era. I'll let pross hype up the rest of his squad and explain why I should vote for it over Wilmore's.

Like I said in the first one I commented on, this time around, I'm refraining from commenting on which team I'm leaning towards voting for in this round (and in subsequent rounds), but I will vote sometime before the deadline.

 

[jrpross]

So some of the names on my team, not everyone will be familiar with. So I implore you, before you vote, consider my commentary. I didn’t make it a point to draft mostly old guys, but I did consciously decide NOT to consider name recognition, and often times, the best picks I had at my disposal were some of the classics.

My QB, Joe Montana speaks for himself. He’s one of the most clutch players in history. Winner of 4 Super Bowls, and 3x super bowl MVP. There’s exactly one QB I would have taken ahead of him and it’s marginal.

I picked Marshall Faulk for his incredible versatility. He was absolutely electric and was as good a receiver as a runner. Joe has 5 legitimate targets to throw to.

2 of my receivers; Owens and Wayne are no doubt well known. But you may not know Don Hutson. Let me tell you what. The guy was Jerry Rice before Jerry Rice was born. He held 18 records when he retired, many not to be broken for decades. He led the league in receptions 8 times, receiving yardage 7 times, and receiving TD’s 9 times. He held all the records until Rice and he’s considered one of the all time greats. I feel like between him & TO, I have 2 of the top 5 receivers of all time. Sorry Wilmore. They will have zero trouble getting open.

John Mackey redefined the tight end position. He has blazing speed to go with rock hard strength. The best TE in college football is awarded the John Mackey award every year.

I was thrilled with my offensive line. They have a whopping 21 first team all-pro selections and EACH one was on an all-decade team at their position.

On my defensive line I have the ONLY lineman to ever win a league mvp award in Alan Page, as well as super bowl mvp Richard Dent and all decade Dwight Freeney.

I went with a 3-4 defense because I feel it gives me a little more versatility to blitz or have them drop into coverage if needed against these incredible offenses.

My linebackers, I feel, are arguably the best lineup in this draft. Between Carson, Nitschke, Lanier, & Ham, they made 23 all-pro teams and won 13 championships/Super bowls. Ham forced 53 turnovers in his career; more than any other LB ever. Athlon sports them all in the top 20 linebackers ever. https://www.google.com/amp/s/athlonsports.com/nfl/25-greatest-linebackers-nfl-history?amp That was when football players were frickin mean and nasty.

And finally my backfield. Rodney Harrison has more career sacks than any other defensive back. An outside the box strategy will help throw off all these top notch offenses. And my other 3 Peterson, Wilson, & Johnson are all-decade selections from the 10’s, 70’s, & 70’s respectively. Oh and Larry Wilson once caught an interception with a cast on BOTH HANDS.

So yes, all these teams are phenomenal, but I fully believe mine stands up to any with a strong core of classic all-timers from yesteryear with a few modern fellas. Why so many old times you ask? I leave you with a meme, lovingly sent to me by my father a while back...

 

[jrpross]

And Bradshaw a top 3 QB is laughable, bro. I thought to myself “is it just me that thinks that’s ridiculous?” So I looked it up.

NFL.com has him 17th

Top 25 quarterbacks of all time: Patriots' Tom Brady leads list

Elliot Harrison unveils his ranking of the top 25 quarterbacks of all time. The players occupying the top spots on the list won't surprise you, but how does the rest of the pecking order shake out?

www.google.com

Athlon has him 18th

Redirect Notice

www.google.com

USA Today has him 12. Highest I’ve found.

Redirect Notice

www.google.com

Don’t get me wrong, he’s a hall of famer, but he’s one of the worst taken in this draft. I could conceivably win this game on Montana vs Bradshaw alone.

 

[jrpross]

One other thing I’d like to add is that you’ve got to consider these players relative to era. A guy like Don Hutson or Alan Page, may not immediately resonate with most of us as names like Jerry Rice or Michael Strahan. But that’s absolutely the caliber of players they were.

 

[WilmoreCat]

Each QB has 4 super bowls. Montana has the edge but Bradshaw is no joke. He has proven to be clutch in the big moments. We both have stars on the defensive end that are way back; as I have Schmidt, Marchetti, and Eller. My defense is extremely tough and huge and you would have to rely on your passing game; which your receivers are deep but my secondary would likely challenge them the whole game. Bradshaw is an excellent passer and my wide receiving core would be unstoppable. Not to mention I have no clue who’s guarding Shannon Sharpe. That’s an easy red zone TD. Emmitt Smith will work your D Line because my O Line has zero flaws. Now as you voters decide, take your time and research who you think has the best time. I think my team is far superior; but decide your team.

 

[jrpross]

Bradshaw is an excellent passer and my wife receiving core would be unstoppable.

Dude, I’m sure you love your wife, but you should never have put her in your receiving core.

Serioisly though, really none of these teams really have “flaws” per se. it’s all just going to be subjective as far as voting.

But to answer your Shannon Sharpe question, that’s a perfect example of my I’m going with a 3-4. Lanier was killer in coverage, racking up 27 career interceptions. Those 10-15 yard tight end type routes are the ones he would feast on.

 

[WilmoreCat]

Just a note, Bradshaw had to retire early because of all of the concussions he took. He’s tough as nails and like Montana, 4-0 in the super bowl. If this game isn’t a blowout and a close game; he’s going to do whatever it takes to win. His era had no rules on the QB so it ended far too early. If he had good QB protection rules; he would’ve won many more.

 

[drcats2013]

I went @jrpross here, but boy is it close. So close.

 

[jrpross]

I went @jrpross here, but boy is it close. So close.

You did the right thing, friend. You did the right thing.

 

[WilmoreCat]

I went @jrpross here, but boy is it close. So close.

I respect your decision.

 

[drcats2013]

I respect your decision.

It’s so hard to vote on these they’re so close, but I feel it’s unfair not to vote at all

 

[jrpross]

It’s so hard to vote on these they’re so close, but I feel it’s unfair not to vote at all

They’re pretty much all this way. I said it in another thread, but if any 2 of these 12 teams did a 5 game playoff, it’d probably be a 3-2 series just about every time. And of course we’re all just armchair coaches too. I mean people clearly did their research here, but how many of us could actually knowledgeably explain with authority whether Richmond Webb or Dan Dierdorf is a better left tackle?

 

[UKRuppster]

but how many of us could actually knowledgeably explain with authority whether Richmond Webb or Dan Dierdorf is a better left tackle?

Not disagreeing with the rest of what you said, but this one could be a bit more cut and dry. Dierdorf played mostly right tackle in his career while Richmond Webb played mostly left tackle, so I'd go Richmond Webb as the better left tackle between the two players. But I assumed Tyron Smith is your left tackle and Dierdorf is your right tackle. As far as who the better player is, that's a different debate. You'd probably get some to see Dierdorf since he's in the Hall while Richmond Webb isn't. Granted there's more to it than that.

 

[WilmoreCat]

It appears I am down one vote at the moment. I can assure you that since this is a super bowl; Terry Bradshaw always won the big games and with this roster, he would do no different. My smothering defense would cause Joe Montana problems. Stephon Gilmore would easily get under Terrell Owen’s skin. TO was a major head case. Ty Law and Hutson would be an interesting matchup. Reggie Wayne wasn’t even the best wide receiver on his own team.

My offense is full of HOF with super bowl experience. Emmitt Smith with 3 SB, Sharpe with 3, Bradshaw with 4 in 6 years, and Jerry Rice with 4. That along with an offensive line with the best center of all time is unstoppable.

My defense line, led by Big Snack Casey Hampton and Gerald McCoy will eliminate the rushing attack. Donnie Shell and Jack Tatum are a hard hitting, tough duo who will make the offense uncomfortable. My LB core of Schmidt, Marchetti, and Seau will force pressure on the QB constantly.

That along will Carl Eller and Strahan providing constant pressure, I see no way he wins this game. I rest my case.

 

[jrpross]

I mean you can’t compare Bradshaw to Montana though. Montana owned the super bowl. Both were 4/4 but in Bradshaw’s first super bowl he threw for all of 96 yards. He was bailed out by Franco Harris & a stellar defense. The only Super Bowl Montana played in that he didn’t win mvp, he threw for 357 yards, 2 TD, and 0 int. It just so happened 215 of those yards were to Jerry Rice.

And hey, your DL is great, but you should know something about my tackles. Dan Dierdorf did not allow a single sack for TWO SOLID YEARS in 1975-76. And Tyron Smith allowed ZERO in 2018 and ONE in all of 2019. Sorry Wilmore. Your D-line ain’t gettin through.😎

 

[WilmoreCat]

I mean you can’t compare Bradshaw to Montana though. Montana owned the super bowl. Both were 4/4 but in Bradshaw’s first super bowl he threw for all of 96 yards. He was bailed out by Franco Harris & a stellar defense. The only Super Bowl Montana played in that he didn’t win mvp, he threw for 357 yards, 2 TD, and 0 int. It just so happened 215 of those yards were to Jerry Rice.

And hey, your DL is great, but you should know something about my tackles. Dan Dierdorf did not allow a single sack for TWO SOLID YEARS in 1975-76. And Tyron Smith allowed ZERO in 2018 and ONE in all of 2019. Sorry Wilmore. Your D-line ain’t gettin through.😎

I do not think your secondary can handle Jerry Rice, Adams. and Biletnikoff at all. I think my receiving core and tight end is significantly better than yours. Not to mention i have arguable the best running back of all time.

 

[jrpross]

Good match, friend @WilmoreCat 👊🏻

 

[WilmoreCat]

Good match, friend @WilmoreCat 👊🏻

Good game. I will definitely vote for your team the rest of the way.