Was bored waiting on basketball recruiting news so was reading something about Earl Campbell and got me to thinking about how great he was and if I was building an offense how I’d like to have him to build around. And then who would I pair him with, and then who would be the line… and it just kept going.
So here is my dream NFL offense.
Was really torn at QB… never saw a QB better than Peyton Manning at diagnosing a defense or a QB better at picking apart a defense in a quick short game than Joe Montana. But dang it, all Brady does is win. AND not just in a system with Belichek, he took his game to the Bucs and won too.
QB Tom Brady (New England)
RB Earl Campbell (Houston)
RB Barry Sanders (Detroit)
WR Jerry Rice (San Francisco)
WR Calvin Johnson (Detroit)
TE Tony Gonzales (Kansas City)
T Anthony Munoz (Cincinnati)
T Bruce Mathews (Houston/Tennessee)
G John Hannah (New England)
G Larry Allen (Dallas)
C Mike Webster (Pittsburgh)
P - Ray Guy (Oakland)
K - Morten Andersen (New Orleans)
Let the debates begin… I’m sure there are some out there I’m forgetting.
Earl was great, but IMO Jim Brown and Walter Payton were better, and who knows what Gale Sayers might have done with modern knee surgery. And then there’s Emmitt.
Best kicker of all time is still playing – Justin Tucker.
Your team is as good as any, but the game is not the same for all time and it is difficult to compare the present offenses to the say, the 1940’s offense.
I thought about Emmitt and Payton both, but I wanted one power back and one do-all back. Emmitt and Sweetness didn’t have the power of Earl and neither was better than Barry Sanders. So just didn’t have a spot for them. If I had chosen one of them I think it would have been Walter Payton. He did what he did at Chicago when that was all they had and everyone knew he was getting the ball. Emmitt had the luxury of multiple stars on that team and a monster Oline at the time.
As far as Jim Brown goes, I just don’t have many football memories of him. I know he was amazing, I just remember him more for The Dirty Dozen and Ice Station Zebra.
As for Justin Tucker… he may be good, but Morten Andersen was the gold standard across 3 decades (25 year career) Tucker has a ways to go to do better. I think he is what barely past 10 or 11 years. Tucker does have the longest FG I think so only time will tell on him.
Tucker is the most accurate kicker ever (even if he is a Fallopian). Andersen’s career FG% was .797. Tucker is at .905 through 11 years. Plus the longest ever. Andersen WAS the gold standard, He isn’t any more.
I looked up the list for most accurate NFL kickers. Andersen is 72nd on the list. Robbie Gould, still active after 17 years, is #8. Among those with at least 15 years in the league, Andersen is only 21st.
The all-time lead is closer than I thought, and the top six are all active. Younghoe Koo, Daniel Carlson and Harrison Butker are all 88% plus, and Matt Gay and Josh Lambo are both in the 87s.
With a little bias involved, I’d swap Calvin Johnson for Lance Alworth. Gets one ex Razorback on your team. I know he’s a little older than your other players.
I’d also have Larry Little (a Hall of Famer) as one of my guards. Mainly, because I got to meet him at Don Shula’s steak house in Miami. One of the nicest guys you’d ever want to meet. I got his signature on a small football, along with several other ex Dolphins, including Paul Warfield.