NFL - Build your new team's foundation

[AgustusM]

Originally Posted by st.cronin

I think Reggie Bush could be a uniquely great running back. I would rather have him than any other rb or wr you could name.

Obviously everyone is entitled to their opinion, but I can't see how anyone would choose an unproven commodity such as Bush over a player who is clearly proven like Tomlinson.

[Swaggs]

QB Ben Roethlisberger
S Troy Polamalu
DE Julius Peppers
NT Casey Hampton
LT Walter Jones

[k0ruptr]

Peppers
Steve Smith
Jordan gross
Ladainian tomlinson
Kris Jenkins

[SFL Cat]

Eli Manning
LaDanian Tomlinson
Larry Fitzgerald
Adewale Ogunleye
Charles Tillman

[Daimyo]

Originally Posted by TroyF

I'm not sure about all of the RB's, WR's, MLB's, etc though. I love guys like LT, Chad Johnson, Holt, etc. I'm just not sure the drop off from one of those guys to a second/third tier player is anywhere near as steep as at QB, DE, CB or T.

I agree in theory with the point about RBs; however, with only five impact players I figure a guy like LT can be very valuable as he is so well rounded in rushing, blocking, and pass catching (a pre-injury Edgerrin James would have ideal in that role).

[Raven Hawk]

I've gotta go with the following:

QB - Ben Roethlisburger
RB - LaDanian Tomlinson
T - Bryant McKinnie
DT - Richard Seymour
CB - Nathan Vasher

I think the idea of this is to get your "core" players that you want to have with the team for years and years to come. The ones that you'd keep re-signing because they mean so much to your team.

Roethlisburger - There's no doubt that Tom Brady would be #1 on my list, but I'm looking at younger players. Big Ben is a poised QB who knows what it takes to win and has proven himself over a short career. At 23, there's a lot of gas left in the kid's tank.

Tomlinson - Not far fetched by any means. I was tempted to go with Larry Johnson, having fresher legs and all, but stayed with LT based on the fact that Tomlinson is just on of those guys that amazes me with his play week in and week out.

McKinnie - Once again looking for youth. Although McKinnie doesn't hold a candle to Walter Jones yet, he's got a promising future and happens to be 6 years younger. A little bit of a gamble here.

Seymour - 25 years old and 3 Super Bowl rings. This guy is one of my favorite players to watch play the game of football. On the D-Line he is disruptive and dominant. He's a guy that I gotta have.

Vasher - This is the biggest flyer that I'm taking. I love the idea of having playmakers in the secondary. No doubt that Polamalu is one of them. However, Vasher has slid under the radar and looks to be somebody who can play the game and play it well. 5 picks in his rookie campaign and 8 picks last season. If he can continue his 2005 production for 12 more seasons, I'd be a happy camper. This guy is a homer for me and I've seen him play ball. He is a baller, pure and simple. (And he holds the record for longest TD in NFL history).

[albionmoonlight]

Originally Posted by albionmoonlight

Ben Roethlisburger--Probably a bit crazy not to pick Brady or Manning here, but I think that any one of the three could end up having the best "next ten years" out there. Roethlisburger wins because I like him the best of the three. Carson Palmer's knee injury takes him out of consideration for me.

Julius Peppers--Good young DEs are hard to find. Not as hard to find as the Texans think. But certainly hard.

Dwight Freeney--Who are you going to double team? I think that great pass rushers work best in tandem.

Levi Jones--five years or so younger than the current crop of great left tackles in the league (Jones, Ogden, Pace, etc.). The dropoff in talent is slight enough that I'll take the five years.

Steve Hutchinson--seems a bit weird to pick a guard here, but--as with the defensive ends--I want to compliment my strengths. Now, I have one whole side of the offense line taken care of. And, seeing as what that did for Shaun Alexander and Seattle, I think that it will make my skill position players better.

I did not pick any skill position players because it seems much easier to pick up those guys as free agents from other teams (see Joe Horn) or to grab them later in the draft. Running backs have such short shelf lives, I did not want to gamble on them. And wide receivers just seem too unpredictable. It seems much harder to get good pass rushers and good O-linemen late in the draft or off the scrap heap.

I would have loved to put Troy Polamalu on the team--and maybe I should have picked him instead of Hutch. But I am happy with my five guys. Young guys who excel at positions that it is harder to find in the draft or in free agency.

Levi Jones just got cut today. He was the weakest link on my team anyway. I'm happy with Ben, but I think that I could have done better with my other four picks, certainly. I'm still OK with having picked Hutch, though.

How do your picks look a few years down the road?

[Suburban Rhythm]

Originally Posted by Suburban Rhythm

Cheating a little here going with 3 guys from the home team, but...

Ben Roethlisberger
Troy Polamalu
Casey Hampton
Walter Jones
Steve Smith

Looked mainly at younger guys, who are in their prime, or just reaching it, and will contribute for the long haul as well. Also, guys who will be versatile, or, allow the guys around them to be versatile.

I want a QB who has won, so it came down to Ben and Brady, and gave Ben the nod being 6 (?) years younger.

Troy, as he's used in Pittsburgh, will make plays all over the field.

Similar thinking with Steve Smith. He's a threat deep and on quick screens, also as a returner.

Walt Jones, premier guy at his position, being able to handle his guy 1-on-1 allow the rest of the Oline to focus on the other 2-3 DL/blitzers.

Hampton...I had a hard time with this last pick. I consider Derrick Brooks, based again on making plays all over the field. But I already had that in Troy, so I took Hampton. While not versatile himself, he keeps the OL off the ILBs (of course I am playing a 3-4) and allows for shifting and confusion with the 2 DE's dropping/2 OLBs blitzing, etc.

Not too bad.

Ben has another ring.

Troy was at his best again this season, after a couple down years.

Hampton and Jones are on the downswing of their careers, but still good players and hard to fill positions.

Smith is the wildcard. He's been injured, and crazy. But that recipe will get me some air time on the Worldwide Leader

[BishopMVP]

Who would the contenders be now?

QB - Manning, Brady, Brees
RB - AP
WR - Andre Johnson, Fitzgerald, Calvin Johnson?
OL - Clady, Roos, Gross, Joe Thomas, Snee, Dielman?
DL - Justin Tuck?, Mario Williams, Haynesworth?, Kevin Williams, Ngata? Vince Wilfork?
LB - Demarcus Ware? Willis, Beason?, Jerod Mayo?
CB - Asomugha, Finnegan, Champ Bailey? Darrelle Revis?
S - Reed, Polomalu


For my 5, I'd go
Manning
Ryan Clady
Mario Williams
Nnamdi Asomugha
Ed Reed

[Abe Sargent]

Matt Ryan would be my choice today. CB would be Not DeAngelo Hall. Torry Holt is too old now so I'd go with a different WR. Peppers has not been as consistent as I'd like so Id go elsewhere for DE.

I still like:

QB
OT
WR
CB
DE

And the 5 choices position wise.

[Schmidty]

Originally Posted by Schmidty

Shaun Rogers
Derrick Brooks
LaDainian Tomlinson
Carson Palmer
Champ Bailey

I'm an idiot.

[stevew]

Lol. Was I the only one to take Fitzgerald?

nvmd, i see at least one other dude was smart too.

[Passacaglia]

Originally Posted by Jari Rantanen's Shorts

- don't remember Shipp or Bosa, but I imagine they were other drafted saviours?

They were both awesome in Tecmo Bowl.

[Karlifornia]

Originally Posted by stevew

Lol. Was I the only one to take Fitzgerald?

nvmd, i see at least one other dude was smart too.

That's the first thing I noticed while re-reading this just now. At the time Fitzgerald was considered a solid WR, but now he may just be the best player in the game.

[Danny]

I started reading this thread not realizing it was three years old and I was wondering why all you guys were picking old fogies past their prime.

[Julio Riddols]

Originally Posted by Julio Riddols

Carson Palmer
Deltha O'Neal
Troy Polamalu
Odell Thurman
Walter Jones

I'd like to change some of this.

Nnamdi Asomugha
Aaron Curry
Ed Reed
Larry Fitzgerald
Ryan Clady

Then I'd draft Tebow 1.1 and run the wildcat all year.

[Fidatelo]

Originally Posted by Danny

I started reading this thread not realizing it was three years old and I was wondering why all you guys were picking old fogies past their prime.

Haha, me too. All the Carson Palmer and, to a lesser extent, LDT picks were blowing my mind!

[Matthean]

Originally Posted by Danny

I started reading this thread not realizing it was three years old and I was wondering why all you guys were picking old fogies past their prime.

Same here.