Professional Football Researchers Association Forum
PFRA is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the history of professional football. Formed in 1979, PFRA members include many of the game's foremost historians and writers.
BD Sullivan wrote:
The problem with starting off with a top-notch QB or RB is that it leaves the line exposedm which means that there's no one that can consistently block for them, which means that their productivity is usually wasted.
I understand and don't disagree with that logic.
But given my druthers between Forrest Gregg blocking for Joe Schmoe and Joe Schmoe blocking for Jim Brown I'll take the latter.
I second Tom Brady (which pains me to say, because I'm a Falcons fan...), but all the guy does is win. The passion he shows on the sideline is the kind of attitude I'd want on my teams.
JuggernautJ wrote:I love the Cal Hubbard mention and Joe Greene did have a championship franchise built around him.
But as much as I love line play and linemen I can't help but think a QB or RB is a better first building block.
On a team of average players (all Cs) an outstanding (A+) quarterback or running back would be more influential and effective than an OT or DT.
I guess your choice would come down to what position do you want to build around.
And that answer may well be different for different coaches/approaches and, of course, eras.
But in my heart I want to answer Thorpe or Bednarik.
The problem with starting off with a top-notch QB or RB is that it leaves the line exposedm which means that there's no one that can consistently block for them, which means that their productivity is usually wasted.
I think the whole problem here is that the question exists in a vacuum. For example, you seem to be assuming that choosing a QB first means that the OL will be terrible. I think that, if you assume the rest of the team is going to be about average at every position, a top-notch QB is the only player who can individually make the team above average. A Hall of Fame tackle protecting an average QB isn't going to help very much.
JuggernautJ wrote:I love the Cal Hubbard mention and Joe Greene did have a championship franchise built around him.
But as much as I love line play and linemen I can't help but think a QB or RB is a better first building block.
On a team of average players (all Cs) an outstanding (A+) quarterback or running back would be more influential and effective than an OT or DT.
I guess your choice would come down to what position do you want to build around.
And that answer may well be different for different coaches/approaches and, of course, eras.
But in my heart I want to answer Thorpe or Bednarik.
The problem with starting off with a top-notch QB or RB is that it leaves the line exposedm which means that there's no one that can consistently block for them, which means that their productivity is usually wasted.
Archie Manning is the classic example. In the right situation, I think he would have been at least as good as Eli and possibly as good as Peyton.
"Every time you lose, you die a little bit. You die inside. Not all your organs, maybe just your liver." - George Allen
Archie Manning is the classic example. In the right situation, I think he would have been at least as good as Eli and possibly as good as Peyton.
This is a good point. I have always wondered what might have happened if Archie Manning instead played for the Rams during the seventies. Let's say that the Rams used most (if not all) of the picks they received from Green Bay during the John Hadl trade - 1st, 2nd & 3rd round draft choices in 1975 and 1st and 2nd round choices in 1976 - and send them all to New Orleans for Arching Manning.
How might NFL history have changed? This might be a good topic for another thread...
JohnBowen wrote:This has the potential to make for a hypothetical/mock "draft". 35-45 rounds......could be a good thread to get through the summer.
This would be right up my alley - I actually did my own 30s mock draft where I built 6 teams of 13. It was a lot of fun doing it - towards the end it got a little hard filling out 6 lines.
esorrells wrote:I second Tom Brady (which pains me to say, because I'm a Falcons fan...), but all the guy does is win. The passion he shows on the sideline is the kind of attitude I'd want on my teams.
On DEF, Reggie White.
Yep...I am a Falcon fan also. Not mad at Brady...mad at us for GIVING it away by not running 3x and kicking the FG after the Julio sideline catch....this off-season and next will show what "In Brotherhood" is all about...
