Continuing on the argument, and without much introduction…Here is team Florida…yeeeeeeeah yeah
QB: My initial reaction was dammit, who the hell has gone on from the Sunshine State to succeed in the NFL? Some names? Brian Griese. Quinn Gray. Jeff Blake. Doug Johnson. Danny Kanell. You get where I’m going right? I mean, when you’re throwing out names like that you’re only option is to run the Wildcat every down. While in real life I might resort to that, I’ll play by the rules. Tim Tebow it is.
Just kidding…dammit it had to start like this…Dante Culpepper.
RB: I’m going to come out the gate with this. Crap on Emmitt all you want, but the guy did it well for years. I’ll be the FIRST to admit Barry was better, but lets not act like #22 couldn’t get the job done. In the bag…Emmitt Smith.
What else do I have? We’ll start with Edgerrin James, move over to Fred Taylor, and kiss it off the glass with Olympia High’s (the eyesore built next to my parent’s house) own Chris Johnson. We’ll throw Ottis Anderson and Neal Anderson on the scout team. Who the hell is Neal Anderson? Look it up, he was the Pro-Bowl running back whose only job was to replace…uh…Walter Payton.
At FB I have to go with John Williams. No, not the composer. He was lead blocker for Curt Warner and Chris Warren in Seattle. He’s also a Gator, which makes him that much better.
Franco Harris was a Nancy anyway.
WR: The problem with receiver position lies in the fact that passing games as we know it today didn’t really develop until the mid-80s. Thus the reason a guy like Terry Glenn even cracks an Rust Belt squad. And by the way, where is Teddy Ginn?
As for my squad…Ignore his off the field problems, Michael Irvin was probably the one of the most dangerous weapons on the field in his day, and that’s with an offense that didn’t cater to the passing game. I’ll pair him with one of the most underrated receivers to touch the turf in Issac Bruce. Chad Ochocinco takes the slot and Andre Johnson steps in at the #4.
TE: I’m ****** here. I have Hall of Famer Pete Pihos (who?). Pete Pihos. No clue who he really is, but he played end in the 40s and 50s, and was pretty acclaimed. The problem, he only played 2 years of high school ball in my home town of Orlando before moving away. Does he count? I guess I’ll throw in Desmond Clark as a backup and give up on this position.
OL: Spencer just jumps to conclusions and figures because his team is composed of guys from an area known as the Rust Belt they’re automatically this magical form of human that also acts as a wall. Let’s be fair, the state of Florida has had their fair share of talent on the line.
Let me diagram how awesome we’d be.
Lomas Brown – Nate Newton – Robbie Toebeck – Steve Hutchinson – Bruce Armstrong
We also have Flozell Adams back there for anyone that wants to challenge the Armstrong pick. There is no doubting the Newton/Hutchison pair. They might not be the sexy name (and bodies) that Orlando Pace and John Hicks provided America, but they’re still two of the better linemen in the last twenty years. Lomas Brown was a seven time Pro-Bowler that was really the only bright spot on paper mache line for Barry to run through.
The weakness is undoubtably Toebeck, but he was a solid center that helped shore up the line for the Seahawks when they had the Super Bowl ripped from their hands in 2005.
Is it my strong point? Hell no. But I’d be comfortable with it.
DEFENSE:
DE: Florida’s got their finger on the trigger here. Deacon Jones, Jack Youngblood, Kevin Carter, Jevon Kearse, amongst others. But you dodn’t even need to look past teh first two names to fill this thing out. Jones and Youngblood are two of the best ever. Russ Grimm and Chuck Bednarik don’t have a freaking chance.
DT: I’d run the 3-4, not because I don’t have talent at defensive tackle, but because I’m loaded at linebacker. We’ve got Ruben Carter, and Jerome Brown, who tragically died at the age of 26. A healthy Jerome Brown probably would have gone on to be one of the best in NFL history. With all that said and done Warren Sapp obviously gets the nod.
LB: Unfair. Any sort of “advantage” Spencer think’s he’s got with that O-line is quickly negated. Done. Gone.
We’ll start in the middle, with Ray Lewis and Derrick Brooks. Seriously is this fair? Two Hall of Famers. A combined 12 time All-Pro Selection. If Warren Sapp misses Kijana Carter or whoever Spencer throws at me, he’s done when he meets these two.
(But Trey what about your outside linebackers? They can’t be that good) To the tune of Derrick Thomas and Rickey Jackson , you bet your ass. Let’s see that’s FOUR Hall of Famers lining up together. That’s not even mentioning Wilbur Marshall, Greg Lloyd, or Dave Little. Should I even continue this list, or should I just go with seven on the D?
CB: Did you hear that sound? That was a little bit of poo coming from Spencer as he sweats this team out. I’ll start with the obvious. Deion Sanders. The guy was one of the best, while only playing a good chunk of his career PART TIME. Shut down.
I’ve got a few options to pair him with. LeRoy Butler. Sam Madison. Lemar Parrish. Lemar Parrish? Who the hell is that? Why he’s only a 8 time Pro-Bowler. I like the idea of that.
Safeties: Seeing as Spencer gave up and just threw a Mike Doss firecracker and ran, I’ve got this one.
You have to start Brian Dawkins, he hasn’t had teh sexiest NFL career, but he’s been one of the more consistent safeties in the league. Plus, he’s a 4 time 1st Team All-Pro selection. It’s only fair to say Sean Taylor probably would have gone on to a career full of accolades and awards. While his life ended tragically, he’s got to be my starting strong safety.
KR/PR: Devin Hester would seem like the most likely guy to take this spot. He was pretty sick his first two years, but teams have caught on to him and surprisingly he hasn’t returned anything for a touchdown in 2 years. I’ll stick with Deion Sanders. The guy was probably the best in the league for the better part of a decade. PRIME TIME.
K/P: Spencer seemed to ignore this, probably because he’d get owned here. I’ll go with Elam and Barker. Thankyouverymuch.
Coaches: Being too lazy to look up what guys from Florida actually palyed and coached here outside of Mike Mularkey. I’ll just say fug it and name Howard Schellenberger my head coach. Welcome aboard corch.
Outlook: Spencer says they’d dominate the ball.
Ha! My front not only Hall of Famers, but All-Time greats at their positions wouldn’t see it your way. I mean, you’re basically taking seven of the best to ever play the game, and saying you’re going to run through them? Get off my lawn.
Yes, we have a gapping hole at Quarterback, but our offense will be predicated on the run, and Dante can complete passes. He’s done it before. Sure it was usually to the other team, but remember how good he was with two awesome receivers…Imagine that doubled? Hall of Famer? Of course. Dante Culpepper. Hall of Famer. I like that.
I just think our defense is too awesome to even call this game close. Well maybe for 5 minutes. Then in true Dolphins fan has seen it a million times Marino will call off the runa nd just start launching careless passes through a defense that is eating him alive.
Florida 35 – Rust Belt 10
OUT!
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