The Football Elitist

Written the day of HoF ceremony

All-Time Favorite NFL Dream Team

            In honor of the 2018 Pro Football Hall of Fame Enshrinement ceremony, I wanted to make an all-time favorite dream team. These are players who I have admired throughout the years. These players are the some of the biggest reasons why football is my favorite sport. Remember these are my favorite, not necessarily the best. *I gave some insight on almost all of the players, will probably add to it in the future*

Offense

QB: Brett Favre, Packers – This man is a legend. He changed the way the quarterback position was played. He made plays happen, no matter what was thrown at him. He was the true definition of a “gunslinger”. He also is known for his hilarious sound bits on and off the gridiron.

AP Photo/Doug Mills

Other QBs: Jim Kelly, Bills (Why? – Great man, great quarterback: revolutionized the no huddle offense); Kurt Warner, Rams/Cardinals (The best show on turf QB, amazing story, great family man); and Carson Wentz, Eagles (The future superstar of the NFL, great guy) Hybrid: Tim Tebow (It’s Tim Tebow, I’d use him in many situations)

Taken into consideration: Josh Allen, Bills (of course, had to); Troy Aikman, Cowboys; Dan Marino, Dolphins; Randall Cunningham, Eagles; and Peyton Manning, Colts

RB: Barry Sanders, Lions – I will never get tired of watching his highlights. I was born in 1996, so I never truly saw him play. He is amazing to watch. I admire the way he ran, it was so elusive and fun to watch.

Nuccio DiNuzzo / Chicago Tribune

Other RBs: Thurman Thomas, Bills (The other Oklahoma State RB, he was iconic with the Bills and a wonderful guy to be around. He might be the most underrated back of all time.); Marshall Faulk, Rams/Colts (Played with Warner and revolutionized the all-around all-purpose back. He could run and catch.); Saquon Barkley, Giants (The future of the NFL. Can do just about anything; great runner, receiver, blocker and one of the best character guys out there. A true leader.)

Taken into consideration: Walter Payton, Bears; Christian McCaffrey, Panthers; Lesean McCoy, Bills; LaDainian Tomlinson, Chargers; Emmitt Smith, Cowboys

WR: Cris Carter, Vikings; Calvin Johnson, Lions; Andre Reed, Bills – Calvin Johnson as the X, Cris Carter as the Y and Andre Reed at the H (slot). Cris Carter caught everything. He is another very underrated football player. Calvin Johnson was an absolute beast, he loved football and he didn’t make excuses. Andre Reed at the slot? Are you kidding me? How would you stop him?

Other WR: Julio Jones, Falcons (In my opinion, he’s the best receiver in the NFL); James Lofton, Bills (Explosive receiver for both Packers and Bills); Larry Fitzgerald, Cardinals (Might have the best hands ever, great leader); Chris Godwin, Buccaneers (Underrated wideout to watch out for this year with the Bucs, love my Penn State guys) ST: Steve Tasker, Bills (Gritty, blue collar football player, much like Don Beebe.)

Taken into consideration: Michael Irvin, Cowboys; Don Beebe, Bills; Stevie Johnson, Bills; Jerry Rice, Niners; TJ Houshmandzadeh, Bengals; Chad Johnson/Ochocinco, Bengals; Lee Evans, Bills; Antonio Brown, Steelers; Kelvin Benjamin, Bills; Randy Moss, Vikings

TE: Chris Cooley, Redskins – He was the Tight End that inspired me to be better. I tried my hardest to play like him. I loved the way he played the position.

Other TE: Jason Witten, Cowboys (One of the best tight ends ever, can’t wait to hear his insight on MNF); Todd Heap, Ravens (Todd was another player, like Cooley, that I tried to play like); OJ Howard, Buccaneers (The future of the TE position 1.0); Mike Gesicki, Dolphins (The future of the TE position 2.0)

OL (T, G, C, G, T): Orlando Pace, Rams; Billy Shaw, Bills; Olin Kreutz, Bears; Joe DeLamielleure, Bills; Willie Roaf, Chiefs – Beefy Line with two of the greatest tackles ever. These are some of my favorite linemen to ever play in the trenches.

Other OL: Eric Woods, Bills; Larry Allen, Cowboys; John Urschel, Ravens; Stefan Wisniewski, Eagles; Levi Brown, Cardinals; Kent Hull, Bills

Taken into consideration: Eric Wood, Bills

Defense

DL (DE, DT, DT, DE): Bruce Smith, Bills; Reggie White, Packers; William Perry, Bears; JJ Watt, Texans – You better have one of the greatest offensive lines ever to block these four. This is a scary four to block, including three of the greatest pass rushers of all time.

Other DL: Pat Williams, Bills; Kyle Williams, Bills; Shawne Merriman, Chargers; Tamba Hali, Chiefs

LB (SAM, MIK, WIL): Jack Ham, Steelers; Ray Lewis, Ravens; Derrick Brooks, Buccaneers – Jack Ham, a Nittany Lion and a rare Steeler on this team. Ray Lewis, one of the most passionate and most fear tacklers ever. Derrick Brooks was a gritty, fast outside linebacker who had the instincts to change a game.

Other LB: Luke Kuechly, Panthers; London Fletcher, Bills; Daryl Talley, Bills; Cornelius Bennett, Bills; Paul Posluszny, Bills; Sean Lee, Cowboys

Take into consideration: Tremaine Edmunds, Bills; Lawrence Taylor, Giants; Jack Lambert, Steelers

CB (Boundary, Field, Nickel): Patrick Peterson, Cardinals; Champ Bailey, Broncos; Tre’ White, Bills – Patrick Peterson is one of the best corners to ever play and still one of the best. Champ Bailey is my favorite not new school corner. I loved him as a kid and always made sure to grab him on Madden. Tre White is the future, and he’s a Bill. Remember this isn’t the best, these are my favorite players. So, there are some biases, obviously.

Other CB: Nate Odomes, Bills; Nate Clements, Bills

Taken into consideration: Deion Sanders, Falcons

Safeties (Free, Strong): Charles Woodson, Packers; Eric Berry, Chiefs – This would be an absolutely lethal pairing. Woodson is one of the greatest ball hawks of all time. Eric Berry is one of the best tacklers of all time at their respective positions.

Other Safeties: John Lynch, Broncos; Micah Hyde, Bills; Jordan Poyer, Bills; Ed Reed, Ravens

Taken into consideration: Sean Taylor, Redskins; Ronnie Lott, Niners

Kicker: Graham Gano, Panthers – He’s consistent. He’s a good guy. Don’t really have many other reasons. He was just the best out of the four that I took into consideration. This is the only position where I don’t have a favorite.

Taken into consideration: Scott Norwood, Bills; David Akers, Eagles; Steven Hauschka, Bills

Punter: Brian Moorman, Bills – I own a ton of his autographs. Seriously, too many. He was always awesome to meet. He was great punter, consistently top 5 in his playing career. He also had some awesome highlight plays, because he was sneaky fast.

Taken into consideration: Brett Kern, Titans