Ran across an interesting read at espn.com recently as a pair of its football guys, Aaron Schatz and Seth Walder, came up with their all-quarter century, 53-man roster in the NFL.
Basically, it was their attempt at a fun way to create an all-star team from the last 25 years, and being a staunch follower of the NFL, I was in.
A fair unbiased assessment from myself would be an A+ for the idea and a C+ for ESPN’s execution. Their roster is attached, and yes, I have more than a handful of gripes. Many are Patriot-related.
Some are not. But take one second to look at the ESPN list, and then read on with my issues.
Phooey on Peyton
The first – and by far the most glaring – has to be the quarterback spot where the clear living legend Tom Brady was joined by the only person who deserves to be in the same conversation with him, Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes.
That’s where the position ends. Or at least it should have. For some reason, the boys felt that Peyton Manning belongs on this list.
Sorry, but no. Manning, and alternates Aaron Rodgers and Drew Brees reside on the second level, not in the penthouse with Brady and Mahomes.
I’m not wasting a precious roster spot on Manning.
No. Way.
LT got jobbed
The running back spot was interesting for sure.
It’s tough to argue with Derrick Henry or Christian McCaffrey.
But the choice of former Baltimore Raven Priest Holmes as the third back was truly ridiculous, considering the career that Hall of Famer LaDanian Tomlinson had in San Diego.
In fact, I’d go with Saquon Barkley and Adrian Peterson over Holmes, too.
There is clearly some pro-Ravens bias in the list. Perhaps, either Schatz or Walder were trying to do Holmes a solid and reinvigorate Holmes’ Hall of Fame candidacy, but he just doesn’t belong on the list.
And for that matter, neither does the one fullback on the roster, Kyle Juszczyk of the Niners.
Add another game-breaker, not some offensive guard in fullback pads.
Receiver logjam: Where’s Wes?
The six receivers – Randy Moss, Julio Jones, Calvin Johnson, Terrell Owens, Justin Jefferson and Marvin Harrison — are all legendary talents either in the Hall of Fame or on a Hall of Fame track. It’s impossible to argue against any of them.
To be honest, I’d have dumped the fullback and gone seven deep. Most folks at that point would lean to Arizona legend Larry Fitzgerald. But if it were me, I’d have picked a slot guy. And my guy would have been Wes Welker.
Welker strung together five 100-plus catch seasons in six years, leading the NFL in three of those years. He’s the most underrated player of the quarter century.
They hate us …
Patriots fans have a couple of legit gripes with the list.
The first and most egregious is the cornerback spot where Ty Law was somehow ignored.
That’s Hall of Famer, Ty Law, boys.
Three-time Super Bowl champ, four-time Pro Bowler in the 2000s (5 overall) Ty Law.
ESPN went five-deep at corner, adding Jalen Ramsey as a sixth on the practice squad, and didn’t mention Law.
Only one word applies: Egregious.
We can give you Darrelle Revis and maybe – I said maybe – Champ Bailey.
Law is next, before Richard Sherman, Ronde Barber and Pat Peterson.
Staffing issues
As far as coaching goes, they gave Bill Belichick the nod over Andy Reid.
That one is more debatable than you think, but Bill likely deserves it.
The two coordinator choices, though? Nepo babies Kyle Shanahan (offense) and Wade Phillips (defense) got the nod.
Shanahan loses every award in NFL history simply by singlehandedly giving the Patriots the 28-3 Super Bowl comeback with the worst playing-calling in NFL history for the Falcons.
Any time Shanahan is up for an award, someone in the room needs to stand up and say, “Yeah, but if he just took a knee three times in the fourth quarter against New England instead of stupidly throwing the ball, the Patriots didn’t stand a chance.”
And Phillips? He’s not one-tenth the coach that KC’s Steve Spagnuolo is. That one is a pretty sad oversight.
Odds and Ends
While Vince Wilfork was the lone nose guard on the list, there is no mention of Richard Seymour, the game’s dominant lineman for a decade. “Big Sey” anchored the defense here in three Super Bowl years and single-handedly changed the point of attack defensively.
Clearly, Schatz and Alder’s analytical spread sheets did not take that into account.
They added a category called “Versatile defensive lineman” just to jam JJ Watt in there. Seymour was twice the player Watt was. …
The pro-Baltimore bias was clearly evidenced in special teams. The duo went with Justin Tucker over Adam Vinatieri at kicker. Shameful and unfathomable. …
They also picked ex-Raven Morgan Cox at long snapper. Somewhere, two-time Super Bowl champion long-snapper Zak DeOssie of North Andover has a serious, serious gripe.