Who would you roll with on your 53? Here's mine, but I'm very interested in a debate as I don't have extensive knowledge of Rams personnel outside the 90s.
OFFENSE
QB:
Kurt Warner.
Kurt is the unanimous #1 I think we can all agree, but some of you more "mature" folks who had the opportunity of watching the Rams in the 50s, 60s, 70s, and 80s help me out. The other QBs I'm considering are
Norm Van Brocklin, Bob Waterfield, Roman Gabriel, Vince Ferragamo, Jim Everett, and
Marc Bulger. I've seen snippets of some of the older guys, but those of you who had the fortune of watching all or most would be able to shed better light with less bias on these QBs.
RB:
1) Eric Dickerson, 2) Marshall Faulk, 3) Steven Jackson
Most if not all would agree with this top 3, however some may reorder it. ED is the home run hitter who gets the bulk of the 1st and 2nd down carries. Faulk backs up ED on 1st and 2nd downs and is the top 3rd down back on the depth chart. SJ backs up ED and Marshall and is 2nd string 3rd down back. SJ could possibly get in work at FB and carry on short distance and goal line situations. If additional backs make the team I'd consider
"Deacon" Dan Towler, Lawrence McCutcheon, and
Jerome Bettis.
Robert Holcombe and
Madison Hedgecock get consideration for TRUE FB.
WR: 1)
Isaac Bruce, 2)
Torry Holt,
Henry Ellard, Elroy "Crazylegs" Hirsch, Tom Fears, Jack Snow, Az-Zahir Hakim
Those are my guys, however someone may have to be relegated to the practice squad :snicker:. I KNOW! Too much talent. Other considerations include
Willie "Flipper" Anderson, Kevin Curtis, and
Danny Amendola. All I know is I'm firm with my top 2. Ike and Biggame are flankers, but I'm unsure who I'd start in the slot.
TE: Jared Cook, Roland Williams, Ernie Conwell
This is really the one where I'm most open to suggestions. If you asked me I couldn't name a great Rams TE pre-dating the GSOT. But from the decent amount I do know about Rams history, it doesn't seem like its our strongest position historically. I'd go with the athleticism of Cookie; his straight-line speed up the seams kills. Imagine him in the GSOT. Williams and Conwell played significant roles in the GSOT. I'd even throw in
Randy McMichael, Danny Fells, Lance Kendricks, and
Brandon Manumaleuna as contenders. Kendricks and Manumaleuna would battle out for blocking TE.
OT:
LT Orlando Pace,
RT Jackie Slater, Greg Robinson (too soon?:snicker
There's no question who the top 2 tackles are, but I give Big O the slight edge to start at LT. Slater backs up Pace. Greg Robinson is the swing tackle, but who knows how soon he pushes Pace and Slater for playing time
. Other wild cards are
Rodger Saffold and
Kyle Turley (2003).
OG:
Tom Mack,
Adam Timmerman, Tom Nutten, Rodger Saffold
This is another one where historical context may help from my elders
. There's little doubt that HOFer Mack is a starter, but I couldn't even tell you if he started at LG or RG. Timmerman was very good in the GSOT as was Nutten.
C: Andy McCollum, Mike Gruttadauria, ???
Again, I need help guys. McCollum was pretty good in the early 2000s for us and was 1/2 of the doughnut bros. And don't say Jason Brown or Scott Wells.
3-4 DEFENSE:
DE:
Deacon Jones, Jack Youngblood, Robert Quinn, Kevin Carter
I think most will agree with my top 4, but may reorder it. I'm running a 3-4 scheme so that we can get the maximum amount of pass rushing talent on the field. Some DEs may switch to OLB and some OLB may switch to DE, we may even alternate between 3-4 and 4-3.
OLB: Kevin Greene, Leonard Little, Chris Long, Will Witherspoon (first tour w/Rams), Pisa Tinoisamoa
We trot out Greene, LL, and Long as rush LBs in the 3-4 but all 3 have familiarity with standing up and have the athleticism to cover if needed. In a base 4-3 I like Spoon as one of my starters. Pisa is a candidate for the other spot. I'm also considering Todd Collins, Tommy Polley, and Alec Ogletree.
DT:
Merlin Olsen, D'Marco Farr, Rosie Grier, Ryan Pickett, Aaron Donald (too soon?:snicker
Merlin Olsen is unanimous but the other spot is a toss up. If we run a 3-4 I'm not sure if Olsen plays NT.
MLB:
London Fletcher, James Laurinaitis
One of the biggest front office mistakes in franchise history. In our perfect All-time Rams team, Fletcher doesn't get away. James is a very solid backup.
CB:
1) Dick "Night Train" Lane, 2) Aeneas Williams, Dre Bly, Ron Bartell, Bradley Fletcher
I'm open to suggestions at CB but 1 and 2 I feel are pretty firm. Aeneas played at a high enough level at CB before moving to FS to win the 2nd starting spot on the outside.
FS:
Oshiomogho Atogwe
Idk who else to put in there, but OJ led the NFL for about 5 years in turnovers and had several double-digit turnover seasons. Ball hawk.
SS: TJ McDonald, Adam Archuleta
Idk on this one too, not many great SS since I started watching the Rams. Either that or my brain is fried after a long day. TJ could very well be the greatest if he continues what he's doing in GW's D.
SPECIAL TEAMS:
K: Jeff "Money" Wilkins, Greg Zuerlein
If you need a money kick in crunch time, trot out Wilky. If you need distance: GZ. If you need to recover an onside kick WILKY. Man was he good at kicking onside kicks.
P: Johnny Hekker, Donnie Jones
Both are great punters who can boom it, but I'll take the punter who can throw TDs.
LS: Chris Massey, Jake McQuaide
From an article in 2010: "In 8½ seasons, Massey has clean snaps on 964 of 965 attempts (99.9 percent)." Dude was money. McQuaide, Massey's successor has been just as money, but has yet to reach Massey's longevity.
KR: Tony Horne
The GSOT was all about offensive TDs, Tony Horne scored 4 KR TDs from 1998-2000, including 2 in 1999 leading the NFL in return average (29.7).
PR: Dre Bly, Danny Amendola, Dante Hall
Toss up if you ask me.
That's my list. Fire away!
