Skinny Post’s All Decade Team!
Posted by Steve O'Reilly on January 6, 2010 · 6 Comments
The New Year is upon us and we shall kick it off by looking back. Over the last ten years we have seen some of the best players of all time mature and grow right before our eyes. In this segment we will highlight each position on both Offense, Defense & Special Teams and offer up our the team of the Decade!
A big thank you to our current and former NFL friends who assisted with player insight when formulating the teams. Here is the best team over the last 10 years and as always, if you disagree, jump in and tell us why!
I agree with most of the picks, especially on offense and ST. On defense it’s tough, as Demarcus Ware wouldn’t neccessarily make my squad, instead Zach Thomas or Urlacher. At safety I’d prefer John Lynch or Rodney Harrison ahead of Polamalu, if either are SS.
I toiled with this team for days! For Linebacker, Ware has tons of Sacks which is what a OLB should bring to the table. Thomas and Urlacher both play the Middle and Lewis was the better pick in our opinion. As far as Safety, Lynch and Harrison are solid but Troy P. changes the entire complexity of his defenses…tough to deny his impact.
Great team! Darn I wish that was the Broncos depth chart from the past decade lol
Great team BUT….
I question your Alstott selection. As a former fullback I appreciate the work Big Mike has done but Checking the Stats how can you (excluding your Bronco Loyalty) not select Lorenzo Neal?!?
First, Alstotts best years were in the 90′s. Specifically his all-pro years were 97-99. Neal (who btw has had a longer career) has been a 3x all-pro ,4 time pro-bowler in the 00′s
Second, Eddie George, Warrick Dunn, Corey Dillon, Ladanian Tomlinson. even Adrian Murrell. If you want your RB to have 1000+ yards and a probowl season you have Neal block for him. BIg Mike even had Neal blocking for him in one of his pro bowl seasons (1998)
Third, Big Mikes career was injury plagued and shortented.He Spent the last 2 (2006-07) years on IR He can’t be penalized for that. BUT Mr. Neal (playing the same brutal position) did not miss a game from 1994 to 2007. 221 games. That’s longer than most players’ careers.
He also could run and catch passes out of the backfield. In fact, in the 15th season of his career, (yes I said 15th) he had a longer run (43yards) than Alstott had in any year since his 2nd (47yds) …AS A FULLBACK. And let’s not forget that piece of Footbal history he was involved in called the MUSIC CITY MIRACLE.
In short, Mike Alstott would definitely be in the conversation for on of the greatest FB’s in recent history. However, for the decade of the 00′s, you would be seriously remiss to overlook MR. LORENZO NEAL!!!
PS- Love your work STEVE
You make a solid argument all around, no denying that. Neal was a great player at the position for a long long time but since you ask, here is why I went with Alstott. 2002 he was vital to the teams Super Bowl Championship in picking up the short yardage and keeping long drives going. That was the mode of operation for the Bucs, control the ball, eat clock and stay in ball games with an outstanding Defense. You can’t play that style of Offense without a tough runner who can keep 13-15 play drives going.
While Neal definitely is one of the best pure Blocking Fullback in history he was not as versatile as Alstott in my opinion. Neal never played the role of a featured back. In his career Neal had 6 Rushing Touchdowns and 12 Receiving TD’s! Alstott had 10 in 2001 alone, 58 Career Rushing TD’s and 13 more Receiving!! I whole heartedly agree that Alstott was injury plaqued in the latter portion of the Decade but he did a lot of damage in the first few years including hoisting the Lombardi Trophy.
Both are great but I like what Big Mike brings to the table, versatility! Thanks for the debate and appreciate the solid argument! Neal was a special player who selflessly opened holes for great backs throughout his career and I appreciate you bringing his accomplishments to light!
notice who was on the AP All-Decade Team and the Sporting News All-Decade Team, and who wasn’t