Your Team Can't Beat Mine

Quarterback- 
Joe Montana: You Play to win the game. Montana did this, winning 4 Super Bowls and 3 Super Bowl MVP's.

Backups: Dan Marino, John Elway, Brett Favre.


Running Backs-
Barry Sanders: He only played 10 seasons before shocking everyone with his 1999 retirement, but he went to 10 Pro Bowls. He had 99 touchdowns in those 10 seasons as well as 15,269 yards. Barry Sanders is the ultimate 'what if' player. Him and Bo Jackson.

Walter Payton: Second all-time in rushing yards (16,726), 4th in touchdowns with 110. He went to 9 Pro Bowls as well.

Backups: Bo Jackson, Marshall Faulk, Emmitt Smith.


Receivers-
Jerry Rice: Obviously. He's the all-time leader in receiving yards and receiving touchdowns. He also went to 13 Pro Bowls.

Cris Carter: Top-5 All-Time in receiving touchdowns (4th) and receptions (3rd). Never had the chance to play with a truly great quarterback though.

Tim Brown (88-04): 100 career touchdowns, 14,934 total yards and 9 pro bowls. Member of the All-1990's team and the College Football Hall of Fame. Also owns a Heisman from his days at Notre Dame.

Backups: Isaac Bruce, Randy Moss, Steve Largent.

I was really surprised to see that Terrell Owens is 2nd all-time in both receiving yards and touchdowns. There's still no way I'd put him on any all-time 'team.' He doesn't like that word anyway.

Offensive Line-

Will Shields

Jonathan Ogden

Randal McDaniel

Bruce Mathews

Orlando Pace

Cornerbacks:

Rod Woodson: The greatest of all-time in my opinion. 71 interceptions on his way to 11 Pro Bowls mainly with the Steelers and Raiders.

Dick 'Night Train' Lane: An incredible 14 interceptions as a rookie in 1952 for the LA Rams. Finished with 68 for his career, along with 7 Pro Bowls. Also gets points for having the best nickname on the team, maybe ever.

Backups: Deion Sanders, Champ Bailey.

Linebackers-

This was the toughest position to pick by far.

Lawrence Taylor: Having LT on the list wasn't hard, though. He tops nearly every list of great linebackers, going to 10 Pro Bowls while becoming only the 2nd defensive player to be named league MVP. Also had one of the nastiest hits of all time.

Ray Lewis: His play backs up his mouth, most definitely. The best middle linebacker of the last 25 years. He went to 11 Pro Bowls and won a Super Bowl with the 2000 Ravens, leading an arguably top-5 defense of all-time that season.

Mike Singletary: Definitely a better linebacker than coach. He was a member of the All-1980's team, went to 10 Pro Bowls and was a first team all-pro 7 times.

Derrick Thomas: I think Derrick Thomas gets overlooked when talking about all-time great linebackers. In a career that was shortened by his death in 2000, Thomas was one of the best pass-rushing linebackers off all-time, getting 126 sacks while playing for the Chiefs.

Backups: Dick Butkus, Jack Ham, Jack Lambert.

Defensive Line-

Bruce Smith: No. 1 overall pick by the Bills in 1985, he's the all-time leader with 200 career sacks. Went to 11 Pro Bowls, and is a member of the 1980's and 1990's All-Decade teams.

Reggie White: The "Minister of Defense." White went to 13-straight Pro Bowls as a member of the Eagles and Packers. Member of the NFL 75th Anniversary All-Time team. 198.5 career sacks is only topped by Bruce Smith.

Deacon Jones: Allegedly coined the term 'sack.' Jones played before sacks began being counted in 1982, but is known as one of the greatest defenders of all-time as a member of the Los Angeles Rams in the 1970's.

Backups: Alan Page, Joe Greene, Michael Strahan.


Safeties-
Ronnie Lott: Considered by many the greatest safety of all-time, Lott could play safety or cornerback. He was also a member of the All-1980's and All-1990's teams, while winning 4 Super Bowls with the 49ers.

Steve Atwater: One of the more underrated players in NFL history. Atwater had an incredible 1,180 tackles in only 11 seasons. He went to 8 Pro Bowls and won 2 Super Bowl rings with the Broncos.


Backups: Troy Polamalu, Paul Krause, Jack Tatum.


Kicker-
Adam Vinatieri: This is one of the easier decisions to make. He had 3 Super Bowl-winning field goals with the Patriots, and 2 of those were kicked as time expired. Also has another ring with the Colts.

Punter- This team doesn't need a punter.

Coach: Vince Lombardi

College hoops top 10

With exactly 1 month until Selection Sunday, the weekly polls are starting to get more attention as fans try to project seeds for their team. No.1 Ohio State finally fell on Saturday, a 71-67 loss to Bo Ryan's Badgers in Madison. Here's how I see things now.


1) Kansas (24-1): The media seems to like Texas as the new No.1. The Longhorns did beat KU in Lawrence, but they also have 3 losses to KU's single defeat. Kansas has won its last 5 games by a combined 92 points. That's impressive.

2) Ohio State (24-1): Losing to the No.14 team on the road is about the same as losing to a top 5 team at home, so these are basically 1A and 1B in my book. Wisconsin is tough at home, so that loss wasn't a shocker and shouldn't concern Buckeye fans. Vegas even had Wisconsin favored in the upset.

3) Pittsburgh (23-2): Everyone seems to have Texas ahead of Pitt at No.3, and even No.1 or 2 in some cases, but I like the Panthers here. They're 11-1 in the ultra-competitive Big East, they have one less loss than Texas, and they just knocked off Villanova in Philly on Saturday night.

4) Texas (22-3): The Longhorns are looking as good as anyone lately, and the case can be made for them to be higher here. They're on pace to finish with an unblemished 16-0 Big 12 record and a No.1 seed looks good right now.

Those 4 teams look to be on their own level. Everyone else is part of a jumbled mess of sorts from about No.5-15.

5) Duke (22-2): That ACC schedule isn't doing much in the way of Marquee wins for Duke here. The losses to Florida State and St. Johns aren't exactly impressive, either. Coach K doesn't seem to think freshman star Kyrie Irving will return from his toe injury to help come tourney time. That will hurt Duke in March.

6) Notre Dame (21-4): The loss of Boston Celtic Luke Harangody hasn't hurt the Irish much, who sit in sole position of 2nd place in the Big East. They have some nice wins over Wisconsin, Georgetown, Uconn, and Pittsburgh. Ben Hansbrough has been playing lights out this year.

7) San Diego State (25-1): The Aztecs just swept UNLV, which are 2 good wins for the selection committee to look at. I've just never been sold on mid-majors in the NCAA tournament. How many mid-majors have made the final four the last 20 years? George Mason and Butler? I have SDSU at 7 because college basketball is down this year.

8) BYU (24-2): I only have the Cougars this high because of The Jimmer. Fredette is getting 27 points a game and his range is anywhere inside the lines. I'm not kidding. That range could lead to a potential run in March.

9) Georgetown (20-5): The Hoyas are 3rd in the Big East behind Pitt and Notre Dame with quality wins over Missouri, Utah State, Villanova, and Syracuse. Austin Freeman is as good as any guard in the country.

10) Wisconsin (19-6): The Badgers were favored to beat No.1 Ohio State Saturday, and they did just that.  With Jon Leuer and Jordan Taylor getting 19 and 18 points a game respectively, the Badgers are tough to beat with that defensive style Bo Ryan employs in Madison.

College hoops top 10

With conference seasons finally under way, here's my college basketball top 10. It might not look the the lists on ESPN, but they don't pay me, so I don't care.

I think there's clearly three teams who have separated themselves.

1) Duke: This one is easy. The Blue Devils haven't lost in forever, and this spot is there's until they do. Kyrie Irving's injured toe will hurt in the long run, but it hasn't affected them much yet.

2) Ohio St.: The Buckeyes shoot over 50% from the field and can score with the best of them. And if you thought former Buckeye star Greg Oden was good, get this: Jared Sullinger is better.

3) Kansas: The Jayhawks have as much talent as anyone in the country, and are basically interchangeable with Ohio St at 2 and 3. KU shoots even better than OSU, and kenpom has them 1^st in the nation in adjusted defense. (If you follow college basketball and don't read kenpom, you should. The guy is scary smart.)

After the top three teams, I see a giant cluster of 2^nd tier teams who haven't separated themselves in my book.

4) Pittsburgh: I love the way the Panthers move the ball. They're 1^st in country in assists, and their only loss was to a ranked Tennessee squad.

5) Syracuse: The Orange haven't really beaten anybody yet (Can Michigan St. be considered “anybody” this year? I say no) but they're still undefeated. Balance has been the key, with three guys averaging double figures.

6) Purdue: JaJuan Johnson and E'Twaun Moore are legit, getting 19 and 18 ppg, respectively. The Boilermakers will be in a fight with Ohio St. and Wisconsin for the Big 10 title all year.

7) Washington: 3 losses notwithstanding, I like the Huskies' offense here. They shoot 49%, they're top 10 in assists, and they're getting 88 points a game. Not to mention the 103 they just dropped on conference foe Oregon St.

8) Texas: If Rick Barnes doesn't screw things up, Texas has the potential to advance far in March. The talent is there, with Jordan Hamilton emerging as a Big 12 POY candidate while freshman Tristan Thompson is getting 12 ppg.

9) Uconn: I know. Uconn just beat Texas and the Huskies have one less loss, but I'd be worried if I were a Uconn fan. Kemba Walker is all they have, and anything resembling a cold streak from Walker will kill the Huskies this season.

10) Villanova: The Wildcats don't do anything that great, but they've done nothing but win since that November loss to Tennessee. Sunday's win over #25 Cincinnati improved the Bearcats to 3-0 in that rugged Big East.

Pretenders being umasked?

As I type this, 5 ranked teams have already lost to unranked conference foes.

*Missouri is supposedly the #9 team in the country, but they certainly didn't look it Saturday, getting beat badly by Colorado 89-76. I watched this entire game, so I know more about this game than the others. Here's why I think Mizzou is going to struggle from here on out:
-They give up way too many open looks. Whenever Colorado beat the press (which was more often than I predicted) they had a layup or wide open 3 way too often.
-They don't rebound. (76th in the nation)
-They don't get to the free throw line enough.
-They have terrible shot selection.

* #10 Kentucky just lost to Georgia, 77-70. This is what happens when you recruit 8 All-American freshman every year and there is zero continuity from year-to-year. Plus, I have no problem saying John Calipari is the biggest scumbag in all of sports. I'd quote something for you, but there aren't enough hours in the day. Any day a Calipari team loses is a good day in my book.

*#13 Georgetown dropped it's second Big East game in a row after losing to St. Johns' earlier this week. West Virginia is good, so this isn't a terrible loss. But coupling that with the St. John's loss and I'd be worried a little worried if I was a Hoyas fan.


*I know two things about #17 Kansas State's Jacob Pullen:
-He shops at Dilliard's.
-He doesn't lack confidence, saying Friday: "I feel like everything's got to come through Manhattan this year," Even though the Wildcats had 3 losses entering Big 12 play. A day after that bold statement, KSU lost rather convincingly to Oklahoma State, 76-62.

The preseason Big 12 favorites now have 4 losses, but I'm not surprised.


*#18 Michigan State, who was somehow still ranked with 4 losses, now has 5 with today's loss to a very average Penn State squad. I understand that Tom Izzo has a reputation for underachieving early before making a deep run in March, but it can't happen every year, right? I don't think so.