All-NFL Team

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Sports Illustrated made an all-current NFL team, an all-time NFL team, and an all-future NFL team. Here are their choices

All-Current NFL Team

QB Peyton Manning - Now that he's got the can't-win-the-big-one thing off his resume, he edges Tom Brady for the honor as the best passer and game-manager in football.
RB LaDanian Tomlinson - This might be the easiest call of this entire team. What player is better at his position right now than Tomlinson?
FB Mack Strong - This is a tough position to choose from, because you're tempted to take the best combo platter of blocker and runner. Strong can run in a pinch, but when he blocks linebackers, they stay blocked.
WR Torry Holt - Holt is the best receiver in the game today. He's so quick in and out of his cuts, and so hard to cover one-on-one, and so productive even when everyone knows he'll be getting it seven times a game.
WR Steve Smith - I'm starting to worry about all his injuries, but for now, he's still the biggest three-down threat at receiver in the game. Four-down, if you count his prowess in the return game when used that way.
TE Antonio Gates - I have no idea what his stats were last year. I do know this: In a pickup game among the best GMs in football, Gates would certainly be the first tight end picked -- and he'd be a top-20 choice overall.
T Walter Jones - Athleticism and power are the most important traits for a franchise left tackle, and Jones is the most athletic left tackle and one of the three or four strongest.
G Steve Hutchinson - The gold standard of offensive linemen today, and I don't care if his 2006 wasn't as good as his previous seasons. He is adjusting to life with a lesser left tackle, and still steamrolling in the run game.
C Jeff Saturday - It's time to recognize the skill and talent of the Indy offensive line, which showed last year what a physical force it can be in the playoff ramrodding of the formidable Ravens. Saturday's the mistake-free linchpin.
G Shawn Andrews - He's the Eagles' best player today, which is saying something when you consider how many great players this franchise has produced in the last decade. He's a strong, athletic drive-blocker.
T Jonathan Ogden - Ogden can still can envelop defensive ends and take them wherever he wants them to go. He's not the talent he was at 28, but hey, neither is Katherine Hepburn.
Offensive Reserves: Tom Brady, Vince Young, Reggie Bush, Maurice Jones-Drew, Larry Fitzgerald, Marvin Harrison, Mike Furrey, Tony Gonzalez, Jason Peters, Kris Dielman, Nick Mangold

DE Julius Peppers - He reminds me of Tim Duncan: Never says much, but when he's healthy, Peppers is the best pass rusher in the league.
DT Jamal Williams - One of the best big-bodied players in recent history, Williams' domination of the middle of the line of scrimmage is a big reason why San Diego's defense works so well.
DT Warren Sapp - Oh, this pick was the right one six years ago and not now, you say? Bull. Sapp has played as well as ever -- like a man possessed -- the last two years.
DE Jason Taylor - I don't know how you block him. He's got a small forward's moves and such good instincts for playmaking. The ball just finds him on defense.
OLB Shawne Merriman - I say he was good enough in his pre-positive-test play and his post-positive-test play to be a slam dunk on this team, but I can see the e-mails flying in already.
OLB Adalius Thomas - The best all-around defensive player in football should come in handy on Bill Belichick's drawing board this fall.
MLB Brian Urlacher - It's not just the playmaking. It's the mentality. Urlacher hasn't let being Urlacher take away one ounce of the dedication toward the greatness that rules what he does.
CB Champ Bailey - Edged by Jason Taylor as last year's defensive player of the year, Bailey has proven what a brilliant deal it was to trade Clinton Portis for him. Great runners come along far, far more often than great corners.
SS Kerry Rhodes - Nobody's giving him the pub yet, but just watch. He's the rising star (along, maybe, with LaRon Landry of the Redskins) in the secondary for 2007.
FS Ed Reed - Has become to the Baltimore defense what Ray Lewis was five years ago -- the player on a very good defense whom offensive coordinators scheme away from.
CB Antoine Winfield - There is no cornerback I love watching play more today than Winfield. At 5-9 (that might be generous) and 180, he plays cornerback the way Merriman plays linebacker. Which is to say, he loves to hit.
Defensive Reserves Richard Seymour, Dwight Freeney, Pat Williams, DeMeco Ryans, Lance Briggs, Lofa Tatapu, Asante Samuel, Bob Sanders

K Adam Vinatieri - I don't really care about his stats, though I know they're good. I just care that, with the game on the line, outside or inside, I want Vinatieri kicking the ball anywhere from 52 yards and in.
PBrian Moorman - He edges Mat McBriar, the Dallas up-and-comer. Moorman consistently has good hang time in the climes of western New York, with a gaudy 39.2-yard net average last year (best in the league) and 33 punts inside the 20 (second-best).
Returner Devin Hester - How about Hester and Reggie Bush (see my bench) as the return men for this team? No team in history has ever had two so good.
Player Bernard Pollard - He blocked three punts and forced two fumbles last year for the Chiefs. He might move into the starting lineup this year, but even if he does, Herman Edwards will continue to use him on special teams.

Head Coach Bill Belichick - Winning three Super Bowls in four years should make him a gimme. The prospect of winning one more with so many new players makes him a lock.
Offensive Coordinator Mike Martz - Jon Kitna threw for 4,300 yards last year. I rest my case.
Defensive Coordinator Rex Ryan - Belichick gets credit, rightfully, for changing up so many of his schemes and player combinations week-to-week, depending on the foe. Ryan does the exact same stuff, only with fewer people noticing.

Source: Sports Illustrated

[ruffriders23]

The only spot I will want someone else at if at FB. I take Alstott over Strong. Since he is getting paid this season... he is STILL available!

[AYHJA]

I honestly can't see a flaw in many, if any of those picks...There are certainly some 'as good' picks, but none really that I can say are better than...

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All-Time NFL Team

QB Otto Graham (Cleveland Browns 1946-55) - A quarterback should be measured -- most of all -- by winning. Graham quarterbacked his team to the championship game of his league 10 times in 10 years, winning seven titles. And he led the league in passing seven times in those 10 years.
RB Jim Brown (Cleveland Browns 1957-65) - When you can run between the tackles the way he did, and still be able to turn the corner skillfully enough to average 5.2 yards a carry, you earn the right to edge the great Walter Payton for this honor.
FB Bronko Magurski (Chicago Bears 1930-37,43) - The archives paint such a hammer-headed picture of Nagurski -- along with his ability to run it well and often -- that he seems like the Ice Age Mike Alstott with Jerome Bettis production.
WR Don Hutson (GB Packers 1935-45) - Best receiver of all time. Just look at the numbers. In a dead-ball era, he caught three times as many passes for three times as many touchdowns as anyone in the first 25 years of the NFL.
WR Jerry Rice (SF 49ers 1985-2000, Oakland Raiders 2001-2004, Seattle Seahawks 2004) - IOther guys were faster. Other guys had more athleticism. No one wanted it more, and no one had better hands. Rice is a player for every age, not just this one.
TE John Mackey (Baltimore Colts 1963-71, San Diego Chargers 1972) - As a combo platter of blocker, receiver and cluth team player, no tight end has been better.
T Anthony Munoz (Cincinnati Bengals 1980-92) - I once watched Munoz's line coach, Jim McNally, grade a gametape of his. "Every week it's like this," McNally said. "As close to perfect as a player can play." No player except Munoz can say he was all-pro and made the Pro-Bowl 11 years in a row.
G John Hannah (New England Patriots 1973-85) - As technically sound as Munoz was, so was Hannah -- plus he was as mean on the field as he was gentlemanly off it.
C Mel Hein (New York Giants 1931-45) - It's so hard to compare eras, obviously, and Hein played from 1931 to '45. But no player in history played both ways, every week, for 15 years and at such a high level for a good team.
G Jim Parker (Baltimore Colts 1957-67) - Parker was the only offensive lineman to make the Pro Bowl four times or more at two positions -- guard and tackle.
T Forrest Gregg (GB Packers 1956,58-70, Dallas Cowboys '71) - Close call over Jonathan Ogden, the best tackle of the past 15 years. Gregg played 188 straight games at a real man's man position, winning six NFL titles along the way.
Offensive Reserves: John Unitas (QB), Joe Montana (QB), Walter Payton (RB), Marion Motley (RB), Lance Alworth (WR), Elroy Hirsch (WR), Raymond Berry (WR), Dwight Stevenson (OL), Gene Upshaw (OL), Johnathan Ogden (OL), Kellen Winslow (TE)

DE Deacon Jones (LA Rams '61-'71, SD Chargers '72-73, Washington Redskins '74) - If they'd counted sacks in his day, he'd hold the all-time record. He was so fast and tough, Jones put the "fearsome" into "Fearsome Foursome."
DT Joe Greene (Pittsburgh Steelers '69-'81)/b] - Ask the Steeler players from a generation ago, and they'll tell you Greene was the keystone to the four Super Bowl wins. Selfless and dominant.
DT Bob Lilly (Dallas Cowboys '61-'74) - The bedrock foundation of the Dallas defense for 15 years, Lilly was there every Sunday -- he played in 196 consecutive games -- and made every offensive game-planner work around him./i]
DE Reggie White (Philadelphia Eagles '85-92, GB Packers '93-98, Carolina Panthers 2000) - No defensive lineman ever -- Joe Greene was close -- rushed the passer and stopeed the run with the skill and consistent greatness of White.
OLB Lawrence Taylor (NY Giants '81-93) - As dangerous and impactful a defensive player as has ever played the game -- ask the Redskins -- and he played the run pretty well, too.
ILB Dick Butkus (Chicago Bears '65-73) - You can't have an all-time team without Butkus, who was a sledgehammer inside the tackles and an instinctive player from sideline-to-sideline.
ILB Ray Nitschke (GB Packers '58-72) - Voted the NFL's all-time best linebacker in 1969, which would get an argument from Butkus. Nitschke was the defensive key to Green Bay's greatness.
OLB Ray Lewis (Baltimore Ravens '96-Present) - For as long as I cover this game, I'll never see a more athletic linebacker than Lewis was in 2000, when he willed the Ravens to a Super Bowl title. He's declining now, but was a consistent 10-year playmaker at a high level.
CB Deion Sanders (Atlanta Falcons 89-93, SF 49ers '94, Dallas Cowboys '95-99, Washington Redskins 2000, Baltimore Ravens '04-05) - I feel bad putting a non-tackler on this defense. Butkus would have hated him. But the fact is, Sanders is the best cover corner in NFL history, and there's no room for arguments.
SS Ronnie Lott (SF 49ers '81-90, LA Raiders '91-92, NY Jets '93-94) - Let's face it: In the era of football we all know best, no secondary player has been as feared and respected as Lott, the best combination of hitter, cover safety and corner in football history./i]
FS Sammy Baugh (Washington Redskins '37-52) - He's here not because he was the second-best safety of all time, but because he deserves two roles on this team (he's also my punter). The most versatile great player ever. Quarterbacked, too.
CB Night Train Lane (LA Rams '52-53, Chicago Cardinals '54-59, Detroit Lions '60-65) - Nice debut in 1952: 14 interceptions led the league ... in a 12-game season!
Defensive Reserves Gino Marchetti (DL), George Connor (DL), Bruce Smith (DL), Chuck Bednarik (LB), Harry Carson (LB), Mike Singletary (LB), Mel Blount (DB), Rod Woodson (DB)

K Adam Vinatieri (NE Patriots '96-2005, Indy Colts 2006-Present) - It's no accident New England won three Super Bowls, all by a field goal ... and got to the first one because Vinatieri made maybe the most clutch kick in history, a 45-yarder through a snowstorm to propel New England past Oakland in the 2001 playoffs.
P Sammy Baugh (Wasington Redskins '37-52) - He's here because, even though the rules were different then, and favored punters, he led the league in punting four straight years (1940-43) and averaged an insane 51.4 yards per boot in 1940. No punter has come within 2.5 yards of that for a season. Ever.
Returner Gale Sayers (Chicago Bears ('65-71) - The best open-field runner in history, he scored 22 touchdowns as a rookie. His career kick-return average of 30.6 yards is still the best in NFL history.
Player Steve Tasker (Houston Oilers '85-86) - His old special-teams coach, Bruce DeHaven, once made up a tape for me to watch, with 10 plays Tasker made that either won games or turned games Buffalo's way.

Head Coach Paul Brown (Cleveland Browns '46-62, Cincinnati Bengals '68-75) - The most innovative man in pro football when the game was being birthed in the 1940s and the '50s. His best coaching job: Taking the Browns from the All-America Football conference to the NFL in 1950 -- and dominating the bigger league from the start.
Offensive Coordinator Bill Walsh (Head coach, San Francisco 49ers 1979-88; assistant coach, Oakland Raiders 1966, Cincinnati Bengals 1968-75, San Diego Chargers 1976) - Interesting that Brown and Walsh worked together with the Bengals in the early years -- and Walsh always thought Brown stunted his growth. No one could hold Walsh back from building the prototype offense for today in San Francisco.
Defensive Coordinator Bill Belichick (Head coach, Cleveland Browns 1991-95, New England Patriots 2000-present; assistant coach, Detroit Lions 1976, Denver Broncos 1977-78, New York Giants 1979-90, New England Patriots 1996), New York Jets 1997-99) - The brains, with Bill Parcells, behind the solid D of the '80s Giants. After a rough time in Cleveland as head coach, he has proven his worth as an all-timer with New England. A chameleon defensive coach. You never know what D he'll pull out of his gameplanning hat.

Source: Sports Illustrated

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All-Future (2012) NFL Team

QB Vince Young - I thought long and hard about JaMarcus Russell, because he's a much more efficient and accurate quarterback (right now) than Young. But I settled on the Tennessean because of how good he was as an NFL frosh running and throwing, and because he's such an electric player. And I figure his accuracy will improve in the next few seasons.
RB Steven Jackson - You'll never guess how old Jackson is right now. I'd have guessed 26 had I not looked it up. Nope. He just turned 24 last month. He's the type of versatile back who will dominate the position in the next generation -- and he'll be helped by the selfless play of our 2012 fullback ...
FB Brian Leonard - What's the definition of a good fullback as the NFL nears its 100th birthday? Two things: He's got be an unselfish blocker, and he's got to be able to get you some tough yards -- rushing or receiving -- on third down. Leonard will prove great at both.
WR Calvin Johnson - There are very few gimmes on this list. Johnson came out this year with the type of plaudits rarely heard before a guy plays his first NFL game. If he misses, lots of scouts should get fired.
WR Anthony Gonzalez - Right player, right place, right quarterback, right time. Marvin Harrison is getting old, and by the time Gonzalez reaches his prime three years from now, Harrison will be on his way out and Gonzalez will be his talented heir -- a tough kid with excellent hands and good discipline to run the exact routes Peyton Manning wants.
TE Antonio Gates - He'll be 32 on opening day 2012, still catching balls from Philip Rivers and still making it impossible for teams to cover him with an outside linebacker. Gates, I think, will challenge the all-time greats by the time he leaves the game.
T Jason Peters - He just turned 25, and you could argue he'd be all-pro this year if he were a higher-profile guy in a higher-profile program. Watch him block the great pass-rushers in his division this year. He's becoming a road-grader with the kind of quick feet you need to keep the fast guys off the quarterback.
G Shawn Andrews - At 24, he's the best under-25 offensive lineman in football right now. The Eagles will tell you how much he dictates what they do on offense, because he can handle the best defensive tackles as well as pull to knock over the best outside linebackers.
C Nick Mangold - Just watch the Jets play the next few years. You'll hear announcer after announcer talk about how this is one of the toughest centers in the league since Jim Otto. Smart, aggressive and a classic football player.
G Kris Dielman - Five years from now, he'll be 31, and LaDainian Tomlinson will tell anyone who'll listen: "This is the best offensive lineman I ever ran behind."
T Joe Thomas - It's just a gut feeling here. He has the mentality, the toughness, the intelligence and the drive -- I absolutely guarantee you he will not be spoiled by the millions he'll get with his rookie contract -- to be a great tackle for a long time.


DE Jarvis Moss - I think Mike Shanahan has struck gold here. Moss, only 252 pounds now, will beef up to be able to stand up against the run, and he'll be the kind of pass-rusher the Broncos have been seeking since Trevor Pryce flew the coop for Baltimore.
DT Amobi Okoye - He'll be 25 on opening day 2012, and he'll just be heading into his dominant period as a player. Ask anyone at Louisville who coached him or played with him: This is a guy who will leave nothing to chance on his way to becoming a great NFL player.
DE Calais Campbell (U of Miami) - With the 'Canes last year, he had 10.5 sacks and 20.5 total tackles for loss. And he's 6-8. That's right. No funny business with the measurements either. Six-eight. He'll be a junior in his fourth college year this fall, so whether he comes out in the '08 or '09 draft, Campbell will have plenty of time to round into form as a great player within five years.
OLB Terrell Suggs - How happy are the Ravens about Suggs? Just when all their great defensive players are either in severe decline or recently retired, this pass-rusher extraordinaire, on opening day 2012, will be 29 years old. He'll be one of the league's best pass-rushers for the next eight years.
ILB Ernie Sims - He might go down in history as one of the few draft choices Matt Millen got right. He's a leader like no other Lion, and he's a versatile, 225-pound force on the outside or inside. He's got the staying power to be a tackling machine for a long time.
ILB Patrick Willis - The 49ers wanted a plugger and playmaker for the middle of their defense this year, and Willis was the best MLB/ILB available. He won't be Ray Lewis going sideline-to-sideline, but he'll be excellent against the run and the kind of instinctive player to lead Mike Nolan's defense into the future.
OLB Shawne Merriman - I'm gambling that the man with 27 sacks in his first 27 NFL games -- who will be 28 in five years -- is going to keep his nose clean and fulfill his destiny. That's to become one of the best defensive players of all time.
CB Darrelle Revis - The Cleveland Browns thought enough of him to have him ranked as a top-five player in the draft this year -- and the Jets thanked their lucky stars Revis was still there at No. 14. He's got excellent cover skills and is a willing tackler.
SS Eric Weddle - The kind of safety that will succeed as the game changes over the years is the versatile safety. That defines this second-round pick of the Chargers this year. GM A.J. Smith traded three picks to draft him, which was smart. Remember, he shut down Calvin Johnson in a 2005 bowl game, and he's a physical presence, too.
FS LeRon Landry - When I watched the highlights of Landry before the draft last April, I kept thinking I was seeing Ronnie Lott. Tough, tough, tough. The Redskins think he can be the smart quarterback of the defense they've been looking for.
CB Nnamdi Asomugha - It's easy to say corners get long in the tooth earlier than players at other positions. But those who know him in Oakland say Asomugha is smart, takes great care of himself and is primed for a long career as a run-supporting, smart corner. He'll be 31 in 2012 -- but he'll still be 6-2 and the corner that quarterbacks will fear.

K Stephen Gostkowski - As a rookie in New England last year, he grew with the pressure of the job. In the last half of the season, when the kicks got more important by the week, he went 12 of 14. He's no Vinatieri, but he'll lessen the blow of the Pats losing him.
P Mat McBriar - Only two punters ever had a better average per punt than McBriar's 48.2-yard average last year, and he's just learning the game. The former Australian is the kind of weapon that makes coaches confident about playing the field-position game.
Returner Ted Ginn Jr - When the booing dies down in Miami (Dol-fans are still upset that the team passed on Brady Quinn), the fans will see how great an all-around player Ginn is. Cam Cameron is going to make sure that he stays a great returner while he becomes an integral wide receiver for the Dolphins long-term.
Player Gerald Alexander - Now, he might be a great safety by 2012, but the Lions drafted him last April with the idea that he'll bring energy over the next few years to special teams as well as the starting secondary -- if he plays well enough to earn a starting job. He's a headhunter with boundless energy.

Head Coach Mike Tomlin - I knew he had a heck of a chance to succeed in the profession's cradle of coaches a few months ago, when I related to him a few things that his players were saying about him. He chuckled. "Peter, they should be concerned with what I think about them." He's a smart defensive guy who will never stop learning.
Offensive Coordinator Jason Garrett - Talk football with him sometime and you'll see why everyone who has played with him and coached him thinks he's going to be a great coach in this league for a long time. He's a smart guy with lots of good ideas about new things that can work in a traditional game.
Defensive Coordinator Joe Barry - It stunned me to see that Barry was born in 1970. I've heard so many good things about him and his precocious defensive mind that I couldn't believe that he'll only be 42 in 2012 -- and could well be a head coach. He'll be the kind of motivator and strategist that will attract owners to him in the next few years.

Source: Sports Illustrated