NFL 2000s All-Decade Team

[MFer]

Alright, so in an earlier thread we determined that the Patriots were clearly the team of the 2000's with the Colts and Steelers next in line. How about an all-decade team comprised of individual players? Yeah, there's still one more season left, but it shouldn't change things too much. There's no exact science to this; it just depends on how heavily you weight certain factors (stats, longevity, team success, peak, consistency, etc...). This should get some good discussions going.

QB: Tom Brady (Peyton Manning)-Eh, I should probably give the nod to Manning (3 MVP's, a Super Bowl, good for 12 wins, 4,000 yards, and 30 TD's a season), but I'm biased towards Brady, so I'll go with him.
RB: LaDainian Tomlinson (Priest Holmes?)-LT's an easy choice, but you could honestly make a case for Faulk, Lewis, Alexander (does anyone really want to see him on an all-decade team though?), James, Portis (his career numbers actually stack up pretty well this decade), and maybe even a couple others for that 2nd team slot. I just went with Holmes because of his ridiculous numbers from 2001-2003, regardless of who was blocking for him.
FB: Lorenzo Neal (Tony Richardson)
WR: Marvin Harrison, Randy Moss (Terrell Owens, Torry Holt)-Tossup between Moss and T.O., as both have had their share of negative moments, but I'm partial towards Moss.
TE: Tony Gonzalez (Antonio Gates)
OT: Walter Jones, Jonathan Ogden (Orlando Pace, Willie Roaf)
OG: Steve Hutchinson, Alan Faneca (Will Shields, Larry Allen)
C: Kevin Mawae (Olin Kruetz)

DE: Michael Strahan, Jason Taylor (Richard Seymour, Julius Peppers)
DT: Warren Sapp, Kevin Williams (La'Roi Glover, Kris Jenkins)
MLB: Ray Lewis (Brian Urlacher)
OLB: Derrick Brooks, Joey Porter (Julian Peterson, DeMarcus Ware)
CB: Champ Bailey, Ronde Barber (Charles Woodson, Ty Law)
S: Ed Reed, Brian Dawkins (Troy Polamalu, John Lynch)

K: Adam Vinatieri (David Akers)
P: Shane Lechler (Mike Scifres)
KR/PR: Devin Hester (Dante Hall)

Coach: Bill Belichick (Tony Dungy)

Toughest calls-QB, WR, S

 

[OG]

QB: Peyton Manning (Tom Brady)
RB: LaDainian Tomlinson (Clinton Portis)
FB: Lorenzo Neal (Kevin Faulk)
WR: Marvin Harrison, Terrell Owens (Randy Moss, Torry Holt)
TE: Tony Gonzalez (Antonio Gates)
OT: Walter Jones, Jonathan Ogden (Orlando Pace, Willie Roaf)
OG: Steve Hutchinson, Alan Faneca (Will Shields, Larry Allen)
C: Kevin Mawae (Jeff Saturday)

DE: Michael Strahan, Jason Taylor (Dwight Freeney, Julius Peppers)
DT: Warren Sapp, Kevin Williams (Jamal Williams, Kris Jenkins)
MLB: Ray Lewis (Zach Thomas)
OLB: Derrick Brooks, Terrell Suggs (Keith Bulluck, Joey Porter)
CB: Champ Bailey, Ronde Barber (Chris McAlister, Ty Law)
S: Ed Reed, Brian Dawkins (Troy Polamalu, John Lynch)

K: Adam Vinatieri (Nate Kaeding)
P: Shane Lechler (Mike Scifres)
KR/PR: Devin Hester (Dante Hall)

Coach: Bill Belichick (Tony Dungy)

A lot of similarities to MFer. Toughest calls were #2 RB, DE and CB. Easiest was TE.

 

[Obi Chris Kenobi]

Is that Jamal Lewis? Always been a fan so I'd vote him!

 

[Next USC #55]

QB: Tom Brady
RB: LaDainian Tomlinson
FB: Lorenzo Neal
WR: Marvin Harrison and Torry Holt
TE: Tony Gonzalez (tempted to say Gates, but Gonzalez has been an elite tight end for much longer)
OT: Orlando Pace and Walter Jones
OG: Steve Hutchinson and Alan Faneca
C: Kevin Mawae (For those who is picking Olin Kreutz, coming from a Bears fan, I would never vote him onto any All-??? teams. Anyone that refuses to adjust to his quarterback isn't the greatest center to have.)

DE: Julius Peppers and Jason Taylor
DT: Warren Sapp and Jamal Williams
MLB: Ray Lewis
OLB: Derrick Brooks and Julian Peterson
CB: Champ Bailey and Nnamdi Asomugha (just because he came in the 2000s late doesn't mean he isn't easily one of the best corners of the 2000s.)
S: Ed Reed and John Lynch (you know, on ESPN boards, there are people arguing Sean Taylor' inclusion on the list, based on "lost potential" being realized if, you know, he didn't croak. )

K: Adam Vinatieri
P: Shane Lechler
KR/PR: Dante Hall (larger body of work in the 00s)

Coach: Bill Belichick

 

[Vitamin X]

I think a lot of our lists are going to look similar.

QB: Tom Brady (Peyton Manning)
RB: LaDainian Tomlinson (Shaun Alexander)
FB: Lorenzo Neal (Tony Richardson)
WR: Marvin Harrison, Terrell Owens (STEVESMITHSTEVESMITHSTEVESMITH, Chad Johnson)
TE: Tony Gonzalez (Antonio Gates)
OT: Walter Jones, Jonathan Ogden (Orlando Pace, Willie Roaf)
OG: Steve Hutchinson, Alan Faneca (Will Shields, Larry Allen)
C: Kevin Mawae (Jeff Saturday)

DE: Michael Strahan, Julius Peppers (Dwight Freeney, Jared Allen)
DT: Richard Seymour, Kevin Williams (Jamal Williams, Kris Jenkins)
MLB: Brian Urlacher (Ray Lewis)
OLB: Shawne Merriman, Joey Porter (Keith Bulluck, Terrell Suggs)
CB: Champ Bailey, Ronde Barber (Al Harris, Ty Law)
S: Ed Reed, Troy Polamalu (Brian Dawkins, John Lynch)

K: Adam Vinatieri (Nate Kaeding)
P: Shane Lechler (Mike Scifres)
KR/PR: Dante Hall (Devin Hester) - Hester had only an astounding couple of years, while Hall was more consistent for a long time. If Lovie didn't try Hester out at WR and had him really doing his thing last year, then yes.

Coach: Bill Belichick (Tony Dungy)

 

[Next USC #55]

I'm surprised you went with Urlacher and Merriman. I thought of naming them but for Urlacher, I felt that while he was always a guy who played on a high level and is probably HoF bound, but you never get the sense that he was the undisputed #1 LB in the NFL, ever.

As for Merriman, he is definitely on his way, like Asomugha, but I'll wait to see how his injuries heal up. If he isn't the same after, then I would not be able to justify picking him over guys who played much longer and consistently.

I only named Asomugha because he has already commanded the respect of the quarterbacks, by not being allowed opportunities to intercept passes. It's a similar kind of respect that Devin Hester gets in the return game, by having balls be kicked out of bounds or such instead of allowing him a shot at the return.

 

[EHME]

How about Edgerrin James?

 

[OG]

I had Edge battling Portis for 2nd team. Gave the edge to Clinton.

 

[HarleyQuinn]

QB: Tom Brady - People forget he had 2 seasons of 28 TDs, one of which led the NFL, before his 50 TD explosion. (Peyton Manning)
RB: LaDainian Tomlinson - Arguably the best dual threat RB ever. (Brian Westbrook)
WR: Randy Moss & Terrell Owens (Steve Smith, Chad Ochocinco)
TE: Antonio Gates (Tony Gonzalez)
OT: Willie Roaf & Jonathan Ogden (Orlando Pace, Walter Jones)
OG: Steve Hutchinson & Will Shields (Alan Faneca, Larry Allen)
C: Jeff Saturday (Kevin Mawae)

DE: Julius Peppers & Jason Taylor (Michael Strahan, John Abraham)
NT: Jamal Williams (Ted Washington)
MLB: Ray Lewis (Brian Urlacher)
OLB: Keith Bulluck & Derrick Brooks (Terrell Suggs, Joey Porter)
CB: Ty Law & Champ Bailey (Ronde Barber, Charles Woodson)
S: Ed Reed & John Lynch (Darren Sharper, Brian Dawkins)

K: Adam Vinatieri
P: Shane Lechler
Return Man: Dante Hall (Josh Cribbs)
Coach: Bill Belichick (Tony Dungy)

 

[EHME]

Interesting pick with Westbrook...

 

[Vitamin X]

I'm surprised you went with Urlacher and Merriman. I thought of naming them but for Urlacher, I felt that while he was always a guy who played on a high level and is probably HoF bound, but you never get the sense that he was the undisputed #1 LB in the NFL, ever.

Urlacher was kind of a tough choice for me, but I chose him for being the only MLB besides Lewis who won the NFL DPOTY, and I think he did it in a bit more of an impressive fashion. Both guys, in my opinion, had pretty up and down years (Urlacher, for example, was virtually invisible in 2004 (injury problems) and has tapered off somewhat since winning his DPOTY award.

 

[Kahran Ramsus]

QB - Peyton Manning (Tom Brady) - Brady has been great, but Manning is going to retire with every major passing record.
RB - Ladanian Tomlinson (Shaun Alexander)
WR - Randy Moss, Terrell Owens (Torry Holt, Steve Smith)
TE - Tony Gonzales (Antonio Gates) - Forgot this one originally
OT - Walter Jones, Jonathan Ogden (Orlando Pace, Willie Roaf)
OG - Steve Hutchinson, Will Shields (Alan Faneca, Larry Allen)
C - Kevin Mawae (Olin Kreutz)

DE - Michael Strahan, Jason Taylor (Julius Peppers, Simeon Rice)
DT - Warren Sapp, Kevin Williams (Jamal Williams, La'Roi Glover)
MLB - Ray Lewis (Brian Urlacher)
OLB - Derrick Brooks, Shawne Merriman (Joey Porter, Keith Bullock)
CB - Champ Bailey, Ronde Barber (Ty Law, Charles Woodson)
S - John Lynch, Ed Reed (Brian Dawkins, Troy Polamalu)

K - Adam Vinatieri (David Akers)
P - Shane Lechler (Brian Moorman)
Return Man - Devin Hester (Dante Hall)
Coach - Bill Belichick (Tony Dungy)