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Rams RB
Marshall Faulk
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These are the dog days of the sports scene.
The NFL and college football are in hibernation. The NBA and college basketball are
also taking a break. The NHL becomes interesting during the postseason, but even that has
a "do not disturb" sign on its doorknob right now.
Until the World Series rolls around, baseball is about as interesting to me as a
thumb-wrestling tournament. I’d rather watch my daughter Nicki kick a soccer ball in
the yard or my daughter Jenny set an endurance record on the swing set.
I need some competition to watch. I’m not going to get it on TV, so I have no
choice but to create it in my mind (a dangerous place to be sure, but I have nowhere else
to turn).
Thus, I give you my second annual tournament to determine the best player in the NFL.
The format is mano a mano until only one player is left standing.
Sweet 16
RB Marshall Faulk vs. CB Charles Woodson: Faulk wins in a rout. He does too many things
well for Woodson to compete. Maybe if Woodson were also allowed to be a three-way CB-WR-KR
threat like he was in college (and if he could stay completely healthy), he’d have
enough firepower to battle Faulk.
Winner: Faulk.
RB Edgerrin James vs. RB Curtis Martin: If James shows he can return to full health, he
would be the obvious choice, but that’s a wait-and-see proposition. The tournament
waits for no one.
Winner: Martin.
QB Peyton Manning vs. LB Brian Urlacher: I am very tempted to pick rising star Urlacher
in the upset because of Manning’s turnover troubles last year. But the suspicion here
is that Manning will put last year’s interception woes behind him with James back in
the lineup and an improved WR corps to help out.
Winner: Manning.
DE Michael Strahan vs. OG Larry Allen: I am tempted to pick Allen in the upset, but how
relevant can an offensive guard be, given the Cowboys’ lousy QB situation? Also, how
much will a changing of the guard at OL coach impact Allen? I think Allen is an all-time
great, but these issues weigh too much on Allen for him to overcome Strahan, who is coming
off a monster season.
Winner: Strahan.
QB Brett Favre vs. OT Orlando Pace: This isn’t even a close call. Favre is an
all-time great quarterback. Pace, while the second best offensive tackle in the game
behind Jonathan Ogden, is only the third-best player on his team’s offense and plays
a position of lesser impact than Favre.
Winner: Favre.
OT Jonathan Ogden vs. RB Corey Dillon: After picking against Allen and Pace, I have to
show the offensive line a little love. If Dillon ever got a team around him, he’d
jump up the chart.
Winner: Ogden.
MLB Ray Lewis vs. WR Randy Moss: Lewis is an ultracompetitive warrior. Moss plays when
he feels like it. You do the math.
Winner: Lewis.
QB Kurt Warner vs. DT Warren Sapp: Besides playing the higher-impact position, Warner
is much more consistent than Sapp.
Winner: Warner.
Elite Eight
Faulk vs. Martin: Martin is very consistent and durable, but he just doesn’t
provide the spark or change the game as much as Faulk.
Winner: Faulk.
Strahan vs. Manning: Off of last year you’d have to take Strahan by a very
comfortable margin, but I found this to be a very difficult call. Whereas I think Manning
is going to bounce back very nicely from last season’s interception woes (and keep in
mind that he still had a very respectable passer rating last year), I worry about whether
Strahan is going to be a bit too satisfied and too concerned about contract issues to
match last season’s superb productivity. Even so, his numbers last year were so
unbelievable that even if he slips some, he will still post big numbers.
Winner: Strahan.
Favre vs. Ogden: In this tournament, Favre keeps rolling along against offensive
tackles, whose lower impact position does not allow them to match Favre’s
difference-making ability.
Winner: Favre.
Lewis vs. Warner: I am tempted to pick Lewis, but I just can’t bring myself to do
it. Lewis was my pick for best player in the NFL in a similar column last year at this
time, and I would have picked him over Warner now if the Ravens had not had to blow up
their defense for salary-cap reasons this offseason. The fact that so much of the talent
surrounding Lewis is gone has to impact his play a little. He’ll still be a stud, but
I can’t give him the nod here.
Winner: Warner.
Final Four
Faulk vs. Strahan: Both of them posted monster stats last year, but Faulk is the much
safer bet to remain at a truly elite level this season.
Winner: Faulk.
Favre vs. Warner: This matchup belongs on pay-per-view. Tell me it’s not more
intriguing than Lennox Lewis vs. Mike Tyson. Both are true superstars and great leaders.
The concern about Favre’s untested WR corps could impact the Packers’
quarterback, which is the razor-thin difference here.
Winner: Warner.
Finals
Faulk vs. Warner: Another matchup that belongs on pay-per-view. Teammate vs. teammate.
Incredible firepower. In Warner’s corner is the guy who plays the higher-impact
position. In Faulk’s corner is the guy who does more things at an elite level (run,
catch, block). Warner has to be downgraded a bit here (and this is not a criticism) since
his greatness is helped along greatly by the fact that he gets to throw to unbelievable
weapons such as Faulk, Torry Holt and Isaac Bruce. Faulk will not go down in history as
the best running back ever, but the guess here is that he will be called the best
all-purpose back to ever play the game. Right now, I think that Faulk has mastered his
position just a bit better than Warner.
Winner: Faulk. |
