Could a *current* all-UofM team compete in NFL

Submitted by 1464 on

EDIT: Updating list to encompass suggestions from the thread...

Good idea per TheTeamx3: Someone with a lot of time should assemble this all Michigan team on madden and sim a season.

Reading the NFL Wolverines breakdown got me to thinking, could an all-Michigan alumni team be competitive in the NFL?  Where would they fall in the 0-16 to 16-0 range?  Depth is obviously an issue, so let's assume we live in a happy world where injuries are just fanciful things that only exist in our imagination.  This also means Koger is healthy this year. 

RB and OL are our biggest concerns.  We'd have to shift a center over to guard, or do some similar movement on the line.

As a follow up, what other teams could make the claim? USC and ...? Texas? OSU and Bama don't have QB's for the league.  Nobody can really claim a two-deep without any holes.  Michigan may have the most evenly spread talent in the league. 

I'm sure I'm not the first to bring up this notion on this site, but I haven't seen a thread like this at all.  So here is my tentative two deep for the good guys:

 

Offense:

 

QB

Tom Brady
Chad Henne

 

RB

Brandon Minor (?)
Mike Hart (?)
ummm... Chris Perry or BJ Askew (???)

 

WR

Mario Manningham
Steve Breaston
Jason Avant
Braylon Edwards
Adrian Arrington
 

TE

Kevin Koger
Steve Watson (?)

 

OT

Jake Long
Jeff Backus

 

OG

Steve Hutchinson

Steve Schilling
(?)

 

C

David Baas
Jonathon Goodwin
David Molk
 

Defense:

DB

Charles Woodson
Leon Hall
Stevie Brown (still amazes me that this is real)

Ryan Mundy

Donovan Warren

Morgan Trent

 

LB

Larry Foote
David Harris
LaMarr Woodley
Jonas Mouton

 

DT

Alan Branch
Mike Martin

 

DE

Brandon Graham
Tim Jamison

 

Special Teams:

K

Jay Feely

 

P

Zoltan F. Mesko

 

KR/PR

Steve Breaston

 

Coaches:

  • Jim Harbaugh, HC
  • Cam Cameron, OC/QB
  • Bill Sheridan, DC
  • Mike DeBord/Terry Malone: WR/TE
  • Harold Goodwin/Andy Moeller (option 1): OL
  • Jerald Ingram, RB
  • Mike Trgovac, DL
  • Jim Herrmann/Andy Moller (option 2), LB
  •  Teryl Austin, DB

 

ThWard

October 10th, 2012 at 11:19 AM ^

Keep in mind, the more you poach from inactive NFL players, the more your team becomes "worse than the worst team in the NFL."

Again, this squad couldn't compete in the NFL - I could buy a shocker here or there, but agree with the guy that says 2 wins is a best case scenario.

pdgoblue25

October 10th, 2012 at 12:01 PM ^

Ryan Mundy, and Jamar Adams could all be depth.

Wow, RB is a problem, is there a chance that A-Train has stayed in game shape?

Our defense would get smoked, the only way I see this working is to run a 3/4, and make Brandon Graham a LB playing a similiar position as Woodley.  Either that or make Woodley a full time DE.

We might have to see if Ian Gold, David Bowens, or Trevor Pryce have stayed in shape, or put in a phone call to Cato June.

Brown Bear

October 10th, 2012 at 11:24 AM ^

If this is an all time UM NFL players list then you are missing quite a few good players from your team. If its current players only there are some on that list who shouldn't be(Everritt, A-Train...)

Bill

October 10th, 2012 at 11:25 AM ^

This team would have a good offensive line, Tom Brady and a good defense.

As for the hole at RB, the clear solution is the greatest running QB in the history of the B1G.

Tater

October 10th, 2012 at 11:33 AM ^

There are maybe sixty teams who compete for elite recruits, and another twenty or so from whom an occasional "sleeper"  or "late bloomer" develops into an NFL player.  There are 32 teams in the NFL.  This creates a rather obvious numerical disparity.   

Even Alabama would have a problem fielding an NFL team of alums because of the QB position.  It's been awhile since Namath and Stabler played.  I am thinking that USC is the only school that could field a decent NFL team.  

turtleboy

October 10th, 2012 at 12:17 PM ^

It could've happened a few years ago. Now the roster would be a little thin, or old. We could still probably beat the Jaguars, Browns, and Panthers.  When Brady was first starting we still had guys like Jon Runyan, Jumbo Elliot, Jon Jansen, Glen Steele, James Hall, Dhani Jones, Cato June, Ty Law, BJ Askew, and Tyrone Wheatley playing.

jtmc33

October 10th, 2012 at 12:19 PM ^

Basically this offense is the New England Patriots:

Tom Brady with a very good, and veteran, offensive line.

No Running Backs

Average WRs, most are #3 guys on any other team, that work within Brady's system to move the chains.

If you add Funchess, you have your ball-hawking TE!!!

MichiWolv

October 10th, 2012 at 12:32 PM ^

Miami would be pretty good...  except who would their QB be?!  They don't have an active QB in the NFL, and I'm not really sure who they have had recently to call up.  The only one I can remember playing is Ken Dorsey, and not only has that been a while, but he was a bust.  There may be a couple since him, but can't think of them being starters or anything.  They would have an awesome defense to keep them in games, and then Frank Gore too, but without a QB, they might find trouble.  

Texas' only QB in the NFL is McCoy, who is a backup for the winless Browns.  He might have enough talent around him to get the job done though.

USC has Palmer, Sanchez, and Cassel, but not sure who they would throw too.  Brady gets it done with lesser known guys, so its not that big of deal.  They would have a pretty good defense, so they might be the team we would have to worry about the most.

MichiWolv

October 10th, 2012 at 12:22 PM ^

I've  thought about this too, but mine was more of how would our alums in the NFL do against other schools' alums in the NFL, rather than against current NFL teams.  If you're just doing active players or people who could be called up and play today(sans injury) I think we would be one of the better teams.  

The most important position is QB so you have to have a quality QB to build around.  We would be fine there, and would give us an edge.  Look at some of the other starting QBs.  Roethlisberger-Miami(OH), Flacco-Delaware, Romo-Eastern Illinois.  Even Ryan-Boston College , Rivers-NC St & Brees-Purdue would probably have a tough time being able to form a full team to be competitive.  

OSU sends a lot to the NFL, but even they would have a hard time competing.  For QB they would pretty much be limited to Troy Smith, and .............PRYOR!  USC would have some depth at QB: Palmer, Cassel, Sanchez, and would have a solid LB crew + Polamalu, but the QBs wouldn't really have anyone to throw to.

Perkis-Size Me

October 10th, 2012 at 12:23 PM ^

assuming we're talking about these guys when they're fresh out of college w/ no nfl experience, i'd say they wouldn't be very competitive. maybe win 3-5 games, if that. at the end of the day, they'd still be rookies.

profitgoblue

October 10th, 2012 at 12:23 PM ^

Another interesting discussion is how many NFL teams would the elite college teams (e.g. Alabama) beat, if any?  I've always wondered if the best college team could match up against the worst NFL team.  Probably not, but its an interesting discussion.

 

Buck Killer

October 10th, 2012 at 12:29 PM ^

Lmao, it would be men against boys. Take Denard for example; he would not be running away from anyone. They would rip him to the ground if they got a finger on him. He might be able to do some slot receiving and get ok yardage, but the angles played would be tough. Alabama would have a maximum of 3 weak starters on the field.

Ali G Bomaye

October 10th, 2012 at 3:46 PM ^

Keep in mind that Alabama's players wouldn't even be rookies in the NFL right now.  It's pretty rare for a rookie, however talented, to make an impact at most positions.  Whatever his talent level, McCarron would be a disaster as a rookie QB.  Alabama's current OL will probably produce several very good NFL starters eventually, but other than freaks like Joe Thomas or Jake Long, it's rare for a rookie offensive lineman to even be average in the NFL, so collectively the unit would almost certianly be well below average.  Same thing with rookie receivers - unless you have a physical marvel like A.J. Green or Julio Junes, they probably won't make a significant impact.  So you end up with an offense that would probably be one of the worst in the league overall, at very best.

It's easier for young defenders to make an impact, but even they have an adjustment period.  Look at other highly regarded recent Alabama alums: Donta Hightower was an absolute stud at Alabama last year, but he's struggling somewhat with the Patriots this year.  Terrence Cody went through a similar adjustment period when he was no longer the most physically imposing player on the field every play.  Kareem Jackson was a lockdown corner in college, but barely an adequate starter in the NFL.

And those are only the guys who are making it.  Alabama has had 18 guys drafted in the first 4 rounds of the last 4 NFL drafts, which is a ton.  But if you were forming a NFL roster from the last 4 Alabama classes, which probably approximates the talent level of this year's team, 2/3 of your roster would have to be late-round guys or undrafted free agents.  You would be counting on significant contributions from a bunch of guys who aren't thought of as quality NFL players by most people.

So in short, although this Alabama team is crazy talented, it's completely unrealistic to expect any college team to be remotely competitive in the NFL.

TRAILofVICTORY

October 10th, 2012 at 12:57 PM ^

Well since we're assuming injuries don't exist...gotta hope that Charles Woodson could average around 4 yds/carry - all Brady would need out of the run game. Maybe even hand the ball off to Molk every once in a while for a little thunder/lightning action!

Tuebor

October 10th, 2012 at 2:23 PM ^

I've already done this in Madden 2003 for PC.  

If I remember correctly my depth chart was as follows.

I know I am missing alot of guys but this was basically a rebuild of the 1997 national championship team.  Played as the Bears. 

 

QB: Brian Griese, Tom Brady, Todd Collins

HB: Anthony Thomas, Chris Perry, 

FB: ??

WR: David Terrell, Amani Toomer, Marquis Walker, and some more I forget

TE: Jerome Tuman, Jay Remersma

T: Backus, Runyan

G: ??

C??

DT Steele, Josh Williams

DE; Hall, ??

LB: Gold, Sword, Dhani Jones

CB: Ty Law, Woodson

S: ???

K Feely

Blue Ninja

October 10th, 2012 at 1:31 PM ^

The problem with doing current NFL UofM players is they're getting long in the tooth. Put a roster together 3-4 years ago minimum and we'd have a fairly good team. Now they would likely be a 3-6 game winner at best. Even on an all time we'd be thin at RB as few of our guys have had much success in the NFL, but with a great passing game that helps an average RB be better than they are.

harryddunn

October 10th, 2012 at 2:39 PM ^

QB- Carson Palmer, Mark Sanchez (Matt Cassell?)

RB- Reggie Bush, Joe McKnight

WR- Damian Williams, Mike Williams, Steve Smith

TE- Fred Davis, Anthony McCoy

OT- Matt Kalil, Tyron Smith

OG- Deuce Lutui, Chilo Rachal

C- Ryan Kalil

 

DE- Nick Perry, Everson Griffen

DT- Sedrick Ellis, Jurrell Casey

LB- Clay Mathews Jr., Rey Mauluga, Brian Cushing

CB- Terrell Thomas, Shereece Wright

S- Troy Polamolu, Taylor Mays

 

yup, nobody's beating that team

harryddunn

October 10th, 2012 at 2:50 PM ^

QB- Vince Young, Colt McCoy

RB- Jamaal Charles, Cedrick Benson

WR- Roy Williams, Jordan Shipley, Limas Sweed

T- Justin Blalock, Jonathan Scott

TE- Jermichael Finley, Bo Scaife

G- Kasey Studdard, Leonard Davis

C- Derrick Dockery?

DE- Brian Orakpo, Brian Robison

DT- Henry Melton, Lamarr Houston

LB- Sam Acho, Derrick Johnson, Sergio Kindle

CB- Quentin Jammer, Aaron Williams, Cedric Griffen

S- Mike Huff, Earl Thomas

 

i can't see this passing game having much success, at all; basically, the KC Chiefs

harryddunn

October 10th, 2012 at 2:59 PM ^

QB- Tim Tebow

RB- Chris Rainey, Jeff Demps

WR- Percy Harvin, Louis Murphy, Jabar Gaffney

TE- Aaron Hernandez, Ben Troupe?

T- Marcus Gilbert, Max Starks

G- Maurkice Pouncey, ???

C- Mike Pouncey

 

DE- Carlos Dunlap, Jeremy Mincey

DT- Ray McDonald, Marcus Thomas

LB- Jermaine Cunningham, Brandon Siler, Brandon Spikes

CB- Joe Haden, Lito Sheppard

S- Reggie Nelson, Major Wright

 

damn, Urban really did recruit some athletic players

bacon1431

October 10th, 2012 at 2:55 PM ^

In a league of all-college teams, absolutely. Against other typical NFL teams, maybe win a few games. Very little depth. Starters are solid for the most part though.

mm92.

October 10th, 2012 at 5:59 PM ^

This is an interesting conversation. I've also wondered about current players from the same conference playing each other. Seems like the B1G vs SEC would be a fun matchup renewing the Brady/Manning(either one) rivalry.

jeffv437

October 10th, 2012 at 11:00 PM ^

Ok who's gong pay these guys and fy them around the league? Oh wait we have Mr Ross the owner of the dolphins.

How about rich eisen in the booth with say Dana Jacobsen on the sideline, Adam Schaefer as a reporter, Desmond Howard in the booth as well