Oscar Gamble Society

So the Dolphins have signed Jake Long - and he’s officially the latest in a long line of #1 overall NFL draft choices.  Will he end up one on of the following lists?

Rival.com’s opinion on the Best #1 overall choices ever:

http://nfldraft.rivals.com/photofeature.asp?SID=1164&fid=22667

And Rival.com’s opinion of the Worst #1 overall choices ever:

http://nfldraft.rivals.com/photofeature.asp?SID=1164&fid=22666

Regarding the “best” list, I wanted to put Earl Campbell in there - but I can’t see anyone that I’d take out to accomplish that.  Sure, Campbell had a short career, but to me, he’s always been the Sandy Koufax of the NFL:  A shorter career than most great players, but still… oh, what a career of dominance.  When his career ends, Peyton will probably surpass Elway - but for now, Elway belongs at #1.  I’d switch Bradshaw and Aikman for two reasons: (1) Bradshaw’s career QB in SBs (112.8) is higher than Aikman’s (111.9), and (2) yes, the QB ratings are close, but Bradshaw did it in one more SB than Aikman (and of course both were undefeated in SBs).  Jim Plunkett belongs in this top-10 thanks to his SB efforts.  As noted, he was 2-0 in SBs (with Oakland/LA, after going thru NE and SF) - but did you know he’s got the fifth-best career SB rating at 122.8.  And when you eliminate QBs who appeared in only one game, Plunkett moves up to #2 (behind some Montana guy).  That’s very impressive.

As for the “worst” list, how does Jeff George not make that list?  George was a *far* bigger bust than Mike Vick, even if Vick never plays another NFL game (which he will, but I’m trying to make a point).  Other than that, the other nine are well-deserving… especially Kenneth Sims.  Coming out of Texas, he was supposed to be as good as all four of the Fearsome Foursome combined (well… not exactly, but the hype was extreme, believe me) - and was never even the fourth-best defensive lineman on the Patriots (who were not exactly a defensive juggernaut in the 80s, if you’ll recall).  He should probably be higher on the list, if anything.

Anyhow, Jake Long has joined a select fraternity with the Dolphins decision… we’ll see if he joins an even more select fraternity above.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 22nd, 2008 at 5:45 pm and is filed under Sports, Football. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.