Pittsburgh Panthers All-Time NFL Roster

On the day before the Panthers take on Oregon State in the Sun Bowl, we decided to come up with the Pitt Panthers all-time football roster, as I believe that it is one of the best. This roster is simply based on a players professional performance in the NFL, so their college play does not factor in. It is basically like coming up with a pro-bowl NFL team, but each player represents the college that they went to. And after some research, I believe that Pitt has one of the best teams of any college. Here is the roster--

OFFENSE

QB - Dan Marino

RB - Tony Dorsett

RB - Curtis Martin

WR - Larry Fitzgerald

WR - Antonio Bryant

TE - Mike Ditka

OL - Mark May

OL - Bill Fralic

OL - Jimbo Covert

OL - Russ Grimm

OL - Ruben Brown

DEFENSE
DE - Chris Doleman
DT - Tony Siragusa
DT -Sean Gilbert
DE - Hugh Green
LB - Joe Schmidt
LB - Rickey Jackson
LB - Marty Schottenheimer
CB - Darrelle Revis
CB - Shawntae Spencer
S - Hank Poteat
S - Anthony Dorsett

Head Coach - Pop Warner

Key reserves: Craig "Ironhead" Heyward, Jeff Christy, Mark Stepnoski, Jeff Otah, Gerald Hayes


If you break down the roster, there are some strengths and weaknesses. The offense looks to be one of the best of any college, with hall of famers at the QB, RB, and TE position. Dan Marino is arguable the best pro quarterback ever, definitely top five. At running back, you feature two of the six rushers in terms of rushing yards all-time. No other team would have that solid a combo at quarterback and running back. The offense also features the first NFL tight end hall of famer in Mike Ditka, and also features all five starting pro-bowl offensive lineman. If there is a weakness on the offense, it is at wide receivers, but the two starting wide receivers are both currently 1000 yard receivers this football season, with Larry Fitzgerald going over 1400 for the 3rd time in his career, and Antonio Bryant going over 1200 this season, his 2nd 1000 yard season of his career.

The weakness of the Pitt team appears to be the defense. The front 7 is pretty good, especially at defensive end and linebacker. This Pitt team features two of the top ten players in the NFL in all-time sacks, in Chris Doleman, and Rickey Jackson, and also features a hall of famer in linebacker Joe Schmidt. We all know how important it is in today's NFL to get pressure on the quarterback, and this Pitt all-time team would be able to do that. The weakness on the Pitt defense comes in the secondary. Darrelle Revis is one of the best young cornerbacks in the game, but at the other cornerback, and safety positions, this team shows some weakness.

All in all, I think if you were to make an NFL pro-bowl team based on where the players went to college, Pitt would be one of the best. The Pitt offense may be the best offense there is, and Pitt would easily destroy notable rivals Penn State or West Virginia. In fact, I welcome anyone from another school to make a similar list, and we can see which team is better.

Yes We Can

After the incredible turn of events on Sunday, I think it’s worthwhile to hit the pause button on Reid debates for a few days and just let the improbable outcome sink in. It’s likely that a similar pattern of dominoes falling in just the right way in a single December afternoon won’t happen again for decades, so we should take this rare opportunity to just enjoy it. One could justifiably point fingers at Reid for putting the team’s entire season in the unreliable hands of the Raiders, but in light of the Bird’s complete domination and utter humiliation of Romo & Company, let’s leave that for another day. For now, let’s just revel once again in playoff football Philly style! And, oh yeah, one more thing: How ‘Bout Them Cowboys….!

Eagles Clinch Playoff Berth

The Eagles clinched a playoff berth on the final day of the regular season by beating the Cowboys, and receiving help from a couple other teams. In what is easily one of the strangest seasons I can remember as a fan, the Eagles who finished the season 9-6-1, embarrassed the Cowboys 44-6. The Eagles game was only part of the story, as the Eagles needed the Raiders to beat the Buccaneers, and the Texans to beat the Bears, both of which happened.

To recap a wacky Sunday--

Raiders 31 Buccaneers 24 1:00 p.m.

Texans 31 Bears 24 1:00 p.m.

Those results made the Eagles game at 4:00 p.m. a "win and you're in" scenario for the Eagles and Cowboys, and the Eagles took full advantage. The Eagles kicked the Cowboys ass the entire game. The first quarter ended with the score 3-3, and then the Eagles just poured it on. The Eagles had a great game plan, and were well-balanced on offense ending with 21 passes from McNabb, and 34 rushes. The 34 rushes went for 139 yards, and clearly allowed the Eagles to control the game, and keep McNabb out of difficult situations in the passing game. Correll Buckhalter, who looked like he couldn't be tackled by the Cowboys defenders, ended up as the Eagles leading rusher and receiver. Brent Celek, also played well and scored a receiving touchdown. McNabb, Westbrook, and Jackson were solid on offense also.

On defense, the Eagles forced 5 turnovers, had 4 sacks, 1 interception, and scored 2 touchdowns. Brian Dawkins, who I will be naming my first born after, was amazing. Dawkins looked fired up from the beginning coming out of the tunnel, and didn't disappoint during the game. He was all over the field, and forced two fumbles, both of which were returned for touchdowns. Chris Clemons also stood out on defense, with two sacks, a forced fumble, and a long fumble return for a touchdown. The Eagles were able to shut down the Cowboys running game for the most part, and forced the Cowboys into passing situations, and thus were able to bring a lot of pressure, which Tony Romo clearly couldn't handle. Romo, T.O., and the rest of the Cowgirls looked like they couldn't wait for the game to be over.

It all resulted in a 44-6 victory over the hated Cowboys, clinching a spot for the Eagles in the playoffs, all while eliminating the Cowboys from playoff contention. It was a great day for Eagles fans, one we haven't had in a while. Rooting the Raiders on to an improbably victory over the Bucs, and needing the Texans or Giants to win, and having the Texans come through. The early games were only an appetizer as to what was to come in the Eagles game.

So we move onto the playoffs, playing very good football. Maybe more importantly, Andy Reid is actually calling running plays lately, excluding the Redskins game. The Eagles will go to Minnesota to play the Vikings next Sunday at 4:15 p.m. The Vikings are the #1 defense in the NFL against the run, and also feature the NFL's leading running back in Adrian Peterson, so the Eagles will have their hands full. We will have full playoff coverage as the week goes on.

Eagles Need Win... And Help

The Eagles will play their 16th game of the season this Sunday, and the playoffs are on the line for both the Eagles, and their hated opponent, the Cowboys. Unfortunately for the Eagles, they not only need to win this game, they need help from some other teams. Here is what needs to happen to see the Eagles playing football in January--

1. The Eagles need to beat the Cowboys
2. The Raiders need to beat the Buccaneers
3. The Giants need to beat the Vikings OR the Texans need to beat the Bears

Seems unlikely, but hey, that's why they play the games. To win the game at hand, the Eagles will need a team effort from the offense, defense, and ohh yeah, the play calling. If the play calling is poor, the Eagles really do not have a chance to win this game. However, if Andy Reid actually calls a normal pass-run ratio, the Eagles will have a good chance to win this game. The Eagles defense has been great all season, however, the Cowboys were one of the few teams to put up a lot of points on this defense. If the Eagles can stop the run like they have been able to do lately, they should be able to get pressure on Romo, and hopefully force some turnovers.

On offense, as usual, Brian Westbrook will need to have a huge game, and he is the only consistent play maker. If McNabb throws 50 passes this game, they Eagles have no chance to win. Not only is that bad play calling, the Eagles do not have the personnel at wide receivers to get it done consistently in the passing game.

It is a shame for all us Eagles fans that the Eagles season has come down to this - a must-win game, and needing help.

Reid's Only Friend?

You know you’re in trouble when your only supporter is Howard Eskin. We’re sure that Howard will spend the week re-educating the legion of nitwits like ourselves who believe that a 26% to 74% run to pass play ratio is a recipe for disaster, especially in windy conditions. But Andy and Howard always know better because…well, just because! The real question is whether Banner and Lurie still believe they know better too. The answer may well determine whether the Eagles will ever get a peek at playoff football for the next decade.