Greatest offensive line of all time

[JScott 20]

Dallas of the 90's.

 

First squad I thought of

[Walter34 3]

I actually posted this to see who would write something like that. I was talking with someone the other day, and I mentioned that other fans find it perfectly fine to give all the credit in the world to the offensive line--and will do agreeably, if that means discrediting the skill positions from that same team that are frequently argued about.

 

Well aware of what your intent was. Your ing over Emmit's perceived lack of respect is obvious. The bottomline is that the line was probably the best ever, the qb was very good, the fullback was very good as a lead blocker, the #1 WR was exceptional, an all pro TE and Emmitt was great. The combo of it all made it alot easier for Emmit to rack up the yards than Barry, Walter and a number of other elite HOF backs.

 

Also, having the most yards is not an automatic that he was the best back of all time. Would you say hank aaron was better than Babe? That is essentially what it comes down to. Hanging around for a couple more years and 600 more carries on losing teams doesnt elevate him above the rest. Emmit is #3 or #4 on my list, but you obviously consider that a slight.

[Walter34 3]

And just to nail the coffin shut:

 

C - Stepnoski - 5-time Pro Bowler: 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996

G - Newton - 6-time Pro Bowler: 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1998

G - Tuinei - 2-time Pro Bowler: 1994, 1995

T - E Williams - 4-time Pro Bowler: 1993, 1996, 1997, 1999

T - Gogan - 3-time Pro Bowler: 1994, 1997, 1998

TE - Novacek - 5-time Pro Bowler: 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995

 

and just as these guys were getting older, they replenished with:

 

T/G - L Allen - 10-time Pro Bowler: 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005

C - Donaldson - 6-time Pro Bowler: 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1995, 1996 (with Dallas 95/96)

[DrJ 0]

I dont recall that specific argument, but he did have a bad line between 75-82 or so. The 80s team had Hilgenberg and Covert as probowlers and van horne and bortz as good starters.

 

Even the best Bear lines do not compare to dallas in the 90s, so maybe that is what you are referring to.

 

Bortz made the Pro Bowl several times and Thayer was a pretty good starter as well.

 

Pro Bowls:

 

Covert - 85, 86

Hilgenberg - 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91

Bortz - 88, 90

[DrJ 0]

I thought you always argued in RB debates that part of Payton's greatness is that he succeeded in spite of a crappy o-line. Does that just apply to the majority of his career, and not necessarily the best years of his career?

 

Payton didn't play with a single Pro Bowler on offense for almost the first decade of his career. From 84 on was when the Bears line was good, and that was the tail end of his career. 86 was his last full season, and by 87 Neal Anderson was the #1 RB for the team.

 

76-80 would probably be considered his best years, with 77 being his best season by a good bit. 1852 yards rushing and 14 rushing TD's in a 14 games season. And he chipped in 269 recieving and 2 TD's as well. His 2121 total yards made up 43% of the team's offense, and was more than the team passed for. The 16 TD's were 55% of the team's TD's. And the only other pro bowler on the team was a DB. The defense realized that it was going to be Payton left, Payton right, Payton up the middle, punt and there wasn't a darned thing they could do to stop him.