Wow . . . I go grab a sandwich and come back to find this thread -- and it's already almost a page long.While many may think I'm smoking crack cocaine, I still don't think that it's so far-fetched to think that the Miami Hurricanes from recent years could not beat, say, last year's Arizona Cardinals. Arizona was the first team in the NFL to finish dead last in points scored AND points allowed in 20 years. They were out and out awful (no offense to the Cards backers on the boards.)On the other hand, Miami has produced a glut of marquee players in recent years. Had they all been able to stay on one team instead of graduating or leaving early, they still, IMO, would be a worthy opponent for one or two of the bottom feeders.While it may seem far fetched to some, here is the roster of guys that matriculated from Miami that were drafted in the last few years. (I believe there are other NFL players that have signed as free agents that went undrafted as well.)Since 2000, here are the guys that were first round picks out of Miami:
20041-5 Sean Taylor Redskins DB 1-6 Kellen Winslow Browns TE 1-12 Jonathan Vilma Jets LB 1-17 D.J. Williams Broncos LB 1-19 Vernon Carey Dolphins G 1-21 Vince Wilfork Patriots DT 20031-3 Andre Johnson Texans WR 1-15 Jerome McDougle Eagles DE 1-23 Willis McGahee Bills RB 1-25 William Joseph Giants DT 20021-7 Bryant McKinnie Vikings T 1-14 Jeremy Shockey Giants TE 1-17 Phillip Buchanon Raiders DB 1-24 Edward Reed Ravens DB 1-27 Mike Rumph 49ers DB 20011-11 Dan Morgan Panthers LB 1-12 Damione Lewis Rams DT 1-16 Santana Moss Jets WR 1-30 Reggie Wayne Colts WR 20001-14 Bubba Franks Packers TE 19991-4 Edgerrin James Colts RB
And those are just their FIRST round picks. That's leaving off other guys that include Clinton Portis, James Jackson, Ken Dorsey, Najeh Davenport, Andre King, and some others.Put all that talent together on one team, and I think they would stand a VERY good chance of beating the Cardinals, Lions, or Chargers. They have produced AN INSANE amount of high caliber NFL talent.What offense would suffer with:QB Ken Dorsey (ok, not the greatest but acceptable)RB Portis, James, and McGaheeWR Moss, Johnson, and WayneTE Shockey, Winslow, and FranksPut those guys on the same COLLEGE team, and I think they would stand a chance against even more than 3 of the poorer NFL franchises. Heck, if you compiled an NFL team of only former UM players (from the past dozen or so years), you'd probably have a Super Bowl contender pretty easily.So leave out all those people supposing what I might have been referring to. Yes, I do think that the better Miami teams would stand a legit shot against the poorer NFL teams. And I don't think that makes me any less credible for thinking so.