NFL Network recently did a special ranking the top 10 linebacking corps of all time, and they named the Dome Patrol #1 all time. I believe Steel Curtain was #2, '86 Giants #3.
You're gonna have to show me a link. I can't believe that anyone old enough to have seen both units play that isn't just a huge Saints homer could possibly see it that way. I also have a hard time believing that the Steelers
defensive line was even in consideration as one of the best linebacker crews.
Since it aired on NFL Network, I can't find an official link, but here is a link to a news story that backs it up:
http://www.nola.com/printer/printer.ssf?/b...29625238180.xml
Here's the article. See the bolded part:
THE TIMES-PICAYUNE ALL-TIME SAINTS TEAM (1967-2006)
After much deliberation the sports staff at The Times-Picayune assembled the best team the Saints have offered in 40 years
Sunday, September 02, 2007
By Jeff Duncan
Staff writer
The 2006 Saints established themselves as the most accomplished team in franchise history by advancing to the NFC championship game.
Yet, for all their star-dusted glory, they probably weren't the best team in Saints history.
If you consider The Times-Picayune's All-Time Saints team, selected by a panel of journalists who collectively covered the team for its 40 years of existence, an argument certainly can be made that the 2006 Saints weren't the most talented club.
The results indicate the best teams in the Saints' 40-year history played during the Coach Jim Mora era of the late 1980s and early 1990s. The 1987 and 1991 teams, though neither won a playoff game, dominated the All-Time Saints roster.
While the 2006 Saints forged deeper into the playoffs, they featured only three All-Time Saints honorees: Joe Horn, Fred McAfee and Deuce McAllister. Tenure -- or lack thereof -- obviously worked against last season's team, especially when compared to teams from the pre-free agency era. But even if Drew Brees, Reggie Bush, Jammal Brown, Marques Colston, Will Smith and Charles Grant continue to produce, they likely won't be as prevalent on the 50th anniversary team as players from the Mora era.
"Time will tell," said Archie Manning, the quarterback on the T-P's All-Time Saints team. "This era could very well turn out to be the better than the Mora era, if they were to maintain this level of play for a few more years. But it's hard to do that. Those (Mora teams) were good teams during good times."
Led by a core of defensive stars, Mora's teams lifted the franchise to unprecedented heights. A club that had failed to post a winning season in its first 20 years of existence made four playoff appearances from 1987 to 1992.
The 1987 Saints went 12-3, the second-best record in the NFL that season and the best winning percentage in club history. The 1991 Saints went 11-5 and won the franchise's first division title.
The greatness of those teams is reflected on the All-Time Saints team, where three offensive linemen, three special teams standouts and seven players from the famed defense made the cut. The Dome Patrol, the linebacker corps of Sam Mills, Rickey Jackson, Vaughan Johnson and Pat Swilling, helped post six consecutive non-losing seasons in their seven years together from 1986 to 1992.
"Those were great teams," said Mora, now an NFL analyst for Fox Sports Radio. "I don't know how they would compare to last year's (Saints) team. That was an excellent team. They were probably a better team offensively than the teams I coached, but maybe not as good defensively. We had great defensive teams. We played good during the regular season, but things happened in the playoffs and we couldn't advance."
Mora's teams played in an era when the NFC dominated the NFL. The Saints' ascendancy dovetailed the start of an unprecedented run of dominance by the NFC. From 1985 to 1997, NFC teams won 13 consecutive Super Bowls, including four (1985, 1989, 1990, 1995) by the San Francisco 49ers, the Saints' former nemesis in the NFC West Division. When the 49ers didn't win it all, the New York Giants (1987 and 1991) and Washington Redskins (1988 and 1992) often did.
"We were in the wrong place at the wrong time," said Bobby Hebert, who quarterbacked the Saints from 1985-89, 1991-92. "If we would have played in the AFC, I think we would have played in at least one Super Bowl. We beat Denver and John Elway 42-0 (in 1988) while they were in the middle of going to three Super Bowls in four years."
Hebert, who co-hosts the popular "Sports Talk" on WWL radio, pointed to the Saints' 13-game winning streak against AFC teams from 1987 to 1990 as a sign of how dominant the NFC was at that time.
He said the opposite is true today, noting the Saints' 1-3 record against the AFC last season. Hebert said Mora's Saints teams closely resembled the 2006 Baltimore Ravens, a 3-4-based defensive team with a ball-control offense. The Ravens defeated the Saints 35-22 at the Superdome last season.
"I think we would have matched up great against (last year's Saints) team," Hebert added. "We didn't have a Reggie Bush or a Drew Brees. We had dominant players on the line and on defense. We had the most dominant linebackers ever."
Jackson, Johnson, Mills and Swilling -- earned at least four Pro Bowl invitations. In 1992, all four made the Pro Bowl in the same season, an unprecedented accomplishment.
"If they had an offense, they would have won two or three Super Bowls in the 80s," said former 49ers running back Roger Craig on a recent NFL Network special that selected the Dome Patrol as the best linebacker unit in NFL history.
Picking the Dome Patrol ahead of Lawrence Taylor's Giants and Pittsburgh's Steel Curtain linebacker corps of Jack Hamm, Jack Lambert and Andy Russell, however, paled in comparison to the difficulty in selecting the All-Time Saints team.
While the linebackers certainly rank among the game's best, the rest of unit was hit or miss.
Some positions were simple to select. Willie Roaf and Stan Brock were consensus picks at offensive tackle, as was kicker Morten Andersen. Likewise, Joe Horn and Eric Martin at wide receivers and McAllister and Dalton Hilliard at the running backs were shoo-ins.
Other positions required debate.
Was Manning or Hebert the best quarterback in team history?
Who was the best tight end: blocking specialist Hoby Brenner or pass-catcher Henry Childs?
Which defensive tackle was better: run-stuffer Jim Wilks or pass rusher La'Roi Glover?
Or try to pick two cornerbacks from a cast that included similar good, but not great, players such as Dave Waymer, Dave Whitsell, Johnnie Poe, Toi Cook, Mike McKenzie and Fred Thomas. The Saints sent four linebackers to the Pro Bowl in one season. They've sent three cornerbacks in four decades.
The selections on offense were fairly straightforward, with the exceptions of quarterback, tight end and center.
Manning edged Hebert in a tight race that required a tie-breaking vote.
At center, steady veteran Joel Hilgenberg earned the nod over LeCharles Bentley on the strength of his steady play for a decade. Bentley played in more Pro Bowls than Hilgenberg (two to one), but one of Bentley's selections came at guard.
"Joel didn't have Bentley's ability, but he got everything out of what he had," Hebert said. "I don't think I ever saw Joel Hilgenberg get beat on a pass rush, ever. If Joel would have had Bentley's body, it wouldn't even have been close. Joel Hilgenberg might have gone down as the best center in NFL history."
Brenner earned the nod at tight end, primarily because of his longevity and blocking ability, a critical factor in former offensive coordinator Carl Smith's ball-control attack. He also was a dependable receiver.
"There was nobody Hoby Brenner couldn't run block," Hebert said. "I've seen him run block Lawrence Taylor and knock him completely out of the play."
The makeup of the defense was determined by the selection committee's decision to pick a team with a 3-4 alignment based on the fact the best Saints' defenses featured that formation. With that in mind, Wilks edged Glover for the defensive tackle spot, strictly because of his ability to play nose tackle. In a 4-3 scheme, Glover, who was voted the 2000 NFL Defensive Player of the Year, would be an obvious pick.
"They are different kinds of players," said Hokie Gajan, a former Saints player and current analyst for WWL radio. "In a 3-4, you want Jim Wilks to be your nose tackle. In a 4-3, you'd want La'Roi to be your two-gap (technique) guy. I don't think the Saints would have gone after La'Roi the way they did (in 1997) if they were playing a 3-4 (defense)."
There were plenty of candidates at cornerback, but Waymer and Whitsell eventually earned the distinction based on their productivity. Waymer has a franchise-best 37 interceptions. Whitsell picked off 19 passes in just three seasons, including a club-record 10 in 1967.
"McKenzie probably has the most ability," said Hebert, who played with Waymer, Poe and Cook. "McKenzie should be on that list ability-wise, but he hasn't been as productive."
The competition was so wide open that Gajan even made the argument for one of McKenzie's oft-criticized teammates -- Thomas.
"Fred Thomas might be the best corner in Saints history," Gajan said. "People look at you like you have two heads when you say that, but look at who you're putting him up against. If Fred could catch the football, it wouldn't even be close."
The rest of the picks weren't as controversial, although Mora strongly disagreed with the selection of Joe Johnson over Frank Warren, one of the unsung standouts on his teams, at defensive end.
"Wayne Martin and Frank Warren should be the defensive ends," said Mora, who drafted Joe Johnson in 1994 and coached him for 2 1/2 seasons. "Joe Johnson was a good player, but they'd eat Joe Johnson for lunch."
Mora, however, wasn't as decisive at quarterback, unquestionably the most contentious selection. Manning, who also was the pick on the Saints Hall of Fame's 40-year anniversary team, earned the nod in vote that required a tiebreaker.
"Don't ask me to pick one of those guys," said Mora, when asked to pick Manning or Hebert, who he coached for seven seasons. "Either one is deserving. Archie was a great player. His career speaks for itself. And I love Bobby Hebert. I think he was a heck of a player, highly underrated. They were both tough, great leaders and competitors, no question. I couldn't pick one over the other."
. . . . . . .
Jeff Duncan can be reached at jduncan@timespicayune.com or (504) 826-3404.
No kidding.
