With one notable exception, you could construct an entire team solely out of players under contract with the Patriots or the Broncos who either (a) missed 4 games or (b) ended up on IR. This is what the team would look like:
QB: None (thankfully!)
RB: Shane Vereen, C.J. Anderson
WR: Danny Amendola, Aaron Dobson, Wes Welker*
TE: Rob Gronkowski, Aaron Hernandez
LT: Ryan Clady
LG: Tyronne Green
C: Dan Koppen
RG: Chris Kuper
RT: Sebastian Vollmer
DL: Derrick Wolfe, Vince Wilfork, Tommy Kelly, Kevin Vickerson, Quanterus Smith
OLB: Von Miller, Jerod Mayo
MLB: Brandon Spikes
CB: Champ Bailey, Chris Harris**
SS: Adrian Wilson
FS: Rahim Moore
Am I crazy for thinking that if you put either Tom Brady or Peyton Manning on that team, it'd be, if not the best team in the entire NFL, at least top-4 and one of the favorites for the superbowl this year? Granted, the outside receiving options would be weak as all get-out, but Peyton and Tom are perhaps the best in the league at exploiting mismatches in the middle of the field, and with Welker, Hernandez, *AND* Gronkowski, you're basically looking at an upgraded version of the 2012 Pats receiving corps. The secondary could use a bit more depth to help with 3 and 4 WR sets, but that front 7 would be absolutely hellacious (Wilfork, Miller, and Mayo are all first-team All Pros, and the surrounding pieces are all quality starters). Speaking of 1st-team All Pros, Ryan Clady anchors the blind side of a pretty solid offensive line.
Moreover, I think whoever wins the AFC this year is going to surpass the 2010 Green Bay Packers as the SB participant who overcame the most adversity due to injury and missed time.
* Welker technically only missed 3 games, but his availability would have been in question had Denver played in the wildcard round, and he also missed about 3 quarters worth of games he started with his concussions. Plus, I'm sure there are Patriots fans who feel like he missed all 16 games for them this year
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** CB is a little bit thin, so we'd tend towards a "big nickel" using safety Quinton Carter as the 5th defensive back. Alternately, Aqib Talib missed 3 games, so we can make him an honorary member and just limit his snaps.
QB: None (thankfully!)
RB: Shane Vereen, C.J. Anderson
WR: Danny Amendola, Aaron Dobson, Wes Welker*
TE: Rob Gronkowski, Aaron Hernandez
LT: Ryan Clady
LG: Tyronne Green
C: Dan Koppen
RG: Chris Kuper
RT: Sebastian Vollmer
DL: Derrick Wolfe, Vince Wilfork, Tommy Kelly, Kevin Vickerson, Quanterus Smith
OLB: Von Miller, Jerod Mayo
MLB: Brandon Spikes
CB: Champ Bailey, Chris Harris**
SS: Adrian Wilson
FS: Rahim Moore
Am I crazy for thinking that if you put either Tom Brady or Peyton Manning on that team, it'd be, if not the best team in the entire NFL, at least top-4 and one of the favorites for the superbowl this year? Granted, the outside receiving options would be weak as all get-out, but Peyton and Tom are perhaps the best in the league at exploiting mismatches in the middle of the field, and with Welker, Hernandez, *AND* Gronkowski, you're basically looking at an upgraded version of the 2012 Pats receiving corps. The secondary could use a bit more depth to help with 3 and 4 WR sets, but that front 7 would be absolutely hellacious (Wilfork, Miller, and Mayo are all first-team All Pros, and the surrounding pieces are all quality starters). Speaking of 1st-team All Pros, Ryan Clady anchors the blind side of a pretty solid offensive line.
Moreover, I think whoever wins the AFC this year is going to surpass the 2010 Green Bay Packers as the SB participant who overcame the most adversity due to injury and missed time.
* Welker technically only missed 3 games, but his availability would have been in question had Denver played in the wildcard round, and he also missed about 3 quarters worth of games he started with his concussions. Plus, I'm sure there are Patriots fans who feel like he missed all 16 games for them this year
.** CB is a little bit thin, so we'd tend towards a "big nickel" using safety Quinton Carter as the 5th defensive back. Alternately, Aqib Talib missed 3 games, so we can make him an honorary member and just limit his snaps.
