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All-Buckeye NFL Team - Offensive Line

+8 HS
UniotoTank55's picture
June 21, 2017 at 6:41pm
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A quick anecdote to pre-face a forum probably already long enough to warrant a virtual swarm of TL;DR’s:

An old closet shelf that keeps aloft mostly dust holds my childhood collection of 10,000 baseball cards. When I was six, one of my favorite things to do was sit down and read the backs of them, memorizing the various batting averages, home run totals, ERAs, etc., of my favorite players. At age eight I made my first dream team. I kept a notebook boiling over with facts and figures of past baseball legends and their statistical achievements. It was an utter trainwreck by what I know today, but at the time I thought I should be named a top researcher for SABR. It sits in one of my desk drawers at home to this day... what an atrocity. Different positions could score higher than one another. Bias? I actually awarded bonuses to players for what I called “favorite points.” However, I’ve loved researching for sports-related things ever since. So, looking for a way to refresh some writing and research skill while I have the summer, I figured I would make an all-buckeye NFL team with all the credentials I could compile. Position group by position group it shall go. And there is no better place to share it than here.

Now on with the darn thing.

Offensive Tackle

Perhaps more than any other position on the field, the buckeyes are loaded with players who had great careers at tackle. Twenty-one five year plus starters, fourteen pro bowl players, and two hall of famers.

First Team

Jim Parker (1957-1967, Baltimore Colts)

Me saying Orlando Pace is my favorite football player of all time may as well be me saying that water is wet to some of you. But even I have to concede that Jim Parker is the greatest offensive lineman, and probably the greatest overall player, that the Ohio State NFL Factory ever spit from its most holy gears. Parker was named to eight consecutive first-team All-Pro squads in years 2-9 of his career. Speaking of complete and total dominance, the Colts teams he played for made the NFL championship game four times. Six times they were in the top three teams of the league for scoring offense. Lastly, they won back to back titles in 1958 and 1959.

Jim Parker was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1973, and I’ll let NFL films take it from here (embedding was disabled on this video).

Orlando Pace (1997-2008, St. Louis Rams; 2009, Chicago Bears)

Orlando Pace is not only the best offensive lineman I have ever coached, but he is the best I have ever seen.

John Cooper

“The Greatest Show on Turf” is more of a small-town junior high musical without Pace in the fold. A 2016 Hall of Fame inductee in his second year on the ballot, Pace blocked for three straight NFL MVPs (Kurt Warner in 1999 and 2001, Marshall Faulk in 2000) and was the main road grader for the NFL’s first ever 7,000 yard offense. Not to be denied recognition for his efforts, Orlando was invited to Honolulu seven times in his career. He was a three-time first-team all pro as well. And when the time came for the Hall of Fame to pick their all-2000s team, you can bet your bottom dollar his name was on that list.

One last accomplishment: he is the reason for a madden statistic. 

Second Team

Jim Tyrer (1961-1962, Dallas Texans, 1963-1973, Kansas City Chiefs, 1974, Washington Redskins)

It was January 1970. The U.S. had started removing troops from Vietnam. Plans for the EPA were being drawn up. And while mood rings and “Have a nice day” shirts were beginning their prominence in pop culture, on January fourteenth the AFL took one last dying breath at the end of its. An all-star game of the best players ever in the league. There was a first team, and there was a second team. Out of all the players named to either roster, only one had previously donned the scarlet and grey. That player was Jim Tyrer.

While a cloud of life-after-football issues fogs his legacy, focusing solely on the field this man is a football legend. A gargantuan (amongst 1960s linemen, anyway) 6’6” 280, Tyrer was probably the second best tackle that ever played in the AFL, behind only Chargers legend Ron Mix. Nine trips to the league’s pro bowl. Six times first-team all-pro. 1969 AFL lineman of the year. Multi-year Chiefs captain.

Tyrer would win one AFL title with the Texans in 1962 and one with the Chiefs in 1966, but neither championship compares to the upset win his squad hung on the Vikings in 1969’s Super Bowl IV. Of all the matchups from that game, possibly none was more hyped than Tyrer and his left guard Ed Budde taking on two of the best the “Purple People Eaters’” defensive line had to offer. Alan Page, hall of fame defensive tackle; and a name that is near and dear to our hearts, one with his number in Minnesota’s ring of honor... Jim Marshall. Tyrer was the main force keeping Chiefs’ quarterback Len Dawson upright against the freaks of nature that threatened his blindside that day.

Dick Schafrath (1959-1971 Cleveland Browns)

Jim Brown, Leroy Kelly, and Bobby Mitchell are three players with three common denominators. They were all running backs for the Cleveland Browns. They are all in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. And Dick Schafrath blocked for all three of them.

Back when the Browns weren’t... well, the Browns, they were at or near the pinnacle of the sport for nearly thirty years from the 1940s through the 1960s. A wealth of hall of famers were on those teams, guys like the running backs above, Otto Graham, Marion Motley... the list is pretty grand. One of the biggest omissions is Dick Schafrath, who was consistently of the best players on those teams. Backing up that claim is a 1963 team MVP award and the number eight slot on cleveland.com’s list of the 100 greatest Browns. He was named to six pro bowls.

Offensive Guard

To follow up the onslaught of great tackles Ohio State has produced, it is quite a bit thinner on exceptional NFL players who were primarily guards historically. Still, some pretty good names in there, even saving Bill Willis for the defensive side of this team.

First Team

William Roberts (1984, 1986-1994, New York Giants, 1995-1996, New England Patriots, 1997, New York Jets)

Of the War and Peace-sized list of offensive linemen Ohio State has placed in the professional ranks, none have participated in more NFL games than William Roberts did (195). With the Giants he won two Super Bowl rings in 1986 and 1990, the latter of which he was a starter. After moving to the Patriots, he saw a Super Bowl game for a third time and helped the team place second in league scoring in 1996. He was named to the pro bowl in 1990.

Doug Van Horn (1966 Detroit Lions, 1968-1979 New York Giants)

Van Horn may have never gotten recognition for his efforts, coming from some teams that were pretty bad, but he was one of the more solid guards in the NFL for more than a decade. Starting for eleven seasons, he played in 172 games.

Second Team

Rob Sims (2006-2009, Seattle Seahawks, 2010-2014, Detroit Lions)

Rob Sims was a solid NFL player, and probably could have played longer than the nine seasons he did. In fact, the Lions offered him a contract. He had this to say about why he did not sign it:

Without throwing them under the bus, and I could, but when we got the offer, we didn't think, for the time we had put in, 80 straight games, 80 straight starts and some of the things we had played through, the offer was … something that we didn't deserve. It wasn't right for us. That's, basically, what it boils down to: It just wasn't right for us.

Offenses with Sims in their starting line-up were typically middle of the pack, he played 125 games, starting 114 of them.

LeCharles Bentley (2002-2005, New Orleans Saints)

You could make the argument at guard or at center for Bentley. His two pro bowls were split evenly across both positions, as were his four years as a player. This team needs a second second-team guard, so given that either could be his primary NFL position, he’s the best option.

If Bentley hadn’t injured his knee, or if he could have stuck it out with the Saints, he’s higher on this list. His short career had a bottomless pit full of potential, as he was named rookie of the year by Sports Illustrated in 2002. The aforementioned two pro bowls in just four years is a great indicator as well.

Center

Center and guard have about the same amount of players to choose from when talking about the top end of buckeyes at both positions, but center has the best player along the interior offensive line.

First Team

Nick Mangold (2006-2016, New York Jets, 2017, Free agent)

For eleven years, Mangold was a stable asset in one of the NFL’s more unstable places for players. Seriously, is center the only position the Jets could lock down for the past six years? All that aside, Mangold has done enough in his time to earn some hall of fame consideration in another six or seven years. Seven pro bowls. Two appearances on the first-team all-pro list. In 2011, the New York Times called him the best center in the NFL. He’s had quite the career, and wherever he ends up next, it will probably be continued.

Second Team

Tom DeLeone (1972-1973, Cincinnati Bengals, 1974-1984, Cleveland Browns)

He was as feisty as they could be. He played for Woody (Hayes) and was gung ho Ohio State. He was just a great teammate. If you were going to get in a fight, you wanted Tom on your side.

Doug Dieken, longtime teammate, fellow member of the cardiac kids.

Over a career with the Browns that spanned thirteen seasons, including 174 games, DeLeone would become one of just three Browns centers to be named to the pro bowl twice, in both 1979 and 1980. Cleveland would make the playoffs three times in his career, including the famed 1980 “Kardiac kids” season. Probably his highest honor, however, was winning the 1976 George Halas Award as the NFL’s most courageous player, following the loss of his wife.

Honorable Mentions

Jim Lachey (1985-1987, San Diego Chargers, 1987, Los Angeles Raiders, 1987-1992, 1994-1995, Washington Redskins) - Offensive Tackle

Lachey was a 10 year player and 9 year starter. He played 131 games, starting 129. The now-radio broadcaster anchored the famous “ The Hogs” Redskins offensive live. Three time pro bowler, three time first-team all-pro. Redskins were a top 5 overall offense from 1989-1991, leading the league in scoring for 1991. 1991 Super bowl champion, three playoff appearances. 1985 Chargers offense was number one in scoring.

Ernie Wright (1960-1967, 1972, Los Angeles(1960)/San Diego(1961+) Chargers, 1968-1971, Cincinnati Bengals) - Offensive Tackle

Wright played 13 years, starting for 12. The tandem with himself and Hall of Famer Ron Mix was said by Sid Gillman to be “the best pair of tackles in football.” Three time pro bowler. 1963 AFL Champion. San Diego Chargers 50th anniversary team. 174 games.

Bob Vogel (1963-1972, Baltimore Colts) - Offensive Tackle

10 year player and starter. Started 138 of 139 games. Five time pro bowler, one time first team all-pro. Participant in super bowls III (1968) and V (1970), win in V. Protector of Johnny Unitas’ blindside.

Kirk Lowdermilk (1985-1992 Minnesota Vikings, 1993-1996 Indianapolis Colts) - Center

12 year player, 10 year starter. 178 games, 150 games started. Minnesota was top five in scoring offense three times in his span.

*Disclaimer: In the true fashion of dream teams, this ranks players in a two-deep by their primary positions, and is not how I would place them together to put the best possible offensive line on the field. If that were the case, I would slide Parker over to guard on the first team (he played four of his thirteen seasons there), bump down Doug Van Horn to the second team of guards, and bump Jim Tyrer up to the first team of tackles.*

Sources: Pro-football-reference.com, nfl.com, profootballhof.com, wikipedia, others.

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