The SEC All-Streak Team

With the streak coming to a close last night, it seems like a great time to look back over the past 7 years and take it all in. Also, it's the offseason, so it's a great time to start shitty threads.

I thought we could figure out what the best starting 22 would be from the 7 SEC national champions.

Rules:

The players have to be from SEC teams that won national championships in the last 8 years. 2013 Auburn, 2011 LSU, 2003 LSU don't count.

The players are only eligible for the season they won the national championship. For example: If I said Tim Tebow as the starting QB, I'd have to choose between 2006 and 2008 Tebow - 2007 Tebow would not be eligible.

Rate the players based on their college careers, not whatever they've done or failed to do at the next level - so Tebow's failure and Newton's success are irrelevant.

All right, this is how I see it:

Offense (I decided to go with a 3 wide single back formation because it's something of a balance between the jumbo and I-formation packages the Alabama teams often used and the 4+ wide spread formations some of the other teams used)

QB - Cam Newton, 2010 Auburn. This is one of the hardest ones right out the gate, choosing between Tebow and Newton. Both had amazing seasons, both led their team to the ship, both have a beautiful smile - but ultimately I put more value on Newton's edge in winning close games and succeeding in the clutch than I do Tebow's slightly superior stats. Newton also had a less talented team around him and managed to do pretty much everything Tebow ever did.

RB: Trent Richardson, 2011 Alabama - this is possibly the biggest no-brainer on the list. The only real competition is Mark Ingram, and I think every SEC fan who watched those guys play will agree that, while Ingram had a great season in 2009 for Bama, Richardson was far and away a superior player in 2011.

'Z' WR: Julio Jones, 2009 Alabama. Jones' worst year at Alabama statistically. However, he was consistently a big-play threat and had his biggest play of the season when it counted - a long TD against a feisty LSU team that didn't lose that game as badly as they should have.

'X' WR: Early Doucet, 2007 LSU. Another guy whose championship season wasn't his best. Doucet was a strong, physical WR that didn't have top-end speed, but was pretty consistent catching the ball.

Slot WR: Percy Harvin, 2008 Florida. Damn, he was good. Probably the scariest guy on that UF team outside of Tebow himself.

TE: Phillip Lutzenkirchen, 2010 Auburn. No contest, this guy made more big receptions as a TE than almost anyone I've seen in college before. Huge part of several close victories for the Tigers.

LT: DJ Fluker, 2012 Alabama. He didn't play LT in college, but he's easily the best OT of all the guys to win a ship.

LG: Chance Warmack, 2012 Alabama: In the same vein, this guy was the best OG to play in the SEC in years, except maybe another guy on this list.

OC: Maurkice Pouncey, 2008 Florida
RG: Mike Pouncey, 2008 Florida - the brothers! I doubt Florida fans can even count how many first downs Tebow ground out running behind these guys. Definitely the best sibling OL duo (sorry Bama!)

RT: Barrett Jones, 2011 Alabama. I firmly believe that this guy was overrated, but you can't deny his success and hardware. Rarely a guy you saw getting beat, he was the consistent heart of several excellent Bama O-lines.



Defense - I chose a 4-3 because most of the champions ran it and the best DL players were predominantly from the 4-3 teams.

DE: Jarvis Moss, 2006 Florida. First-team All-American, this was the guy who blocked 2(!) kicks in the USCe game that would've won it for them. He also had a very respectable 7.5 sacks that year.

DT: Glenn Dorsey, 2007 LSU. Possibly the guy on the list with the most accolades in his year. Lombardi, Nagurski, Outland, Lott - you guys remember. Incredible player, incredible season.

DT: Nick Fairley, 2010 Auburn. People talk about 2010 Auburn as a two-man team, and Fairley was the other man. Fairley was dominant most of the time, outstanding some of the time, and unsportsmanlike all of the time. But, as with many great players, his talent is such that any team would gladly take him, personal fouls and all.

DE: Carlos Dunlap, 2008 Florida. 9 sacks, several blocked punts, and was the MVP of the NCG. Isn't mentioned enough on all-decade lists.

OLB: Rolando McClain, 2009 Alabama. He's going to play a little out of position here, but there's no way he's off this list. There is extremely stiff competition from this position on. McClain is another guy who needs no introduction, but his trophies speak for themselves: Butkus, Lambert, DPOY, and a first-team All-American.

MLB: Brandon 'gouger' Spikes, 2008 Florida. This guy is just a ball of hate and mean-spiritedness. He played tenaciously and ferociously and was not afraid to get dirty. Him and McClain are interchangeable in my mind for these two slots.

OLB: Courtney Upshaw, 2011 Alabama. Another incredible linebacker from Alabama, where the bastards grow on trees. Despite his huge size, he was extremely quick to plug holes and deliver bone-shattering hits.

CB: Dee Milliner, 2012 Alabama. Unluckily, we missed out on LSU's 3 terrific DBs and Joe Haden's best year, but there's a lot of CB depth across these teams. Milliner is probably the best CB that Alabama has had in my memory in coverage. He locked down damn near everyone he played.

CB: Dre Kirkpatrick, 2011 Alabama. Better against the run than in coverage, Kirkpatrick lived up to his billing as the top CB in the country coming out of high school in 2011, having a great season.

FS: Reggie Nelson, 2006 Florida. Another All-American, Reggie Nelson completely dominated in the defensive backfield. People called him 'the eraser.' I never know if I think that's awesome or really lame, but people did it. Badass guy.

SS: Craig Steltz, 2007 LSU. Steltz crushed kids when he tackled them. Aside from Berry, I think this guy is the best safety against the run I've ever seen. Homer maybe, but I'd take him all day over Barron, the other competitor for this pick.




Well, what do you guys think? Agree/disagree? tl;dr? Who would be on your teams?