Just out curiousity, how many of those college all-stars went on to the NFL?
First of all, something that happened 25 years ago, hardly “blows my little theory into teeny, tiny pieces.” You are comparing two different era’s here, the game then was different than it is now. This may be evidence against my “theory”, but it doesn’t disprove it by any means.
The record for this game is here. The college all-stars’ record agains the NFL champs was 9-31-1, I don’t think that qualifies as winning pretty frequently, in fact I think its a pretty bad record. Plus, of the all-star’s 9 wins, none occured in the 70’s, only 1 in the 60’s, and 3 in the 50’s. The rest occured in the 30’s and 40’s, that’s ancient history as far as I’m concerned, irrevelant when discussing today’s game.
There are only a handful of current college players who could start on the Bengals today. The college players may have more talent than some of the Bengals, but they haven’t had the time to develop their talents to the level the pros have yet. The Bengals’ experience would very tough for the college players to make up for.
I stand by my comment that I doubt even a team of college all-stars could beat the Bengals.
I think the 1995 Nebraska team (that beat #2 Florida 62-24 and 3 other top ten teams by a total of 134-48) would have a better shot at a poor NFL team.
Why are we picking on the Bengals?..they aren’t the worst NFL team…sure, their record sucks, but I’m quite sure that the Cardinals are shittier…Detriot licks nuts too…
Next season, the Arizona Cardinals will move to L.A. and change their name to the “Los Angeles Californians”.
Then why does the NFL draft take 2 days and have 7 rounds if only a handful of college players could start on the bengals today?
That’s a truly laughable statement considering that at least 10 of the players taken in just the 1st round of the 2002 NFL draft have seen extensive playing time.
Without the benefit of training camp and the preseason, there are very few college players who could step in and play the pro game today. We are talking about current college players here, not NFL rookies.
Maybe Montreal of the CFL.
I watched last weeks game against Syracuse and the play by play announcer seemed to think there were some 20 people who are currently on the Miami roster who will be in the NFL. Miami has problems with the run so I think Corey Dillon would walk all over Miami. I do, however, think Miami could probably beat Arizona.
Miami gave up 45 points this afternoon to Virginia Tech! A defense like that against a team that has only an average offensive attack is not likely going to hold up against a much bigger, faster, and more experienced team like Cincinnati.
And a CFL team isn’t going to fare much better. Remember that, with few exceptions, players go to the CFL because they aren’t good enough for the NFL. A CFL team would only have a chance if they were playing CFL rules and the NFL team had trouble adjusting to the big field.
But would you want to be a Montreal Alouette trying to tackle Corey Dillon if he is hitting the line of scrimmage with a running start?
Miami has played far better games than they played today. All you have to do is look back 3 or 4 weeks to the Tenessee game. That game was the only game they’ve played all season (besides a few quarters here and there) were they truely showed up.
When I watch Miami play, I kind of get the feeling they are bored - but not quite bored enough to blow an entire game. They will show up for the Ohio State game and would most definately show up if they were offered a chance to play an NFL team. I’m still not sure that they’d win but I still think they’d put up a very good fight.
As for Montreal, I don’t really watch all that much CFL but from what I do watch, they seem to be a class above the rest of the CFL. I don’t know if they could beat Cincinatti but they are the only team that stands any chance at all (which is all I meant before).
I think the question was: Could Miami beat a CFL or NFL Europe team?
The Bengals would win by at LEAST 45 points, assuming they were trying. If they gave up at halftime, it’s Cincinnati 38, Montreal 3. If they tried the whole game they could score 60 or more. The Alouettes would be humiliated.
The talent difference is enormous, especially once you get beyond the best 2 or 3 players on the team. A CFL team might have a few players able to hold their own in the NFL, especially at the speed positions; Milt Steagle’s as good a receiver as there is in any league. But the offensive line would be overrun on every single down, and the defensive line wouldn’t be able to accomplish anything. It would be a total massacre. As good as Montreal is, the only difference between Montreal and the rest of the CFL is Montreal might actually score a field goal or two, while any other CFL team would be shut out 45-0, at best.
Montreal might get a touchdown if they played CFL rules, since it would take the Bengals a few defensive series to get used to the idea of receivers running full tilt BEFORE THE SNAP and spreading out over a bigger field - that would be unnerving and weird for their defensive backs, and if the QB can heave one up before he gets mugged, someone could get burned for a long score. But they’d still slaughter the Als.
Incidentally, what would the roster of the best ever Hurricanes at each position look like? Let’s assume we could compile a team of the best ever Hurricanes and that they’re all healthy and in their prime. How would they match up with the Bengals?
Part of the Hurricanes roster could be:
Kosar or maybe Testaverde at QB
Leon Searcy and Bryant McKinnie would be among the O-linemen
Michael Irvin as one of the WRs
Jeremy Shockey at TE
Ray Lewis at MLB
Warren Sapp, Jerome Brown, and Russell Maryland on the D-line
Ed Reed as one of the DBs
There isn’t a CFL team, nor has there been for decades, that could hold a candle to any NFL team. As noted above, if the game was played by CFL rules the CFL team might at least get on the board. But, with the exception of a couple former Calgary Stampeders quarterbacks (Doug Flutie and Jeff Garcia), and Rocket Ismail, the number of players who’ve made the jump to the NFL and had any sort of impact have been few and far between.
[slight hijack] I think the CFL is an excellent training ground for QBs because you have fewer downs, a real pass-oriented style of offence, and most teams blitz a lot, not to mention the extra man on the really huge field. That said, most QBs would rather learn as a third stringer in the NFL for big bucks than start in the CFL for peanuts.
Dude, are you being ridiculous on purpose?
The NFL draft taking 2 days and having 7 rounds is the stupidest argument I’ve ever heard of if you are trying to make the point that it is NOT only a handful of college players that could start on the Bengals today. Quick question…how many of those players in the 7 rounds of drafting will make even MAKE their team? And how many will START???
And 10 players IS just a handful considering there is easily over 2000 players playing Division I football right now. Probably more.
So don’t make asinine arguments.
I don’t care how bored Miami might be with its opponents this year, the Hurricanes still don’t have the personnel to keep up with the worst NFL team.
The Bengals have seen offenses like Miami’s. They have seen running backs far better than MacGahee. Nearly every #1 QB in the NFL is better than Dorsey.
Another very important factor is age. The Bengals are going to be a few years older, more experienced, stronger, and much closer to their athletic peak than the players on Miami.
I think you’re off on that number a little. There are 116 D-IA teams, each with a roster right around 100 men. That would put the number around 11600 men, JUST in IA. Add in IAA, and you have around 40 teams each with probably around 75 men on the rosters (maybe less). Grand total is around 14,600.
So, here’s some more support for you, Neurotik.
Perhaps the 2000 figure is derived by dividing the 11000 by 5 to represent the total number of players who have used up their eligibility.
And despite the Bengals giving up 52 points to Carolina today, I still think they would mop the floor with the Hurricanes or Alouettes.
The Bengals would take the Hurricanes with ease, because they would dominate the line on the both sides of the ball. On weight alone, the average Bengals offensive lineman probably has about 50 pounds on the average Miami defensive lineman, and the Cincy DLs probably weigh about as much as the Miami OLs.
Then you have to add in skill. How many rookie offensive linemen start in the NFL? Only a handful each year, and most of them still make plenty of rookie mistakes and get beat more than their share of times. Looking at only one college team, with players who are 1, 2, 3, or even 4 years younger than NFL rookies, the Miami offensive line would get schooled. Dorsey would be on his ass all game, and McGahee have nowhere to go.
On the other side of the ball, the Hurricanes defensive line would be similarly outclassed. Kitna would have all day in the pocket and Dillon would get plenty of holes. Even without looking to the pro team’s obvious advantages at “skill positions,” they could still dominate the game by controlling the line of scrimmage.
By the way, Miami is not overrated. If you win 34 games in a row, you deserve to be ranked #1. Undefeated teams who have beaten a couple ranked opponents deserve to be ranked ahead of teams with 2 losses. They’ve won every game they’ve played, and most by at least a touchdown. What more could you ask?
Actually, it was derived by guessing. We’ll go with the numbers provided by wmulax93.
Um, that they don’t pad their record by playing teams like Temple and Florida A&M. And actually play competitive teams. You know, actually earn their undefeated streak by playing ranked teams instead of playing joke teams.
Miami is overrated. And the sad thing is that we can’t even prove it, because they won’t even be playing a worthy opponent in the Fiesta bowl, as Ohio State is overrated, too!
One more reason why the BCS is horrible.