Phil Steele All-Independent Team

[Anchorman]

Phil Steele

 

[NoJusticeNoPeace]

No reason on why Darrin Walls is above Gary Gray. Gray might be the 2nd best player on defense...

 

[Lepresean]

Funny last time I checked Robert Blanton was a CB not a Safety

 

[bigeasy47]

im protesting why isnt KLM on the list he played really big for us this year.

 

[Epitome]

I just don't understand some of these picks.

 

[provi1]

I find nothing wrong with these picks, all looks good to me

 

[Old Man Mike]

Picks seem fine. No one died. I'd have put Gray on first team too, but what-the-h___ it's just a guy's choice. Blanton makes good sense whether he's "given" safety or not. All-Star teams like to fudge things around to get the right guys in. And Phil Steele tends to be an ND friend, so "thanks".

 

[rikkitikki08]

No reason on why Darrin Walls is above Gary Gray. Gray might be the 2nd best player on defense...

Agreed this whole thing was BS

 

[IrishInColumbus]

Blanton does play some nickel, no? So maybe that's the justification.

 

[NDinL.A.]

Blanton does play some nickel, no? So maybe that's the justification.

That would be my take on it as well. He played like an in-the-box safety against Army and was a beast, so maybe that's where he gets it.

I haven't even looked at the list yet but I will say that there isn't a person out there outside of maybe Mel Kiper that knows more college football than Phil Steele. And he's VERY fair in his analysis. I listen to him on Rivals radio for a half hour every Friday and the man is as good as it gets. (and like one poster already said, he is a friend to ND) If he thinks that Darren Walls is better than Gary Gray, well, is it really that big of a deal? And the truth is, D-Walls got better and better as the year passed, made some huge plays and led us (I believe) in picks. So it's not that far of a stretch.

 

[Bogtrotter07]

Funny last time I checked Robert Blanton was a CB not a Safety

Add up the time Blanton played safety, between the nickel and filling for injuries earlier, the Army game, and he always was a beast. Maybe Phil saw it too . . .

There were many subtle issues with Phil's rating; his view of the offensive line really impressed me. Mike, I tend to agree with you 100% again - better yet I starve for that congenial, (functional) attitude of yours! More of that would give IE better discussions. I am voting you first team – ND in LA, too!

Picks seem fine. No one died. I'd have put Gray on first team too, but what-the-h___ it's just a guy's choice. Blanton makes good sense whether he's "given" safety or not. All-Star teams like to fudge things around to get the right guys in. And Phil Steele tends to be an ND friend, so "thanks".

 

[Old Man Mike]

Thanks Trotter. Haven't been voted first team for thirty+ years [for abusing the faculty and staff in WMUs intramural Basketball league---lot of fun actually].

 

[phork]

3 team "All Team" selection. With the exception of Dobbs at QB and maybe some stud on defense, ND should be first and second teams at every position.

 

[Anchorman]

3 team "All Team" selection. With the exception of Dobbs at QB and maybe some stud on defense, ND should be first and second teams at every position.

With all due respect, Dobbs didn't single handedly whip ND in the Meadowlands.

 

[IrishAlum1997]

Without opening this link, I'm glad to hear that we have some players on the "All-Military Team not named Air Force."

Pointless.

 

[Old Man Mike]

For once, I agree with Anchorman. Navy, and Army, had many good players who performed on the field. We can root for our guys and appreciate our comrades-in-football-combat as well. No one's losing anything because of Phil Steele's picks. We can each make up our own all-star teams in our imaginations.

 

[IrishAlum1997]

My point is, in my humble opinion, that there is not much to celebrate in having an all-anything list that includes us and 2 service academies.

Do I admire the hell out of what these young men and women do for our country? Absolutely. They display a courage and fortitude that I can only imagine. But the facts are that it's a sad state of affairs for our program when we don't make the 2-deep on the all-independent QB list. The reality is we may be the 2nd best team on that list right now. I hope it's the last year it's even close.

Simply a sports opinion, not a life opinion.

Cheers.