Hall of Fame Selection Committee's Team of the '70's

Offense
WR Drew Pearson, Dallas
WR Lynn Swann, Pittsburgh
TE Dave Casper, Oakland
OT Art Shell, Oakland
OT Ron Yary, Minnesota
G Joe DeLamielleure, Buffalo
G Larry Little, Miami
C Jim Langer, Miami
QB Terry Bradshaw, Pittsburgh
RB Walter Payton, Chicago
RB O.J. Simpson, Buffalo
PK Garo Yepremian, Miami

Defense
DE Carl Eller, Minnesota
DE Jack Youngblood, Los Angeles
DT Joe Greene, Pittsburgh
DT Bob Lilly, Dallas
OLB Jack Ham, Pittsburgh
MLB Dick Butkus, Chicago
OLB Ted Hendricks, G.B./Oak.
CB Willie Brown, Oakland
CB Jimmy Johnson, San Francisco
S Cliff Harris, Dallas
S Ken Houston, Washington
P Ray Guy, Oakland

This isn't a bad start for the sake of discussion, but I think there are some questionable calls.

I can think of a few receivers other than Drew Pearson that I would have taken (Fred Biletnikoff, Charlie Joiner, Harold Carmichael, John Stallworth; sorry, Bruce, but I can't do Haven Moses).

Tight end is interesting; I would probably end up taking Casper, but as I was then a big Raiders' fan, I know I am biased. Russ Francis would deserve some consideration. And for dropping a pass in the Super Bowl to cost the Cowboys, Jackie Smith gets an honorable mention ;-)

I find it hard to get too exercised about the OL choices, although Mike Webster (whose personal story post-football was a real tragedy) deserves serious consideration.

QB could be the source of a lot of discussion, but for the fact that 4 SB rings has a way of ending the discussion with Bradshaw coming out on top. But think about all the great (and pretty good) QBs from that decade: Ken Stabler, Bert Jones (until he got hurt), Roger Staubach (yes, it hurts to type in praise of a Cowboy), Roman Gabriel, Jim Hart, Fran Tarkenton, Bob Griese, Steve Grogan, Brian Sipe (that's a sop to my wife, mostly, but he did have a few good years), Ken Anderson, Dan Fouts, and, of course, Eagles' greats Pete Liske, Mike Boryla, Rick Arrington, and Johnny Walton.

Sweetness has to be a running back, but The Juice? Can we do better than that, both as a runner (difficult) and a human being (easier)? Franco Harris, anyone?

Update: How did I forget Earl Campbell? He needs to be considered.

And maybe it's just me, but Yepremian seems like more of a mascot than a choice based on skill alone. Subjectively, I thought that Mark Moseley was the best that I can recall off the top of my head. That's probably in part because, as the Eagles struggled through a succession of worthies such as Ove Johannson, Nick Mike-Mayer, and Mike Michel, the guy they cut in favor of Happy Feller was a perennial star with the rival Redskins.

I will leave the defense for another time, and wait for the others to weigh in on the offense.