Would have been an awesome game. Just barely old enough to remember 86 but the head to head matchups would have been great. Want to do head to head comparisons but first compare across same positions:
QB '86-Vinny and Steve Walsh as a backup
'01-Dorsey and Crudup as backup
Advantage: slight to 86. As great as Dorsey was, all positions around him made him better than he was. Vinny or Steve Walsh on the '01 team IMHO would have been even better.
One note - you do the whole depth chart but it's misleading. McGahee wasn't a big part of the '01 team. Gore got time over him. Just as an example. KWII also. It was Shockey. Walsh was on the roster but Geoff Toretta got the back-up snaps iirc. W. Smith was on the roster but A. Roberts got the minutes and there was a different No. 2 TE ahead of Smith. So my focus is on the starts and first guys in on the lines.
This is more than a slight edge to '86. People don't realize how good Vinny was. Yes, he was risky and if he has a bad day he'll make mistakes, and yes, Kenny D. was a low mistake guy. (Walsh was a better Dorsey, as an aside, but that's not relevant to the '86 team.) Vinny is in the CFB Hall of Fame, and played 21 seasons in the NFL! He threw for almost 50,000 yards in the NFL. He retired with several longevity-driven NFL records. Vinny was unique and if he weren't colorblind he might have been one of the true goats of the position. I point this out because if he's on his game, the '01 team has a major problem on D trying to handle Irvin, Blades and Perriman. Doesn't go that way in reverse for Kenny vs. the '86 D. Kenny was good but he had Andre, basically. Bennie Blades, Bubba McDowell ... the '86 DBs were solid and weren't going to get carved up.
RB '86-Highsmith, Warren Williams, M Bratton
'01-Portis, Gore, McGhee, Gore
advantage: '01-86 was good but 01 was maybe GOAT
'01 was the goat what? Portis was terrific. Gore was a true frosh who got more minutes than Willis. McGahee didn't do much in '01. (The goat college backfield would have to be Barry Sanders and Thurman Thomas.)
Highsmith was the 3rd overall pick in the NFL draft (higher than any of the '01 guys fwiw). Injuries shortened his career but he was a heck of a talent. Bratton was tough. Warren Williams was a legit guy who had a 5 or 6 year nfl career. FWIW Cleveland Gary was on that team, too, but didn't get much run that year.
It comes down to style - portis, gore, najeh vs. the more thumpers on the '86 team. I don't think any team is running much on the '86 DL so I don't think Portis is a reason to pick '01 over '86.
wr-'86-the playmaker, Brett Perriman, Brian Blades
'01-Andre, Roscoe, Beard.
'86 and it's not even close. Three NFL starters and one hall of famer in that group versus 1 hall of famer in 01. LOL at any hurricane fan picking any wr corps over one led by Irvin (and two other NFL starters). Don't let recency bias fool you.
TE-'86-Alfredo Roberts and Willie Smith
v.
01 -Shockey and Winslow
01 was better. Roberts and Smith were solid but Shockey is legend.
Concur on WR. Shockey was the best of the TEs but Alfredo Roberts was a good TE in his day. KWII didn't do a lot on '01 outside of ST, IIRC.
OL-01 was better. Best OL behind the underrated 2010s one we've ever had
DL-'86-Stubbs, Jerome Brown, Sileo, Bill Hawkins
01-Wilfork, McDougal, Jamal Green, Walters
so tough but slight edge to 86. Very slight. They were great
'01 OL was better. No one was messing with McKinnie, and I include Hawkins and Stubbs in that comment. But Joaquin wasn't going to be dominating Stubbs. Great ends vs. tackles match-ups. The interior on '01 wasn't so good that it was going to push around Jerome Brown and Dan Sileo. Clear edge to '86 on the interior line, however. Sherko, Romberg and Bibla weren't so good that they were going to be pushing around Jerome Brown and Dan Sileo. No inside runs coming, which helps the '86 team contain, and Jerome was as good as anyone playing that game.
In reverse, the '86 OL was okay (Rakoczy was strong in the middle, which matters in this match-up), and the '01 DL was solid but Vince was a frosh, and Walters wasn't all that great. McDougle was a very good end. Green was okay but Stubbs and Hawkins were the two best ends in that crowd, but Hawkins was only a Soph in '86, so give McDougle the edge for that season.
I think the '86 DL beats the '01 OL and the '01 DL beats the '86 OL, so there wouldn't be a ton of rushing yards to go around, nor a ton of time to wait for someone to free up at WR. Need quick routes and a QB who can scramble. Edge '86 for those reasons.
LB-
'86-Shannon, Rod Carter, Mira Jr and Winston Moss
'01-Vilma, Mcintosh
So close. Moss was a really good NFL lb that gets overlooked in his 11 years. Mira Jr was an all-American.
Vilma was very good, Chris Campbell was underrated.
A slight slight edge to '01 but want to call it a tie.
DB-'86-Bennie Blades (Thorpe winner) , Bubba McDowell (NFL starter and was good there, too), Tolbert Bain (four year starter)Selwyn Brown
'01-Rolle, Sikes, Reed, Buchanon was awesome
This is tough but slight edge to 01.
Winston Moss was terrific. Mira was legit. Shannon, Carter. The '01 team had DJ, you left him out. I'd say the LBs were a wash but '01's best guy was Vilma on the inside. '86 had Moss, whose ability outside would help contain and that's an issue for the '01 running game because you ain't going straight at Jerome Brown and Dan SIleo. The '01 LBs were great also, however, and I do not see the '86 backs breaking long plays against them.
The most interesting match-up is DBs vs. WRs. '01 with Reed, Rumph, Buchanon (Rolle was ST, not starter) was top notch. Bennie Blades was a Thorpe winner, McDowell a great DB. I think the game comes down to how the '01 DBs can handle the '86 WRs, and whether Vinny has a good game. If Vinny was on, no one was beating that team, and the '01 team is included in no one.
Helps that JJ would figure out how to stop Dorsey. Coker would hope Ed Reed would figure out how to stop Vinny. But Ed Reed prolly would figure it out. It really comes down to did Vinny have a good game.
IMO.
