Vote: Homegrown Legends Tournament Bracket, Round 2
Which cities and states produce the best football talent? It’s an age-old debate, and Touchdown Wire asks you to help determine the answer.
We’ve imagined NFL rosters for the ages composed of the greatest players who grew up in the areas of the 32 current franchises. Our selection methodology is explained in detail in this article.
Touchdown Wire columnist Doug Farrar revealed his power rankings for our 32 Homegrown Legends rosters, providing the seedings for an epic virtual tournament.
Here’s where you come in. Cast your votes below in the second round of our Homegrown Legends tournament, and check back on Tuesday, Sept. 29, at approximately noon ET for results and the opening of second-round voting.
First-round results:
AFC: 1. Houston def. 16. Denver, 62-38%; 8. LA Chargers def. 9. Buffalo 74-26%; 12. Kansas City def. 5. Jacksonville, 68-32%; 13. Tennessee def. 4. Cincinnati, 53-47%; 6. Pittsburgh def. 11. Baltimore, 83-17%; 3. Cleveland def. 14. Indianapolis, 70-30%; 10. Las Vegas def. 7. NY Jets, 62-38%; 2. Miami def. New England, 87-13%.
NFC: 1. Dallas def. 16. Minnesota, 76-24%; 8. Washington def. 9. NY Giants, 65-35%; 5. Atlanta def. 12. Tampa Bay, 58-42%; 4. San Francisco def. 13. Seattle, 67-33%; 6. Carolina def. 11. Arizona, 68-32%; 3. LA Rams def. 14. Green Bay, 64-36%; 10. Detroit def. 7. Philadelphia, x-x%; 2. New Orleans def. 15. Chicago, 58-42%.
AFC second-round matchups
1. Houston vs. 8. Los Angeles Chargers
Coley Cleary / USA TODAY Sports Media Group illustration
How Houston can win: Good luck throwing the ball against a secondary composed of Lester Hayes, Emmitt Thomas, Darrell Green and Earl Thomas. The Texans defense creates a no-fly zone that generates coverage sacks with Bubba Smith getting after the quarterback and Simon Fletcher shutting down the run. Russell Okung and Steve Wisniewski pave the way for Thurman Thomas and Eric Dickerson to get chunk plays on the ground while also controlling the clock and tempo. — Mark Lane, Texans Wire
Coley Cleary / USA TODAY Sports Media Group illustration
How Los Angeles can win: The Chargers can win through the air with QB John Elway distributing the wealth to WRs Michael Thomas and JuJu Smith-Schuster and TE Tony Gonzalez. Or the Bolts could rely on the ground game with RBs Terrell Davis and Marcus Allen. Pressuring Elway won’t be an easy task with Hall of Fame OTs Gary Zimmerman and Ron Mix in the way. Houston could have a difficult getting the run game going against LBs Junior Seau and Anthony Barr, along with the hard-hitting safety tandem of Ronnie Lott and John Lynch lying in wait. — Gavino Borquez, Chargers Wire
Other matchups:
KC vs Ten / Cle vs Pit / Mia vs LV // Dal vs Was / SF vs Atl / LAR vs Car / NO vs Det
12. Kansas City vs. 13. Tennessee
Coley Cleary / USA TODAY Sports Media Group illustration
How Kansas City can win: Tennessee has the defensive line to bottle up the Chiefs’ potent rushing attack with Reggie White and Ed “Too Tall” Jones coming off the edges. Thankfully, John Hadl was underrated as a passer for his era. If Gale Sayers and Barry Sanders command the attention of the defense, look for Hadl to hurt the Titans defense with play-action. On defense, the Chiefs should be able to match up Roger Wehrli, Terence Newman and Nolan Cromwell with the Titans’ Randall Cobb, Golden Tate and Jason Witten. — Charles Goldman, Chiefs Wire
Coley Cleary / USA TODAY Sports Media Group illustration
How Tennessee can win: The Titans will be tasked with stopping a high-powered Kansas City offense that is loaded with talent. Thankfully, Tennessee matches up well, with a stacked front seven led by LB Patrick Willis and DE Reggie White. A secondary consisting of CB Jalen Ramsey and S Harrison Smith should be good enough to keep the Chiefs’ passing attack in check. On offense, QB Chad Pennington will have to do his best to score points and control the clock using RB James Stewart and short-to-intermediate passes with WRs Randall Cobb and Golden Tate and TE Jason Witten. — Mike Moraitis, Titans Wire
Other matchups:
Hou vs LAC / Cle vs Pit / Mia vs LV // Dal vs Was / SF vs Atl / LAR vs Car / NO vs Det
3. Cleveland vs. 6. Pittsburgh
Coley Cleary / USA TODAY Sports Media Group illustration
How Cleveland can win: A powerful offensive line featuring four Hall of Famers keys a powerful running game with Marion Motley and Larry Csonka. No defensive front is stopping that, and if the Steelers cheat up their relatively weak safeties to help, QB Len Dawson can torch the secondary with big-play receivers Paul Warfield and Dante Lavelli. Cleveland is well equipped to handle the Pittsburgh running game, thanks to Hall of Famers Alan Page, Bill Willis and Jack Lambert in the middle of the field. Charles Woodson and Antoine Winfield at cornerback present a big advantage over the Pittsburgh wideouts. — Jeff Risdon, Browns Wire
Coley Cleary / USA TODAY Sports Media Group illustration
How Pittsburgh can win: The Steelers and QB Joe Montana must find a way to throw the ball against Cleveland CBs Charles Woodson and Antoine Winfield. The two-headed monster of Tony Dorsett and Curtis Martin at running back is great, but the sledding will be difficult against this stout Cleveland defense. But can you ever count out Montana — even when he seems outmatched? Look for Montana and WR Tyler Boyd to make some big connections. Cleveland has a talented offensive line, but the players in the backfield don’t terrify talents such as Jack Ham, Aaron Donald and Sean Gilbert. Get ready for some old-school slugfest football. — Curt Popejoy, Steelers Wire
Other matchups:
Hou vs LAC / KC vs Ten / Mia vs LV // Dal vs Was / SF vs Atl / LAR vs Car / NO vs Det
2. Miami vs. 10 Las Vegas
Coley Cleary / USA TODAY Sports Media Group illustration
How Miami can win: The Dolphins have speed in their front seven, which gives them plenty of opportunity to try to run with Las Vegas RBs DeMarco Murray and Steven Jackson. Dual-threat quarterbacks are present a challenge, but Miami’s front, with Joey Bosa, Geno Atkins and Derrick Thomas, should be able to press through gaps with their quickness and challenge Randall Cunningham. Offensively, Miami should have little trouble throwing the ball against a relatively weak Las Vegas secondary. The Dolphins feature Chad Johnson, Andre Johnson, Michael Irvin and Antonio Brown to stretch and space the field, creating space for QB Lamar Jackson to run. — Kyle Crabbs, Dolphins Wire
Coley Cleary / USA TODAY Sports Media Group illustration
How Las Vegas can win: The Raiders have one of the toughest offenses in the league to defend, with Randall Cunningham at quarterback followed by a two-back set of DeMarco Murray and Steven Jackson. For Las Vegas to beat Miami, it will need to control the ball. Look for the Raiders’ mammoth offensive line to wear down Miami’s defensive front and for Las Vegas to compile more than 200 rushing yards in this contest. — Marcus Mosher, Raiders Wire
Other matchups:
Hou vs LAC / KC vs Ten / Cle vs Pit // Dal vs Was / SF vs Atl / LAR vs Car / NO vs Det
NFC second-round matchups
1. Dallas vs. 8. Washington
Coley Cleary / USA TODAY Sports Media Group illustration
How Dallas can win: The modified Wishbone will present problems for the Washington defense. Having to stack the box and not knowing whether Earl Campbell, Adrian Peterson or LaDainian Tomlinson is getting the ball will open up passing lanes for the incomparable Patrick Mahomes. The 3-3-5 defense will rely on its stout interior to flush out QB Michael Vick. Being able to lock up pedestrian receivers one on one will allow Jamal Adams to spy and neutralize the Vick’s dynamic scrambling ability, when paired with Harvey Martin and Von Miller sealing the edges. — K.D. Drummond, Cowboys Wire
Coley Cleary / USA TODAY Sports Media Group illustration
How Washington can win: This is about as difficult as a matchup could be, but if anyone can neutralize a dynamic offense, it’s Lawrence Taylor and Bruce Smith. QB Michael Vick may be flushed out of the pocket by Von Miller, but his scrambling ability and accuracy on the run will boost Washington’s WRs, and Vernon Davis is excellent at finding holes in the secondary. It’s going to take an offensive masterpiece by Vick and Co. in order for Washington to keep up with the Dallas rushing attack. — Zachary Neel, Washington Wire
Other matchups:
Hou vs LAC / KC vs Ten / Cle vs Pit / Mia vs LV // SF vs Atl / LAR vs Car / NO vs Det
4. San Francisco vs. 5. Atlanta
Coley Cleary / USA TODAY Sports Media Group illustration
How San Francisco can win: The 49ers will look to soften up the Falcons’ defensive front with a stout running attack of Marshawn Lynch and O.J. Simpson. Then QB Tom Brady will take downfield shots to WRs Lynn Swann and Davante Adams against DBs A.J. Bouye and Reshad Jones. On defense, 49ers DEs Jared Allen and Arik Armstead will need to seal the edges and contain scrambling QB Fran Tarkenton. It could be a long day if Tarkenton is allowed time to connect with WRs Calvin Johnson and Sterling Sharpe and TE Shannon Sharpe. — Thomas Neumann, Niners Wire
Coley Cleary / USA TODAY Sports Media Group illustration
How Atlanta can win: The 49ers have a great offense, but the Falcons have more than enough firepower to keep pace. Still, Atlanta must get out to an early lead and consistently pressure QB Tom Brady up the gut with DTs Grady Jarrett and Cameron Heyward. The 49ers’ secondary is respectable, but not strong enough to contain Atlanta’s pass-catching trio of Calvin Johnson, Sterling Sharpe and Shannon Sharpe. Special teams could be the difference in this one, and the Falcons have Ray Guy — arguably the best punter ever — to help control field position. — Matt Urben, Falcons Wire
Other matchups:
Hou vs LAC / KC vs Ten / Cle vs Pit / Mia vs LV // Dal vs Was / LAR vs Car / NO vs Det
3. Los Angeles Rams vs. 6 Carolina
Coley Cleary / USA TODAY Sports Media Group illustration
How Los Angeles can win: The Rams are built around their offensive line, with OTs Tyron Smith and Anthony Munoz anchoring the edges. The secondary will have its hands full with Panthers WRs DeAndre Hopkins and Torry Holt. Generating pressure against J.R. Sweezy will be critical, and the Rams have a favorable matchup there with DTs Jurrell Casey and Brandon Mebane. Rams QB Warren Moon would be wise to avoid shutdown CB Stephon Gilmore in coverage. — Cameron DaSilva, Rams Wire
Coley Cleary / USA TODAY Sports Media Group illustration
How Carolina can win: The Panthers’ interior offensive line may be a critical weak link in this matchup against the Rams’ DT tandem of Jurrell Casey and Brandon Mebane. However, if the Carolina offense can get some vintage Todd Gurley runs outside, it will put a lot of pressure on the Rams defense. LB Bobby Wagner won’t make it easy, though. Defensively, Carolina needs to account for WRs Steve Smith and Keyshawn Johnson. If Stephon Gilmore and Co. can lock those two down, it will make a big difference. — Tim Weaver, Panthers Wire
Other matchups:
Hou vs LAC / KC vs Ten / Cle vs Pit / Mia vs LV // Dal vs Was / SF vs Atl / NO vs Det
2. New Orleans vs. 10. Detroit
Coley Cleary / USA TODAY Sports Media Group illustration
How New Orleans can win: Peyton Manning is making fireworks with star-studded WRs Reggie Wayne, Charlie Joiner and Odell Beckham Jr. The Saints also can change the pace with Hall of Fame RBs Marshall Faulk and Steve Van Buren, operating behind a nearly all-LSU offensive line anchored by left tackle Andrew Whitworth. On the other side of the ball, DBs Ed Reed and Aeneas Williams can handle any receivers sent their way, while fleet-footed tackling machines Tyrann Mathieu, Deion Jones and Devin White patrol the middle of the field. — John Sigler, Saints Wire
Coley Cleary / USA TODAY Sports Media Group illustration
How Detroit can win: Detroit will have to win with ball control behind RB Jerome Bettis and play-action strikes from QB Jim Harbaugh to TE Antonio Gates and WR Andre Rison. The offensive line, led by Hall of Fame guard Joe DeLameilleure, can physically beat on the underwhelming Saints defensive front. On defense, all-time interception champ Paul Krause and CB Terry McDaniel will need to create a takeaway or two. The pass-rush, keyed by quickness from Bill Hewitt and blitzing from LB Carl Banks, must be effective to slow down an impressive Saints passing attack. — Jeff Risdon, Lions Wire
Other matchups:
Hou vs LAC / KC vs Ten / Cle vs Pit / Mia vs LV // Dal vs Was / SF vs Atl / LAR vs Car
AFC rosters:
Buf / Mia / NE / NYJ // Bal / Cin / Cle / Pit // Hou / Ind / Jax / Ten // Den / KC / LV / LAC
NFC rosters:
Dal / NYG / Phi / Was // Chi / Det / GB / Min // Atl / Car / NO / TB // Ari / LAR / SF / Sea
Coming Tuesday, Sept. 29: Homegrown Legends tournament bracket, Round 3
