Build, verb - To form by combining materials or parts; construct

Answers.com defines the word "build" as seen above.  Everyone is trying to build something.  Whether it be a happy home, strong relationships, a better self, or creating a new idea or new product at your job, we all try to build things.  For many, these tasks are ones that could never be completed.  However, in the sports world, the end of every season marks that some group, program, organization, etc. has done what they set out to do.  They have built a champion. 

Fans always think that they know their teams the best.  We feel like we know the leagues our teams play in.  We feel like, if just given that chance, we could build a champion.  When building a house, the foundation is key.  The age-old sports question is now being posed to you.  Who would you build a team around?  Remember, you aren't selecting the best player in the league.  You are choosing the building block for your franchise.

The rule is simply this, the player must be active.  Please give a rationale as to why you would make this person the cornerstone of your franchise, so we, the blogosphere, can argue with you.  In a loving way of course!  This particular blog is about the NFL.  Next will be the MLB, followed by NBA, and concluded with a less conventional NASCAR post.  Get your thoughts and your hammer ready.  Let's build.

Impact Positions

The NFL may be the easiest of the pro sports league to build a winner quickly, because of free agency and the salary cap.  However, it may be the hardest to select one player to start building around because football is the ultimate team game.  Peyton Manning can't take a football and go "Game 5 Lebron" on the Patriots.  He must have blocking, receiving, a running game, and a defense in order to allow him to use his skills and be successful.  With this in mind, the positions that the NFL scouts value the most are QB, LT, and DE.  When starting a franchise, it's difficult to get a fan base excited about a left tackle or a defensive end.  Ask the Texan fans if you don't believe me.  Their first ever pick in the expansion draft was LT Tony Boselli, who was injured shortly after that and never played a down for the Texans.  As far as D-end goes, two words, Mario Williams.  He may be a great player someday, but fans will never forget the two "skill" guys who they passed on.  Therefore, I'm taking a QB.

Age

We've learned in the last 10 years that NFL teams can go from rags to riches in an extremely short period of time.  It's easy to think that instant NFL success should happen when one watches the number of teams who do improve quickly.  Both the Jacksonville Jaguars and Carolina Panthers were playing in their Conference's championship game in year two of their existance.  However, most expansion teams, like the Texans and every expansion team before them save the two mentioned earlier, take a much longer road.  With that in mind, players like Donovan McNabb (turns 31 this year), Peyton Manning (31), and Tom Brady (turns 30 in August) are too old to be my cornerstones.  I want the QB that will get me to and win my franchises first Super Bowl.  Carson Palmer turns 28 in December, and he's on the my "fringe" of guys that may be too old.  If it takes five years, which historically is around when teams make the playoffs for the first time, he'd then be 33.  How much longer would he have, especially with his health risks?  I have to pass on Palmer as well.

Intangables

I want a great, young, impact player who is a leader.  I want my cornerstone to be fun to watch.  I want him to be under center.  I want the players, coaches, and fans to KNOW who will get it done in crunch time.  I want a winner.  I want a model citizen.  I don't want the young people in my stadium to ask my season ticket holders what the word "felony" means.  I want a face.  I want an active member of our community.  I want a throwback.  I want a tough guy who will never let his team down in the effort department.  Most of all, I want a winner.

Ladies and Gentlemen, to start the NFL's newest franchise, more than any other player, I want the 2006 NFL Rookie of the Year.  I want Vince Young!

 Who do you want?

Tomorrow is National Signing Day for all of you already-football-starved folks out there.  We have finally reached a time where football is so popular that people will latch on to something that is about as irrelevant as my top 25 most played list on my IPOD just because it's about football.  ESPN.com has an entire page dedicated to tomorrow's college football "event".  Don't be fooled folks, this is not an event.

We all (especially Arkansas fans like myself) remember the circus a month and a half ago surrounding Mitch Mustain's mother, along with two other highly touted freshmen's parents questioning the role of their children to Arkansas A.D. Frank Broyles.  Why was this a story you ask.  Tomorrow is the reason.  We give stardom away to college kids, even high school kids now because we are so determined to find the "next one".  Without this hype, Mustain and the others would be seen for what they are, spoiled, overhyped brats who are nothing more than a backup QB, blocking TE, and fast, no hands WR.  We can't enjoy the greatness that is Peyton Manning for one week without digging out Tom Lugginbill's rankings of the incoming freshman prospects to find out who will steal Manning's throne in 2015.  Let me tell you something folks, HE DOESN'T KNOW who will be great at the college level.  Even more, you don't know either!  You won't know until these kids play the game.

I'm so sick of hearing about these recruiting classes.  How many years did we hear about Texas's incoming class?  We heard all about it until they got beat by 50 in the Red River Shootout from about 1998-2004 (give or take a year or two).  Can we please give it a rest?  Can we please reserve news for. . . well. . .NEWS?  These are glorified children that are about to start playing a young man's game.  Some will be great, others will never be heard from again.

If you are interested in what happens tomorrow, I challenge you to do one thing.  Print off your little ESPN top 150 list and save it.  Four years from now, when you watch the NFL Draft (and you will because anyone who cares about signing day would absolutely treat the NFL Draft like Christmas morning) take out your list and see how it stacks up.  See how many people go in the first round.  See how many get drafted at all.  I guarentee that you will look at the list and say, "Boy, I really wasted a lot of time worrying about which school Noel Devine was going to attend."  You're right.  You did.  I'm trying to help you save that time.  You'd be much better off taking Martin Lawrence's advice and having a Coke and a smile.  It will last a lot longer.

The Colts will defeat the Bears 23-7.

Peyton Manning/ Tony Dungy/ Adam Vinatieri   vs.    Rex Grossman/ Lovie Smith/ Robbie Gould

The Colts have a distinct advantage in all three categories and will win the game decisively.  Peyton Manning will officially become the greatest QB of all time when he pulls a Steve Young and gets the big game #### off of his back. 

Congrats to Peyton and Coach Dungy ahead of time.  No two people deserve it more.

Long live Prince and great commercials.  Am I the only person who will TiVO halftime and not the game itself?

We've been listening to it since Peyton's senior year at Tennessee.  "He can't win the big one."  "He chokes."  "He's not a clutch player."  All of these phrases have been screamed by everyone from opposing fans to talking heads in reference to Peyton Manning's glaring absence from the global "center stage" that is the Super Bowl.  Peyton has been everything from an upstart underdog to an overwhelming favorite, and in all cases, failed to deliver his team what it desperately  wanted. . .Super Bowl glory! 

That was all before last Sunday's brilliant second half performance against the longtime nemesis New England Patriots.  In engineering the greatest comeback in AFC Championship Game history, Peyton shed these criticisms, for two weeks at least, and has his Colts one win away from the aforementioned glory.  However, one thing seems to be getting overlooked.  All of the "choke" talk that has followed the Colts is valid!  It's just not valid to send it the quarterback's way.  Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you the real choke artist from the Indianapolis Colts. . . Marvin Harrison!

  "Marvin is one of the greatest recievers of all time.  He runs great routes.  He has Hall-of-Fame numbers.  Most of all, he's not like those other arrogent NFL wideouts!  He shuts up and plays.  He's the Stuart Smalley of the NFL.  Doggone it.  People like him!"  This is what many of you are thinking as you read this, especially if you're name is Al Franken.  However, its possible that no "big-time" player has come up smaller in the history of the position than "Marvelous" Marvin.  His playoff stats:

Games - 13

Catches - 55

Rec. Yards - 776

TDs - 2

These numbers equal out to about 4.25 catches per game for 60 yards and .16 TDs.  Hall of Fame you say?  How much of a bust does he look like when you consider that 16 of his catches for 250 yards and both TDs came in the playoffs following 2003.  That's right.  No playoff TD catches in four years!  In the Colts three playoff wins this year, Harrison has 10 catches for a little over 120 yards. 

The statistical evidence becomes even more overwhelming when you actually watch the games.  The only difference between Marvin Harrison and Reche Caldwell on Sunday was that Harrison's team won, no thanks to him!  Harrison's attempted face-mask catch on a wide open deep ball was only forgotten because of his dropped "between the eight and the eight" slant pass the following quarter.

How did the Colts win with their #! reciever playing so poorly?  That's easy!  Peyton Manning led his career-defining go-ahead touchdown drive by doing exactly what he hasn't done in the past, which is NOT THROWING TO MARVIN HARRISON!  Manning used Reggie Wayne, Dallas Clark, and Joseph Addai to reach his goals.  Finally Manning dumped "who brung him" and used the weapons that are willing to get hit.  The ones who are willing to make the tough catch.  The ones who are willing to do what it takes to be called a champion.  The sad truth of it is that none of the previous statements describe the "great" Marvin Harrison. 

(Before you comment, please don't tell me about how teams gameplan to stop Harrsion.  If it were that easy, teams would do it in the regular season too.  The difference is not the defenses.  The difference is the player who mysteriously has no game this time of year, every year.)