Van Pelt wins; now on to cornerback

by ETVal on May 2, 2008 6:00 AM EDT in All-Time Team

In an incredibly close vote, Brad Van Pelt has defeated Carl Banks in the balloting for the second outside linebacker position on our Big Blue View All-Time Giants Team.

The final tally was 52-50. It was amazing to watch as the vote unfolded. Banks led all week -- in fact I had to re-write this post because as of Thursday afternoon he was far enough ahead that I thought he was going to win comfortably. The Van Pelt voters rushed to the poll last night, though.

To be honest, I am thrilled with the results of that vote. I think it showed a little respect for the accomplishments of a player many current Giants' fans never saw play.

Let's move on to cornerback as we continue the voting for our Big Blue View All-Time Giants Team.

I feel very, very strongly that Emlen Tunnell belongs on this team. He is in the Hall of Fame (the only Giants' CB so honored) and holds the team's all-time interception record. Tunnell was also named All-NFL four times and played in nine Pro Bowls.

So, as I did with Lawrence Taylor, I am simply putting Tunnell on the team. You guys get to choose the second cornerback.

This is an interesting vote, and in now way do I see a clear-cut choice for the remaining spot.

Here are your nominees:

• Dick Lynch
• Mark Haynes
• Erich Barnes

I did not put Jason Sehorn on this list. I know darn well that if i did the younger BBV'ers would vote for him, and he simply does not deserve to be on this team. Don't get offended. Go look at the careers of the four guys listed. There is no way you can tell me Sehorn is better than any of those guys. Sehorn was never voted to a Pro Bowl or named All-Pro. Same with Mark Collins -- another guy some of you might be tempted to vote for.

So, for this one you guys are going to have to do a little work and brush up on your history. A little background on these guys.

Lynch -- In Giants' history, Lynch is much more than a color commentator on radio broadcast. He played for nine years, eight with the Giants, and intercepted 37 passes. He was named All-Pro one time.

Barnes -- Totaled 45 interceptions in a 14-year career ... only spent four years with the Giants, but intercepted 19 passes during that time ... Appeared in six Pro Bowls and was named All-Pro once.

Haynes -- Made three Pro Bowls and was named All Pro twice in a 10-year career. ... spent his first six seasons as a Giant.

Big Blue View All-Time Giants Team

Punter -- Sean Landeta
Placekicker -- Matt Bahr
Defensive End -- Michael Strahan
Defensive End -- Leonard Marshall
Defensive Tackle -- Roosevelt Grier
Middle Linebacker -- Harry Carson
Middle Linebacker -- Sam Huff
Outside Linebacker -- Lawrence Taylor
Outside Linebacker -- Brad Van Pelt
Cornerback -- Emlen Tunnell

Poll

Which cornerback should be added to our All-Time Giants Team?

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Comments

Haynes

This was an easy vote for me . Before the LT/ Parcells era began he was one of my favorite players. Never understood why B.P. got rid of him.

We're only gonna score 17 points?

by big blue wrecking crew on May 2, 2008 7:57 AM EDT reply reply 0 recs

excluding mark collins

hurts my feelings.

by SBakerTheTouchdownMaker on May 2, 2008 9:18 AM EDT reply reply 0 recs

SB, when Em gets

moved to Safety, Collins should get on the ballot.

by george cronin on May 2, 2008 9:23 AM EDT up reply reply 0 recs

Touchdown Maker

I knew excluding Collins and Sehorn would hurt some people’s feelings. Look at their careers, though, and they don’t deserve to be ‘all-timers.’ I know I’m monkeying with the results here, but I knew if I put them on the ballot (especially Sehorn) they would probably win. And that result would just be wrong.

by ETVal on May 2, 2008 11:04 AM EDT up reply reply 0 recs

as a side note

i don’t think going to Pro Bowls necessarily should be the measuring-stick for the All-Giants team.

john starks and charles oakley only went to one All-Star game and i would still reserve a spot for them on my All-Knicks team.

by SBakerTheTouchdownMaker on May 2, 2008 9:21 AM EDT reply reply 0 recs

We're usually on the same page, SB,

but Oak before DeBuscherre, Gallatin, Lucas, and McAdoo? Starks over Frazier, Gola and Monroe, or even Barnett? No way.

by george cronin on May 2, 2008 9:52 AM EDT up reply reply 0 recs

Thank God,

you’ve given a pass to Tunnell. But, Ed, before the vote goes too far, Em was a Safety, not a CB. For BBVers who don’t know of Tunnell:
9 Pro Bowls
8 All- Pro selections
Rushing leader one year just with interceptions and kick returns.
Career records for interceptions and punt returns.
First African American to play for Giants.
First African American in Hall of Fame.

Rosey Brown and Mel Hein deserve passes as well.

by george cronin on May 2, 2008 9:21 AM EDT reply reply 0 recs

Tunnell

Hmmm, interesting. He is listed on Giants.com as a corner, and also in the lists that both you and potroast sent to me when we were working on putting this thing together.

by ETVal on May 2, 2008 11:06 AM EDT up reply reply 0 recs

Ahh

I see it now. Listed as a CB in one place and as a safety in some other bios. I might have to change it.

by ETVal on May 2, 2008 11:11 AM EDT up reply reply 0 recs

Sorry if I misled you.

I thought I had him and Jimmy Patton listed as safeties (along with two others.)

by george cronin on May 2, 2008 11:42 AM EDT up reply reply 0 recs

Yeah

I saw him listed as both and I didn’t see him play, so I didn’t know what to do. The Hall just lists them as DBs, so that doesn’t help either.

by potroast on May 2, 2008 3:59 PM EDT up reply reply 0 recs

I'm amazed Van Pelt won,

although he got this oldtimer’s vote. I hope he makes it to the Hall of Fame.

by george cronin on May 2, 2008 9:25 AM EDT reply reply 0 recs

Sorry, Ed, I see

why you excluded Collins.

by george cronin on May 2, 2008 9:40 AM EDT reply reply 0 recs

Collins

George, maybe I’m being a little too exclusive w/this one. I just felt really strongly that Collins and Sehorn weren’t all-time greats.

by ETVal on May 2, 2008 11:07 AM EDT up reply reply 0 recs

They weren't, but including him, like including Katcavage,

does no harm. They were both good ballplayers.

by george cronin on May 2, 2008 11:51 AM EDT up reply reply 0 recs

Collins deserves consideration

I agree Sehorn does not deserve to be named an all time great. Sehorn was a tremendous athlete, but he was too inconsistent in coverage.
However, Collins was a consistently great on coverage.

by CNJGiants on May 2, 2008 11:19 AM EDT reply reply 0 recs

Sehorn

Wish he’d never gotten hurt. Maybe he would’ve had the kind of career that would’ve merited inclusion in this ballot if he hadn’t.

by JoshNY on May 2, 2008 11:22 AM EDT reply reply 0 recs

Sehorn's was a sad story

Wellington Mara said he was the best athlete the Giants ever had. I can still see that reurn where he broke his leg trying hurdle the pile. He was never that same after that. (Maybe because, like Shock. after that injury he stayed at home for training.) He became very wary of tackling at the end of his career, hitting high and forcing people out instead of blasting them. He could have been an All-Timer. In that way he reminds me off another guy who I thought would have a one-way ticket to the Hall, Troy Archer. He got killed in an auto accident after only two years in the league.

by george cronin on May 2, 2008 12:06 PM EDT reply reply 0 recs

Yeah it was sad and very apparent immediately after his return.

He did however make the most spectacular int I ever saw(playoffs,Eagles). Apparently it affected his mind somewhat too. He forgot how to tie up his pants, I seem to remember him allowing a touchdown because his pants were coming down and he decided to pull them up rather than tackling the receiver.

We're only gonna score 17 points?

by big blue wrecking crew on May 2, 2008 2:17 PM EDT up reply reply 0 recs

I remember the catch well,

on the dead run at the toetops.

by george cronin on May 2, 2008 3:14 PM EDT up reply reply 0 recs

Give us young'ins a little credit

I have Sehorn jersey and even though I don’t have a lot of memories of the other DB’s I wouldn’t have voted for Sehorn. I think most of us are are coming around to deferring to the elder Statesmen of BBV. I voted for Van Pelt and would probably change my vote to Robustelli if I had to do it again.

BBWC, damn you, not only had I finally forgotten about the pants incident, but I think my Philly friends finally stopped making fun of us for it. I choose to remember Sehorn taking that onside kick the distance in the 41-0 NFC Championship

by queler on May 2, 2008 2:58 PM EDT reply reply 0 recs

Sorry man

This all time team thing has me remembering all this stuff.

We're only gonna score 17 points?

by big blue wrecking crew on May 2, 2008 3:51 PM EDT up reply reply 0 recs

just remind them

of the ridiculous interception in the playoffs against the Eagles in 2000 that he returned for a TD. Prior to Manning-to-Tyree, that was the best play I had ever watched a Giant make.

by cjmulrain on May 2, 2008 7:17 PM EDT up reply reply 0 recs

Speaking of people left out

How can you leave Will Allen off of this list. Just because his numbers are a little low? He should get credit for the added difficulty of trying to catch INTs with his facemask instead of his hands

by queler on May 2, 2008 3:03 PM EDT reply reply 0 recs

LOL!!

Allen and Will Peterson should have been a great duo, but neither one ever lived up to what we thought they would be.

by ETVal on May 2, 2008 3:39 PM EDT up reply reply 0 recs

in Madden 2004

I managed to turn both of them into Pro Bowlers who helped the Giants win 4 of 6 Super Bowls (my friends hated me)...of course, I kinda cheated by making just about every single special teams tackle with one of them, so they both had like 100 tackles and were higher than most linebackers in that category. Ah, the good old days of Madden in college.

by cjmulrain on May 2, 2008 7:19 PM EDT up reply reply 0 recs

Dick Lynch

I voted for Lynch. When he played I think the Giants used (George, correct me if I’m wrong) the “umbrella defense.” Lynch and Patton were the key to that scheme and Lynch made a ton of great plays in big games. He was a great tackler too.

Sehorn was great but not for long enough to be on the all time team.

I seem to remember Erich Barnes as a gambler who got burned a lot.

by giant fan since 57 on May 2, 2008 4:41 PM EDT reply reply 0 recs

Owen introduced the umbrella.

That was what the Giants used when Tunnell played. Patton played with him for four years. Lynch played his whole career with Patton. The Giants went to the 4-3 when Landry became Defensive Coordinator, I think beginning the year they drafted Huff, who was a lineman in college and had little chance of getting a spot on that front four as a rookie.

by george cronin on May 2, 2008 6:34 PM EDT reply reply 0 recs

Sehorn

I was lucky enough to meet him twice in AZ, and I have to say, next to probably Joe Jurevicius, he was probably the nicest athlete I’ve ever met. That being said, he doesn’t belong on that list. Another great Sehorn play:

Against the Jags in 2000, on the onside kick, he ran it back for a TD

One good story deserves another:

I voted for Dick Lynch. In 1998, I was living back in NJ, one of my best friends had a business trip to NYC (he lives in AZ but is a diehard Giants fan), and the Giants were playing the Bengals in pre-season game. You may remember this game because it was the first game ever played at GS on grass. Anyway, it was my friends first ever trip to Giants Stadium, so we were both pretty pumped. We got to the stadium, and were waiting for the gates to open. My friend asked the ticket taker at the gate if he would just let him in for a second to kiss the ground, a historic moment in his life. Dick Lynch is walking towards the gate, he was meeting someone there with tickets, heard my friends story, DICK LYNCH let us in the gates, took our picture, and then proceeded to tell us some awesome stories for almost 45 minutes. At that moment, he became one of my favorite all time Giants. Yes, Dick had had a few, but so what? So had we.

Thanks for letting me ramble, Dick Lynch is the man

Giants fan from the womb to the tomb

by jrs1940 on May 2, 2008 11:12 PM EDT reply reply 0 recs

Now that

is how you win elections! LOL

by ETVal on May 3, 2008 7:03 AM EDT up reply reply 0 recs

Great story,JR

Lynch was a great needler. Hornung called him the cockiest guy he ever met (they played together at ND.) Lynch called Robustelli the Pope (Andy used to boss everybody around, on the field and off), kneel in front of him and pretend to kiss his ring. I think Lynch was also the guy who cracked wise about Huff piling on.

by george cronin on May 3, 2008 10:31 AM EDT up reply reply 0 recs