Which player in the NFL is an absolute cannot lose to injury player?

[PATRIOT64]

I thought this would be an interesting question to see who in here thinks is so important and valuable to a team so much that if that person would end up on IR before the season started that team would virtually have no chance at a Super Bowl championship.

Is there any irresplacable player or players that you think would absolutely destroy a teams hope of winning it all?

I can really only think of three guys that absolutely cannot be replaced and whose respective teams championship hopes would perish into the sunset.

Those 3 guys IMO are...

Tom Brady (Cassell is not the answer,at least right now and as I see it)

Peyton Manning (no way does Indy do anything without the 'cut that meat' man behind center)

Ladanian Tomlinson (I have no hope that Rivers would be able to do it with a less than adequate set of receivers and Turner would be a good replacement but definately not enough.

Your views?

 

[unoriginal]

The only two I could think of from a Super Bowl-esqe team would be:

Drew Brees, NO
Brian Westbrook, PHI

Two others for longshot teams:

Donald Driver, GB
Frank Gore, SF

NFC has a lot of half-built teams like that.

 

[DougGabriel2007]

As great as LT is, I do think Micahel Turner could fill in for him. There is a reason like 8 teams wanted Turner this offseason.... I tihnk the list is mostly QBs such as Brees, Brady, Manning, Palmer just cause the importance of the position.....

 

[Remix 6]

Champ Bailey - if hes out for a long time..those 2 safeties will get eaten alive..i dont care how good you think Bly and Foxworth are.

 

[dhamz]

The big time QBs are obvious. None of those teams can afford to lose them for a significant length of time.

Champ Bailey is a good one.

I'd add that Larry Johnson is the Chiefs offense and they have no shot without him.

 

[Keegs]

Carson Palmer.

His IQ is higher than the rest of the team's IQs combined.

they would suck royally without him.

 

[Va_Pats_Fan]

Manning. They don't win 6 games without him.

 

[TomBrady'sGoat]

LDT? They have Turner backing him up and other offensive weapons like Rivers and Gates. It'd hurt but it'd hardly be the disaster losing a top QB is.

Obviously Peyton is #1. Brady may be #2, but at least NE has a defense to fall back on.

When I think of guys you don't want to lose, I think of interior run-stuffers, like a 3-4 NT or a 4-3 ILB. I'm not going to bother to figure out which ones would be missed the most, and I lack the knowledge to do so anyway.

 

[mavfan2390]

On the Patriots, I think we're screwed if Wilfork goes down. He is extremely underrated because he's surrounded by two top-ten DE's, but he may the best lineman on the team. He is a VITAL component of the 3-4, and the fact of the matter is, we have no one else who can play nose for long periods of time.

 

[BWareofDWare]

These are the players I picked. My basic criteria was based on how I think they'd play in 2007 and what individuals would mean the difference in a 4 Win-Loss swing. (i.e. if I thought The Bears would go 12-4 with Brian Urlacher, without him I'm saying I don't think they'd win more than 8 games.)

Dallas - Romo, don't have much confidence in Brad Johnson after last year.
Chicago - Brian Urlacher, heart and soul of their defense which is what makes that team.
New Orleans - Drew Brees, pretty obvious why.
Carolina - Steve Smith because he is their most explosive player and opens up everything their offense does.
Atlanta - I think he's very overrated but Mike Vick has to be the guy, now that Schuab is gone.


New England - Tom Brady, pretty obvious why again.
Miami - Jason Taylor, guy is a freak.
Baltimore - Players have come and gone but when Ray Lewis has been on the field the Ravens have had a Super Bowl defense, just haven't found that QB to make them an annual true threat.
Cincinnati - Carson Palmer, again obvious.
Indy- Peyton

 

[mgteich]

The QB's: Brady, Manning, Palmer and Brees.

How about Urlacher?

 

[sieglo]

I think the Pats without Brady might be surprisingly okay. Particularly now that we have competent receivers. Hopefully we'll never have to find out.

 

[rabthepat]

Indy - Manning, without him they are 6-10

Pats - Goskowski, he did terrific in the play offs for a rookie.

Chargers - most Chargers fans I know are very positive about Mike Turner. They would like to see him get some more carries.

Miami - Jason Taylor, without him why would you ever go to a Fins game?

Jets - Eric Man"JERKY", he is the most exciting thing about that boring team.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

Pats - Goskowski, he did terrific in the play offs for a rookie.

Miami - Jason Taylor, without him why would you ever go to a Fins game?

You could go to see the electrifying Wes We . . . oops, never mind.

 

[drpatriot]

The 49ers are completely done without Frank Gore. They would become the worst team in the league.

I would also say subtracting Manning or Addai from the Colts would make it difficult for them to win, especially with the depth they have behind them.

I believe that the Bengals and Saints without Carson Palmer or Drew Brees would have their seasons end quite quickly.

The Bears are screwed without Urlacher. Not because I think he's the best linebacker to come in a long time, but without the leader of their defense they could easily get lost on the field. Urlacher's disappearance would have a bad effect on the other players, and that is the problem.

Finally, the Falcons are likely done without Vick because they traded Schaub away and I don't trust any quarterback behidn him on the roster. It's too bad for them because of all of the dogfighting allegations going around and he could lose his spot.

 

[rabthepat]

You could go to see the electrifying Wes We . . . oops, never mind.

I know Steven G. is a reach but I could name Tom's back up and Maroney's. I can't even guess who would take Steven's place so I went with him.

 

[dhamz]

I know Steven G. is a reach but I could name Tom's back up and Maroney's. I can't even guess who would take Steven's place so I went with him.

The same can be said for every kicker in football. And Punter for that matter since teams only carry 1 of each.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

The same can be said for every kicker in football. And Punter for that matter since teams only carry 1 of each.

I know Steven G. is a reach but I could name Tom's back up and Maroney's. I can't even guess who would take Steven's place so I went with him.

I can . . . such is the genius of Belioli.

At least in the short term, Gostkowski's backup would be Welker. :rocker:

 

[brdmaverick]

I think Peyton Manning means more to the Colts than Brady does to the Pats.

In other words, if both players sat out the year, the Pats would have the better record.

 

[wistahpatsfan]

Patriots - Randy Moss...I think....