the legacy of champ bailey

[tsiguy96]

with nmandi retiring, its time we put champs legacy and his greatness as an NFL DB into perspective as a lot of people lately are downplaying what he has done as an NFL player (i feel like the same thing is happening to ed reed as he is on his last legs).

there was a time when nmandi was considered the premiere shutdown corner over champ, then darelle revis, now richard sherman, every year or two it changes to the next big thing. champ has been to 12 pro bowls, 3 time first team NFL all pro, 52 career INT's and over 800 tackles, and one of the best years by a cornerback EVER in 2006.

anyone else somewhat concerned that when we collectively look back at champ baileys career down the line, people will remember his injury riddled years and playoff game against BAL more then they will remember his pure dominance? i definitely dont want that to affect his hall of fame eligibility either.

[Bronco]

champs the best cb to ever play in my eyes so i'm not too concerned about him missing a handful of games before he got his first lombardi.

[B-Large]

with nmandi retiring, its time we put champs legacy and his greatness as an NFL DB into perspective as a lot of people lately are downplaying what he has done as an NFL player (i feel like the same thing is happening to ed reed as he is on his last legs).

there was a time when nmandi was considered the premiere shutdown corner over champ, then darelle revis, now richard sherman, every year or two it changes to the next big thing. champ has been to 12 pro bowls, 3 time first team NFL all pro, 52 career INT's and over 800 tackles, and one of the best years by a cornerback EVER in 2006.

anyone else somewhat concerned that when we collectively look back at champ baileys career down the line, people will remember his injury riddled years and playoff game against BAL more then they will remember his pure dominance? i definitely dont want that to affect his hall of fame eligibility either.

I don't think this season has changed most peoples view of Champ being one if not the best of all time... I know he's lost a step, but I wanted to see him have one more solid year as we made a run to a Championship. There was a time when half the field was a no tread zone... It's been hard to watch the guy on the sides all year...

[B-Large]

champs the best cb to ever play in my eyes so i'm not too concerned about him missing a handful of games before he got his first lombardi.

I still think Deion was one of the finest cover guys ever, a debate could be made he edges Champ.... But Champ was complete, practically flawless in coverage and a tactically strong tackler... Plus a leader, refrained from the showboating ****....

[errand]

anyone else somewhat concerned that when we collectively look back at champ baileys career down the line, people will remember his injury riddled years and playoff game against BAL more then they will remember his pure dominance? i definitely dont want that to affect his hall of fame eligibility either.

I think most fans who know their NFL history will know how great of a player he was and how brilliant his career was. However you also have clowns who think emotionally and always seem to think negative.

for instance Jackie Smith had a Hall of Fame career, but what is he "known" for? Dropping a sure TD in SB XIII vs. the Steelers causing the Cowboys to settle for a FG in a 35-31 loss.

Earnest Byner had a very good career rushing for almost 8300 yards and scoring 56 TD's....but he's known for fumbling at the 2 with a huge hole to run thru in the '87 AFCCG preserving Denver's 38-33 victory.

Bill Buckner known for letting a ground ball go thru his legs enabling the Mets to come from behind and win the '86 World Series despite being a pretty damn good player.

Rahim Moore is evidently our best S this season...his absence is evidence of this, however he could end up being the next Smith, Atwater, Lott, or Reed and it wouldn';t matter to some clowns who only think he is the reason we didn't win vs. Ravens.

[BamaBronco16]

Bailey is going to put on a clinic in the playoffs this year, just watch.

[oubronco]

Champ is the Champ of CB's and don't you forget it

[broncocalijohn]

Someone must be cooking tonight to not troll this thread.

I just want him to be able to contribute for our Super Bowl run. He has been around the longest.

[Bigdawg26]

Champ is the most complete corner and maybe the best CB to ever play the game. I can remember the best pick I ever saw was in New Orleans in the end zone where he came out of no where and pick the ball off in the endzone and got two feet in.

[razorwire77]

Deion was the best pure cover Cb I've ever seen, but in terms of the total package (coverage, tackling, selflessness, mentoring, etc.) Champ is the best. The Brady pick in the Divisional ranks at the top of my live sporting event experiences. I don't want to speak about Champ in the past tense though, because I think he's saving something great for the playoffs. A game saving pick, a tackle on 4th and goal at the 3 to win a SB, something great. Then he will ride off into the sunset like John, as a champion.

[ShutDownPoster]

My two favorite corners in the last 10-12 years or so:

1. Champ Bailey
2. Peanut Tillman (underrated IMHO)

[Kid A]

With NFL players in certain positions, it's often best to look at how good they were in their top few years. And, as great as Champ has been over the long term, his complete and total dominance those first few years after the trade are still hard to believe happened, especially as the league rules turned pass happy. The number of games in that span where he didn't shut down half the field for 60 min can be counted on one hand.

Again, over a decade of pro-bowl level play makes him a lock for Canton. But, like most here feel about TD's brief career, the strength of just his few best years clearly set him apart from almost anyone else to play cornerback.

[orinjkrush]

the legacy of Champ: so close, so close. but....

[NUB]

Champ is the most complete corner and maybe the best CB to ever play the game. I can remember the best pick I ever saw was in New Orleans in the end zone where he came out of no where and pick the ball off in the endzone and got two feet in.

That's one of the coolest and most technically impressive plays I've ever seen. If I remember right, Aaron Brooks either whiffed on his aim or was throwing it out of bounds when Bailey just flies in parallel to the ground and knifes the ball out of the air, dragging his feet at the line as he goes out of bounds. I'm surprised it's so hard to find on the internet. It's also one of the great things about Champ, he doesn't play corner because he couldn't hack it at receiver or something. The dude catches almost anything that comes his way. He also dramatically changed a couple of Denver's seasons with timely interceptions, particularly the game-changer against San Diego and the (essentially) playoff winner vs. the Patriots.

I do think he's the best corner to ever play the game. Certainly the best of this generation. He was just as fast and athletic as Deion Sanders, too. In his prime, it was dangerous to throw anywhere near his area because he had the speed to cover ground extremely fast and catch passes that weren't even going to his guy. What puts him over Deion, for me anyway, is that Bailey's run coverage is almost preternatural with how he cuts through blocks, and his tackling itself is basically as textbook and efficient as you can get. He won't be nearly as remembered because he doesn't have the flashy personality or persona as some other guys, and he didn't go off and play mercenary for a number of Super Bowl teams either.

[KevinJames]

First ballot HOF without question.

I think hes done as a CB after this year unless he wants to stay in the slot, I see him moving to Safety I really do just watching him blitz the QB last game and the range he showed in the slot coming back and we all know he is one of the best tacklers ever if we are talking DBs only I could see him being transitioning quite nicely to safety. I also think he will give the Broncos a hometown discount when he switches over.

Hopefully we get him a SB or two before he retires