Come 2012 I'll take my chances with these guys

By Peter King

The rules for a team of tomorrow are so vague. Should you pick the greatest high school senior in the land? The greatest college sophomore? I refuse to put Matt Simms on the team, even though -- who knows? -- Phil's youngest son might turn out to be a heck of an NFL player when his career at Louisville (where he's enrolling this year) ends. I ended up deciding to pick a player or two from college football, but only the ones who look like true can't-missers.

Here were my rules: No one who has turned 28 is eligible, because a 28-year-old will be 33 in 2012, and other than the prospect of Peyton Manning still being on top of his game at 36 that season, I just felt it would defeat the purpose of the list to include players older than 33. No player younger than one entering his fourth year of college eligibility was chosen, because too many things can happen (injury, diminution of talent) with a player who has two years or more to go before he even starts his pro career. And one other thing -- I'm playing a 3-4 on defense. I think there will be more 3-4 teams in 2012 than 4-3.

In short, I have no idea how right I'll be, but these are my best guesses for the team of the year in 2012.

OFFENSIVE BACKS QB | Vince Young | Tennessee Titans I thought long and hard about JaMarcus Russell, because he's a much more efficient and accurate quarterback (right now) than Young. But I settled on the Tennessean because of how good he was as an NFL frosh running and throwing, and because he's such an electric player. And I figure his accuracy will improve in the next few seasons. RB | Steven Jackson | St. Louis Rams You'll never guess how old Jackson is right now. I'd have guessed 26 had I not looked it up. Nope. He just turned 24 last month. He's the type of versatile back who will dominate the position in the next generation -- and he'll be helped by the selfless play of our 2012 fullback ... FB | Brian Leonard | St. Louis Rams What's the definition of a good fullback as the NFL nears its 100th birthday? Two things: He's got be an unselfish blocker, and he's got to be able to get you some tough yards -- rushing or receiving -- on third down. Leonard will prove great at both. RECEIVERS WR | Calvin Johnson | Detroit Lions There are very few gimmes on this list. Johnson came out this year with the type of plaudits rarely heard before a guy plays his first NFL game. If he misses, lots of scouts should get fired. WR | Anthony Gonzalez | Indianapolis Colts Right player, right place, right quarterback, right time. Marvin Harrison is getting old, and by the time Gonzalez reaches his prime three years from now, Harrison will be on his way out and Gonzalez will be his talented heir -- a tough kid with excellent hands and good discipline to run the exact routes Peyton Manning wants. TE | Antonio Gates | San Diego Chargers He'll be 32 on opening day 2012, still catching balls from Philip Rivers and still making it impossible for teams to cover him with an outside linebacker. Gates, I think, will challenge the all-time greats by the time he leaves the game. OFFENSIVE LINEMEN T | Jason Peters | Buffalo Bills He just turned 25, and you could argue he'd be all-pro this year if he were a higher-profile guy in a higher-profile program. Watch him block the great pass-rushers in his division this year. He's becoming a road-grader with the kind of quick feet you need to keep the fast guys off the quarterback. G | Shawn Andrews | Philadelphia Eagles At 24, he's the best under-25 offensive lineman in football right now. The Eagles will tell you how much he dictates what they do on offense, because he can handle the best defensive tackles as well as pull to knock over the best outside linebackers. C | Nick Mangold | New York Jets Just watch the Jets play the next few years. You'll hear announcer after announcer talk about how this is one of the toughest centers in the league since Jim Otto. Smart, aggressive and a classic football player. G | Kris Dielman | San Diego Chargers Five years from now, he'll be 31, and LaDainian Tomlinson will tell anyone who'll listen: "This is the best offensive lineman I ever ran behind." T | Joe Thomas | Cleveland Browns It's just a gut feeling here. He has the mentality, the toughness, the intelligence and the drive -- I absolutely guarantee you he will not be spoiled by the millions he'll get with his rookie contract -- to be a great tackle for a long time. Weigh in with your comments and selections at FanNation. DEFENSIVE LINEMEN DE | Jarvis Moss | Denver Broncos I think Mike Shanahan has struck gold here. Moss, only 252 pounds now, will beef up to be able to stand up against the run, and he'll be the kind of pass-rusher the Broncos have been seeking since Trevor Pryce flew the coop for Baltimore. DT | Amobi Okoye | Houston Texans He'll be 25 on opening day 2012, and he'll just be heading into his dominant period as a player. Ask anyone at Louisville who coached him or played with him: This is a guy who will leave nothing to chance on his way to becoming a great NFL player. DE | Calais Campbell | University of Miami With the 'Canes last year, he had 10.5 sacks and 20.5 total tackles for loss. And he's 6-8. That's right. No funny business with the measurements either. Six-eight. He'll be a junior in his fourth college year this fall, so whether he comes out in the '08 or '09 draft, Campbell will have plenty of time to round into form as a great player within five years. LINEBACKERS OLB | Terrell Suggs | Baltimore Ravens How happy are the Ravens about Suggs? Just when all their great defensive players are either in severe decline or recently retired, this pass-rusher extraordinaire, on opening day 2012, will be 29 years old. He'll be one of the league's best pass-rushers for the next eight years. ILB | Ernie Sims | Detroit Lions He might go down in history as one of the few draft choices Matt Millen got right. He's a leader like no other Lion, and he's a versatile, 225-pound force on the outside or inside. He's got the staying power to be a tackling machine for a long time. ILB | Patrick Willis | San Francisco 49ers The 49ers wanted a plugger and playmaker for the middle of their defense this year, and Willis was the best MLB/ILB available. He won't be Ray Lewis going sideline-to-sideline, but he'll be excellent against the run and the kind of instinctive player to lead Mike Nolan's defense into the future. OLB | Shawne Merriman | San Diego Chargers I'm gambling that the man with 27 sacks in his first 27 NFL games -- who will be 28 in five years -- is going to keep his nose clean and fulfill his destiny. That's to become one of the best defensive players of all time. DEFENSIVE BACKS CB | Darrelle Revis | New York Jets The Cleveland Browns thought enough of him to have him ranked as a top-five player in the draft this year -- and the Jets thanked their lucky stars Revis was still there at No. 14. He's got excellent cover skills and is a willing tackler. SS | Eric Weddle | San Diego Chargers The kind of safety that will succeed as the game changes over the years is the versatile safety. That defines this second-round pick of the Chargers this year. GM A.J. Smith traded three picks to draft him, which was smart. Remember, he shut down Calvin Johnson in a 2005 bowl game, and he's a physical presence, too. FS | LaRon Landry | Washington Redskins When I watched the highlights of Landry before the draft last April, I kept thinking I was seeing Ronnie Lott. Tough, tough, tough. The Redskins think he can be the smart quarterback of the defense they've been looking for. CB | Nnamdi Asomugha | Oakland Raiders It's easy to say corners get long in the tooth earlier than players at other positions. But those who know him in Oakland say Asomugha is smart, takes great care of himself and is primed for a long career as a run-supporting, smart corner. He'll be 31 in 2012 -- but he'll still be 6-2 and the corner that quarterbacks will fear. Weigh in with your comments and selections at FanNation. SPECIAL TEAMS K | Stephen Gostkowski | New England Patriots As a rookie in New England last year, he grew with the pressure of the job. In the last half of the season, when the kicks got more important by the week, he went 12 of 14. He's no Vinatieri, but he'll lessen the blow of the Pats losing him. P | Mat McBriar | Dallas Cowboys Only two punters ever had a better average per punt than McBriar's 48.2-yard average last year, and he's just learning the game. The former Australian is the kind of weapon that makes coaches confident about playing the field-position game. Returner | Ted Ginn Jr. | Miami Dolphins When the booing dies down in Miami (Dol-fans are still upset that the team passed on Brady Quinn), the fans will see how great an all-around player Ginn is. Cam Cameron is going to make sure that he stays a great returner while he becomes an integral wide receiver for the Dolphins long-term. Player | Gerald Alexander | Detroit Lions Now, he might be a great safety by 2012, but the Lions drafted him last April with the idea that he'll bring energy over the next few years to special teams as well as the starting secondary -- if he plays well enough to earn a starting job. He's a headhunter with boundless energy. COACHES Head Coach | Mike Tomlin | Pittsburgh Steelers I knew he had a heck of a chance to succeed in the profession's cradle of coaches a few months ago, when I related to him a few things that his players were saying about him. He chuckled. "Peter, they should be concerned with what I think about them." He's a smart defensive guy who will never stop learning. Offensive Coordinator | Jason Garrett | Dallas Cowboys Talk football with him sometime and you'll see why everyone who has played with him and coached him thinks he's going to be a great coach in this league for a long time. He's a smart guy with lots of good ideas about new things that can work in a traditional game. Defensive Coordinator | Joe Barry | Detroit Lions It stunned me to see that Barry was born in 1970. I've heard so many good things about him and his precocious defensive mind that I couldn't believe that he'll only be 42 in 2012 -- and could well be a head coach. He'll be the kind of motivator and strategist that will attract owners to him in the next few years. Weigh in with your comments and selections at FanNation.