Back in 2008 and 2009, we conducted a group of polls to select an all-time team for the San Francisco 49ers. The time has come to re-vote as we've had some changes in the last couple years to justify providing some new polling options.
In voting for the original team, I instituted the "Gary Plummer Rule", which said that a player had to be on the 49ers for four seasons to be eligible for the team. The reason for that was in part due to Patrick Willis only having two seasons under his belt when we got this voting going. It is noteworthy that Justin Smith completed his fourth year this past season, and we'll be getting him included in the polling options as well.
The first poll will be posted tomorrow morning. Some positions have automatic entries because the choice is particularly obvious. For example, our two defensive tackles were Leo Nomellini and Bryant Young. We conducted no poll for the position because of their dominance for this franchise. I can think of a couple other positions where there will be no vote as well.
In order to maximize the roster, we have a four-man defensive line as well as four linebackers. Performance in 3-4 versus 4-3 does not disqualify you from a given position given the different roles. Also, the 49ers list Justin Smith as a defensive tackle, but given his work at defensive end and the two defensive tackles already in place on our team, Smith will be included in polling at defensive end.
I'm open to any and all suggestions for other ideas in conducting these polls. I've posted the last voted team after the jump. If you click on a player's name it will take you to their All-Time team article.
Coach - Bill Walsh
Offense
QB #1 - Joe Montana
QB #2 - Steve Young
T - Bob St. Clair
G - Guy McIntyre
C - Jesse Sapolu
G - Randy Cross
T - Harris Barton
RB - Roger Craig
FB - Tom Rathman
TE - Brent Jones
WR #1 - Jerry Rice
WR #2 - John Taylor
Defense
DE - Fred Dean
DT - Leo Nomellini
DT - Bryant Young
DE - Cedrick Hardman
OLB - Charles Haley
ILB - Ken Norton
ILB - Gary Plummer
OLB - Keena Turner
CB - Jimmy Johnson
CB - Eric Wright
S - Ronnie Lott
S - Merton Hanks
Special Teams
K - Joe Nedney
P - Andy Lee