Debate of the Day.... Champ vs Pollack

Our QB debate started some good conversation, so we thought we would move over to defense for the next installment of the "Debate of the Day". These two guys were two of the best ever to wear the red and black. One of them has gone on to a Hall of Fame NFL career and the other's career got cut short due to injury. Here are some stats on Champ and Pollack with our picks below.

Champ Bailey

• 33 total games (24 starts) in 3 years
• 1st team All-SEC in '97 & '98
• NCAA All-American in '98
• Won Bronko Nagurski Award for top Defensive Player in country in '98
• Had 147 total tackles , 2 fumble recoveries, 1 forced fumble, and 8 interceptions
• Played over 950 snaps on offense and defense in '98
• Had 47 receptions for 744 yards and 5 touchdowns
• Averaged 103.5 all-purpose yards with special teams, rushing, and receiving in '98
• Future NFL Hall of Famer

David Pollack

• Only 2nd player in UGA history to be a 3-time All-American '02-'04 (Herschel)
• 1st team All-SEC from '02-'04
• SEC Player of the Year in '02
• Won Ted Hendricks Award (best defensive end) in '03-'04
• SEC Defensive Player of the Year in '04
• Won Lombardi Award in '04
• Won Lott Trophy in '04
• Won Chuck Bednarik Award in '04 for best Defensive Player in the country
• Recorded almost 280 total tackles
• Holds record for career sacks at UGA with 36

DRM's pick...

I think this debate is a lot closer than most people would think. Champ was amazing when he was in Athens. And he didn't get that much recognition until he started playing both ways. He was definitely a corner that would shut down one side of the field. His junior year was one of the best ever by any player in Athens history . BUT , we are talking about one of the best defensive players in NCAA history in David Pollack. He was the anchor of the defense during the best 4 year stretch of Georgia football history. He had one of the greatest defensive plays in history which single handily won the South Carolina game. He ranks 3rd in NCAA history with 36 career sacks. And was the crowd ever louder when he had one hand in the dirt and the other raised up trying to get the Dawgnation on their feet !!! My pick David Pollack

RB Dawg's Pick...

I thought this was going be an easy choice for me - Pollack is one of my favorite players of all time and the 2nd most decorated player in UGA history. But, then I started to really think about it. And it comes down to this - would I rather have the best DE in the country or the best shutdown CB in the country that also lines up at WR? It's the chicken or the egg argument - does the D-Line make the secondary look good because they are rushing the QB into bad throws or does the secondary make the D-Line look good because nobody can get open, thus forcing the QB to hold onto the ball longer? I can't believe I am going to type this, but I am going to take Champ. If he was on Richt's championship contending teams in the early 2000's instead of Donnan's underachieving teams, he would have gotten all kinds of Heisman hype, ala Charles Woodson when Michigan won it all. The dimension that he added to the offense to go along with shutting down half the field for our defense on every single play is just too much for me to pass up. Dude could absolutely fly and has gone on to be the best CB in the NFL over the last decade.

What do y'all think? Let us know your thoughts in the Comments below...