Pro Bowl Cheat Sheet: Week 12
November 30th, 2011 | Author: Neil Hornsby
The NFL has become a league based on highlights. As the line between fantasy and real football continues to blur in many peoples eyes a couple of highlight plays in a big game, or a single sentence from a respected commentator can mean the difference between being in Hawaii or not. Last year, DeAngelo Hall picked off Jay Cutler four times in a game and it was pack your bags right there and then. Who cares during the season he allowed more touchdowns than picks he made, and who cares only Mike Jenkins gave up more yards?
I have a view that if you give me ANY regular NFL starter, I can choose ten plays from this seasons body of work that will make him look like a Pro Bowler. Conversely, for the same player, I could choose ten plays that will make him look like benching material. The point is that its not those plays that matter. Its the thousand in between that count for substantially more than the 20 on the perimeter.
Lets look at who deserves recognition when we take every play into consideration.
AFC
Offense (starters bolded)
Quarterbacks: Tom Brady (NE), Ben Roethlisberger (PIT) & Ryan Fitzpatrick (BUF)
Theres a big gap between Brady and the others, but with Schaub now out whose next? Unbelievable as it may sound the level of play at this position in the AFC is so low its down to either Fitzpatrick or Matt Moore (MIA). Obviously if Schaub was still playing hed be well ahead of these two but we have an 11 of 15 game base-line and clearly he wont be hitting that.
Halfbacks: Maurice Jones-Drew (JAX), Arian Foster (HOU) & Cedric Benson (CIN)
Another player to fall at the last hurdle of our minimum number of games criteria was Fred Jackson (BUF). His work as a receiver and a pass blocker would have put him out in front but as with all these choices, its really a case of which skill-set you value most. Lack of fumbling is one of those and Jones-Drew only just overcomes his problems in that area. Arian Foster, as with Jackson, is solid in all areas (except hanging onto the ball) and therefore well take the more sure-handed Cedric Benson (CIN) to round out the set despite him not doing much as a receiver.
Fullback: Vonta Leach (BAL)
More snaps than any other fullback and blocking better than anyone in the conference. I understand Raider fans will probably see a place for Marcel Reece (OAK) who does a fantastic job both rushing and receiving. Hes a weapon all right but a blocker? Sorry, in that regard hes bottom third which isnt a surprise as hes a converted wide receiver.
Tight Ends: Rob Gronkowski (NE) & Owen Daniels (HOU)
Take away the penalties and you have the perfect tight end in Gronkowski; the best pass catcher in the AFC and the best blocker in the whole of the NFL. After that its pick your poison with good receivers who cant block Daniels and Antonio Gates (SD), or decent blockers who dont get enough receptions Anthony Fasano (MIA) and Joel Dreessen (HOU). Daniels zero dropped passes swayed me in his direction.
Wide Receivers: Wes Welker (NE), Mike Wallace (PIT), Dwayne Bowe (KC) & Antonio Brown (PIT)
Brandon Marshall (MIA) continues to drop passes at an alarming rate which brought me down to a choice between Anquan Boldin (BAL) and Brown for the last spot. Antonio who? Pittsburgh fans will already know him but Im not sure any wide receiver has done as much good work over the last five weeks as Brown. 102, 67, 109, 86 and 81 yards respectively is making Roethlisbergers life a lot easier. As for Boldin, hes had some great days but been a little boom or bust for my tastes.
Tackles: Joe Thomas, LT (CLE), Eric Winston, RT (HOU) & Michael Roos LT (TEN)
Nobody has pass protected better over the last seven weeks than Thomas. In those games hes given up only one sack, four hurries and no hits. David Stewart (TEN) has actually done a slightly better job in pass protection than Winston but hes not close to the run blocker the Texan right tackle is. Roos (TEN) is the next man up with a very balanced performance, just pushing him ahead of Andrew Whitworth (CIN) whos run-blocking is too far behind his excellent work in pass protection.
Guards: Andy Levitre, LG (BUF), Marshall Yanda RG, (BAL) & Brian Waters, RG (NE)
Levitre may not be at the top of our guard rankings yet but Im calling foul. Up until last week, when he returned to his normal position, hed started three games at tackle and another at center. Im not saying he was great at either but he was better than a lot of the usual starting players across the league in those positions. Please join me in ensuring he at least gets his reward of a Pro Bowl berth.
Centers: Chris Myers (HOU) & Nick Mangold (NYJ)
Im fairly sure, given how far he is ahead in our rankings, no one will beat Myers to the starting job but Mangold is still in a race for the back up position with Jeff Saturday (IND) and Matt Birk (BAL) hot on his heels.
Defense
Defensive Ends: Terrell Suggs (BAL), Andre Carter (NE) & Brett Keisel (PIT)
Suggs is nailed on as the best DE in the AFC to those who say hes an OLB, lining up with his hand on the ground 56% of the time and (more importantly) dropping in coverage only 11.5% of the time says hes not. From a perspective of rushing the passer Antonio Smith (HOU) deserves a mention but too many penalties (seven),and a weakness against the run, keep him just off the plane.
Defensive/Nose Tackles: Geno Atkins (CIN), Richard Seymour (OAK) & Haloti Ngata (BAL)
All these guys do a great job vs. run and pass but for those of you who like your zero techniques there are two guys playing lights out stopping the run for their respective teams. Sione Pouha (NYJ) does a brilliant job in that regard as does Broderick Bunkley (DEN). Id love to find space for either but the trio at the top are all too balanced to omit.
Outside Linebackers: Von Miller (DEN), Kamerion Wimbley (OAK) & Cameron Wake (MIA)
OK, Ive seen enough. It has to be said. All this talk of Miller for the Defensive Rookie of the Year is sadly missing the point by as much as Blaine Gabbert misses his receivers. Von Miller is the best defensive player in the NFL. Period. Sam Monson is working on an article going into more detail as you read this but if you cant wait then beg, borrow or steal some tape of the Denver defense and youll see exactly where were coming from. In other news, as saddened as I am to leave out PFF favorite Daryl Smith (JAX), there was no way I could ignore Wakes sheer quantity of pressure.
Middle linebackers: Ray Lewis (BAL) & Brian Cushing (HOU)
Im happy with the top two but lots of guys have played well in this position. To mention a couple of guys just missing out, Derrick Johnson (KC) and Paul Posluszny (JAX) have had excellent seasons despite all the turmoil around them.
Cornerbacks: Johnathan Joseph (HOU), Darrelle Revis (NYJ) & Lardarius Webb (BAL)
A couple of sub-par games havent got me off the Revis bandwagon yet but Joseph is the man with the momentum. Not only does Webb have a rating of only 58.6 throwing into his coverage but hes yet to give up a touchdown as well.
Safeties: Ed Reed (BAL), Jarius Byrd (BUF) & Eric Weddle (SD)
As much as I love Troy Polamalu, his maddening inconsistency particularly in coverage, has driven me into the arms of others. Coverage ratings for safeties do need to be used with caution but 57.2 (Reed), 79.9 (Byrd) and 38.5 (Weddle) are all so much better than Polamalus 105.8 that its worth mentioning in this context.
Special Teams
Kicker: Sebastian Janikowski (OAK), Punter: Shane Lechler (OAK), Returner: Antonio Brown (PIT), ST: Jeromy Miles (CIN)