| ProFootballFocus NFC Pro Bowl Squad |
| Pos. |
Name |
Team |
Comment |
| Starters in bold, players also
considered in grey |
| |
|
|
|
| QB |
Drew Brees |
NO |
For once the 109.5 passer rating is probably accurate; our
current MVP |
| QB |
Aaron Rodgers |
GB |
Initially there was so much
rot talked about sacks people forgot what a great player he is |
| QB |
Brett Favre |
MIN |
Excellent to Week 12. Has he hit the "Veteran
Wall"? |
| |
Kurt Warner |
ARZ |
Once again dragged a bottom five offensive line to the NFC
West Title |
| |
|
|
|
| HB |
Steven Jackson |
STL |
Started poorly and got better. Hardly vintage but kept it
going well |
| HB |
Adrian Peterson |
MIN |
Almost the opposite of
Jackson. Great start, poor recently. The fumbles kill him |
| HB |
DeAngelo Williams |
CAR |
Nowhere close to last year but still just about good
enough |
| |
Pierre Thomas |
NO |
Although he still struggles
with his pass protection the rest of his game is only hampered by injury and
a lack of carries |
| |
Michael Turner |
ATL |
A season de-railed by injury
but impressive nevertheless, no threat catching the ball but a real force
running it |
| |
|
|
|
| WR |
Larry Fitzgerald |
ARZ |
Tough to follow those playoffs but a better regular season
than 2008 |
| WR |
Sidney Rice |
MIN |
From nowhere to a Pro Bowl certainty …..well can you ever
be that sure? |
| WR |
Miles Austin |
DAL |
Puts in clear relief just how bad the Roy Williams trade
really was |
| WR |
Marques Colston |
NO |
Too many drops but still
high class production particularly given the other toys Brees has to juggle
with |
| |
Steve Smith |
NYG |
Was on our list until now.
In the end his season became just too lop-sided in favour of the start |
| |
Robert Meachem |
NO |
Finally developed into the
dangerous downfield threat that the Saints thought they were getting in the
first round a couple of years back. |
| |
Percy Harvin |
MIN |
Freakishly tough over the
middle, 1 shy of leading the league in missed tackles with only 49 catches. |
| |
DeSean Jackson |
PHI |
Why no Jackson we hear the
Philly fans scream? Slightly boom or
bust, the fumbles didn't help and his blocking is beyond shocking. Why push
him over our choices? |
| |
|
|
|
| TE |
Jason Witten |
DAL |
For a change this year his blocking was better than his
receiving |
| TE |
Kevin Boss |
NYG |
Not great staying in to pass block but excellent at
everything else |
| |
Tony Gonzalez |
ATL |
For a player known for his
blocking he struggled too much with it this year for us |
| |
|
|
|
| C |
Shaun O'Hara |
NYG |
Very solid particularly as a run blocker |
| C |
Ryan Kalil |
CAR |
Brilliant early; an awful
last three games (weeks 13-15) nearly knocked him into third place |
| |
Jamaal Jackson |
PHI |
No penalties all year highlights his consistancy |
| |
|
|
|
| T |
Kareem McKenzie (RT) |
NYG |
Excellent run-blocking compensated for average pass
protection |
| T |
Jeff Backus (LT) |
DET |
Considering previous
struggles did well this year in an NFC Tackle class that underwhelmed |
| T |
Jason Peters (LT) |
PHI |
Had his poor days but the
problems when he was injured were manifestly more obvious |
| |
Jon Stinchcomb |
NO |
Stuggled between Weeks 3-9
but otherwise was probably the pick of the crop |
| |
|
|
|
| G |
Jahri Evans (RG) |
NO |
In terms of dominant run
blocking took up where Logan Mankins left off last year |
| G |
Carl Nicks (LG) |
NO |
We thought replacing Jamar Nesbit was a mistake. Oh well! |
| G |
Chris Snee (RG) |
NYG |
His game dipped with the
Giants performance but not enough to keep him out |
| |
Josh Sitton |
GB |
Has been a shining light in Green Bay's mess of a line |
| |
|
|
|
| FB |
Ovie Mughelli |
ATL |
Traditional full back who does what is asked; our top
rated blocker |
| |
Leonard Weaver |
PHI |
Not close to the blocker
Mughelli is but a more rounded option in the backfield |
| |
|
|
|
| DE |
Justin Smith |
SF |
Gets more pressure on the QB than any 3-4 end has a right
to. |
| DE |
Trent Cole |
PHI |
Every bit the pass rusher
Andre Carter is and stratospherically better in the running game |
| DE |
Justin Tuck |
NYG |
In a sack crazy world this
place will go to Jared Allen but Tuck was MUCH better against the run |
| |
Jared Allen |
MIN |
Great pass rusher but spent
too much time leaning on the LT when the opposition ran |
| |
Andre Carter |
WAS |
Shock & awe pass rusher.
The word "lightweight" doesn't do him justice as a run defender |
| |
|
|
|
| DT |
Kevin Williams |
MIN |
If you had to pencil in one
guy before the season started it should be Williams and you'd be right every
time |
| DT |
Jonathan Babineaux |
ATL |
Plays every down he can and every one flat out. Good in
all phases |
| DT |
Albert Haynesworth |
WAS |
Not the down year many
suspected but injury took its toll |
| |
Pat Williams |
MIN |
Back at his best vs. the run but gets no pressure at all |
| |
Jay Ratliff |
DAL |
If you saw his best games
you'd think we were mad not to include him but he also disappeared for many
games as well |
| |
|
|
|
| OLB |
DeMarcus Ware |
DAL |
Probably the best player in the NFL. Can do everything and
do it well |
| OLB |
Anthony Spencer |
DAL |
His year puts in clear
relief why sacks are the most missunderstood of all statistics |
| OLB |
Clay Matthews |
GB |
Just continues to get better and better with every game |
| |
Geno Hayes |
TB |
The Bucs got flak for
letting Derrick Brooks go, so where's the credit for the play of Hayes in his
stead? Equally good against run & pass |
| |
|
|
|
| ILB |
Patrick Willis |
SF |
His greatness lies in the
fact that even in this strangely muted season he's still far better than
anyone else |
| ILB |
Nick Barnett |
GB |
We
thought the move to 3-4 would spell his demise. Wrong again, he's far more
solid in all facets than ever before |
| |
David Hawthorne |
SEA |
We've never been big fans of
Lofa Tatupu and maybe Hawthorne demonstrates why |
| |
|
|
|
| CB |
Charles Woodson |
GB |
There's no doubt Woodson and
Revis will be the All-Pro tandem but who is actually playing better? |
| CB |
Dominique R-Cromartie |
ARZ |
Had an epihany of sorts
against the Giants in week 7 and never looked back |
| CB |
Sheldon Brown |
PHI |
You can understand his
frustration that he is gettng paid less than his teammate Asante Samuel |
| |
Antoine Winfield |
MIN |
We tried not to let his
shocker last week against Steve Smith distract us too much but it probably
did |
| |
|
|
|
| SS |
Reed Doughty |
WAS |
The Skins took their time
getting him into the lineup full time but he has shown why this move
should've come long ago |
| |
Adrian Wilson |
ARZ |
Will people realise that
Adrian is actually far better in coverage than all the blitzing and run
defense he's hyped for? |
| |
|
|
|
| FS |
Nick Collins |
GB |
Very solid display in both coverage and run support |
| |
Darren Sharper |
NO |
Initially made a number of big plays. His impact since has
waned |
| |
|
|
|
| K |
David Akers |
PHI |
28 of 31 on Field Goals and
only the NFC Kick-Off specialists are better than Akers in restarts |
| |
|
|
|
| P |
Andy Lee |
SF |
Another great year from Lee
but this time he was pushed very close by Graham |
| |
Ben Graham |
ARZ |
The numbers are almost
identical to Andy Lee with an edge to Graham in IN20; we'll stick with our
system and a Lee win by a whole 1.7 grading points |
| |
|
|
|
| KR |
Percy Harvin |
MIN |
Only returns kicks but well
& has the big play TDs to edge him past Eric Weems. |
| |
Eric Weems |
ATL |
Returns punts, unlike
Harvin, but doesn't have the big plays on top of the consistency to take the
Pro Bowl spot. |
| |
|
|
|
| ST |
Tim Shaw |
CHI |
Covers punts and kick-offs with skill. 13 tackles without
miss or penalty |
| |
Torrie Cox |
TB |
Tampa Bay's leading Special Teamer made 12 tackles with
only 1 miss |
|
|
|
|