I have thought about doing this for several weeks and I picked the end of week 9 for a couple of reasons. I think it will be more accurate to have 8 teams having completed 9 games played rather than 20 teams with 7 games played for a mid-season report.
What I am going to do is breakdown what Pro-Bowl selections and All-Pro selections should be made based on Pro Football Focus’ rankings. I know there is no shortage of critics of PFF but I’ll take the use of the site by NFL teams and agents over opinions of a couple of posters on a sports blog.
Now let’s get down to the rankings. Some of them will be challenging (mostly on defense) with some teams playing different fronts.
|
AFC Defense: |
NFC Defense: | ||
| Defensive End: | Defensive End: | ||
| Cameron Wake – Miami Dolphins | Jason Pierre-Paul – New York Giants | ||
| Chandler Jones – New England Patriots | Calais Campbell – Tampa Bay Buccaneers | ||
| J.J. Watt – Houston Texans | Charles Johnson – Carolina Panthers | ||
| Defensive Tackle: | Defensive Tackle: | ||
| Geno Atkins – Cincinnati Bengals | Gerald McCoy – Tampa Bay Buccaneers | ||
| Muhammad Wilerson – New York Jets | Kevin Williams – Minnesota Vikings | ||
| Randy Starks – Miami Dolphins | Jason Hatcher – Dallas Cowboys | ||
| Outside linebacker: | Outside linebacker: | ||
| Von Miller – Denver Broncos | Clay Matthews – Green Bay Packers | ||
| Philip Wheeler – Oakland Raiders | Lance Briggs – Chicago Bears | ||
| Justin Houston – Kansas City Chiefs | Anthony Spencer – Dallas Cowboys | ||
| Inside/middle linebacker: | Inside/middle linebacker: | ||
| Karlos Dansby – Miami Dolphins | Patrick Willis – San Francisco 49ers | ||
| Brandon Spikes – New England Patriots | NaVorro Bowman – San Francisco 49ers | ||
| Cornerback: | Cornerback: | ||
| Sheldon Brown – Cleveland Browns | Antoine Winfield – Minnesota Vikings | ||
| Alterraun Verner – Tennessee Titans | Charles Tillman – Chicago Bears | ||
| Devin McCourty – New England Patriots | Casey Hayward – Green Bay Packers | ||
| Safety: | Safety: | ||
| Reshad Jones – Miami Dolphins | Ronde Barber – Tampa Bay Buccaneers | ||
| Eric Weddle – San Diego Chargers | Kerry Rhodes – Ariznoa Cardinals | ||
| Jairus Byrd – Buffalo Bills | Dashon Goldson – San Francisco 49ers | ||
| AFC Special Teams: | NFC Special Teams: | ||
| Punter: | Punter: | ||
| Donnie Jones – Houston Texans | Thomas Morstead – New Orleans Saints | ||
| Placekicker: | Placekicker: | ||
| Justin Tucker – Baltimore Ravens | Blair Walsh – Minnesota Vikings | ||
| Kick returner: | Kick returner: | ||
| Marcus Thigpen – Miami Dolphins | David Wilson – New York Giants (Percy Harvin is selected as WR) | ||
| Special-teamer: | Special-teamer: | ||
| Olivier Vernon – Miami Dolphins | Niles Paul – Washington Redskins | ||
* Note: Players in bold would be 1st team All-Pro selections
The eight teams that have played nine games are: Tennessee, Minnesota, NYG, Seattle, Cleveland, Green Bay, Arizona and Washington.
In doing this I found a few surprises, most notably was the few undefeated Atlanta Falcon players there were listed. Since some of the teams played an extra game it gave their players an extra game to move up the rankings so when 2 players were tied or within 0.5 points I selected the player with fewer played games.
As a reminder to the critics out there, this isn't based on stats it based on an overall individual ranking that includes things like penalties. For those critics, before posting a negative view I urge you to read this Wall Street Journal article about PFF: Wall Street Journal
Well I hope you enjoyed this mid season Pro-Bowl selection list, I know I enjoyed doing it but I love other statistical metrics (I guess that is why I love things like the NBA's PER).
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