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My All-Pro team
Offense | Defense I am sitting at the midpoint of a forest of charts that stretches into three rooms and threatens to absorb a fourth. The charts represent the documentation of my all-pro candidates, the distillation of 136 games seen live, on the tube or on coaching films. Space players -- wideouts, runners, cover people and the like -- occupy the dining room table. Offensive linemen are on the big table in the den, where they are rudely elbowing my wife's art books onto the rug. Defensive linemen are competing with the bagels on the kitchen table, advancing dangerously toward the stove area and fiery oblivion. No horizontal surface is safe, except for the floor. In bygone days it was fair game, but the old back can't take it any more. All this so that a casual observer can glance at my all-pro list and sneer, "Pat Tillman! Who the hell is that? Dr. Z's going loony on us."
Pat Tillman, my all-pro strong safety from the Arizona Cardinals, is what is known as a chart monster. At the beginning of the grading period, which takes roughly three full days, there's a dim awareness that he has had some good outings and needs further analysis, and then, stringing together all his numbers, I discover, hello, that he has defeated the competition -- by a lot. And I have a sleeper. Merton Hanks jumped out of my chart a year or two before the world discovered him. Ditto Tommy Jackson for the 1976 Broncos, a year before they were in the Super Bowl. It happens. Here, then, is my 2000 All-Pro team, along with the near misses: OffenseQuarterback: Donovan McNabb, Philadelphia This is one area in which a grading system breaks down. Just as that stupid system of counting the total punches in a prize fight makes no sense, so it is with trying to attach numbers to a quarterback. I'm not talking about a passer. Numbers can serve a purpose in rating passers, but I'm talking about evaluating the total performance of the man who runs the show. Until last weekend McNabb and Kurt Warner, the league's best pure passer, were running neck and neck, but McNabb's performance against Tampa Bay, the way he was bleeding first downs out of nothing, in the teeth of that vicious defense, clinched it for me. Even more interesting were the sideline shots. Warner looked like a guy on his way to prison, McNabb was bright-eyed, energized, a person just itching to take you on for money -- name the game. And that's the way he played during the latter part of the season, in the money games. Third on my list was Rich Gannon, who had a career season, but McNabb did it with fewer skill people around him. Running Back: Marshall Faulk, St. Louis I love it when I can make a choice without any head-scratching. Usually backs fall into one of two categories, runner or receiver. One skill generally dominates. I can't remember a running back equally gifted in both -- until now. Fullback: Tony Richardson, Kansas City No NFL team lines up with two running backs, so why should an all-pro unit be crafted that way? Beats me. Maybe because no one has the heart to stiff Eddie George. I don't like to leave Eddie off my team, either, but a fullback is a fullback. To earn honors at the position, I feel he has to be on the field at least most of the time. Richardson, the Chiefs' leading rusher and a tireless blocker, certainly qualifies. My runner-up was the Jets' Richie Anderson, a freak fullback who goes out on the flank and shows wideout skills. That's how the Jets beat Miami, but, unfortunately, Richie's fumbles and drops were costly down the stretch -- which cost him a spot on my team. Wide Receivers: Randy Moss, Minnesota, and Ed McCaffrey, Denver It doesn't often fall into your lap so easily. Flier on one side, possession guy on the other. Sure, Moss loafs on occasion, but just when you're ready to throw up your hands, he breaks the game open with some miraculous catch that only he can make. I can't think of a single player who can turn a game so fast. Every time I see McCaffrey play I say a little prayer that he'll leave the field in an upright position. Why does he consistently absorb so many kill-shots? But he always seems to come back; he's always the guy who will pick up exactly enough yardage for the first down, which describes a possession receiver, doesn't it? Usually my process of picking wideouts is long and arduous, involving a game-by-game breakdown. This year it was easy. Tight End: Tony Gonzalez, Kansas City An easy pick here, too, based mainly on his importance to the offense, backed up by overpowering numbers that greatly outdistance the competition. The only knock on him is that he drops the ball on occasion -- and that every time I see him play I have to hear that drivel about how no one can cover him -- linebacker, safety, etc. Tackles: Jonathan Ogden, Baltimore, and Willie Roaf, New Orleans
Guards: Larry Allen, Dallas, and Mark Dixon, Miami Allen graded highest, but lower than he did in any year since I started looking at him. Call it general malaise that affected his team. Dixon was a narrow choice over the Jets' young Randy Thomas, who's smooth and precise in his pickups and blocks on the move. The best guard I saw in space was the Giants' Glenn Parker, who really can get out in front of the sweeps -- and always seems to pick the right target. But he's not quite as effective on his pass blocking as the others. Mulitalo now ranks with Allen as the league's best guard, blocking for the run, but he can get beaten by combination pass-rush schemes. Center: Tom Nalen, Denver Smart and quick, a perfect fit for Alex Gibbs' block-on-the-move scheme that cranks out a 1,000-yard runner every year, no matter who he might be. The Ravens' two monsters inside overpowered him, but that can happen to anybody. Runner-up: the Vikings' Matt Birk, who will be terrific. Sleeper No. 1: the Colts' Jeff Saturday. Sleeper No. 2: the Bears' Casey Wiegmann, who's not even a full-time starter. Biggest disappointment: Jeff Christy, who was supposed to firm up the Bucs' O-line but was basically invisible. DefenseEnds: Rob Burnett, Ravens, and Hugh Douglas, Eagles Here's what Burnett means to the Ravens: He's the only member of their front four who can rush the passer and still stand firm at the point. Which allows the tackles, Tony Siragusa and Sam Adams, to slant away from Burnett and toward Michael McCrary, freeing him to rush upfield, a skill at which he excels. It's a terrific scheme, and Burnett, who never takes a play off and can put on a serious pass rush of his own, is the guy who makes it go. Douglas is basically a sack specialist, but enough of a hustler that he'll pick up running plays on the go. Again, the motor keeps running. Those two graded highest in my system, and then came, in order, Miami's Jason Taylor, Tampa Bay's Marcus Jones, K.C.'s Eric Hicks and Tennessee's Kenny Holmes. Tackles: La'Roi Glover, New Orleans, and Warren Sapp, Tampa Bay Same pair as everyone else had, I'm sorry to say. Glover has really polished his game to the extent that he combines lightning penetration with excellent run-stopping techniques. Plays low, with great leverage and balance, which you don't see too often. Sapp started the season with a thunderous roar, a cannonball tearing offenses apart, but as the season wore on, a steady diet of unrelenting double-teaming, plus a cockamamie offense that was forever leaving the Bucs' defense on the field too long, took its toll. By playoff time Sapp could put on one burst, but he had trouble playing off the blocks or closing back down against the run. In short, he was a tired ball player. The Dolphins' Daryl Gardener, on the other hand, finished with a rush. Just watch him this weekend. Unfortunately, injuries limited his season. My No. 4 man, Keith Hamilton of the Giants, also was terrific down the stretch. My only complaint with his game is that he picks up too many 15-yard penalties. My No. 5, Denver's Trevor Pryce, was much better later in the season. I also had high grades for the Eagles' relentless run-stopper, Hollis Thomas. Outside Linebackers: Derrick Brooks, Tampa Bay, and Keith Mitchell, New Orleans Same story with Brooks as with Sapp. Tired in December. Still one of the league's finest weakside backers, playing in space, but I've never seen him miss as many tackles. Mitchell's a do-it-all type, an opportunist who always seems to be in the action when there's a big play to be made. Generally plays the strong side and will drop down as an edge rusher in the nickel. William Thomas, a 32-year old Eagles castoff, gave the Raiders some terrific open-side coverage, just as he did for Philly all those years. It's the thing that Oakland had lacked for many seasons. I was looking hard for a sleeper at this position, and I was kind of rooting for the Bengals' Takeo Spikes and the Colts' Mike Peterson, both of whom I've seen do impressive things, but they just didn't grade as highly as the guys I picked. Ditto for the Chargers' Junior Seau, a sentimental choice. Middle Linebacker: Ray Lewis, Baltimore If I'd have picked my team at the midway point, it would have been the Bears' Brian Urlacher at this position, slam dunk, no questions asked. I mean, the rookie looked like a faster Dick Butkus. He didn't exactly tail in the later going, but he just didn't maintain the same pace. And while this was going on, the reverse was happening in Baltimore. Maybe it was all the legal troubles in the offseason, but Ray Lewis was just not the same player when the bell rang. He was missing tackles, having trouble getting off the blocks, you name it. But wow, did he come on. And now, when the stakes are highest, he's at the top of his game. Forming the third part of my triumvirate is the Bills' Sam Cowart, who had a wonderful year. He can thank the Bucs' Frank Middleton, who circled behind him, took aim, and then unloaded another one of those cripplers we used to call "bastard-blocks," for ending his season. Two more names -- Randall Godfrey, whose terrific play gave the Titans exactly what they were lacking and gave their defense a Super Bowl look, and the Raiders' Greg Biekert, my all-pro last year who had another fine season. Cornerbacks: Charles Woodson, Oakland, and Patrick Surtain, Miami I do this almost exclusively by a complicated grading system that factors in all manner of things, using forces against the run as tie-breakers. Luckily, there were no ties to break. Pro Bowl corners are usually selected by number of interceptions, but to me, an interception is like a sack. It represents one big play. Consistency is what I'm after. Probably my biggest criteria is how often the guy is around the ball -- in man coverage. If someone makes a freak catch against him, well, I don't count it as much as a play in which he's seriously beaten. Thus, Woodson was my No. 1 in consistency and good plays on the ball, with Surtain close behind, finishing ahead of his flashier teammate, Sam Madison, who simply took too many chances. My No. 3 was the Redskins' Champ Bailey, although it was distressing to see the way he gave up on the run when the Skins started going bad. Madison was my No. 4; Tennessee's Samari Rolle, No. 5. Strong Safety: Pat Tillman, Arizona I couldn't believe the margin by which he outscored everybody on my board, so I started making calls to personnel people whose opinions I respect. What I heard was a lot of yes-buts. "Yes, he had a fine year, but you know, that team had so many problems," etc. One guy admitted he hadn't even thought of him, but then he said, "Pat Tillman, what a great pick!" The last time I heard him say that was when I picked a very young Dwight Stephenson ahead of the popular choice, Mike Webster. That clinched it. You want to laugh at me, go ahead. But I'll show you, for instance, my chart of Tillman's performance against New Orleans, when he was knocking down anything with a heartbeat and the Cardinals had the NFC West champs on the ropes for a while, or my documentation of his his work in the September victory over the Cowboys, when I got him for six great pass defense plays and 10 stops near the line of scrimmage, both high numbers for a strong safety this season. Free Safety: Shaun Williams, New York Giants Another hero of the charts, only this guy is generally respected as the most serious hitter among all the free safeties. That was always part of his game, but now he has the range to go with it. My runners-up, in order: the Packers' Darren Sharper, the Ravens' Rod Woodson, Chicago's Mike Brown and Tampa Bay's Damien Robinson. Special TeamsKicker: David Akers, Philadelphia Usually the All-Pro choice is the guy who kicks the most field goals. I try to factor in range, number of clutch kicks and how serious the misses were. I couldn't find one game in which Matt Stover, who made both national All-Pro teams I saw, won the contest with a late kick. No fault of his, but here was Akers, with three late kicks that provided the margin of victory, two of them in OT, and a 13-9 defeat of the Redskins in which he booted three in the fourth quarter. Punter: Chris Gardocki, Cleveland Punts into the end zone are big negatives, to my way of thinking. Gardocki posted the amazing statistic of 108 punts, with only five touchbacks. His net average trailed that of the leader, Oakland's Shane Lechler, by seven tenths of a yard, but the Browns' coverage unit finished 23rd in the league. The Seahawks' Jeff Feagles was even more amazing, with only two touchbacks out of 74 punts, but his gross average was 5.5 yards yards less than Gardocki's. Returner: Derrick Mason, Tennessee Mason made it easy. Returned punts, returned kicks, both with great skill, and then lined up in the offense as a receiver and ended up as the Titans' top pass-catcher among the wideouts. Finished second in the NFL in kick return average, fifth in punt return average, the best combination in the league. Coverage: Mike Maslowski, Kansas City First thing I do is consult my charts and compile a list of my high scorers. Then I check the numbers, from the special teams statistics listed in every team's press release. Some teams, such as the Eagles, present these in the most minute detail -- blocks on a return, number of times a player was first man downfield, etc. Two of them, the Raiders, and naturally, the Redskins, don't even bother to list anything. I check these figures to see if there might be someone I've missed, and will have to go back and compute, and then I use my "big-hits" category as the tie-breaker. When I got finished, Maslowski was my top guy, particularly in the big-hits category. Special AwardsPlayer of the Year: Marshall Faulk, St. Louis I don't regard this as an MVP award, which basically takes into account where the team would be without a particular player, because then you must factor in the quality, or lack of same, of his backup. No, this represents overall excellence of play, and I don't think you can argue with the choice of Faulk as a guy who carried the team in its darkest hours. Coach of the Year: Jim Haslett, New Orleans Shook off early-season injuries, then the loss of his top runner and then his QB, and the team never missed a beat. In November he was running neck and neck with Minnesota's Dennis Green, who went his own way when everyone said he was nuts, but then the Vikings nosedived in December while the Saints held steady to the course. Rookie of the Year: Brian Urlacher, Chicago They have a 10-year Pro Bowler on their team, if he stays healthy. Sports Illustrated senior writer Paul Zimmerman covers the NFL for the magazine and CNNSI.com. His "Inside Football" column and Mailbag appear weekly on CNNSI.com. To send a question to Dr. Z, click here. The opinions expressed here are solely those of the writer.
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