At the end of the regular season, we
asked our writers to pick our seventh annual FFEx All-Pro Team. Most of the
votes were cast after the start of the postseason, so playoff performances
may have influenced the voting.
This year’s 52-man squad had at least
one representative from 20 teams. The Colts led the way with six players,
followed by five each from the Bears and the Chiefs. The two teams set to
play in Super Bowl XL, the Seahawks and the Steelers, had three
representatives a piece. The Patriots, the reigning league champs, had just
one player named to the squad.
After tying the Steelers for the most
players to be named to the 2004-05 team (5), the Eagles were one of twelve
teams to have no players selected this year. The Birds find themselves
grouped with the lowly Browns, who failed to place a player on the roster
for the fourth straight year, the longest such streak for any NFL club.
Eight players were unanimous selections:
Cincinnati QB Carson Palmer, Seattle RB Shaun Alexander, San
Diego TE Antonio Gates, Washington WR Santana Moss, Carolina
WR Steve Smith, NY Giant DE Osi Umenyiora, Pittsburgh safety
Troy Polamalu, and Arizona kicker Neil Rackers. It was
interesting that five of the eight (Palmer, Moss, Smith, Umenyiora, and
Rackers) had never made the All-Pro squad before.
Indianapolis WR Marvin Harrison
was named to the team for a record-setting seventh consecutive year, but he
was not a unanimous selection. Tampa Bay OLB Derrick Brooks made the
team for the sixth time in seven years. Pittsburgh guard Alan Faneca
made his fifth straight appearance on the roster, while Tennessee OLB
Keith Bulluck, Kansas City OT Willie Roaf, and Kansas City G
Will Shields were all named to the team for the fourth consecutive
year. Baltimore OT Jonathan Ogden had his streak of six straight
appearances snapped, as not a single Raven was named to this year’s squad.
San Diego OLB Shawne Merriman (57
tackles, 10 sacks) became the first rookie in three years to make the
All-Pro team. Surprisingly, he was nearly a unanimous selection.
With just 52 available roster spots,
there are always a number of good players left off the squad. In my
opinion, most of the oversights were on the defensive side of the ball, but
what do you expect from a bunch of fantasy guys? Some of the players that I
voted for but did not make the team included Denver CB Champ Bailey,
Chicago OLB Lance Briggs, San Diego ILB Donnie Edwards,
Pittsburgh DT Casey Hampton, and Miami DE Jason Taylor. I was
particularly disappointed that Bailey, who I felt deserved Defensive Player
of the Year consideration, did not make the squad.
Peyton Manning’s two-year
reign as the FFEx Offensive Player of the Year came to end. The award went
to Seattle RB Shaun Alexander, who set a league single-season record
with 28 TDs and led the NFL with 1,880 rushing yards. Alexander barely
edged out NY Giant RB Tiki Barber, who led the league with 2,390
yards from scrimmage. The two running backs split all of the first-place
votes, with Alexander getting 67 percent and Barber receiving 33 percent.
Manning, who was named to the All-Pro team for the third straight year,
finished a distant third in the voting, tied with New England QB Tom
Brady and Steve Smith.
The FFEx Defensive Player of the Year
award was also a fairly tight race. Five different players received
first-place votes. Chicago MLB Brian Urlacher fell one vote shy of
being named on all of the DPY ballots, and he finished slightly ahead of
Polamalu in the overall voting. The others who received first-place votes
were Umenyiora (third overall), Indianapolis DE Dwight Freeney
(fourth overall), and Oakland DE Derrick Burgess (fifth overall), who
led the league with 16 sacks.
Chicago’s Lovie Smith ran away
with the FFEx Coach of the Year award, far outdistancing Cincinnati’s
Marvin Lewis (second) and Indianapolis’ Tony Dungy (third). New
England’s Bill Belichick, who had won the award three times in the
past four years, finished a distant fourth.
Lacking offensive firepower, many
predicted that the Bears would finish last in the NFC North in 2005. Smith,
however, guided the team to a division title with an 11-5 record and a
first-round playoff bye in just his second season with the team. Chicago
scored more than 20 points just four times in 17 games, including the
playoffs, but thanks to Smith’s coaching and a Chicago defense that allowed
a league-low 202 points during the regular season, the Bears qualified for
the postseason for just the second time since 1991.
2005-06 All-Pro Team
