BTG 2001-02 All-Pro Team
and MVPs
Selected by our staff, BTG’s third annual All-Pro Team
features a healthy cross-section of players from across the league. Twenty four
teams have at least one representative on our 49-man squad. Baltimore,
Philadelphia, St. Louis, and Tampa Bay lead the way with four players each,
while Cincinnati, Jacksonville, Tennessee, Seattle, Detroit, Minnesota, and
Atlanta are not represented. The Arizona Cardinals surprised by being the only
team with three players named to the squad. The Cards outnumber the World
Champion Patriots by one, as QB Tom Brady and CB Ty Law were the
only Pats voted to the All-Pro Team.
Marshall Faulk was finally dethroned as Offensive
MVP. The Rams running back won the award for the last two years, but teammate
Kurt Warner edge him out for the honor this season. It is hard to argue
with Warner’s selection given that he led the league in completion percentage
(68.7), passing yards (4,830), TD passes (36), and QB rating (101.4).
The race for Defensive MVP was even more interesting. The
Rams CB Aeneas Williams finished tied with New York Giant DE Michael
Strahan, but by virtue of him receiving more first-place votes, Williams won
the award. Ironically, Williams was not named as a starter on the All-Pro
team. The voting for the team is a simple count of votes, whereas the MVP
voting is based on a points system, and most of those who voted Williams to the
team, also selected him as the league’s top defender. Strahan, who broke the
NFL record for most sacks in a season, was certainly deserving of the award, but
Williams’ strong influence on the highly-improved Rams defense was hard to
ignore. Last year’s winner, MLB Ray Lewis, finished third in the
voting.
The Coach of the Year voting was not very close. The
Patriots’ Bill Belichick earned nearly twice as many points as the 49ers’
Steve Mariucci, who was the runner up. Belichick has to be given much of
the credit for New England’s surprising season. For years, he has stood in the
shadow of mentor Bill Parcells, but now with a league title under his belt,
people are starting to ask if it was not Belichick who made Parcells as
successful as he was.
First Team Offense
