All that remains of the 2003-04 season
is Sunday night's Pro Bowl, which means that it is time to announce BTG’s
All-Pro Team, Offensive Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year,
and Coach of the Year. The selections were based on the opinions of our
staff members, who cast their votes between January 19th and 31st.
Six of the league's 32 teams supplied
more than half of the 2003-04 All-Pro squad, and five of those clubs came
from the AFC. Fresh off their Super Bowl 38 win, the Patriots led the way
with eight representatives, including Super Bowl MVP Tom Brady and
head coach Bill Belichick. Baltimore (5), Kansas City (5),
Indianapolis (4), San Francisco (3), and Tennessee (3) were the only other
clubs to have more than two players named to the team. Ten clubs had no
players make the cut, including four teams that were not represented in 2003
– the Browns, the Cardinals, the Lions, and the Redskins. Last year, the
Eagles, the Dolphins and the Buccaneers sent a total of 15 players and Coach
Andy Reid. This year, those three teams combined to send just one
representative – Tampa Bay's Simeon Rice.
Seven players were unanimous selections
– Indianapolis QB Peyton Manning, Kansas City RB Priest Holmes,
Baltimore RB Jamal Lewis, Minnesota WR Randy Moss, Baltimore
LB Ray Lewis, New England CB Ty Law, New England SS Rodney
Harrison, and Kansas City return man Dante Hall. Indianapolis WR
Marvin Harrison and Baltimore OT Jonathan Ogden were named to
the team for a record-breaking fifth consecutive year, but they were not
unanimous selections this season. Dallas DT La'Roi Glover was
selected for the fourth straight year, while Jets C Kevin Mawae,
Giants DE Michael Strahan, and Pittsburgh G Alan Faneca made
their third consecutive appearance on the roster.
No rookies made the 2003-04 squad,
though Arizona's Anquan Boldin, who finished the season with 101
receptions, was very deserving. Harrison edged out Boldin for the final
spot at wideout.
With just 50 roster spots available,
Boldin was not the only worthy player who failed to make the All-Pro team.
Other notable omissions included San Diego RB LaDainian Tomlinson,
who led the league in yards from scrimmage with 2,370, Atlanta linebacker
Keith Brooking, who tied for the NFL lead in solo tackles with 126,
Miami CB Patrick Surtain, who led the AFC with seven picks, and St.
Louis kicker Jeff Wilkins, who led the league in scoring with 163
points. Also, Tampa Bay LB Derrick Brooks, a two-time BTG Defensive
Player of the Year, failed to make the team for the first time in five
years.
Manning was named the Offensive
Player of the Year for the first time in his career. He finished
comfortably ahead of Holmes, who edged out Jamal Lewis for second place,
while Tennessee QB Steve McNair finished a distant fourth. During
the regular season, Manning passed for a league-leading 4,267 yards and an
AFC-high 29 touchdowns while posting a QB rating of 99.0. He followed that
up with two stellar playoff performances against Denver and Kansas City,
completing 44-of-56 for 681 yards with eight touchdowns and no
interceptions. Holmes, who was named to the All-Pro squad for the third
straight year, led the league in touchdowns with 27 and finished fifth in
total yards with 2,110, while Lewis nearly broke the NFL single-season
rushing record with 2,066 yards.
Ray Lewis was named the Defensive
Player of the Year for the second time in the last four years. He also
was named to the All-Pro team for the fourth time in the last five years,
with the only exception being his injury-plagued 2003 campaign. The
hard-hitting inside linebacker finished second in the NFL in tackles with
163, and he added 1.5 sacks, two forced fumbles, six interceptions, and one
touchdown. Law, LB Tedy Bruschi, and Harrison finished second,
third, and fourth respectively. With the three Patriots splitting most of
the remaining votes, Lewis easily took first place.
Similar to what transpired in Super Bowl
XXXVIII, Belichick narrowly defeated Carolina's John Fox as the
Coach of the Year, winning the award for the second time in the last
three seasons. Belichick led a New England squad that lacked big-name stars
to the league’s best record at 14-2, and with the three playoff victories,
he directed the Pats to 15 wins in a row, the longest single-season winning
streak in the NFL since the 1972 Miami Dolphins went 17-0. Fox, meanwhile,
guided the Panthers to their first Super Bowl appearance in just his second
season, a remarkable feat considering that Carolina was 1-15 when he took
over as coach in 2001. Dallas' Bill Parcells finished a distant
third.
2003-04 ALL-PRO TEAM
