Between the end of the regular season
and the Super Bowl, we asked our writers to pick our sixth annual FFEx
All-Pro Team. With the voting taking place during the postseason, playoff
performances may have influenced the voting, but it should be noted that all
of the ballots were submitted prior to New England’s 24-21 victory in Super
Bowl XXXIX.
This year’s squad had at least one
representative from 22 teams. The Steelers and the Eagles led the way with
five apiece, followed by four each from the Chiefs and the Ravens.
Pittsburgh also led the squad with four starters and three unanimous
selections. Of the ten teams that had no players selected, the Browns, the
Cardinals, and the Redskins stood out because they failed to place a player
on the roster for the third straight year.
A record-breaking eleven players were
unanimous selections: Buffalo’s CB Nate Clements, Indianapolis’ QB
Peyton Manning (second straight year) and DE Dwight Freeney,
Kansas City’s TE Tony Gonzalez, New England’s S Rodney Harrison
(second straight year), New York Jets’ RB Curtis Martin,
Philadelphia’s WR Terrell Owens, Pittsburgh’s G Alan Faneca,
ILB James Farrior, and S Troy Polamalu, and San Diego’s TE
Antonio Gates. Indianapolis WR Marvin Harrison and Baltimore OT
Jonathan Ogden were named to the team for a record-setting sixth
consecutive year, but they were not unanimous selections. Baltimore MLB
Ray Lewis, a two-time FFEx Defensive Player of the Year, made the squad
for the fifth time in six years. Faneca and Jets C Kevin Mawae are
making their fourth straight appearance on the roster, while Tennessee LB
Keith Bulluck, the league’s leading tackler with 152 stops, and Kansas
City G Will Shields made the team for the third consecutive year.
With both Gonzalez and Gates being
unanimous selections, we had an interesting dilemma at tight end. Gonzo had
a record-setting 102 receptions for tight ends, while Gates broke the
single-season record for TD catches at his position with 13. We gave the
starting nod to Gonzalez because he had the edge in yards (1,203 to 964).
For the second straight year, no rookies
made the All-Pro team, though Houston CB Dunta Robinson, New York Jet
LB Jonathan Vilma, and Tampa Bay WR Michael Clayton all
garnered a few votes.
With just 52 available roster spots,
there are always a number of good players left off the squad. This year’s
most notable omissions were Indianapolis RB Edgerrin James, who
finished second in the league with 2,031 yards from scrimmage, New Orleans
WR Joe Horn, who finished second in the NFL with 1,399 receiving
yards, and New England K Adam Vinatieri, who topped the league with
141 points. It was also a shame that there was no room for Tampa Bay CB
Ronde Barber (98 tackles, 3 sacks, and 3 INTs) and Washington DT
Cornelius Griffin (70 tackles and 6 sacks).
To no one’s surprise, Manning, who set
an NFL record with 49 TD passes and threw for more than 4,500 yards, ran
away with the Offensive Player of the Year award for the second consecutive
year. A lone first-place vote for Tiki Barber, who led the league
with 2,096 yards from scrimmage, prevented Manning from being a unanimous
selection. Daunte Culpepper (4,717 yards and 39 TDs) posted MVP-like
numbers but finished a distant second behind Manning.
The Defensive Player of the Year award
was a very tight race between Farrior and Baltimore S Ed Reed. The
two players split the first-place votes, with the only difference being that
Reed received one fewer vote overall, giving the Pittsburgh linebacker the
edge. By also falling one vote shy of being a unanimous selection for the
All-Pro team, Reed surprisingly slipped to the second unit behind Harrison
and Polamalu.
Voted the Steelers MVP by his teammates,
Farrior registered 94 tackles, three sacks, and four interceptions for the
league’s top-ranked defense. Reed, meanwhile, had an NFL-high nine
interceptions to go along with 76 tackles. San Diego LB Donnie Edwards
(150 tackles, 1 sack, and 5 INTs) and Patriot LB Tedy Bruschi (122
tackles, 3.5 sacks, and 3 INTs) finished tied for third in the Defensive
Player of the Year voting. Interestingly, Bruschi did not make the All-Pro
team, as he was edged out by Lewis for the final inside linebacking spot.
The Coach of the Year award was a
three-man race, with New England’s Bill Belichick edging out San
Diego’s Marty Schottenheimer and Pittsburgh’s Bill Cowher, in
that order. Had the voting taken place before the start of the playoffs,
there is a chance that Belichick might have not won the award for the third
time in four years, but after winning his third Super Bowl title over the
same span, who is going to argue with the selection? After finishing 4-12
in 2003, Schottenheimer engineered a dramatic turnaround in San Diego,
leading the undermanned Chargers to a 12-4 record and a division title in
the AFC West. Cowher also deserves credit for leading the Steelers, who
were generally picked to finish no better than second in the AFC North, to a
league-best 15-1 mark.
2003-04 All-Pro Team
