2010 All-Pro 3rd Team

QB: Michael Vick, PHI With his legs and a more polished passing game, Vick reclaimed the hearts of his former fans with his superb rebound campaign. He averaged over 330 yards and 2.7 touchdowns per game. He lost only 2 games in which he started and finished under center, leading an explosive offense which became a match-up and gameplanning nightmare for the opposition. While Vick played a shortened season due to injury and Rivers did just as much with less, Vick’s ability to take his team to the playoffs while also limiting costly errors earns him the nod by a hair.
HM: Philip Rivers, SD

RB: Peyton Hillis, CLE Hillis paid homage to the old school running backs that built this league. Among the top 50 backs, only Michael Bush had a lower stuff rate than Hillis who was brought down in the backfield on only 4.4% of his carries. That stellar offensive line shares credit in his success.
HM: LeSean McCoy, PHI

RB: Maurice Jones-Drew, JAC The Jaguars lost only twice this year when MJD averaged 4 or more yards a carry and lost every time he failed to hit that mark. His 5.7% stuff rate demonstrates his consistent approach, but his lack of explosive plays and only 7 touchdowns mar an otherwise terrific season.
HM: Chris Johnson, TEN

FB: Ovie Mughelli, ATL Mughelli returned to top form to lead the way for a physical brand of football. He has good vision drives defenders backwards upon contact. In the pass game, he’s reliable as a blocker with soft hands as a receiver. He also converted on 7 of 8 short yardage carries.
HM: Vonta Leach, HOU

WR: Mike Wallace, PIT In just his second year in the league, Mike Wallace has emerged as one of the league’s best deep threats with eye-popping efficiency. With 60 receptions and 1257 yards, his 21.0 yards per reception average is 2nd only to DeSean Jackson. However, his 12.7 yards per target beats Jackson and all other receivers with over 700 yards. With his deep speed, Wallace capitalized on scramble drills and planned vertical shots which resulted in 10 receptions of 31+ yards on only 17 shot. In addition, he finished with 6.3 YAC/reception, most of which came on passes thrown less than 10 yards. He redefined the phrase: “big play waiting to happen”.
HM: Reggie Wayne, IND

WR: Dwayne Bowe, KC The biggest improvement in the Chiefs passing offense can be attributed to Bowe. Though Cassel also made significant leaps, Bowe was instrumental in that improvement and acted as a safety blanket when it came to moving the ball across the goal line, where Bowe led all receivers with 15 scores.
HM: Calvin Johnson, DET

TE: Vernon Davis, SF With the usual carousel at quarterback, Davis’s gross numbers and targets dropped from a year ago, but his efficiency improved. Further, his 8.2 YAC per reception led all starting tight ends and wide receivers. He was key on 3rd downs and against the blitz as both a receiver and blocker.
HM: Marcedes Lewis, JAC

LT: Jason Peters, PHI; Joe Thomas, CLE; Jake Long, MIA I’m cheating here because it’s honestly too difficult for me separate one from the other and would leave me feeling guilty one way or another. While Peters benefitted from protecting Vick’s sighted side, he still only allowed a pair of sacks and hits on the season, an impressive mark either side. His run blocking never wavered either. Thomas and Long on the other hand allowed a couple more sacks than they’re accustomed to surrendering, but there’s a direct correlation to the quarterback play behind them. They unofficially allowed fewer pressures than Peters, but also more hits. Their effect on the run game was about equal as well, making the pair very tough to separate.
HM: None.

LG: Justin Blalock, ATL He never had a dominant stretch like Manuwai and Mankins had, but Blalock also didn’t miss a significant portion of the season. He was consistent from the first snap of the season to last in both facets. Blalock allowed only 1.5 sacks and jumped early once and helped pave the way for one of the best power running teams up the middle.
HM: Vince Manuwai, JAX; Logan Mankins, NE

C: Chris Myers, HOU The combination of Chris Myers and Wade Smith created a formidable duo in the interior. Myers did a great job with combo blocks, positioning, and cut blocks to help pave way for the league’s best rushing attack up the middle.
HM: Jeff Saturday, IND

RG: Chris Snee, NYG Snee’s been an elite guard for the better portion of 4+ seasons as the common denominator in the Giants’ run game. He’s tough, physical, and fights from whistle to whistle.
HM: Harvey Dahl, ATL; Dan Connolly, NE

RT: Marshal Yanda, BAL Yanda is as dominant a run blocker as there is in the game today and even more impressive this year, playing out of position. He’s a true mauler in the run game and does an outstanding job of blocking on the run. The 6.25 sacks allowed is a pedestrian mark, but he only gave up 3 other hits all year.
HM: Tyson Clabo, ATL

DE: Jason Babin, TEN Babin emerged from nowhere to become a tremendous pass rusher from the right side. He totaled 12.5 sacks and a position high 25 quarterback hits. With another 8 stuffs, Babin put together an entirely impressive season.
HM: John Abraham, ATL; Dwight Freeney, IND

DE: Justin Smith, SF Justin Smith continues to run laps around other 3-4 defensive ends as a playmaker from the position with 15.5 impact plays (2nd among 3-4 ends: Campbell). This isn’t always necessarily a great thing because it could mean that the end isn’t sustaining blocks, but Smith has been a great asset to the 49ers. He’s applies pressure on 11.1% of his rush attempts, which was also 2nd among 3-4 ends to Cullen Jenkins. The split numbers also suggest he played the run well for the league’s 2nd best run defense.
HM: Jared Allen, MIN; Shaun Ellis, NYJ

DT: Kyle Williams, BUF While playing virtually every snap in the middle for the Bills defense, Williams recorded 77 tackles, 5.5 sacks, 11 stuffs, 12 QB hits, and 2 fumble recoveries. He’s as good as any interior lineman at knifing into the backfield and disrupting plays.
HM: B.J. Raji, GB; Jason Jones, TEN

DT: Terrance Knighton, JAC Knighton is a remarkable specimen in the middle who put together an outstanding season. He’s a tough move in the run game and a productive pocket pusher as a pass rusher. While the Jaguars’ run defense wasn’t particularly impressive, it was at its best when facing runs up the middle.
HM: Vince Wilfork, NE; Fred Robbins, STL

OLB: Lance Briggs, CHI; Jon Beason, CAR Urlacher, Peppers, and on the rare occasion Lance Briggs. That’s how the media covers the Chicago Bears, always underselling the importance of their “other” linebacker. The Bears defense is predicated upon taking away the A-gaps which effectively limits the run game, which Briggs has excelled at. There are few outside linebackers better than Briggs at timing snaps, taking on blockers and making plays in the backfield. However, with his athleticism, he also does an outstanding job of dropping into passing lanes and getting a hand on passes. The only player to deflect more passes at the position was Jon Beason. Beason is a multi-dimensional linebacker who unselfishly moved outside and turned in yet another great season. While the Panthers disappointed on the whole, the front 7 was hardly the biggest problem as the team only allowed 3.9 yards per rush this year.
HM: Tamba Hali, KC

OLB: Terrell Suggs, BAL Suggs followed up his worst season to date with his first double-digit sack year since his second in the league. Playing with a sense of rejuvenation, Suggs dominated the perimeter with 11 sacks, 8 stuffs, and impeded running backs from turning the corner as the Ravens line finished 2nd in defending runs around left end. Unlike most pass rushers, Suggs displayed some consistency, making at least one play behind the line of scrimmage in 13 of 16 games.
HM: Chad Greenway, MIN

ILB: Derrick Johnson, KC; James Laurinaitis, STL This is an interesting pairing because they do such different jobs. Johnson led all linebackers in the league in impact plays, primarily from coverage. He’s the playmaker in the unit that doesn’t go dry. Laurinaitis on the other hand is the athletic glue that holds his front 7 together. He doesn’t make nearly as many big plays, but a ridiculous 55.3% of his tackles were made near the sidelines. I’d be a bit skeptical of those numbers if it weren’t for the outstanding instincts, nose for the football, and lateral range I see each time I tune in to a Rams game.
HM: None.

ILB: AJ Hawk, GB I need to give a shout out to the linebackers that do the dirty work and never get credit for it. Hawk has been unselfishly taking on the guards and allowing the linebackers next to him to make the big plays for 2 seasons now and given the effectiveness of both Barnett and Bishop, I’d say he’s doing an outstanding job. Further, he was damn near elite in his zone drops, allowing just 8 first downs all year on 39 passes thrown his way according to my charts. He deflected 10 passes and picked off 3 as well. Ironically, he didn’t play a single defensive snap versus Philly the first time ‘round because the Packers played no base defense and didn’t trust his coverage skills.
HM: Jerod Mayo, NE

CB: Charles Woodson, GB Woodson was good in coverage, but not as good as several other cover corners listed below him. He makes the team because he’s a rare breed. He’s often compared to a safety because of his role blitzing quarterbacks and cleaning up run plays, but that would be a huge insult to his ability to blanket slot receivers, which Green Bay did it better than all but 3 teams this year. Some may question his ability to blanket other receivers, but if he paid as little mind to stopping the run as some of them do, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him as a “shutdown corner.” He just has a lot more on his plate and the Packers are better off for it.
HM: Asante Samuel, PHI; Chris Carr, BAL; Antoine Winfield, MIN

CB: Devin McCourty, NE McCourty had DROY wrapped up if it wasn’t for Suh’s All-Pro season. From the onset, he climbed atop the depth chart and never budged an inch. He admirably stepped up for an inexperienced defense that needed a corner just like him and allowed approximately 6.0 YPA while picking off 7 passes. (For the record, I don’t like to name this many honorable mentions, but I feel the general public is left out in the dark when it comes to corner play, so since I have a bit more information on my hands, I thought I’d share a little more of my opinion.)
HM: Ron Bartell, STL; Brent Grimes, ATL; Ronde Barber, TB

SS: Donte Whitner, BUF I’ll be honest; there’s a significant drop-off from 2nd team to 3rd team and I almost felt like no one played well enough here to deserve a nod, but I’ll give this nod to Whitner, who slightly edges out TJ Ward for the spot. Outside of racking up the tackles, which he did do better than any other safety, Whitner has been satisfactory in coverage. He lacks the instincts and ball skills to be a difference maker at the position, but he gets the job done and doesn’t allow many big plays.
HM: TJ Ward, CLE

FS: Nick Collins, GB; Chris Harris, CHI When at his best, Nick Collins is second only to Ed Reed at free safety. His range is vast and he takes sound angles to the ball. However, there was a stretch in the middle of the season where he went pretty quiet and missed a couple tackles leading to bigger plays. Harris on the other hand, isn’t as gifted, but finished with 5 picks, including a game-sealer against the Jets. Harris is an underrated safety that not only does a good job in his deep zone, but can also come up to deliver the big hit. (I could have mentioned like 5 other players that could have joined the honorable mentions, but to keep meaning among my All-Pro nods, I’m not listing them. You can do the research and find those guys more easily than the corners.)
HM: None.

K: Matt Bryant, ATL Bryant missed only 3 field goals all year, but none in his home stadium. He was also a perfect 3/3 on game-winning attempts this year.
HM: Neil Rackers, HOU

P: Shane Lechler, OAK Lechler finished 2nd in both gross and net average and pinned the opponent inside the 20-yard line 27 times with only 4 touchbacks. Though he gets good hang time and strikes the ball consistently, he put 58.4% of punts into play, a dangerous number in today’s game.
HM: Steve Weatherford, NYJ

KR/PR: Eric Weems, ATL Weems finished 4th and 8th in kick and punt return average among qualifiers. He finished with a touchdown on both units, including a game-winner versus Tampa Bay and a 3rd score in their losing effort to Green Bay.
HM: Marc Mariani, TEN