For the Defensive All-Pro team, I’m just going to give you my selection and my rationale as opposed to listing the candidates like I did for the offensive team. There are just too many defensive candidates to talk about all of them, and I don’t want my lovely readers to spend all day reading my article here, as much as you probably want to.
Defensive Lineman: Jared Allen (Vikings)
I begrudgingly put a man in purple on my team, but he earned the spot. On an otherwise bad defense, Allen has been outstanding. He has 18.5 sacks, 4 forced fumbles, an interception, and 61 tackles. He’s a one-man wrecking crew that is impossible for one man to block.
Defensive Lineman: Jason Pierre-Paul (Giants)
Eric has rightly accused me of having a man-crush on JPP. The guy is unreal. His arms nearly reach the ground, he has incredible burst, and surprising strength for a man with his long build. With 15 sacks on the year, countless pressures, and a key blocked field goal against the Cowboys, Pierre-Paul has established himself as one of the surest playmakers in football.
Defensive Lineman: Justin Smith (49ers)
The incredible thing about Smith is that his main role is to occupy blockers and let his linebackers clean up the quarterback and flow to the ball. While he does that job as well as anyone, he’s also added 6.5 sacks and forced three fumbles. He made the winning play for the 49ers twice this year: when he stripped Jeremy Maclin late in the fourth quarter against Philadelphia, effectively sealing the victory, and knocking down an Eli Manning potential game-tying touchdown pass on fourth down with about a minute left in 49ers-Giants contest. Peter King had him as his Defensive MVP runner-up at mid-season, incredible for a 3-4 end to receive that kind of recognition.
Defensive Lineman: Haloti Ngata (Ravens)
Ngata is impossible to block. At 6’4” and 350 pounds, he moves like a quick defensive end. With 5 sacks and 60 total tackles, Ngata has nice stats, but his true value lies in the amount of attention opponents must pay to him. He always demands a double team, which makes the entire defense around him better.
Linebacker: Navorro Bowman (49ers)
Clearly Bowman has been taking notes from the man he plays next to, Patrick Willis. If Willis and Bowman switched uniforms, you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference, and that is a huge compliment to the third-year man from Penn State. Bowman has been a tackling machine (133 total tackles), he’s excellent in coverage, and plays sideline-to-sideline as well as any player in the game. His signature play on the season was a takedown of Michael Vick when he was one-on-one with the speedster in the open field and dropped him easily.
Linebacker: Patrick Willis (49ers)
Yes, he’s missed three games this year, but in 12 starts he notched 93 tackles, 4 forced fumbles, 1 interception and 2 sacks. Ask yourself, is there any other player you would want manning the middle of your linebacking group?
Linebacker: Terrell Suggs (Ravens)
It seems ludicrous at first glance to keep DeMarcus Ware off of this list in favor of Suggs, but T-Sizzle belongs on the All-Pro team for a reason. First, unlike Ware, Suggs plays on a top-tier. Ware is certainly deserving of a spot, tallying 18 sacks this year, but Suggs is no slouch at 13. Ware has notched no interceptions to Suggs’ 2 picks, and while Ware has forced two fumbles, Suggs has forced 6. When Suggs is going right, he may be the toughest pass rusher to block in the league.
Defensive Back: Darelle Revis (Jets)
Revis Island is once again a frightening place to be, after it became a little more of a cushy vacation spot last year. Revis is second in the league in passes defended and has also picked off the opponent 4 times despite being tested less than any other man in the league.
Defensive Back: Brandon Browner (Seahawks)
“Who?” I would have said the same thing to start this year, but Browner has been tremendous. He’s tied for the league lead in passes defended with 20, is second in the league in interceptions with 6, and also has 52 tackles. Not to mention at 6’4” and 221 pounds Browner matches up well with even the biggest and strongest receivers in the game.
Defensive Back: Dashon Goldson (49ers)
After a strong 2009, Goldson fell off in the Niners’ lost 2010 but has been a stud in 2011. He has 52 tackles, is tied for second in the league with 6 interceptions, and hits as hard as any safety. He almost never makes a big mistake in coverage and covers a tremendous amount of ground at the back end of a great defense.
Defensive Back: Charles Woodson (Packers)
I know that technically he’s a cornerback, but the guy lines up as a linebacker, safety, and corner. He’s one of the most versatile players in the game, and even at the age of 35 is a perennial candidate for Defensive Player of the Year. 74 tackles, 7 interceptions, and 2 sacks prove that Woodson is an incredible addition to any defense.
Kicker: David Akers (49ers)
Akers broke Jerry Rice’ record for most points in a season by in 49ers history. That’s not necessarily a record 49er fans wanted, but it takes nothing away from Akers’ great play. Akers has ten more made field goals than anyone else in the league, has consistently made 50+ yard kicks (7-9 from that range) and is hitting 86% of his overall attempts. That’s not the best mark in the league, but considering he’s attempted 10 more field goals than any other player, it’s pretty damn good.
Punter: Andy Lee (49ers)
Lee is on pace to break the all-time record for net punting average at just over 44 yards per punt. He’s a prime reason the 49ers consistently pin their opponents deep and lead the league in starting field position. He’s a veritable weapon to go along with the great 49er defense.
Kick Returner: Patrick Peterson (Cardinals)
Peterson is starting to remind many of another #21 who once played the corner position and haunted special teams units with his return ability. While Peterson has a ways to go to become the cover man Deion Sanders was, he’s already just as dangerous in the return game. Peterson has 4 punt returns for scores and averages 16 yards per return, second only to Devin Hester.
--from @AdamHocking
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