Patriots' All-Pros

[Drawmeomg]

No first teamers; Mankins, Talib and McCourty received second team honors.

 

[JDM]

They're all on the IR

 

[Drawmeomg]

They're all on the IR

Maybe, who knows really. I'm more interested in the fact that McCourty made it than anything else really.

Mankins feels like a 'name' pick. He hasn't been All-Pro quality this year imo.

 

[TKO]

Although the voters would like us to think otherwise...All-Pro voting doesn't seem as meaningful IMO as the Pro Bowl is. Fifty assorted media types with a few ex-NFLers mixed in are the only voters. The Pro Bowl on the other hand relies on current players and coaches for two thirds of the vote. Is Tom Curran worthy of 1/50th of the vote? Ashley Fox? I think not. One third of the Pro Bowl voters are fans who have an opinion just like the All-Pro voters do but I wouldn't say the Pro Bowl roster should be set by those fans.

There is only one All-Pro Qb because The Forehead received a unanimous vote. MVP yes...but the only All Pro?

There are five All-Pro cornerbacks but eight All-Pro safeties. The safety voting was evidently more clouded among the fifty "experts".

 

[Drawmeomg]

Pro Bowl voting allows you to cast as many ballots as you choose. They're both a cross between bad analysis and a popularity contest.

That said, they're both considered among the highest honors players can achieve and they more or less align with quality players. It's not ridiculous to talk about how many all pro players you've drafted, for example.

(Fivehead is the only All Pro because there's no case to be made that anyone else was the best QB this year. You're supposed to vote for the player you feel was the best at the position. McCourty being an alternate means at least one of the voters believed he was the best free safety in the NFL this year. Nobody was willing to say there was a better QB than Fivehead this year - probably rightly so)

 

[TKO]

Pro Bowl voting allows you to cast as many ballots as you choose. They're both a cross between bad analysis and a popularity contest.

That said, they're both considered among the highest honors players can achieve and they more or less align with quality players. It's not ridiculous to talk about how many all pro players you've drafted, for example.

(Fivehead is the only All Pro because there's no case to be made that anyone else was the best QB this year. You're supposed to vote for the player you feel was the best at the position. McCourty being an alternate means at least one of the voters believed he was the best free safety in the NFL this year. Nobody was willing to say there was a better QB than Fivehead this year - probably rightly so)

I'd say Brady was better than him when they played each other in Foxboro. If there was only one voter for McCourty and it was Tom Curran = Diminished outcome IMO. Only one third of the voting counts by the fans in the Pro Bowl so no matter how many votes an individual casts it's still only a third of the pie. I'd side with the players and coaches over fans like ESPN's Ashley Fox who has been accused of writing Rapid Reaction articles...directly copied and pasted from a box score, play-by-play, and post-game injury report.

 

[TKO]

I think the flaws of the AP system can be summed up in one sentence: Some voters don't have a clue.

For example, last year Justin Smith was voted to two Second team All-Pro positions. Nine voters were confused because he plays in a 3-4 and said he was a DE and 35 said he was a DT. In comparison, he was listed as only a DT on the Pro Bowl ballot...end of confusion. An NFL.com writer said the All-Pro voting "is so great" because they voted Lavonte David in as a first team OLB this year while he was snubbed by the Pro Bowl voters. What about the DE that was snubbed by the All-Pro voters last year because nine of their votes went to a player that doesn't play the position? Smith is even listed as a R"DT" on the 49ers depth chart. If anyone wants to say Smith is a DE it's even worse because 35 votes were then cast in error.

 

[JDM]

He's a 3-4 DE. Calling that a DT is dumb IMO, but some do, some don't. I think voting him at either spot is perfectly legitimate and not a result of lack of knowledge, just a disagreement on classification.

 

[TKO]

He's a 3-4 DE. Calling that a DT is dumb IMO, but some do, some don't. I think voting him at either spot is perfectly legitimate and not a result of lack of knowledge, just a disagreement on classification.

The 49ers website calls him a DT, the Pro Bowl ballot called him a DT. The AP said the voters last year were confused and this year they voted him in as a DT. I guess they need to raise their standards and create a uniform ballot like the Pro Bowl has.

 

[JDM]

Or just let the guy make both if that's what happens.

 

[Drawmeomg]

Couldn't find any info on who voted for McCourty, though the snubs lists I saw were making a case that he either should have been first team or was a big play or two away from being all pro (apparently the guy who did make it - Eric Berry - faded really fast in the 2nd half of the season). I won't pretend to have watched Berry enough to have any idea if that's true, but of course I'm inclined to believe it because it fits the narrative that I've believed all season about McCourty, so I have my own confirmation bias being triggered.

 

[JDM]

McCourty's been playing great football.

I was kind of surprised to see him get the recognition, though.

 

[TKO]

Couldn't find any info on who voted for McCourty, though the snubs lists I saw were making a case that he either should have been first team or was a big play or two away from being all pro (apparently the guy who did make it - Eric Berry - faded really fast in the 2nd half of the season). I won't pretend to have watched Berry enough to have any idea if that's true, but of course I'm inclined to believe it because it fits the narrative that I've believed all season about McCourty, so I have my own confirmation bias being triggered.

I'm sure the numbers will come out at some point. Curran said he voted for Ghost so he probably voted for McCourty.

 

[TKO]

Here's how Curran voted for All Pro corner and safety:

CORNERBACK
FIRST TEAM: Richard Sherman, Seattle; Patrick Peterson, Arizona.
SECOND TEAM: Aqib Talib, New England; Joe Haden, Cleveland and Alterraun Verner, Tennessee.
I initially had Sherman and Brent Grimes of the Dolphins. Just loved the way he played every time I watched him. Believe it or not, I heard more support for the Bengals Terrence Newman than anyone outside Sherman and Peterson. Also recommended were Darrelle Revis, Joe Haden and Johnathan Joseph. I know Talib was actually one of the best defenders in football for the first two months but his play tailed off after getting hurt. Ultimately, I knew Peterson was the most sensible choice.


SAFETY
FIRST TEAM: Earl Thomas, Seattle; Eric Berry, Kansas City.
SECOND TEAM: Eric Weddle, San Diego; Kam Chancellor, Seattle, Jairus Byrd, Buffalo, T.J. Ward, Cleveland, Devin McCourty, New England and Antrel Rolle, New York Giants.
I voted for Thomas and Berry. Was told by one knowledgeable advisor that Thomas is the NFL’s best defender. On McCourty, he had a few dropped interceptions that made it hard for me to give him a vote over Berry. It’s a situation where I’m probably grading too hard on a guy I see all the time relative to the other voters who may only see highlights and stats.

A comment Curran made on McCourty when he explained his thought process voting for DTs:

I am saying I’ve considered throwing a recognition vote to a guy (Devin McCourty at safety) but decided against it because I believe you have to vote for the very best.

http://www.csnne.com/blog/patriots-talk/look-currans-all-pro-ballot-defense

 

[Drawmeomg]

Interesting. So if Curran believed McCourty wasn't quite good enough and Berry was the best, that means McCourty was probably really the best, right?

 

[TKO]

Interesting. So if Curran believed McCourty wasn't quite good enough and Berry was the best, that means McCourty was probably really the best, right?

I think it means even though he liked McCourty and saw him daily, he factored in the opinions of the coaches, players and analysts he spoke with and when he was done, he voted for Earl Thomas and Berry.

Two-thirds of the Pro Bowl votes are cast by players and coaches...

Before I cast my votes this week, I talked to current players, coaches and analysts about the players that impressed them.