2009 All-Pro 2nd Team

QB: Drew Brees, NO

Brees finished the year leading the league in quarterback rating (109.6) and broke the NFL record for completion percentage (70.6). He finishes second behind Manning only because of a better running game, offensive line, and a more creative scheme from the mind of Sean Payton. In most seasons, this is a 1st team All-Pro type year for Brees.

RB: Ray Rice, BAL

Over the course of the season, few players were more exciting to watch than Ray Rice who used a combination of his low center of gravity and incredible leg strength to break tackles in piles and shoot through the other side. His low touchdown number can be attributed to two other capable short yardage backs and has nothing to do with his inability to punch in touchdowns. This was more a testament to McClain and McGahee’s ability to punch it in because Rice converted on 14 of 17 carries with 2 or less yards to go, compared to AP and MJD’s 62% conversion rate. Whereas Peterson was given 33 goal-to-go carries and MJD 26, Rice had only 12, including several from further out.

RB: Adrian Peterson, MIN

It was hard to give Peterson the nod over Maurice Jones-Drew, who could just as easily have laid a claim to this spot, but I feel Minnesota’s offensive line was a big reason for the demise of the running game over the 2nd half of the season. In fact, Chester Taylor’s 3.6 average was the worst of his career as well. Peterson also led the league with 18 touchdowns on the ground and improved as a receiver in the check down game.

FB: Brad Hoover, CAR

Many fullbacks impressed because of their multi-threat capability, but Brad Hoover continued to excel as one of the best lead fullbacks in the league. Both Stewart and DeAngelo Williams saw their averages increase by more than a yard with Hoover in front.

WR: Reggie Wayne, IND

Fighting through numerous double teams and starting largely from the same position on the field, Reggie Wayne still managed to catch 100 balls, 1264 yards, and 10 touchdowns. He dropped only 4 passes thrown his way all year (2.7% of targets) and was good for a 1st down on 49.0% of all passes in his direction (2nd among receivers with at least 700 yards), including 4/4 on 4th down.

WR: Randy Moss, NE

Moss may get criticized for taking plays off or giving less than 100% effort, but 83 catches, 1264 yards, and 13 touchdowns is a successful season no matter how you spin it. Most surprisingly was that only 7 of Moss’s receptions came on passes more than 20 yards downfield, meaning he did much of his damage in the shorter and intermediate areas.

TE: Antonio Gates, SD

2009 marked a career season for Antonio Gates, setting new highs in yardage and yards per reception, while consistently making noise throughout the season. Among receivers with more than 700 yards, he finished 2nd only to teammate Vincent Jackson is 1st downs per target (53.5%) and 4th in YAC per reception (6.58 yards) with nearly a full yard lead over the second best tight end (Zach Miller). He isn’t a dominant blocker, but is a match-up nightmare with length and athleticism.

LT: Jason Peters, PHI

Peters isn’t your prototypical left tackle at a listed 6’4 and 340 pounds. He doesn’t have the ballerina footwork that most have come to expect from the the “blind side,” but what he does have is elite run-blocking ability. LeSean McCoy had his best production running over left tackle this season with a 5.2 average in comparison to his overall 4.1. That’s not to say that Peters is a slouch in pass protection either because he does a pretty good job limiting the pressures, though he’ll occasionally be beaten by a quick move or a double move that forces him to reset his feet.

LG: Steve Hutchinson, MIN

Hutchinson was the only remaining elite area on the Vikings’ offensive line this year. He’s still one of the league’s best pass-blocking guards as he has been for some time now. Without Hutchinson clearing lanes in the middle for Peterson, the Vikings’ run game would have really struggled over the second half of the year.

C: Jake Grove, MIA

Even while missing a couple games this season, Grove’s play in the early portion of the season was enough to get him noticed. He paved the way for a successful ground game up the middle with Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams. The Dolphins finished near the top in first downs, 10+ yard rushes, and 3rd and 4th and short conversions up the middle.

RG: Bobbie Williams, CIN

Bobbie Williams has been vastly underrated over the last 4-5 years. The Bengals unit quickly picked up steam early in the year with much of Benson’s success running the ball coming directly behind Williams, one of the league’s best run-blocking guards.

RT: Damien Woody, NYJ

No team ran right more often than the Jets did. In fact, they had 30 more carries off right tackle and wide right than the next team. A big part of that was right tackle Damien Woody who turned in a fantastic season on the league’s best offensive line. Thomas Jones rushed for 5.3 yards per carry over right tackle for 634 yards, more than double the amount of yards in any other direction. Brandon Moore had a good season at right guard, but Woody’s elite play was what allowed the Jets to have so much success running right.

DE: Trent Cole, PHI

Though Cole didn’t have quite as effective an all-around season as last year, he stepped up his pass-rushing to become one of the league’s elites in this area. He led all defensive linemen in quarterback licks with 32.5 sacks and hits. Cole still played some solid run defense with the versatility to drop back into coverage.

DE: Justin Smith, SF

Playing a position not often noticed, Smith stood out as a 3-4 defensive end as one of the more active players on the Niners front line. He recorded 6 sacks and 16 other hits, but more impressive was the high motor and constant pressure he was applying on the quarterback. Unofficially, Smith pressured the QB on 11.3% of his rush attempts, numbers more comparable to 4-3 ends. The Niners also finished the year with a great run defense.

DT: Brandon Mebane, SEA

Though Mebane weighs only a hair over 300 pounds, his presence in the starting lineup made him one of the most impactful run defenders in the league. The Seahawks allowed only 2 100-yard runners on the year. One was in Week 2 against San Francisco when Mebane didn't dress up. The other was against the Titans in the final week where it took Chris Johnson 36 carries to get 134 yards (3.7 yards per carry). With Mebane in the lineup, the Seahawks would finish in the Top 10 in rushing yards per game (101.3) and 5th in yards per carry (3.8).

DT: Haloti Ngata, BAL

Yet again, the Ravens run defense was tops in the league in the yards per carry metric. In fact when teams decided to run against Haloti Ngata on the right side, they had even less success than the 3.4 yards per carry the team averaged. He won’t show up quite that often in the stat sheet, but because of his absurd strength, size, and athleticism, Ngata is a player that commands a constant double team and barely budges an inch.

OLB: LaMarr Woodley, PIT

Woodley started slow, but finished strong by recording at least half a sack in each of his last eight games, totaling 13.5 on the year. Though he’s a great strongside pass rusher, he’s also one of the league’s best all-around outside linebackers because of his consistency against the run and fluidity dropping into coverage.

OLB: James Harrison, PIT

Last year’s DPOY shouldn’t be so quickly forgotten because he also had 79 tackles, 10 sacks, 6 stuffs, and 5 forced fumbles this year. He received more attention this season, but also proved to be an all-around superstar at the position.

ILB: Ray Lewis, BAL

Even at 34, Ray Lewis is still playing some of the best football of his career. He’s a great two-way linebacker who excels against the run. Lewis is one of the best leaders in football and makes plays at crucial moments in the game, such as the game-clinching stuff in Week 2 against San Diego. When Lewis is in the zone, it’s difficult to move the football on the Ravens.

ILB: David Harris, NYJ

After going through a sophomore slump last season, Harris returned to form to play the best football of his career. The Jets defense was unquestionably the best in the league and Harris was the biggest part of their success in the front 7. He recorded 127 stops, but also 5.5 sacks in Ryan’s aggressive defense. In his biggest improvement, Harrisbecame more consistent in coverage this year, which resulted in his first two career picks.

CB: Nnamdi Asomugha, OAK

In almost any other year, Asomugha would have been not only a 1st team player, but the best cornerback in the league. Of all players who played at least 50% of their snaps, he was easily targeted the least, making it the 3rd such consecutive season. Teams know to locate him pre-snap and make sure to eliminate the read from the offense altogether, making his presence in the starting lineup a huge defensive victory in itself. In fact, he also recorded 8 stuffs, proving that he’s not only willing, but excels in run support.

CB: Champ Bailey, DEN

Bailey’s full-time and healthy presence in the secondary was one of many factors that sparked a turnaround in the Broncos’ defense, especially in the defensive backfield. He drew a lot of man coverage against tough assignments and shut most of them down. Denver allowed only 51.6 yards per game to opposing teams’ top receivers, a mark that tied for 4th in the league.

S: Adrian Wilson, ARI

Wilson, like a couple other elite safeties from years’ past did not have his best season, though statistically, 2009 was his strongest. He made some mistakes and blew a couple coverages throughout the year, but still managed to pick off 5 passes. Regardless of his subpar season in coverage, he’s still an elite safety inside the box and the numbers reflect that. He led all safeties in impact plays, which included 2 sacks and a remarkable 10 stuffs.

S: Darren Sharper, NO

Like Wilson, Darren Sharper did not have an elite all-around season and has never truly been an elite all-around safety. He’s known to take bad angles in the running game and gamble for turnovers at the risk of allowing bigger plays over the top of him. This was, however, his best statistical season to date and his best as a playmaker. He picked off 9 passes and returned them for a total of nearly 4 football field lengths (376 yards), setting an NFL record for interception yardage in the process.

K: Nate Kaeding, SD

Kaeding made a league-high 32 field goals (on 35 attempts) with all 3 misses coming from beyond 40. Still, he had 19 chip shot kicks from inside the 30 and only attempted 12 from 40 and out.

P: Ben Graham, ARI

Graham tied an NFL record with 42 punts inside the 20. He pinned teams deep in their territory on 48.8% of his punts and had only 3 touchbacks all year, or 3.5% (tied for 3rd). Surprisingly, he sacrificed little on his net average (40.6), finishing just inside the top 5.

KR: Percy Harvin, MIN

Harvin was a game-changer for the Vikings on kicks, giving the offense a short field to work with. He returned 2 to the house and 3 others for more than 40 yards, averaging 27.5 yards per kick.

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