The Doctor's All-Pro
team
Paul Zimmerman has covered the NFL for Sports Illustrated
since 1979. His exclusive online column appears each
Friday.
Posted: Fri December 26,
1997
Presenting my 1997 All-Pro team, based on 141 NFL games
seen in person or on the tube or on
tape.
OFFENSE
WR—Rob Moore,
Cardinals, and
Herman Moore,
Lions
TE—Ben Coates,
Patriots
T—Jonathan Ogden,
Ravens, and
Brad Hopkins,
Oilers
G—Mark Schlereth,
Broncos, and
Will Wolford,
Steelers
C—Dermontti Dawson,
Steelers
QB—Brett Favre,
Packers
RB—Barry Sanders,
Lions, and
Terrell Davis,
Broncos
FB—Mike Alstott,
Buccaneers
DEFENSE
E—Michael Strahan,
Giants, and
Bruce Smith,
Bills
T—Ted Washington,
Bills, and
Dana Stubblefield,
49ers
LB—Levon Kirkland,
Steelers,
Ray Lewis,
Ravens, and
Jessie Armstead,
Giants
CB—Deion Sanders,
Cowboys, and
Aeneas Williams,
Cardinals
SS—LeRoy Butler,
Packers
FS—Marcus Robertson,
Oilers
SPECIAL
TEAMS
K—Pete Stoyanovich,
Chiefs
P—Matt Turk,
Redskins
KR—Michael Bates,
Panthers
PR—Darrien Gordon,
Broncos
COVER—Charlie Williams,
Cowboys
AWARDS
Player of the Year—Barry
Sanders
Rookie of the Year—Warrick Dunn,
Buccaneers
Coach of the Year—Jim Fassel,
Giants
To explain, position by position—and this is more than you
get from the Pro Bowl
pickers:
QB came down to Favre vs. Steve Young, all-out vs. safety
first. I'm not enamored of the way Favre screws up the first
quarter of games, but he does come back. He's deadliest
inside the red
zone.
Picking two running backs is a cop-out because there's only
one per backfield, but honestly now, which one would you
leave
out?
Alstott over the Giants' Charles Way at
fullback. Alstott is a better runner and receiver, Way is the
better
blocker.
Wideouts are always tough, but I do a game-by-game
breakdown, with an eye toward consistency rather than
overall
numbers. If they're still bunched, then I go with the intangibles,
such as who has less help at the other wideout spot, and
who plays in worse weather conditions, etc. So Rob Moore
gets it on consistent long-ball activity; Herman Moore on
pure guts, toughing
it out with two dislocated fingers and a sprained foot.
Runners-up were the Steelers' Yancey Thigpen and the
Jaguars' Keenan McCardell. Minnesota's Cris Carter put up
big numbers, as usual, but there were games in which you
lost sight of
him.
Closest race on the board was at tight
end, and again, Coates gets it over the Broncos' Shannon
Sharpe on week-by-week consistency, plus fewer
drops.
Good tackles are hard to find.
Thank God they switched Ogden from guard, where he made my
All-Pro team as a rookie last year. The Oilers' Brad
Hopkins is a comer, skilled at sealing off the back side
for Eddie George. Gary Zimmerman of the Broncos also
executes that block well. The
Jaguars' Tony Boselli, my No. 1 last year, has slipped, and
that was before he hurt the ankle. He looked heavy and
sluggish this
season.
Fine work, primarily in heavy running offenses, gave
Schlereth and Wolford the nod at the
guards. Closely behind is the Chiefs' Dave Szott, whom many
people I respect tell me is the best. Well, he graded out
No. 3 on my chart, well ahead of the Cowboys' Larry
Allen.
Dawson is the quickest center off the ball, also the best
at adjusting to blitz pickups and running the offensive
line. But I've also seen him beaten on pass blocks and I felt
that maybe this is the year he'd get unseated. Well, the
Broncos' Tom Nalen and the Dolphins' Tim Ruddy were close
but not quite there
yet.
Strahan was the standout defensive
end. I ran game-by-game breakdowns on Bruce Smith, Detroit's
Robert Porcher, Atlanta's Chuck Smith and K.C.'s Dan
Williams, my next highest graders. They finished in that
order, with Bruce Smith getting the nod over Porcher on big
plays. Note: Reggie White
will still be picked for the Pro Bowl when he is 90 and
preaching hellfire down in
Tennessee.
Washington was the best
tackle, a consistent monster inside and a guy who doesn't leave
the field every other play, as the Packers' Gilbert Brown
does. I wanted the Niners' Bryant Young, my favorite tackle
of all, to grade out higher than his teammate,
Stubblefield, but Stubby won
it by a fraction. All those sacks didn't hurt,
either.
I couldn't separate Kirkland, a consistently fine
linebacker, from Lewis, an incredible tackling
machine. They're both inside 'backers, but each one has outside
responsibilities in the nickel, so I chose them both.
People laughed at me when I had Armstead on my team last
year, but he's the best of all of them on the open side.
Next in order—Derrick Brooks
of the Bucs, Anthony Davis of the Chiefs. Watch out for the
Chiefs' middle 'backer Donnie
Edwards.
Yeah, Deion's still on the
corner. Feared by everyone, tested by no one. He's probably the
best ever, but I've always been impressed with the nobility
of guys who played this position—and he's such a jerk.
Williams gets the nod, strictly on the grades, over, in
order, the Skins' Chris
Dishman and Darrell Green, and the Giants' Jason Sehorn.
Williams always covers the other team's stud because
there's such a dropoff at the other
corner.
Strong safety is loaded this
year, and Butler, who blitzes, covers and stuffs the run—in
short, does it all—finishes first, with Darren Woodson of
the Cowboys at No. 2 and Lawyer Milloy of the Patriots, No.
3.
I ran an intensive breakdown on a bunch of free
safeties: the Packers' Eugene Robinson, the Niners' Merton Hanks,
the Giants' Tito Wooten, the Seahawks' Darryl Williams and
the Patriots' Willie Clay. While I was grading the
position, one guy kept jumping off the charts: Robertson.
So I threw him into the mix,
and
Hello
there, he scored higher than any of them. This happens
sometimes. It happened with Armstead last year. Robertson's
attributes? Great range, very precise on his coverages.
I promised myself I wouldn't take a rip at the Pro Bowl
pickers, but here I
go: How could they have taken Mike Hollis over Stoyanovich? I
mean the guy has missed one kick all year, and he booted
the biggest one of the season, the 54-yarder into the wind
to beat Denver at the
buzzer.
Punting numbers for Turk and the Jags' Bryan Barker were
very close, both on net and gross. Barker was better on
punts inside the 20, a meaningless statistic. I count the
ones inside the 10.
But Turk gets my pick on the single most important factor
for judging a
punter: Hang time when his team is backed up. A weak effort here
could mean at least three points. Turk's average hang time
based on the 11 games in which I've seen him (I don't count
poochers) was 4.63, the highest I've ever
recorded.
In picking return men, I let the numbers do the
talking. My wacko cover guy, Charlie Williams, has been dynamic
streaking
downfield.
Barry Sanders for Player of the
Year. When all other systems have shut down, his is still in
operation, which is why the Lions beat the Jets to advance
to the post-season.
Season-long consistency gave Dunn the nod over Cincy's
Corey Dillon for best
rookie. Fassel and the Jets' Bill Parcells both brought doggy
teams to life and had them barking again.
If the Jets were in the playoffs, then Parcells would be in
the box up on top, but it's a hard, cruel, show-me world,
ain't it,
Bill?
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