Doug Baker's 2008 NFL All Pro Team: Defense

The season's over and I am going to present my NFL All Pro Team .

In this article, I am presenting the starting defense, punter, kick returner, and the defensive player of the year.

Given that most teams run a 3-4 or 4-3 defense, I am picking four defensive linemen and four linebackers, so I have a 12-man team on defense.

For linebackers, I don’t pick inside and outside linebackers, I just pick the best linebackers in the league regardless of where they play in their respective defensive schemes. Since it’s my All Pro Team, I guess I can do that.

Some players that didn’t make the team will be very upset, so I better go ahead and tell you who that is and give them honorable mentions here:

Mario Williams, DE, Houston Texans
Haloti Ngata, DT, Baltimore Ravens
Patrick Willis, LB, San Francisco 49’ers
DeMarco Ryans, LB, Houston Texans

They don’t even get their pictures on this definitive NFL 2008 All Pro Team.

Troy Polamalu, SS, Pittsburgh Steelers gets the cover of this article because he made one of the most amazing interceptions I have ever seen this year.

Justin Tuck, DE, New York Giants

Justin Tuck, DE, New York Giants FIrst Team NFL All Pro

I think Justin Tuck is the best defensive lineman in the league. He is definitely the toughest to block one-on-one. He can also play effectively at either end or tackle.

John Abraham, DE, Atlanta Falcons

John Abraham, DE, Atlanta Falcons First Team NFL All Pro

John Abraham has had a great year in Atlanta and lead the league in sacks for much of the season.

Jared Allen, DE, Minnesota Vikings

Jared Allen, DE, Minnesota Vikings Second Team NFL All Pro

You have to love the motor Jared Allen has on defense. He is relentless whether he is rushing the passer or playing the run. Like Justin Tuck, Allen is a defensive lineman that can sometimes take the game over on defense.

Julius Peppers, DE, Carolina Panthers

Julius Peppers, DE, Carolina Panthers Second Team NFL All Pro

The last spot came down to Julius Peppers and Mario Williams of the Houston Texans. I lean just slightly toward Peppers because he has come on late in the season to carry the Panthers defense along with linebacker Jon Beason.

Albert Haynesworth, DT, Tennessee Titans

Albert Haynesworth, DT, Tennessee Titans First Team NFL All Pro

Albert Haynesworth and Kris Jenkins are both defensive player of the year candidates and dominate the line of scrimmage from the tackle position. They are clearly the two best tackles in the league.

Kris Jenkins, DT, New York Jets

Kris Jenkins, DT, New York Jets First Team NFL All Pro

Kris Jenkins, in some ways, has had a more impressive year than Albert Haynesworth because he doesn’t have the same level of talent around him.

Shaun Rogers, DT, Cleveland Browns

Shaun Rogers, DT, Cleveland Browns Second Team NFL All Pro

Shaun Rogers usually dominates the line of scrimmage in the first half of games. I have seen him completely manhandle centers in games and, despite his huge size, he may be the fastest defensive tackle off the ball in the NFL. His weakness is he gets tired and fades in the second half.

Jamal Williams, DT, San Diego Chargers

Jamal Williams, DT, San Diego Chargers Second Team NFL All Pro

Jamal Williams has been one of the most consistent defense tackles in the league on a less than stellar defense. He should have made the Pro Bowl.

James Harrison, LB, Pittsburgh Steelers

James Harrison, LB, Pittsburgh Steelers First Team All Pro

James Harrison is the most dominate linebacker in the league this year. He is a one-man wrecking crew and makes the entire defense better.

DeMarcus Ware, LB, Dallas Cowboys

DeMarcus Ware, LB, Dallas Cowboys First Team All Pro

DeMarcus Ware really come on late in the season to lead the league with 20 sacks. The past several weeks he has torn up opposing offensive lineman and catapulted himself into the discussion of defensive player of the year.

Ray Lewis, LB, Baltimore Ravens

Ray Lewis, LB, Baltimore Ravens First Team All Pro

Ray Lewis has found the fountain of youth this year and is back to being the dominant middle linebacker we are used to seeing roam the field for the Ravens. He is the seminal middle linebacker of his generation, just like Mike Singletary was of his.

Joey Porter, LB, Miami Dolphins

Joey Porter, LB, Miami Dolphins First Team All Pro

Joey Porter is a jerk and I blanch at having to put him on this list, but alas, I must. He has had a great year in the reformulated Dolphins defense and is back to trash talking and backing it up by smacking around the opposing offensive players.

Antonio Pierce, LB, New York Giants

Antonio Pierce, LB, New York Giants Second Team NFL All Pro

I am surprised Antonio Pierce did not make the Pro Bowl. While he benefits from having a great defensive line in front of him, he plays the run and the pass equally well and is vital to the success of the Giants defense, especially given their weak secondary.

LaMarr Woodley, LB, Pittsburgh Steelers

LaMarr Woodley, LB, Pittsburgh Steelers Second Team NFL All Pro

LaMarr Woodley has been the Robin to James Harrison’s Batman in Pittsburgh. Woodley anchors the opposite side of the line and takes advantage of the attention the offense has to give to stopping Harrison and Troy Polamalu.

Lance Briggs, LB, Chicago Bears

Lance Briggs, LB, Chicago Bears Second Team NFL All Pro

Lance Briggs, in many respects, has taken over the mantle of best defensive player on the Bears’ team. His outside pass rushing skills are superlative and he plays well against the run, too.

Jon Beason, LB, Carolina Panthers

Jon Beason, LB, Carolina Panthers Second Team NFL All Pro

Jon Beason is one of the best young linebackers in the league, and I expect him to become a dominant one in the near future. He’s smart and tends to be in the right place at the right time on most plays.

Troy Polamalu, SS, Pittsburgh Steelers

Troy Polamalu, SS, Pittsburgh Steelers First Team NFL All Pro

Troy Polamalu is head and shoulders above any other strong safety in the league. He has an unbelievable nose for the ball and has made some of the most spectacular interceptions I’ve ever seen.

He’s the complete package, playing the run and pass equally well. And he’s one of the smartest defensive players in the league. He has impeccable timing on blitzes and seems to always be in on every play.

Adrian Wilson, SS, Arizona Cardinals

Adrian Wilson, SS, Arizona Cardinals Second Team NFL All Pro

Adrian Wilson has been a consistently good strong safety for the past several years. He also has a good nose for the football and is a tough tackler.

Ed Reed, FS, Baltimore Ravens

Ed Reed, FS, Baltimore Ravens First Team All Pro

What can you say about Ed Reed that hasn’t already been said? The guy is a ball hawk and is the best free safety I’ve seen since Ronnie Lott and Charles Woodson. He is a phenomenal, dynamic player.

Nick Collins, FS, Green Bay Packers

Nick Collins, FS, Green Bay Packers Second Team NFL All Pro

What can you say about Ed Reed that hasn’t already been said? The guy is a ball hawk and is the best free safety I’ve seen since Ronnie Lott and Charles Woodson. He is a phenomenal, dynamic player.

Antonine Winfield, CB, Minnesota Vikings

Antoine Winfield, CB, Minnesota Vikings First Team All Pro

Antoine Winfield is an underrated cornerback, even though he made the Pro Bowl. He is the best cornerback in the league playing the run and making tackles, and as the season wore on was not thrown against too often.

I’ve seen him take over a few games, particularly the wild shootout the Vikings had against the Saints this year. He is one of my defensive player of the year candidates.

Nnamdi Asomugha, CB, Oakland Raiders

Nnamdi Asomugha, CB, Oakland Raiders First Team All Pro

Nnamdi Asomugha is probably the best cover corner in the league. It’s too bad he plays on the terrible team.

Charles Woodson, CB, Green Bay Packers

Charles Woodson, CB, Green Bay Packers Second Team NFL All Pro

Charles Woodson is one of the anchors of a Packers secondary that showed a penchant for producing turnovers and keeping Green Bay in games that otherwise might have gotten out of hand.

He is getting a little older for the cornerback position but is still one of the best in the league when healthy.

Cortland Finnegan, CB, Tennessee Titans

Cortland Finnegan, CB, Tennessee Titans Second Team NFL All Pro

Cortland Finnegan is a fiery young corner that is brave against the run and somewhat of a ball hawk when he sees it coming his way. He could develop into a perennial Pro Bowler at this position.

Mike Scifres, P, San Diego Chargers

Mike Scifres, P, San Diego Chargers First Team NFL All Pro

In the games I have seen, Scifres punts have made the most difference in his team’s chances of winning. The unusual spin he has on the ball makes the return game a bit hard for opposing teams and he has a great punting average.

Leon Washington, KR/RB, New York Jets

Leon Washington, KR/RB, New York Jets First Team All Pro

I have seen Leon Washington single-handedly turn games around with his kickoff and punt returns. He’s been a real difference maker this year as a kick returner and third-down back.

James Harrison, LB, Pittsburgh Steelers

James Harrison, LB, Pittsburgh Steelers
2008 DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Harrison is the best linebacker in the league and makes the whole corps of good linebackers in Pittsburgh even better. He’s been a beast this year.