Chris Simms' All-22 Team from NFL Divisional Playoffs

Chris SimmsJan 17, 2017

I had my dad on speed dial after I played the Packers back in 2008.

We were the eventual AFC No. 1 seed. The opposing quarterback was a third-year kid with less than one season of experience. But my dad thought he was something special when he took back-to-back summer trips up in Wisconsin, watching him warm up with Brett Favre. I was calling to tell him he was right all along.

"Oh, I know, Christopher," I remember him saying. "The first year, he looked OK. The second year, I went up there and he looked so comfortable. Now he looks like one of the best throwers in football."

And in that instant—the moment when my Super Bowl MVP father levied his "best thrower of the football" award—everything changed. I stopped looking at Aaron Rodgers as a Favre heir. I started looking at him as a player all his own—a quarterbacking unicorn who'd develop a quicker release than Dan Marino, faster feet than Russell Wilson and a stronger arm than the guy who preceded him.

You'll run into a lot of Rodgers-related thinkpieces now that the Packers' playoff bandwagon is at full speed. Don't let their hyperbole chip away at the one consistent message I’ve been hammering home since I saw Rodgers in person eight years ago (and in almost every All-22 team I've posted for Bleacher Report). Rodgers is the best quarterback I’ve ever seen—and truly the best in history. And he was operating at that level long before a few Hail Marys or dazzling sideline throws.

QB: Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers

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Could I go any other way with my divisional All-22 quarterback pick?

Not after that game-deciding sideline throw to Jared Cook.

Let’s review the facts: Aaron Rodgers was rolling left (his weak side), didn’t have enough time to square up and threw across his body downfield. For 31 other quarterbacks, that’s a recipe for disaster. For Rodgers, that's a 36-yard dime to his tight end with seven seconds left.

Oh, and did I mention that No. 12 reportedly pulled the play completely out of his ass? It doesn’t even exist in Mike McCarthy’s playbook. Rodgers just told each receiver what to do on the play and made magic happen.

RB: Devonta Freeman, Atlanta Falcons

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Poor, sweet Steven Terrell.

The reserve Seahawks safety stepped up to stop Devonta Freeman and learned what so many would-be tacklers already have this season: It’s really difficult to do in the open field.

In one sweet move, Freeman put Terrell to the turf. He rumbled about 30 more yards downfield. And when all was said and done, the Falcons running back had turned in a 53-yard catch on a play that looked like a Seahawks sack from the snap.

RB: Le’Veon Bell, Pittsburgh Steelers

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Le’Veon Bell is doing his best to make this list my weekly All-Le'Veon Bell team.

He’s not just dominating with patience and pop. He’s setting postseason records in the process. No running back in the history of football has tallied more ground yardage in his first two playoff games than No. 26 (337). And only three other ball-carriers have ever topped 150 yards in back-to-back postseason games.

Those names? Franco Harris, Marcus Allen and Terrell Davis. That’s pretty damn dominant company, especially when you consider he pulled his latest 170-yard feat off against a Chiefs defense chock-full of amazing athletes.

RB: Dion Lewis, New England Patriots

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A rushing touchdown? Could’ve been great blocking.

A receiving touchdown? Might’ve been busted coverage.

A kick-return touchdown? A special teams blunder, perhaps.

But Dion Lewis scored all three ways—and that cannot be ignored. Neither can this statistic: The Patriots are now 15-0 when their shifty ball-carrier is active for a game. This guy wasn’t good enough to make the Browns, mind you.

That touchdown triad has been accomplished only one other time in postseason history. The man to do it was named Gale Sayers, and the year was 1965.

WR: Dez Bryant, Dallas Cowboys

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Dez Bryant is one-and-done this postseason—and it doesn’t seem fair.

Because for one 60-minute showing, No. 88 established himself as the playoffs' biggest freakshow. Packers cover men of all sizes tried their best to stick with Bryant. They all failed (especially LaDarius Gunter).

Bryant scored twice on what looked like a healthy foot and ankle. If there’s any solace in a divisional-round loss, it’s that. Plenty of X's will be thrown up in 2017 if his health stays where it is.

WR: Julian Edelman, New England Patriots

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"Tom Brady has never had any real weapons."

It’s the go-to argument for any Brady defender in an all-time great quarterback debate. And it’s complete nonsense; Brady is undoubtedly one of the best, but he’s had Randy Moss and Wes Welker to throw to. Now he has Julian Edelman.

I group those three names together now. With 76 snags, Edelman is the Patriots’ all-time leading postseason pass-catcher (think about that). He’ll surpass Reggie Wayne (93) if New England goes to the Super Bowl, with a shot at the all-time leader, Jerry Rice (151), coming up.

Houston’s secondary knows how hard it was to hold No. 11 to eight receptions. It’ll tell you exactly what he is: Brady’s best weapon ever.

TE: Jared Cook, Green Bay Packers

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Jared Cook’s job description isn’t very taxing.

He has the best quarterback in the universe throwing him the football and a frame most football players would kill for. He just needs to find green space, reach his arms out, catch the ball and stay in bounds.

What took him so long to put it all together in Green Bay?

The answer—like the answer to how Aaron Rodgers got him the football at such an odd angle late in the fourth quarter—may never be known. What’s certain, though, is that No. 12 is better with No. 89 at his disposal.

OL: Alex Mack, Atlanta Falcons

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Sometimes I worry about all the things Kyle Shanahan asks his center to do each week.

Then I remember who that center is. Alex Mack is no fourth-string scrub. He’s a vested veteran who can do damn near anything the Falcons offense (and its soon-to-be head coach at coordinator) ask of him.

Case in point: dealing with the size of Seattle’s interior linemen. Jarran Reed and Ahtyba Rubin are 628 pounds of football beef on running downs. On passing downs, Michael Bennett comes rolling in with his speed and swim moves. Mack never looked flustered against any body type.

OL: David Bakhtiari, Green Bay Packers

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I had some inside information on the status of David Bakhtiari’s leg before kickoff. It wasn’t pretty.

It wasn’t pretty when the Cowboys went and rolled up behind him, either. That one misstep forced Bakhtiari to hobble off the field for a while.

You know what was pretty? Watching one of the best blindside protectors in football tough it out in a game his Packers absolutely needed him for. Bakhtiari won’t get credit for Aaron Rodgers’ miracle throw, but without a key seal over on the left sideline, it never reaches Jared Cook’s hands.

OL: Maurkice Pouncey, Pittsburgh Steelers

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You don’t see many centers pulling around to lead block on running plays these days.

Except the one in Pittsburgh, that is. Maurkice Pouncey is one of the only guys in football who is A) mentally focused enough to diagnose where to pull and snap the ball accurately and B) athletic enough to get around in front of a run after snapping the damn ball.

And I haven’t even started on the man-on-man job he pulled off on Dontari Poe and Chris Jones—two of the toughest interior linemen in football. Pouncey is a specimen, folks.

OL: Ryan Schraeder, Atlanta Falcons

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When you’re getting in Michael Bennett’s head, something must be working.

Ryan Schraeder brought a little attitude to the Georgia Dome last Saturday. Bennett didn’t like it—he pushed and shoved and whined about holding calls—but the right tackle gave it right back to him.

Did Bennett make his share of plays? You bet. But for the most part, the fourth-year tackle stood tall against one of the best pass-rushers in football and kept Matt Ryan clean enough.

DL: Jadeveon Clowney, Houston Texans

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One more split second and I’m writing Tom Brady’s football obituary, not an All-22 roster.

That’s how close Jadeveon Clowney was to blowing the Patriots legend up last Saturday night. His epic arm-cover move got him within seconds of recreating The Hit at Gillette Stadium.

That moment of sheer pass-rushing terror aside, I’m so impressed with Clowney on two fronts. First, Bill Belichick couldn’t game-plan him away—and he could with J.J. Watt. That’s amazing.

Second, every time the cameras panned to Houston’s sideline, it was Clowney delivering the pep talks. As an ex-football player, I respect a player who takes it on himself to ensure a game doesn’t get out of hand. Clowney just became that guy.

DL: Alan Branch, New England Patriots

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What’s the best winning option for a Brock Osweiler-quarterbacked offense?

Don’t use Brock Osweiler. And hope—pray, even—that the other team doesn’t have a guy like Alan Branch on the other side of the line of scrimmage. Because if it does, that’s a huge disadvantage.

Branch is New England’s new Vince Wilfork prototype for a reason. Lamar Miller and the Texans' running game couldn’t carry the day with no space to operate. That left ol’ Osweiler all alone to make plays and…well, you know the rest.

DL: Michael Bennett, Seattle Seahawks

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Michael Bennett’s lone sack wasn’t enough to land him on this list.

But his impact on the running game certainly was. Roll back the game film like I did, and you’ll notice Atlanta decided to run right at No. 72—a risky proposition for any offense to attempt.

The alternative wasn’t any prettier, though. Offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan tried running away from Bennett in their previous meeting, only to watch him slink down the line of scrimmage and chop ball-carriers down from the back side.

He went with this route out of desperation, giving away Atlanta’s ground game plan within a few handoffs. That’s All-22 impact if I’ve ever seen it.

LB: Whitney Mercilus, Houston Texans

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When Tom Brady is on, he moves around in the pocket like it’s his living room.

So he must’ve been off on Saturday night. Thanks to Whitney Mercilus, one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history was reduced to an average level at times: chopping his feet, flinching in the tackle box and afraid.

That’s the greatest compliment I can give Mercilus. He made Brady look average enough times for the Texans to keep a surefire blowout close.

LB: Bobby Wagner, Seattle Seahawks

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Bobby Wagner once earned a single MVP vote for his stellar play.

And this season was even better than that one. If you told me he was the NFC’s best overall defender, I wouldn’t disagree. And he proved it time and time again against the Falcons.

Wagner swallowed up anything designed to beat his team’s favorite coverage—Cover 3 Press Bail. That meant tons of tackles from zone when receivers or running backs crossed his face and entered his space.

His 4.5 total tackles might not look like much. But Wagner is also the king of redirecting runners back into his help defense. Atlanta would’ve scored 50 without that leadership.

LB: Bud Dupree, Pittsburgh Steelers

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Suddenly, this Pittsburgh defense has a young James Harrison to go with its old one.

Bud Dupree has that kind of impact on a passer. Just ask Alex Smith, who had a Dupree-timed clock ticking in the back of his mind every time he took a snap last Sunday night.

Sometimes, that alarm went off too late. Smith was ransacked by Dupree on a pass attempt that landed in teammate Ryan Shazier’s arms. But it mostly went off too early; Dupree forced Smith into a paltry 5.1 yards-per-attempt average.

LB: Deion Jones, Atlanta Falcons

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Atlanta has its own Bobby Wagner for its Seattle-style defense. And not a moment too soon for a potential Super Bowl run.

I’ll say it again: Deion Jones is every bit the freak athlete his Seahawks counterpart is. He’s the quickest to any hole and the most aggressive linebacker on the team. Plus, he allows the Falcons to be creative with stunts and blitzes because he can run to either sideline and cover behind them.

Jones’ hands can’t be overlooked, either. His interception sealed Atlanta’s divisional-round victory and looked like the kind of play Wagner got paid for.

DB: Micah Hyde, Green Bay Packers

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If the "Honey Badger" is Tyrann Mathieu’s trademark, it’s time to come up with a similar vicious name for Micah Hyde.

Both men do the same job. It’s obvious that Mathieu is the brand name, but Hyde isn’t far behind in terms of blitzing ability and slot-corner coverage.

Dallas fell for both skills last Sunday afternoon. Hyde came off the edge for a sack Dak Prescott never saw coming. He also sideswiped a football intended for Cole Beasley on a bubble screen—a testament to his film study and play-diagnosing abilities.

DB: Logan Ryan, New England Patriots

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Let’s review Logan Ryan’s divisional-game output, shall we?

One interception. Two pass breakups. One sack. And by my count, only around three receptions allowed—all for minimal yardage.

That’s pretty phenomenal, even against a struggling quarterback like Brock Osweiler. Bill Belichick clearly trusts Ryan to diagnose and attack footballs. He took complete control of the game at times, eliminating DeAndre Hopkins from play.

DB: Eric Berry, Kansas City Chiefs

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I saw Le’Veon Bell break outside on one 2nd-and-10 carry and held my breath.

I should’ve known better. Bell was having a monster day, but Eric Berry is nothing if not a perfect run supporter. The star safety was there to keep contain and tackle Bell for a loss.

Of course, an interception followed. Berry’s end-zone tip drill pick showcased his concentration and kept K.C. within striking distance. In a game of field goals, that was paramount.

DB: Ricardo Allen, Atlanta Falcons

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Ricardo Allen was left off every All-22 team roster this season.

Until now, that is. I can no longer ignore Atlanta’s slightly poorer man’s Earl Thomas. The range he brings to the back line of Dan Quinn’s defense is too much to overlook.

Allen’s almost as dangerous as Thomas with the ball in his hands, too. Remember: He returned a fluttering Russell Wilson pass 45 yards the other way when Seattle was driving to cut the lead to one score. No. 37 was having none of it.