The 2002-03 season will close with the Pro Bowl this Sunday
in Honolulu, which means that it is time to announce BTG’s All-Pro Team,
Offensive Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, and Coach of the
Year. The selections were based on votes from our staff members, who were
allowed to vote (once) between January 15th and 25th.
Twenty four teams had at least one representative on our
50-man All-Pro Team, including the expansion Texans and the Titans, who were
initially shut out of the Pro Bowl. The Rams and Broncos were the two biggest
surprises to not have a player make the team. The other clubs that were not
represented were Arizona, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Detroit, Seattle, and
Washington. The Eagles placed the most on the squad – three starters, three
reserves, plus Coach Andy Reid. The World Champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers
were second with five representatives, including a team-leading four starters.
The 49ers, Dolphins, and Raiders tied for third, with four players from each
club being tabbed as BTG All Pros.
Six players were unanimous selections – Oakland QB Rich
Gannon, Kansas City RB Priest Holmes, Indianapolis WR Marvin
Harrison, San Francisco WR Terrell Owens, and Tampa Bay’s LB
Derrick Brooks and DE Simeon Rice. Harrison, Brooks, and Baltimore
OT Jonathan Ogden were named to the team for a record, fourth consecutive
year. As always, there were some deserving players who failed to make the team,
including Carolina DE Mike Rucker, Jacksonville DT John Henderson,
San Francisco guard Ron Stone, San Diego MLB Donnie Edwards, Jets
QB Chad Pennington, Giants RB Tiki Barber and WR Amani Toomer,
Dallas safety Roy Williams, and Kansas City TE Tony Gonzalez.
Henderson and Williams were both rookies so it’s understandable that they were
overlooked, though two freshmen (TE Jeremy Shockey and G LeCharles
Bentley) did make the squad.
For the first time in the history of the award (four
years), someone other than a St. Louis Ram was named the Offensive Player of
the Year. This season’s winner was Kansas City’s Holmes, who earned 83
percent of the first-place votes. Despite missing the last two regular-season
games with a right hip injury, Holmes ran for 1,615 yards on 313 carries, caught
70 passes for 672 yards, and scored 24 touchdowns. The only other player to
receive a first-place vote was Oakland’s Gannon, who finished second by
garnering 67 percent of the second-place votes. Atlanta QB Michael Vick
finished a very distant third in the voting.
Brooks became the first player to repeat as our
Defensive Player of the Year. The Tampa Bay linebacker originally won the
award following the 1999 season. During this past regular season, Brooks
collected 118 tackles, five interceptions and four touchdowns, and he punctuated
his fantastic year with a 44-yard interception return for a score in the Super
Bowl. Brooks edged out teammate Rice for the award. Including the playoffs,
the Tampa Bay defensive end had 19½ sacks, and he was arguably the MVP of the
Super Bowl. Rice and Miami’s Jason Taylor, who had a league-leading 17
sacks during the regular season, both received first-place votes, but Taylor
finished third in the voting due to fewer overall votes.
Reid ran away with the Coach of the Year award.
Voters were likely impressed with the way that he kept his team on the winning
track despite losing his superstar QB, Donovan McNabb. The Eagles won five of
six games without McNabb and earned home-field advantage throughout the NFC
playoffs. Oakland’s Bill Callahan and Tampa Bay’s Jon Gruden
finished a distant second and third, respectively. If the voting had taken
place after the Super Bowl, there is little doubt that Gruden would have
finished higher than Callahan and possibly Reid.
2002-03 ALL-PRO TEAM
