All-Decade Team

Here is Rick Gosselin's all-decade team. You'll love him for picking Manning but hate him for Belichick.

I received my ballot for the 2000 all-decade team from the Pro Football Hall of Fame last weekend.

When I’m asked to select any sort of all-star team, I prefer 22 players who can actually line up and play a game at their positions of choice.
So I always pick weak- and strong-side ends, weak- and strong-side outside linebackers and free and strong safeties on defense. I also pick a right and left offensive tackle on offense plus a halfback and a fullback.

The Hall of Fame wants us to select a total of 53 players: 2 QBs, 4 RBs, 1 FB, 4 WRs, 2 TEs, 4 OTs, 4 guards, 2 centers, 4 DE, 4 DTs, 6 LBs, 4 CBs, 4 safeties, 2 kickers, 2 punters, 2 KR and 2 PR. That’s a lot of fluff.

What matters to me on this ballot are the players whom I believe excelled over all others at their positions this decade. So I’m going to give you my starting 22 plus my choices at kicker, punter, kick returner, special teamer, head coach, assistant coach and executive of the year. The Hall of Fame does not include a special teamer, assistant coach or executive on the ballot.

So here goes:

Quarterback: Peyton Manning. Three NFL MVPs, three NFL passing titles, a Super Bowl championship. Manning would be my choice for Player of the Decade, regardless of position.

Halfback: LaDainian Tomlinson. Eight consecutive 1,000-yard rushing seasons this decade propelled Tomlinson’s into the NFL’s all-time Top 10. He won two rushing titles, an NFL MVP award and his 151 touchdowns topped the decade.

Fullback: Mike Alstott. I’m a sucker for the three-dimensional Jim Taylor-type fullbacks who can run, catch and block. Alstott was the last of an era.

Wide receivers: Marvin Harrison, Torry Holt. Harrison caught more passes (906) than any receiver this decade and Holt gained more yards (12,571). They also topped the decade with seven Pro Bowls apiece. Randy Moss and Terrell Owens were the squeakiest wheels of the decade -- but Harrison and Holt quietly went about their business and neither took any seasons off on their teammates.

Tight end: Tony Gonzalez. The only tight end to lead the NFL in receiving this decade (2004), Gonzalez caught more passes (826) than either Moss or Owens. He’s the NFL’s all-time leading receiver at his position.

Left tackle: Jonathan Ogden. The Ravens drafted Ogden with the fourth overall choice in 1996 and he gave them 11 Pro Bowls in 12 seasons, including eight this decade. He became the prototype at his position.

Right tackle: Willie Anderson. Left and right tackle are two different positions -- the right side is the power side, the left side finesse. Just about every year two left tackles go to the Pro Bowl because that’s the glory side. It’s harder to attract any attention on the sluggo side but Anderson did so with the once-lowly Bengals. He garnered four Pro Bowl appearances (peers) and three All-Pro selections (writers).

Guards: Alan Faneca, Will Shields.Tackles historically are the pass blockers and guards the run blockers. Faneca spent the bulk of the decade with the Steelers and Shields with the Chiefs. The Steelers finished in the Top 10 in rushing in seven of Faneca’s eight seasons with them this decade, and the Chiefs finished in the Top 10 in five of Shields’ seven seasons. Shields was the focal point of a line that helped Priest Holmes win rushing and scoring titles. Faneca started more Pro Bowls than any offensive player at any position this decade -- eight. Shields was next with six.

Center: Kevin Mawae. Emmitt Smith once told me the center was his first read and a key piece in a successful rushing attack. Mawae was the hub of a blocking front that allowed Curtis Martin to win a rushing title with the Jets in 2004. Now Mawae has helped put Chris Johnson in position to win a rushing crown at Tennessee this season.

Weakside end: Jason Taylor. The only player in the decade to collect 100 sacks. He led the NFL in 2002 with 18 ½ sacks and has 111 this decade. Taylor was voted to six Pro Bowls, tops among defensive ends.

Strongside end: Michael Strahan. Set the NFL record for sacks in a single season with 22 ½ in 2001. Strahan’s 94 ½ sacks in the decade are tops among strongside pass rushers. He also was a mainstay in three Top 10 run defenses this decade.

Defensive tackles: La’Roi Glover, Richard Seymour. Glover was the only defensive tackle to lead the NFL in sacks this decade (17 in 2000). He was voted to start more Pro Bowls (5) than any other tackle this decade. Seymour went to five Pro Bowls, one fewer than Glover, and won three Super Bowl rings.

Weakside linebacker: Derrick Brooks. A complete linebacker in the Jack Ham mold. Rush, tackle, cover -- whatever you need, Brooks delivered. He’s one of only four players in NFL history voted to 10 consecutive Pro Bowls. He was selected the NFL Man of the Year in 2000 and Defensive Player of the Year in 2002.

Middle linebacker Ray Lewis. The Ravens finished in the Top 10 in defense eight times from 2000-08. The one season they missed was 2002 when Lewis himself missed 11 games with a hamstring injury. The physical and emotional leader of the Ravens, Lewis went to six Pro Bowls and was voted to start four of them, tops at his position this decade.

Linebacker: Keith Brooking. Opened seasons this decade at five different linebacker spots -- weak and middle in a 4-3 and strong and both inside spots in a 3-4. Despite Brooking’s “Where’s Waldo” existence, only four linebackers went to more Pro Bowls than his five this decade -- Brooks on the outside and Lewis, Brian Urlacher and Zach Thomas on the inside. Brooking finished the 2000 season on injured reserve with a sprained foot, then strung together nine consecutive 100-tackle seasons. I’d line him up at the strong side on my team -- and make him a captain.

Cornerbacks: Champ Bailey, Ronde Barber. Bailey topped all cornerbacks this decade with 40 interceptions and was voted to eight Pro Bowls, including seven as a starter. That topped all defenders, regardless of position. That’s respect. Barber went to a runnerup five Pro Bowls at corner and intercepted 33 passes. Bailey was the epitome of a shutdown corner, Barber the epitome of a zone corner. Barber scored 13 touchdowns this decade on interceptions (8), fumbles (4) and blocked kicks (1).

Strong safety: Ed Reed. The most complete defensive player of the decade. He started four seasons apiece at free and strong safety and scored 13 touchdowns on interceptions (7), fumble returns (2), blocked kick returns (3) and punt returns (1). He intercepted a decade runnerup 46 passes and also blocked four punts.

Free safety: Darren Sharper. His 57 interceptions were tops in the decade. Sharper returned nine of them for scores. He had nine-interception seasons for both Green Bay and Minnesota and has eight for New Orleans in 2009.

Kicker: Adam Vinatieri. Two game-winning field goals in the closing seconds of Super Bowls stamped Vinatieri as one of the NFL’s greatest clutch kickers of all-time. And don’t forget that 45-yard field goal he drilled in a blizzard against the Raiders in the 2001 playoffs.

Punter: Shane Lechler. His four Pro Bowls and three NFL punting crowns are both tops for the decade. Only punter in history with two single-season net averages over 40 yards.

KR: Devin Hester. The NFL has never seen a return specialist like Hester in that two-year window from 2006-07. Counting playoffs, he scored 13 touchdowns and had two others nullified by penalty. Hester returned seven punts, five kickoffs and one missed field goal for scores.

Special teamer: Larry Izzo. The Bill Bates of this decade, Izzo was voted a team captain eight times, went to three Pro Bowls and collected 200 tackles in the kicking game.

Coach: Bill Belichick. Won a decade-best 111 games and three Super Bowls with the Patriots. Belichick had the foresight to draft Tom Brady in the sixth round in 2000 and carry him as the team’s fourth quarterback in his rookie season. New England was the only team to keep four quarterbacks that year.

Assistant coach: Dick LeBeau. His defenses finished in the Top 10 eight of the last nine seasons with three different teams -- Cincinnati, Buffalo and Pittsburgh. LeBeau coordinated the NFL’s No. 1 defense three times in the last five seasons and won two Super Bowl rings with the Steelers with two different head coaches.

Executive: Bill Polian. Drafted Peyton Manning, hired Tony Dungy and built an Indianapolis team primarily through the draft that won a record 115 games in a single decade.

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