Carson Palmer Beats Brady On Pro Football Focus All-Pro First Team
By Matt Dolloff
BOSTON (CBS) -- It's awards season in the NFL. The Patriots will have no shortage of honors after compiling a 12-4 record and garnering seven Pro Bowl selections. Tom Brady is in the MVP race, but it will be interesting to see where he ends up on the All-Pro selections.
You may or may not care about awards in general, but players ought to be proud of earning All-Pro distinctions. It's the ultimate recognition of the best of the best of the best at every position. Rob Gronkowski is sure to earn some All-Pro honors as he remains clearly the league's best all-around tight end; Pro Football Focus is the first to award him.
Both Gronkowski and kicker Stephen Gostkowski earned First Team honors on PFF's 2015 All-Pro selections, which ought to be expected. But the eyebrow-raiser (depending on your point-of-view) comes at quarterback, where Brady was selected for the second team ... behind Arizona Cardinals QB Carson Palmer.
If you've been following PFF this season, you saw this coming. Palmer finished as PFF's top-graded QB at 98.5 while Brady finished third at 92.9. The raw stats bear a slight edge for Palmer, who passed for only 99 fewer yards than Brady in 87 fewer pass attempts and finished with a slightly better QB rating at 104.6 compared to Brady's 102.2. Brady was more efficient and threw fewer interceptions, but PFF gave Palmer the edge for "playing better than he ever has" after returning from a potential "career-defining" ACL injury.
SEE ALSO: The 10 Most Mind-Blowing Patriots Stats (So Far) On Pro Football Focus
The first question from many fans around here will be "Who cares?" It's fair to scoff at awards that ultimately mean nothing when it comes to winning the ultimate prize, the Lombardi Trophy. But for those who do care, some more sensitive fans may view this as an affront to Brady. Though Brady's play has slightly declined after a scorching start to the season, he has played reasonably well even in some of the Patriots' losing efforts, considering the key injuries and deteriorating offensive line he has dealt with along the way.
You could argue that Palmer has benefitted from having a deeper, more talented arsenal of weapons around him. But ultimately, it's not egregious to give Palmer the nod over Brady. He has had a renaissance season for what might be the league's most complete team.
You may also argue that the analysts at PFF don't really know what they're talking about. It's fair to say that their grading system is not perfect. Case in point: their negative grade for Aaron Rodgers after throwing five touchdowns and zero interceptions and their argument that Brady is no longer a top-five QB. But they still use the eyeball test for their grades, which Bill Belichick will tell you is more valuable than any advanced analytics you could concoct. Considering the players at the top of their lists, more often than not, they get it right.
Elsewhere on the list, Jamie Collins earned an "honorable mention" at the inside linebacker position, finishing behind the Panthers' Luke Kuechly and the Vikings' Anthony Barr. This bodes well for Collins' chances to land on another All-Pro roster after emerging as one of the league's elite all-around linebackers in 2015.
Do you think Brady deserves All-Pro First Team honors this year? Do you care? Share your thoughts in the comments.
Matt Dolloff is a writer for CBSBostonSports.com. His opinions do not necessarily reflect that of CBS or 98.5 The Sports Hub. Follow him on Twitter @mattdolloff and email him at mdolloff@985thesportshub.com.
