Soul_Survivor88
Experienced Starter w/First Big Contract
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Position rankings: Midseason All-Pro team - NFL.com
....The Patriots have more players on this list than any other team
Quarterback: Tom Brady
Dion Lewis: Satellite Back
Rob Gronkowski: Tight End
Jamie Collins and Dont'a Hightower: Linebackers
....The Patriots have more players on this list than any other team
Quarterback: Tom Brady
Considering the length and breadth of Brady's career, it's well past time to acknowledge that he has surpassed Joe Montana and Johnny Unitas as the greatest quarterback ever to suit up. Montana didn't play a full 16-game season from age 29 through the end of his career. He was benched once in favor of Steve Young and then traded in his mid-30s. At Brady's current age, Montana was playing out his final season. Meanwhile, Brady is enjoying an MVP campaign, challenging his record-breaking 2007 season as the highest level he has played in a sterling career.
Brady recently stated that he's a better quarterback now than he was five years ago. That's not hyperbole. A slimmer Brady is more nimble in the pocket and has lost nothing from his fastball. He continues to put on a quarterbacking clinic, showcasing rare field vision, processing information at rapid speed and attacking the right players on the right down and distance. With the exception of the 2014 regular-season finale in which Brady rested for half of the game, he's led the Pats to victory in 20 of his last 21 starts. That is a phenomenal feat for a quarterback who has already played long enough to own the career Super Bowl records for passes, completions, yards and touchdowns.
Dion Lewis: Satellite Back
The ATNFL team features a satellite back because the best offensive coaches utilize a spread-offense specialist in a pass-heavy era with uptempo attacks and game-deciding two-minute drills. Lewis has been the most elusive -- and perhaps the most exciting -- back in the league, consistently forcing the first tackler to miss via the run as well as the pass. Despite missing a game to injury, he's on pace for 73 receptions, 798 receiving yards and nine touchdowns -- numbers that would shatter the career-best seasons of Brady's other satellite backs such as Kevin Faulk, Danny Woodhead and Shane Vereen.
Rob Gronkowski: Tight End
Of all great tight ends in history, Gronkowski is the most freakishly physical at 6 feet 6 and 265 pounds along with the movement skills of a wide receiver. His blocking ability allows the Patriots to steamroll softer defenses with a power-rushing attack. His nonpareil receiving ability allows Brady to riddle stout defenses such as the Bills or Jets with a spread attack.
Stopping Gronkowski is a Herculean task that would require a Frankenstein-like mashup of Jamie Collins' size and athleticism, Josh Norman's playmaking ability and Patrick Peterson's speed and quickness. He's the best I've ever seen.
Jamie Collins and Dont'a Hightower: Linebackers
Clay Matthews has been excellent, but Collins and Hightower are the beating heart of an overlooked young defensive nucleus in New England.
NBC analyst Cris Collinsworth recently revealed that Colts offensive coaches game-planned for Collins more than any other player except for two-time Defensive Player of the Year J.J. Watt. Billed as a two-down thumper coming out of Alabama, Hightower has also been an effective pass rusher in subpackages. He made nine plays in the backfield versus the Jets. Nine!
