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Unlike the other all-time great safety in the division, the Steelers' Troy Polamalu is committed to playing this season. But Polamalu did acknowledge to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that he thinks of the end of his career "all the time."

"People have asked me how many years do you think you can play? My reaction is always, when you live day to day, it's hard to talk years," he said. "It's always been my mantra in life, whether it was my first year as a rookie or year 10, I just live day to day."

It's fair to say that Polamalu, who turned 31, has fewer years ahead in his playing career than behind him. But that won't impact this season. The fact that Polamalu was there for voluntary workouts will.

Polamalu usually skips these practices because he prefers working out with his trainer in Los Angeles. He said he chose to come this year "for obvious reasons."

"We had a lot of our major leadership leave, people that we count on," he said. "I think it's nice for the younger guys to see a familiar face, and, honestly, to get myself better."

This older Polamalu might think of retirement more, but he is also more mature and responsible. He understands the effect of losing the likes of James Farrior, Aaron Smith and Chris Hoke on defense. He understands that the Steelers need him in Pittsburgh and not on the West Coast.

General manager Kevin Colbert said at the NFL owners meetings that he couldn't identify who would become the new leaders on this team. "We're looking for that right now," he said.

Well, the Steelers looked at one when they saw Polamalu entering team headquarters for a workout in May.

BEREA, Ohio -- The Cleveland Browns couldn't hide their enthusiasm for Trent Richardson.

The Browns wanted him so badly that they gave up three picks to move one spot to make sure they got the only elite running back in this draft. Then, even before the Washington Redskins made their pick at No. 2, Cleveland turned in its card with Richardson's name on it.

Richardson brings new life and enthusiasm to one of the worst offenses in the NFL. He also brings something equally as important -- a physical identity.

Cleveland's long-plodding offense is now tougher, rougher and meaner. With all due respect to Jim Brown, Richardson is far from "ordinary." Richardson is the type of no-nonsense running back that a team needs when colliding with the likes of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens.

In the SEC, one of the best college conferences in the country, Richardson set Alabama season records for rushing yards (1,679) and touchdowns (21) by showing no hesitation when running in between the tackles. He was fearless in bulling past defenders and stiff-arming them. What makes him a playmaker is his ability to also make players miss in the open field. His power and elusiveness is a special combination.

This is a draft where the Browns must rebuild their offense. It started by finding the centerpiece for it.

"We’re thrilled. He’s one of the guys who’s passionate, productive and durable," Browns coach Pat Shurmur said. "He’s the kind of runner that we feel is going to help us to put an offense together to score the points that we need to win the games that we’re going to win."

Shurmur added, "If you don’t sense the excitement in my voice, then you’re missing it."

What the Browns were missing last season was a spark on offense. Cleveland ranked 29th in yards and 30th in scoring. That's why trading up to secure Richardson wasn't just the right move. It was the only one.

It was an aggressive move for an aggressive player. Outside of quarterbacks Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III, Richardson was the only other player in this draft who could immediately affect an offense.

Problem: The Browns scored the second-fewest rushing touchdowns (four) in the past 15 NFL seasons, according to ESPN Stats & Information.

Solution: Richardson is one of three players in SEC history to score 20 or more rushing touchdowns in a season.

Problem: The Browns' running backs averaged the fewest yards after contact (1.77) last season.

Solution: Richardson thrives on contact and talked openly Thursday night about crashing into Ray Lewis and Troy Polamalu.

There's a risk in taking a running back so high in the draft, which is why few teams do it. There have been five running backs taken in the top five in the previous 10 drafts: Cedric Benson (2005), Ronnie Brown (2005), Cadillac Williams (2005), Reggie Bush (2006) and Darren McFadden (2008). They've combined for one Pro Bowl.

Shurmur indicated that if the Browns didn't take Richardson in the top five, another team would have. This prompted the Browns to give up picks in the fourth (118th overall), fifth (139th) and seventh (211th) rounds to move up one spot to get Richardson. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and St. Louis Rams reportedly were thinking about trading up for him.

Why were so many teams interested in Richardson? As Shurmur describes him, Richardson is virtually flawless.

"He can run with power. He can make you miss when he gets in the open. He can score," Shurmur said. "I like the fact that when he’s asked to pass protect, he will do it aggressively. And, when you throw him the football, he catches it. Unless I’m missing something there, that’s what runners got to do."

The Browns needed a playmaker at running back. Perhaps just as important, they needed a running back who will show up every week. That was a major problem last season, when Peyton Hillis, Montario Hardesty and Brandon Jackson missed a chunk of the season with injuries.

"The other guys on this team, the coaches and our fans need to know that our players are going to show up," Shurmur said. "I’ve seen this in this player. We feel like that’s what we’re getting."

Richardson has his skeptics, namely the best running back in Browns history. When asked Thursday afternoon about the possibility of Cleveland taking Richardson, Jim Brown said, "I'm not overwhelmed with it. The problem is that he's ordinary. I think he's ordinary." Asked what about him is ordinary, Brown said, "the size, the speed, his moves."

You have to admire how Richardson responded to the criticism. Like his style of play, he attacked it head on.

"I got a lot to prove," he said on a conference call with reporters. "I'm going to make sure they all mention my name and compare people to me."

Shurmur couldn't say at what point during the draft process that the Browns knew Richardson was going to be their pick.

It could have been during his pro day in late March, when he knocked down Cleveland running backs coach Gary Brown in a blocking drill.

It could have been when he took 17-year-old cancer survivor Courtney Alvis to the senior prom 10 days before the draft.

Richardson acknowledged he didn't know he was going to be taken this high. But he's as excited as the Browns that it happened.

"It's bigger than winning the national championship game," Richardson said.

In a perfect scenario, the Browns would've been able to trade up last month in order to get RG3. They didn't get their quarterback, but they were determined not to lose out on their running back.

But Richardson is more than a running back to the Browns. He's their cornerstone and their new identity.

"He’s going to be what we think is going to be a really, really fine addition to the Cleveland Browns team," Shurmur said. "He’s going to be one of those players that our fans and our community will be able to watch run the ball for a lot of years. That’s what we’re excited about."

How to handle concussions during games have become a hot topic in the NFL. Now, head injuries are becoming more of a factor in how teams evaluate draft prospects.

Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome said the team's scouting report on prospects include how many concussions the player sustained in college.

“That information is out there,” Newsome said last week at the team's pre-draft luncheon. “As far as what we do, and most teams do, is once we get guys here, we’ll get a baseline test done with those players, so that if a concussion occurs, then we have something that we can refer back to. But, it is something now that throughout the league -- and in all professional sports and on the collegiate level -- that everybody is spending more time looking at.”

This is not only a intelligent move. It's a necessary one. When a player has had concussions in college, there's a strong likelihood that he'll have them in the future. So having a player's history of head injuries is just as important as his history with knee injuries and perhaps even moreso.

Plus, the NFL has made the decision to protect players from themselves (and, in some instances, from teams wanting to put them back in the game too early). As a result, the league has set some tough guidelines for players to return to games after taking shots to the head, and those guidelines will only become stricter as years go by. If the league has become more sensitive to the subject of concussions, the teams have to increase their awareness of the players who are more prone to get them.

Teams are smart to get this information. But the smart teams are going to be the ones who use it properly. You can't let a player's concussion history overshadow his talent. If Troy Polamalu was coming out of college today, would he not be a first-round pick because of his history of concussions in college? Teams can't be scared off too easily with this new information. That could lead to passing up one of the best safeties in the game.

Still, this league is a business, and teams don't want to invest a first- or second-round pick in a player who has a short career because of head trauma.

The AFC North is running a series where every position will be ranked and what could change at that position.

DEFENSIVE BACKS

1. STEELERS: Pittsburgh had the top-ranked pass defense, and it wasn't all about the pass rush this time. Actually, the pass rush was extremely inconsistent this season, so that No. 1 ranking is more of a reflection of the Steelers' secondary. Cornerback Ike Taylor and free safety Ryan Clark had career years. Taylor's season, though, was marred by a late-season decline that ended with him getting stiffed-armed by the Broncos' Demaryius Thomas on the touchdown that ended the Steelers' season. Clark had the best season of any safety in the division, which is saying a lot when Troy Polamalu and Ed Reed are in the AFC North. He finished second in the division with 100 tackles. Polamalu was solid, but didn't play up to his usual spectacular level. William Gay was a pleasant surprise, taking back the starting cornerback job that he lost in 2010. What could change: Gay is an unrestricted free agent, but it shouldn't take much to retain him. Look for rookie cornerbacks Cortez Allen and Curtis Brown to make more of an impact in their second seasons.

2. RAVENS: This group exceeded expectations, and did so in a surprising manner. Instead of starting Domonique Foxworth and Chris Carr at cornerback, the Ravens finished fourth in pass defense with Lardarius Webb and Cary Williams. Webb was the division's top cornerback, recording five interceptions and breaking up 20 passes (and that doesn't include three interceptions in the playoffs). Williams was a physical presence at corner. The biggest disappointment was Reed, who intercepted three passes -- his fewest in a season where he played more than 12 games. The Ravens' other safety, hard-hitting Bernard Pollard, provided more of an impact than Reed. First-round pick Jimmy Smith endured an up-and-down rookie season. What could change: Smith should take over for Williams as a starting cornerback this season. Foxworth is expected to get cut, and the same could happen to Carr. Both backup safeties, Tom Zbikowski and Haruki Nakamura, are free agents, but I suspect Nakamura will get re-signed.

3. BROWNS: Joe Haden showed signs of being a shutdown corner, even though he failed to make an interception. He held his own against some of the best receivers in the NFL, from Larry Fitzgerald to Brandon Marshall. His worst games came against Bengals wide receiver A.J. Green. While Haden is among the division's best cornerbacks, Sheldon Brown was the worst starting corner in the AFC North. Brown's biggest asset is the experience he provides to a young secondary. The defensive backfield was hurt by the loss of strong safety T.J. Ward, who missed the final 10 games with a foot injury. Teams took advantage of Ward's replacement, Usama Young. Free safety Mike Adams beat out Young for a starting job in training camp. Dimitri Patterson was a reliable nickelback, breaking up a dozen passes. What could change: The Browns might replace Adams, who is a free agent, and they could give rookie seventh-round pick Eric Hagg a shot at doing so. Cleveland is very interested in bringing Patterson back. It wouldn't be a surprise if Patterson starts in place of Brown.

ESPN.com is unveiling its "Any Era" team this week which features 20 current players with the toughness to play in any period of NFL history. The team was assembled by votes from 20 Hall of Fame players (here's a full explanation of the project).

Coming in at No. 2 on the Any Era Team is Steelers safety Troy Polamalu. He's fearless, reckless, and as far as playing styles go, he's in a class by himself. Polamalu would excel in any period because he hits with the tenacity of those who played in the 1960s and he has the athleticism to make plays all over the field like those who star in today's game.

The hardest part in going against Polamalu is to locate him. His physical style allows him to be a safety-linebacker hybrid. The best compliment comes from ESPN's John Clayton, who wrote: "He's changed the way people look at safeties."

Here are explanations from three Hall of Fame players on why Polamalu made the cut:

LYNN SWANN: "Troy Polamalu is not afraid to take risks. I see him jumping over the offensive line and making a stop at the goal line. That takes timing, that's Troy going with his gut and knowing what he's studied and not being afraid to take risks. A lot of guys know tendencies but are too scared to take the risk or don't know what to do with it. Troy will jump over the line, he'll hit a guy behind the line of scrimmage, he'll force a fumble flying through the air."

FLOYD LITTLE: "He gets hurt all the time, he gets concussions, his shoulder gets bent out of shape, but you can't keep him off the field. He's not that big, not that fast, but he's everywhere and everyone needs to know where he is when they line up."

WARREN MOON: "Troy Polamalu is a throwback player. Tough, hard-nosed, does whatever is asked, throws his body around. He throws it around so much that he gets hurt and knocks himself out with concussions. But when he gets hurt, they have to hide his helmet to keep him off the field. He will give you everything he's got. He is one of the nicest guys off the field and he turns into the Tasmanian Devil on it."

Seth from Newport News, Va., says the ESPN.com/ESPN The Magazine's NFL Any Era team "is a joke" if the St. Louis Rams' Steven Jackson does not appear on the list.

Mike Sando: Jackson did not appear on the list. Tim Tebow did. That seems wrong. We do not even know for sure whether Tebow will be good in this era, do we?

The overall list is strong. Ray Lewis, Troy Polamalu, Charles Woodson, Brian Urlacher, Patrick Willis, Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady, Ed Reed, Darrelle Revis, Jared Allen and Dwight Freeney are among those listed.

I thought the San Francisco 49ers' Justin Smith was an obvious omission among those watching him play regularly. But how many people, Hall of Famers or otherwise, have watched the 49ers' defensive line in recent seasons?

People should know plenty about Steven Jackson, because he carries the ball and, quite frequently, defenders trying to tackle him. Seth is surely right about the Rams' poor record hurting Jackson in these types of polls.

In retrospect, I should have broken out an item about Jackson's omission without any prompting. He has demonstrated all the necessary qualities -- toughness, grit, consistency, leadership, versatility, production -- to make him a timeless player. Very few running backs have run with more ferocity than Jackson.

The way Jackson has played through injuries becomes more impressive when we consider the stakes for his team were relatively low. I'll never forget watching him slam himself into the 49ers' defense while trailing 35-0 a few years ago. He made a statement to his teammates and anyone watching. Circumstances would not diminish what he represented. I'll also never forget how he fought through a 2009 back injury that would require surgery. He started 15 games even though his team was 1-15 that season.

A lesser man -- even a normal one -- would have shut it down late in that season. What was the point? Jackson refused to do that. He kept coming back for more and finished with 324 carries, the second-highest total of his career.

Jackson was clearly qualified for the Any Era team. So were Larry Fitzgerald and others. But as with voting for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, there are usually more worthy candidates than spots available for enshrinement. That means very good candidates do not always get their due, at least right away. That should not diminish them in any way.

It's time to unveil the defense for my All-AFC North team, which is based on performance this season, and not past reputation. There were many difficult decisions, and there should be. All four defenses in the division finished in the top 10 (Pittsburgh was No. 1, Baltimore was No. 3, Cincinnati was No. 7 and Cleveland was No. 10).

The All-AFC North team will wrap up tomorrow with offense. Of course, tell me who I left off, who should have been on and any other opinions in the comments section below.

Defensive end: Carlos Dunlap, Bengals. Tough call over Pittsburgh's Brett Keisel. Before being slowed by a hamstring injury, Dunlap was getting to the quarterback like no other defensive end in the division. Despite missing four games, he recorded 4.5 sacks and led the Bengals with 27 quarterback pressures, which was four more than anyone else on the team.

Nose tackle/defensive tackle: Haloti Ngata, Ravens. He didn't seem as dominant as last year, but it's hard to argue his impact. Ngata finished with five sacks, five batted-down passes, two forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries. He was a cog in the middle for the NFL's second-ranked run defense and he returned a fumble 28 yards for his first career touchdown in Week 3. Some would go with Casey Hampton, but he slipped at the age of 34 and so did the Steelers' run defense, which gave up 33 percent more yards rushing than a year ago.

Defensive tackle: Geno Atkins, Bengals. While the Bengals' run defense faltered in the second half of the season, their front four pressured the quarterback like no other in the AFC North and perhaps the league. And Atkins was a huge part of that by collapsing the pocket up the middle. He tied Oakland's Tommy Kelly for sacks by an interior lineman in the NFL with 7.5. He is the first Bengals interior lineman to top the team in sacks since 1996, when Dan Wilkinson led with 6.5.

Outside linebacker: Terrell Suggs, Ravens. He was the best defensive player in the division and arguably the best in the NFL this season. Suggs made an impact all over the field, becoming the only NFL player this season to finish with at least five sacks, five passes defensed and five forced fumbles. Critics would argue that his production came in three games (season opener against Pittsburgh, San Francisco and Indianapolis), where he totaled nine sacks and six forced fumbles.

Inside linebacker: D'Qwell Jackson, Browns. The comeback player in the division, Jackson finished second in the NFL with 158 tackles. That's 58 more tackles than anyone else in the AFC North. This is after Jackson missed the previous 26 games due to two separate pectoral injuries. He also tied for the AFC lead with three defensive fumble recoveries.

Inside linebacker: Ray Lewis, Ravens. There's no doubt that Lewis isn't the same player that he was five years ago and he had trouble getting off blocks after returning from a toe injury. But there's not a better run stopper in the division. With Lewis as the leading tackler, the Ravens finished tied for first in fewest rushing yards per carry (3.5) and second in fewest rushing yards per game (92.5).

Outside linebacker: James Harrison, Steelers. Many would consider nine sacks (which tied for tops on the Steelers) and two forced fumbles a solid season. But Harrison did this after having two back surgeries in March, missing four games with a fractured orbital bone near his right eye and getting suspended one game following his infamous hit on Colt McCoy. Harrison's ability to get to the quarterback was a big reason Pittsburgh finished No. 1 in the NFL in pass defense.

Cornerback: Lardarius Webb, Ravens. If you didn't know what a great season Webb was having, you did in the postseason when he picked off three passes. He led the division with five interceptions and 20 passes defensed. Not bad for a defender that everyone projected to be a nickelback this season. The Ravens also gave up the fewest touchdown passes this season (11).

Cornerback: Joe Haden, Browns. Haden was the headliner for the NFL's second-ranked pass defense and has the potential to be a shutdown corner. He finished sixth in the league (and second in the AFC North) with 19 passes defensed this season. Haden had three games this year with at least three pass breakups, including a career-high five in the season opener against Cincinnati. There were some slips, such as allowing a game-turning catch to A.J. Green and a game-sealing touchdown to Antonio Brown. Haden barely edged out Pittsburgh's Ike Taylor for this spot.

Strong safety: Troy Polamalu, Steelers. This wasn't his finest season, but Polamalu was a major presence on the NFL's top-ranked defense. Always lurking around the line of scrimmage, he finished third on the team with 91 tackles to go along with two interceptions and one sack. His best game came in the last one of the regular season, when his interception set up the game's only touchdown and his sack came from him breaking through the line after perfectly timing the snap.

Free safety: Ryan Clark, Steelers. The obvious choice would be Ed Reed. But even Reed would acknowledge that he struggled for most of the season. He managed three interceptions, his fewest for a 16-game season, and missed tackles toward the end of the season because of a shoulder injury. Clark enjoyed the best season of his 10-year career, leading the NFL's top-ranked defense with 100 tackles. That also ranked second in the AFC North. If you questioned Clark's impact, look at how the Steelers fared without him in Denver, when he had to sit out the playoff game because of a blood condition.

It is fitting that Brian Dawkins’ final game could be played in Hawaii.


The Denver safety was named to the Pro Bowl on Thursday, replacing Pittsburgh’s Troy Polamalu because of an injury. It is Dawkins’ ninth Pro Bowl — tied with John Lynch for the second-most career Pro Bowl berths by a safety.

Expect Dawkins, 38, to try to play. He missed all but a quarter of Denver’s final five games because of a neck injury, but the injury has been improving steadily in the past few days. Dawkins, a potential Hall of Famer, wouldn’t have accepted the invitation if he wasn’t going to be cleared to play.

Dawkins told a Denver television station last weekend that he will consider retirement. He played the past three seasons with Denver and has been the team’s undisputed leader. Dawkins played well in 2011 when healthy, recording 51 tackles and three sacks.

Dawkins joins a strong Denver contingent — the team's most at the Pro Bowl since 2001 — for the Jan. 29 game in Honolulu. Running back Willis McGahee and tackle Ryan Clady were named to the team as injury replacements. Cornerback Champ Bailey, defensive end Elvis Dumervil and linebacker Von Miller are also representing the AFC West champions.

DENVER -- Here are some numbers to remember for the Steelers, who play a wild-card playoff game against the Broncos at 4:30 p.m. Sunday:

3 -- Career postseason interceptions for Troy Polamalu

4 -- Heath Miller's postseason touchdown catches

5 -- Steelers selected to the Pro Bowl (returner Antonio Brown, safety Troy Polamalu, center Maurkice Pouncey, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and wide receiver Mike Wallace)

9 -- Receptions by Wallace in his last postseason game

10 -- Roethlisberger's wins in 13 postseason games, which is a .769 winning percentage

11 -- Postseason sacks by LaMarr Woodley in seven games

16.1 -- Brown's average yards per catch this season

33 -- Postseason games won by the Steelers, tied with the Cowboys for most in NFL history

88 -- Hines Ward's playoff catches for 1,181 yards and 10 touchdowns

171.9 -- NFL-leading passing yards per game allowed by the Pittsburgh defense

Suzy and Mort discuss their matchup to watch, Marcellus wonders if anyone can pull off a big upset, and in Did You Hear That?, The Caveman talks about which quarterbacks could struggle during wild-card weekend.

The AFC North was well represented on the Associated Press' All-Pro Team, with six players on the first team, which ties the NFC West for the most.

It should be noted that the AFC North had all of its players come from either offense or defense. The NFC West placed three on special teams.

The All-Pro Team is formed by votes from 50 media members.

On offense, the Ravens' Vonta Leach was the runaway winner at fullback, receiving 42 votes. Browns offensive tackle Joe Thomas had the second-most votes at his position (which gets two on the first team) with 19. Steelers center Maurkice Pouncey narrowly beat out Carolina's Ryan Kalil, 13-11.

On defense, the Ravens' Terrell Suggs was a near unanimous selection with 47 votes. The Ravens' Haloti Ngata was the highest vote-getter at defensive tackle with 38. The Steelers' Troy Polamalu led all safeties with 29, which was 12 more than second-team safety Ed Reed.

Here are the AFC North representatives on each unit:

FIRST-TEAM OFFENSE

Fullback: Vonta Leach, Baltimore

Tackle: Joe Thomas, Cleveland

Center: Maurkice Pouncey, Pittsburgh

FIRST-TEAM DEFENSE

Tackle: Haloti Ngata, Baltimore

Outside linebackers: Terrell Suggs, Baltimore

Safety: Troy Polamalu, Pittsburgh

SECOND-TEAM OFFENSE

Running back: Ray Rice, Baltimore

Guard: Marshal Yanda, Baltimore

SECOND-TEAM DEFENSE

Tackle: Geno Atkins, Cincinnati

Safety: Ed Reed, Baltimore

This was indeed a special season for the San Francisco 49ers and, by extension, the NFC West overall.

The Associated Press All-Pro Team, announced Friday, includes five 49ers, a league high for any team. Arizona's Patrick Peterson made the team as the return specialist, joining the 49ers' David Akers and Andy Lee to give the NFC West all three specialists.

The 49ers' Patrick Willis and NaVorro Bowman made it as inside linebackers. Teammate Justin Smith made it as a defensive tackle. He also got votes at defensive end. Smith moves around the line, playing end in the base 3-4.

Aaron Rodgers won 47.5 out of 50 votes at quarterback, a strong indication Rodgers will emerge as the leader in MVP balloting. Those results have not yet been revealed, but they draw from the same group of voters.

The chart shows All-Pro counts by division.

Also making the team: fullback Vonta Leach, center Maurkice Pouncey, guard Carl Nicks, guard Jahri Evans, running back Maurice Jones-Drew, running back LeSean McCoy, tackle Joe Thomas, tackle Jason Peters, tight end Rob Gronkowski, receiver Wes Welker, receiver Calvin Johnson, cornerback Darrelle Revis, cornerback Charles Woodson, defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul, defensive end Jared Allen, defensive tackle Haloti Ngata, linebacker Derrick Johnson, outside linebacker Terrell Suggs, outside linebacker DeMarcus Ware safety Troy Polamalu and safety Eric Weddle.

PITTSBURGH -- The Steelers say they don't plan to alter their defensive style when playing the non-traditional offense run by Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow.

Pittsburgh believes playing as a team lifted the defense to No. 1 in the NFL and that it will shut down Tebow, who is more of a running back at times than a quarterback.

"We’ve been a solid defense around here for a long time," defensive end Brett Keisel said. "Regardless of who we’re playing, we understand what we’re capable of as a defense. If we all just do our job, we’re pretty good."

Actually, the Steelers' scheme seems to be a bad matchup for the Broncos. Pittsburgh typically plays with eight men in the box with safety Troy Polamalu lurking around the line of scrimmage.

And while some teams have a hard time adjusting to Denver's spread option, the Steelers think they will be fine because of Dennis Dixon. As Pittsburgh's third-string quarterback, Dixon has been running Tebow-like plays for years in Steelers practices after playing in an option-style offense at Oregon.

“We prepare for it during the offseason,” Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said. "We’ve been looking at it now for the last several years."

But it looks like other teams have figured out Tebow lately. He has turned the ball over six times in the Broncos' three-game losing streak to end the regular season.

Now, he looks to break his slump against a defense that ranks first in fewest yards, points and passing yards.

"They're really good," Tebow told Denver reporters Wednesday. "Sometimes it looks like it is chaos out there, but they know where they're going."

The season is 16 games, which means sometimes things change from the midseason evaluation of the best players at each position.

Although Steve Smith finished with one of his best seasons, it’s hard not to put Wes Welker and his incredible numbers ahead of him. Center Nick Mangold finished strong and wrestled the top spot from Chris Myers of the Texans and Maurkice Pouncey of the Steelers. Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh stomped his way off the All-Pro list with dumb penalties and problems stopping running plays.

Here are my All-Pro selections:

» NFC Pro Bowl: East | West | North | South » AFC Pro Bowl: East | West | North | South

Perfect sense: Headlining the six Pro Bowl starters for the Ravens is outside linebacker Terrell Suggs, who is an NFL Defensive Player of the Year candidate. He leads the AFC with a career-best 13 sacks to go along with six forced fumbles, five passes defensed and two interceptions. Steelers wide receiver Mike Wallace is third in the AFC in receiving yards (1,182) but he has the highest yards per catch average (16.6) of any receiver with more than 70 receptions. Ravens running back Ray Rice leads the NFL with 1,869 yards from scrimmage and is tied for first in the AFC with 10 rushing touchdowns.

Made it on rep: Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis is still the best inside linebacker in the division but others (namely Houston's Brian Cushing) have had better seasons this year. Baltimore went 4-0 when Lewis was injured, and he's been a non-factor in the two games since he returned. There's no argument that the Browns' Joe Thomas is the most talented left tackle in the AFC but he didn't have a stellar year. He has tied a career high with seven penalties and has been part of an offense that ranked 30th in the NFL in scoring. The same goes for center Maurkice Pouncey, who didn't play as well as last year because of illness and injuries.

Got robbed: Ten starters on the Steelers' defense, which ranks first in fewest yards and second in points allowed, got snubbed. Strong safety Troy Polamalu is the Pittsburgh defense's only representative. Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton should have been the third alternate after turning a four-win team into a playoff contender and becoming the fourth rookie with 20 touchdown passes. Another Bengal, Geno Atkins, outplayed the Ravens' Haloti Ngata at times this season and led all interior linemen with eight sacks. The Browns' Joe Haden has been the AFC North's top cornerback and broke up the third-most passes this season in the NFL (19).

Rookie surprise: The Bengals' A.J. Green became the first rookie wide receiver to make the Pro Bowl since Anquan Boldin in 2003. He leads Cincinnati in receptions (63), receiving yards (1,031) and touchdowns (seven). A big-time playmaker, Green leads the NFL this season in catches of 35 or more yards (11).

Click here for the complete 2012 Pro Bowl roster.