Yanda named NFL All-Pro

Former Anamosa High School superstar and current Baltimore Ravens right guard Marshal Yanda was named a first-team All-Pro selection for the first time in his distinguished career. (Photo courtesy Baltimore Ravens)

January 8, 2015

By Daryl Schepanski

BALTIMORE, MD — He’s been one of the top offensive linemen in the NFL over much of the last half decade.

Former Anamosa superstar and current Baltimore Raven Marshal Yanda has accomplished just about everything there is to accomplish during his decorated eight-year career.

Yanda added another accolade to his list last week, however, being named a first-team NFL All-Pro pick by a panel of 50 Associated Press voters.

Amazingly, Yanda had never made the All-Pro first-team, twice being named a second-team selection in 2011 and 2012.

Yanda has been named to four pro bowls, including one this season, but has vaulted himself to the top spot in his profession earning the highest vote total among all offensive linemen in the entire National Football League.

Yanda earned 38 votes from the AP panel. The All-Pro honor is the most prestigious award handed to an NFL player as only one player is selected for each position on the field.

Yanda was one of two Ravens to earn first-team All-Pro honors with teammate Elvis Dumervil, who was named as an outside linebacker.

Yanda helped Baltimore advance to the AFC divisional playoff round after a big 30-17 wild card win over the Pittsburgh Steelers Saturday, Jan. 3.

The Ravens will travel to top-seed New England Saturday, Jan. 10, at 3:35 p.m. on NBC with the winner earning a berth to the AFC Championship Sunday, Jan. 18.

Karl Klug named to 2014 Pro Football Focus All-Pro Team

From Gordon McGuinness' "2014 PFF All-Pro Special Teams"

January 6, 2015

It’s that time again, with everyone breaking out their end of year awards lists and highlighting the best players in the league. Here at PFF we dig into Special Teams to break down everything from blocking on kickoff return units to grading every snap from every long snapper in the league, so this year we’ve decided to create a Special Teams All-Pro team, pointing out the best of the best at each position.

We’ve normalized the grade by role to break down them even further than the complete grades you’ll find in Premium Stats. That, then, allowed us to see exactly who the best at each position was. So, with that in mind, here are the 2014 PFF All-Pro Special Teamers:

Field Goal Kicker - Matt Bryant, ATL (+9.8)
Went 29-for-32 on field goals this year, with all three misses coming from 50+ yards.

Punter - Johnny Hekker, STL (80 Punts, +41.6)
A fascinating battle with Pat McAfee for much of the year to be named our top punter, Hekker dropped 35 of his 80 punts inside the 20-yard line.

Long Snapper - Jon Dorenbos, PHI (168 Snaps, +5.1)
A picture of consistency, Dorenbos had just three inaccurate snaps all year. Even then those three weren’t terrible, just enough of an inconvenience to warrant a downgrade.

Punt Return Unit
Punt Returner - Darren Sproles, PHI (39 returns, +8.6)
Averaged 13.0 yards per punt return, scoring twice in the process. Electric with the ball in his hands, he just edged out Kansas City’s De’Anthony Thomas who impressed more and more as the season wore on.
Vice/Hold up - Kelcie McCray, KC (53 Snaps, +4.7) and Justin Bethel, ARZ (68 Snaps, +4.6)
The job of these guys is to slow down the gunners on punts, something that’s not easy to do at all. So difficult in fact, that teams often set up with two men on each side in this role to better deal with the gunners. Bethel was the best in the league last year, and after a slow start he finished the year strong. That wasn’t enough to catch McCray, though, who just edged him as the best vice in the league in 2014, consistently a force to be reckoned with.

Punt Coverage Unit
Gunner - Marcus Easley, BUF (46 Snaps, +4.6) and Matt Slater, NE (66 Snaps, +4.1)
Normally the first men down the field on a punt, the gunners are trying to make a tackle and, more importantly, ensure the return doesn’t get outside of them. Easley and Slater proved to be tough matchups for anyone in hold up duty throughout the year, with Slater earning a new contract in the process.

Kick Coverage Unit
Kickoff Specialist - Pat McAfee, IND (96 Kickoffs, +16.8)
Just missing out in the race to be our top punter, McAfee was at the top of the pile on kickoffs, where he had 70 touchbacks from his 96 kickoffs.

L1, L2, R1 and R2 (Contain)
Chase Reynolds, STL (71 Snaps, +4.0)
Jordan Poyer, CLE (64 Snaps, +3.1)
Morgan Burnett, GB (74 Snaps, +2.5)
Danieal Manning, HOU (78 Snaps, +2.5)
The safeties on kickoffs are generally the two players closest to each sideline, and take up a contain role to ensure the return doesn’t get outside of them, playing a key role in preventing big plays on kick returns.

L3-5 and R3-5 (Coverage)
Josh Martin, KC (67 Snaps, +5.7)
Nick Bellore, NYJ (75 Snaps, +5.6)
Bryan Braman, PHI (98 Snaps, +5.3)
Nat Berhe, NYG (73 Snaps, +5.1)
Michael Thomas, MIA (44 Snaps, +4.5)
Steven Johnson, DEN (70 Snaps, +4.1)
With the guys on the outside keeping the returns inside, these are the players who are trying to beat blocks and make tackles on kick returns. Martin was the best player on special teams all year, standing out on punts too, but it was his work on the kick coverage unit that really got our attention.

Kick Return Unit
Kick Returner - Adam Jones, CIN (27 Returns, +5.8)
Jones might not have scored in 2014, but he was the best kick returner in the league, averaging 31.3 yards per return.

Front
Devon Kennard, NYG (63 Snaps, +4.0)
Jason Williams, CAR (78 Snaps, +3.8)
Trey Burton, PHI (67 Snaps, +3.1)
Albert McClellan, BAL (78 Snaps, +2.8)
Emmanuel Acho, PHI (61 Snaps, +2.5)
Adam Thielen, MIN (47 Snaps, +2.3)

Middle
Tourek Williams, SD (62 Snaps, +2.8)
Cory Harkey, STL (62 Snaps, +2.3)

Back
Andrew Jackson, IND (21 Snaps, +3.5)
Karl Klug, TEN (66 Snaps, +3.1)
Responsible for creating space for returners like Jones, these were the best blockers at all three levels on kick returns. Whether it was dominant blocks to the ground or simply sealing opposing players inside and outside, they excelled setting up blocks and opening holes for their kick returners all year.

Chris Borland named to Mel Kiper's 2014 All-Rookie team

December 31, 2014

By Mel Kiper Jr. | ESPN Insider

While the remarkable performance of the rookie class of wide receivers has drawn much of the attention in recent weeks, there's been significant impact all over. In fact, there are a few cases where a rookie wasn't just the best among first-year players, but also could hold an argument as the best player at his position across the NFL. And as we see every year, big-time performances came from up and down the draft board.

After you look at my picks for Offensive Rookie of the Year and Defensive Rookie of the Year, feel free to go back and look at my preseason picks for the All-Rookie team. I will say, just as I noted then, that opportunity often supersedes overall talent early on in an NFL career. If Carlos Hyde is in, say, Jacksonville to start the season, is he really waiting for carries behind Toby Gerhart in the way he did behind Frank Gore? Of course not.

With that in mind, let's hand out the hardware and also look at some close calls.

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Defense

Defensive tackles: Aaron Donald, Rams; Justin Ellis, Raiders
I already went into detail on Donald above. Unfortunately after that the early returns on the rookie class are pretty lean, but that's understandable because it's rare to see exceptional play from interior defensive lineman from the rookie class. Ellis, a fourth-rounder out of Louisiana Tech, took advantage of an opportunity to get a good amount of reps on a team that was relatively thin up front and he played pretty well, particularly against the run. Ego Ferguson (Bears) and Ra'Shede Hageman (Falcons) also showed some things late in the season.

Defensive ends: Timmy Jernigan, Ravens; Stephon Tuitt, Steelers
I really believe a healthy Jadeveon Clowney lands here and would be among the top rookies were he healthy. But injury is the great disruptor in so many perfectly laid plans, and the defensive end class just doesn't offer much. A healthy Jernigan is going to be a good player -- he can clearly create penetration and disrupt against the both the run and pass -- but his inexperience showed this season. I give Tuitt in a 3-4 the slight edge over Kony Ealy in a 4-3, though Tuitt also has a lot of work to do.

Outside linebackers: Khalil Mack, Raiders; Aaron Lynch, 49ers
There are a few other guys to name here. Anthony Barr (Vikings) was outstanding and totally lived up to his draft slot, and Preston Brown was really great for a rookie in Buffalo. What I did was grab one 3-4 outside linebacker (Lynch) and one who played in a 4-3 (Mack). The other guy who should be in the mix is Trent Murphy of Washington. As for the leaders, Mack was easily one of the best players against the run in the NFL at any position; in fact, sometimes he seems to be totally unblockable, and his sack total is way lower than it could have been. And Lynch showed what we hoped he could be after his breakout freshman season in South Bend. Jonathan Newsome of the Colts was also in the mix.

Inside linebackers: C.J. Mosley, Ravens; Chris Borland, 49ers
Mosley was called into action right away and not only finished seventh in the NFL in total tackles with 133, he also showed the ability to cover, even if he was beat on occasion. Borland was simply a revelation. He didn't really see any playing time until Week 6, but once he did he excelled in every facet as the tackling machine he was at Wisconsin; he also managed to track pass-catchers and cover pretty well. The guy just has incredible instincts and proved that he should have gone far higher in the draft.

Cornerbacks: E.J. Gaines, Rams; Bene Benwikere, Panthers
A few mentions here: Undrafted K'Waun Williams was really good for the Browns -- far more valuable than top-10 pick Justin Gilbert -- but he just wasn't on the field as often as the leaders. And I think Jason Verrett is in the mix for Defensive Rookie of the Year if he'd played the whole season. He was really impressive when he did play. Gaines was just really impressive throughout the season and will go into 2015 as the top CB on the Rams. And Benwikere proved he was an absolute steal in the fifth round.

Safeties: Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, Packers; Calvin Pryor, Jets
Clinton-Dix wasn't perfect, but he got better as the season went on and has become a player the Packers don't take off the field. Pryor had his share of struggles -- mainly in coverage -- but he also came on more as the season went on, and in both cases you can see a long-term starter. I also considered Deone Bucannon (Cardinals), but he could be a little better coming downhill against the run. Tre Boston and Dezmen Southward were also in the mix, but a little short on snaps.

Punter: Pat O'Donnell, Bears
Hey, I'll take it: another preseason pick that worked out. O'Donnell can be better -- the 37.7 net average isn't particularly impressive -- but he tops the group.