Manning, Brady lead All-Decade team
Quarterbacks Peyton Manning and Tom Brady joined two-time selections Willie Roaf, Larry Allen and Warren Sapp among the 53 players announced Sunday as members of the NFL’s All-Decade team.
Bill Belichick and Tony Dungy were selected as the best coaches of the decade, and Dante Hall made it as both a kick and punt returner.
Roaf, Allen and Sapp were also part of the 1990s team.
Manning and Colts defensive end Dwight Freeney, along with New Orleans safety Darren Sharper, were part of the team and will be playing in the Super Bowl. A dozen players on the 2000s squad also were playing in Sunday’s Pro Bowl.
Shaun Alexander, Jamal Lewis, Edgerrin James and LaDainian Tomlinson were the running backs, with Lorenzo Neal at fullback. Marvin Harrison, Torry Holt, Randy Moss and Terrell Owens were the wide receivers, and the tight ends picked by the Pro Football Hall of Fame Selection Committee were Antonio Gates and Tony Gonzalez.
Completing the offense were linemen Walter Jones, Jonathan Ogden, Orlando Pace, Alan Faneca, Steve Hutchinson, Will Shields, Olin Kreutz and Kevin Mawae, Roaf and Allen.
On defense, Ray Lewis, Derrick Brooks, Joey Porter, Zach Thomas, Brian Urlacher and DeMarcus Ware were the linebackers, Julius Peppers, Michael Strahan, Jason Taylor and Freeney were the ends, with La’Roi Glover, Richard Seymour, Kevin Williams and Sapp at tackle.
The secondary included Ronde Barber, Champ Bailey, Ty Law, Charles Woodson, Brian Dawkins, Troy Polamalu, Ed Reed and Sharper.
Specialists were kickers David Akers and Adam Vinatieri, and punters Shane Lechler and Brian Moorman. Devin Hester and Joshua Cribbs, the NFL’s career leader with eight kick return touchdowns, joined Hall as returners.
Reports: Colts’ Freeney could miss Super Bowl
Dwight Freeney’s injured ankle is “really bad” and could keep him out of the Super Bowl, a person close to the All-Pro defensive end told the Associated Press in an e-mail Sunday night.
The person requested anonymity because the information differed from what the Indianapolis Colts said earlier in the day. The team insisted Freeney has a low ankle sprain and remains questionable for the game against the New Orleans Saints.
Earlier Sunday, ESPN.com reported that Freeney had torn a ligament, which would make it “difficult” for Freeney to play against New Orleans.
Agent: Peppers likely done with Panthers
The agent for Carolina Panthers defensive end Julius Peppers is convinced the five-time Pro Bowl pick will play elsewhere next season.
Carl Carey said that the Panthers have “not made a single inquiry this offseason” regarding the impending unrestricted free agent. It comes after they went to great lengths to keep Peppers in 2009, using the franchise tag and paying him an NFL-high $18.2 million.
Using the tag again in 2010 would cost about $20.1 million. Carey says he hasn’t heard from the Panthers since an informal conversation on the final weekend of the regular season and “we don’t expect to hear from them.”