HOLIDAY TIDBITS: 289 miles on the I-65.

By TJ Troup

Hope everyone had a blessed Christmas. Have always enjoyed the meaning and definition of words. The word rivalry has been used many times in descriptions in pro football, and descriptive words such as fight, duel, clash, contest, struggle, encounter are listed to help explain the definition.

Since there are thirty-two teams and the schedule has a rotational basis for inter-conference games building a rivalry is difficult. We all can quickly name the best or most well known rivalries in the NFL which will take me to the upcoming NBC Sunday night "clash" between the Colts and Titans.

Starting in 1960 no one, and I mean no one would have ever envisioned these two teams building a rivalry. So, let's start there. November 13th, 1960 and the two-time league defending champion Baltimore Colts have just beaten the Bears in Wrigley to forge a first-place 6-2 record.

The Houston Oilers—1,175 miles away from Baltimore are trying to make their first season in a new league a successful one, but have just lost to the Chargers. The Baltimore Colts falter badly losing four straight; while the Houston Oilers continue to progress and win the first AFL championship.

The talented but aging Colts battle for the next two seasons, yet are basically a .500 team, while the Oilers earn a berth in the title game under a different head coach for three consecutive seasons! Coaching changes and direction bring us to the season of 1967.

Since the NFL now has sixteen teams; the divisions are divided into four and all have the letter "C". The Baltimore Colts are in the Coastal Division of the NFL while the Houston Oilers are still in the AFL eastern conference. November the 5th and Don Shula has a powerhouse team that stands at 6-0-2 and has just beaten the champion Packers, while Wally Lemm has returned to the now contending Oilers who lost to the Patriots and stand at 4-3-1.

The Baltimore Colts are the only team pre-merger in NFL history to lose just once in a fourteen game season and NOT make the playoffs, while the Oilers with their outstanding young defense win down the stretch and win the AFL East. Pete Rozelle has agreed to the merger, and with sixteen and ten teams in the two leagues there has to be movement for 1970.

The Colts agree to become an AFC eastern conference team; so for the first time in their history the geography will make sense for them. The Oilers are placed in the AFC central division so they also at least are closer in distance from their three division opponents.

The Colts under a new head coach in Don McCafferty will travel to the Astrodome in Houston on October 11th to play the Oilers in Wally Lemm's last season as head coach. John Unitas throws two touchdown passes to Roy Jefferson in the Colts victory. The winning score is a textbook example of Johnny "Hightops" at his best on a touch pass on a fade pattern in the corner of the end zone. Many folks have stated that the 11-2-1 Baltimore Colts are one of the weakest Super Bowl champions ever, yet like all champions they made the plays needed to earn the ring.

The Oilers stumble all season and are quickly going to become a joke in the league. November the 4th, 1973 and Houston is looking for a victory. Bill Petersen has been dismissed after winning just once in 18 games as head coach. Sid Gillman is attempting to field a competitive team as they travel to Baltimore to play a Baltimore Colts team that is also struggling to win a game.

Lynn Dickey pitches the Oilers to a win as he repeatedly completes passes to Parks, Burrough, and Willis. Gillman steps down entering '75, and Baltimore also has a new coach in longtime NFL and NFC offensive co-ordinator Ted Marchibroda. After five games the suddenly competitive Oilers under Bum Phillips stand at 4-1, while the Colts are 1-4. The rest of the season has twists and turns in the league, yet after the smoke clears on the final Sunday of the this fascinating season both teams are 10-4. The Colts have won the east, while the Oilers are no doubt the best third-place team in the NFL. Being in different divisions in the same conference does not mean you play each other every year. As such these two teams would not be even remotely considered "rivals".

The player strike in 1982 is a low point in NFL history, yet Rozelle to save the season expands the playoffs to a "tournament". Entertaining to say the least unless you are a longtime fan of the Colts or Oilers. These two pathetic teams combine for a 1-16-1 record. Neither team is a viable contender in their division for the next few years until again we have a strike.

The 1987 season with "replacement" players and an adjusted schedule of eliminating one game brings both teams into contention, and both finish 9-6 and earn a playoff berth. The only real difference is the Colts are now in Indianapolis. For the next twelve years both teams have their moments, yet rarely player each other. The 1999 season is an exciting and successful one for both franchises as they finish 13-3.

Starting in '97 the Oilers have left Houston and are first the Tennessee Oilers then re-christened the Titans. For the first and only time on January 16th, 2000, these two teams meet in the playoffs. Eddie George pounds out 162 yards as the Titans march to a super bowl berth. Beginning in 2002 these two teams are finally in the same division (AFC South), and battle throughout the year to win the division(both teams earn a playoff berth).

The 2003 season stands out since both teams finish 12-4, yet the Colts win both games head to head. Indianapolis eventually wins a Super Bowl title, but the Titans though usually competitive have yet to hold the silver trophy. During a disastrous 2011 season for the Colts (2-14), one of the wins is a victory over the Titans. At one point the Colts had beaten Tennessee eleven straight times, and hold a commanding lead in the series.

So where are we today? Both teams have rookie head coaches that have done an admirable job this year, and are playing for a play-off berth. The distance between the two cities is just 289 miles down 65 and those folks that attend the game Sunday night should see a fight, duel, clash, contest, struggle, encounter—ah hell you pick the word of these two teams that have had many twists and turns in their franchises history yet can now truly be called RIVALS.

Happy Holidays

And from the crew at PFJ we close with good night, good luck, a Merry Christmas—and God bless all of you, all of you on the good Earth

Road Trip to Victory for Green Bay in New York

By Eric Goska

Aaron Rodgers connected with Davante Adams for the game-winning touchdown
in the Packers’ 44-38 overtime victory over the Jets Sunday in New York.
(screenshots from NFL Game Pass)

Two Pro Bowlers did their best to help Green Bay past the Jets Sunday.

As a result, a potential commonality that could have linked the Packers of 2018 with the worst team in franchise history was avoided.

Green Bay rallied from 15 down to topple the Jets 44-38 in overtime at MetLife Stadium. The victory was the Packers' first on the road this season.

From Los Angeles to Foxboro and all points in between, Green Bay has struggled in games away from Lambeau Field. Seven times it came up short this season, most recently falling 24-17 to the Bears at Soldier Field.

Sixty years have passed since a Packers team last went winless on the road. Head coach Ray (Scooter) McLean’s 1958 crew went 0-6 in away games while posting the poorest record (1-10-1) in club history.

The six-point win in New York ensured there would be no 0-8. An unwelcome comparison to that rag-tag outfit of yesteryear was averted.

Quarterback Aaron Rodgers and receiver Davante Adams, the only Packers selected to the Pro Bowl, were integral to the victory. They spearheaded an offensive explosion of 540 yards and 35 first downs.

Should the pair have played in this late-season game with no playoff implications? Some said yes; some said no.

Rodgers and Adams emphatically answered in the affirmative. Their competitive nature became contagious in a game Green Bay never led until the final snap.

Rodgers was in for every offensive play. Adams missed but four.

The pair set or tied a number of team records, some trivial and some of greater importance. The duo clearly had no intention of tanking regardless of what a loss might have meant for the team in terms of next year’s college draft.

Rodgers completed 37 of 55 passes for 442 yards and two touchdowns. It was the third road game in which he has passed for more than 400 yards, a team record.

His yardage total ties the record for the most by a Packers quarterback in a game outside Wisconsin. Rodgers also passed for 442 yards against the Lions in Detroit in October.

The 37 completions is a road record. The previous high was 36 by Brett Favre at Chicago in 1993.

In eight road games this season, Rodgers threw for 265, 442, 286, 259, 332, 198, 274 and 442 yards. That total of 2,498 snapped the existing single-season mark of 2,494 established by Rodgers in 2011.

Rodgers has now thrown for 2,000 or more yards on the road in seven different campaigns. Favre also had seven such seasons while with the Packers.

Adams came away with 11 catches for 71 yards. It is the second time this season he has snared 10 or more passes in an away game, tying the team record held by Don Hutson (1942), Sterling Sharpe (1993) and Donald Driver (2004).

Adams caught at least one pass in every quarter. His lone catch in overtime was the game-winner, a 16-yard strike from Rodgers that capped an 8-play, 75-yard drive.

In eight road games this season, Adams snared 7, 9, 5, 6, 10, 5, 8, and 11 passes. Those numbers add to 61, enough to have broken Jordy Nelson’s 2014 team mark of 58.

What makes Adam’s take on the road so remarkable is the degree to which he outperformed his teammates. Jimmy Graham, in second place, managed just 25 catches away from Lambeau.

That difference of 36 between first place (61) and second place (25) is the greatest in team history. The largest gap had been 32 between Don Hutson (42) and Andy Uram (10) in 1942.

While the contest in New York was the last away game for the Packers, it may not have meant the end of the road for these two. The season finale at Lambeau Field beckons.

Should Rodgers and Adams play, both can add to their haul of records. Rodgers needs 228 passing yards to break the single-season Packers record of 4,643 he produced in 2011. Adams is two catches shy of Sterling Sharpe’s team record 112 set in 1993.

Heavily Traveled Roads

Most passing yards on the road by a Packers quarterback in one season.

Yards     Player                      Year

2,498      Aaron Rodgers          2018

2,494      Aaron Rodgers          2011

2,311      Aaron Rodgers          2009

2,249      Aaron Rodgers          2012

2,245      Aaron Rodgers          2016

2,229      Brett Favre                2006

2,181      Brett Favre                1998

2,147      Lynn Dickey              1983

Most pass receptions on the road by a Packers receiver in one season.

No.         Player                      Year

61           Davante Adams         2018

58           Jordy Nelson             2014

56           Robert Brooks          1995

55           Sterling Sharpe          1993

54           Sterling Sharpe          1994

52           Sterling Sharpe          1992

51           Jordy Nelson             2013

51           Jordy Nelson             2016

pro-football-reference.com was a source for some of these numbers

Quite a Day and Quite a Season for Aaron Donald

By John Turney

Aaron Donald extended some records he already held and set some he had been chasing with this three-sack performance in Arizona today.

First up, most sacks by a defensive tackle in his first five seasons in NFL. Donald already held this but is really extending it, now with 58.5 bettering the mark of Keith Millard who had 51 sacks in his first five seasons.

More importantly, he set the single-season sack record for defensive tackles, topping Vikings Keith Millard and Hall of Famer Alan Page—

In a related stat, Donald is averaging 1.30 sacks per game with his 19.5 sacks in 15 games. This one he could lose if he goes sackless next week so we will have to wait and see on this to give it finality.

Donald also extended his team record for sacks by a defensive tackle, a record he already held—

Donald also set the modern record (post-1982) for sacks in a season by any Ram, surpassing Robert Quinn's 19 set in 2013. 

He does have some work to set the unofficial all-time record for sacks in a season still held by Deacon Jones—

Credit: Los Angeles Rams 2018 Media Guide

Today Donald passed Kevin Carter, Jack Youngblood in addition to Quinn, Alan Page and Keith Millard. Not a bad day's work.

Currently, Donald leads the NFL in sacks and his nearest competitor is 4 sacks behind (Chris Jones with 15.5), which is the third highest margin since sacks became official in 1982. In 1987 Reggie White won the sack title with a margin of 8.5 and in 2001 Michael Strahan won it by 7.5. 

Donald needs 3 sacks to tie Strahan's post-1982 sack record of 22.5 and 3.5 to break that record and he needs 4 to break the all-time record of 23.0 set by Bubba Baker in 1978.

Donald has told reporters he's going to play next week, for all intents and purposes to shoot for the record since the Rams playoff seat in all but determined. So, week 17 will tell if he can break all the records, he's already, in our view, sealed up the AP, PFWA, and SN Defensive Player of the Year awards and unanimous All-Pro selections from those organizations as well as others. So, the sack records are all that are left for 2018—aside from the most important thing, the Super Bowl ring.

One final note:  Donald was the AP Defensive Player of the Year last year. He has more sacks in 2018 than he had in 2016 and 2017 combined.

The 1978 Season of Ezra Johnson and Its Oddity

 By John Turney 

Art Credit: Chuck Ren

In doing sack research for many years we've been able to go through play-by-plays and usually reconcile issues of sacks that may appear in media guides and how they differ from those play-by-plays. 

Usually, the coaches stats will add half-sacks and whole sacks together and that is how Dallas gave credit to Harvey martin for 23 sacks in 1977 when the play-by-plays shoes 20. The same is so for Coy Bacon

s 26 in 1976 which we find to be 21½ when looking at the play-by-plays.

However, in the case of Ezra Johnson, it does not appear the coaches did that—they have a total of 20½ sacks for Johnson and that showed they divided shared sacks. But when we pored over the gamebooks (play-by-plays) we only found 17½ sacks for Johnson.

Here is the totals from the play-by-plays—

Here are the totals as they appeared in the 1979 Packers media guide—

As you can see there are some differences and in our view, more the usual. So, the question is which is right? Well, both. 

We just don't know how the media guide totals were complied. We feel like film is the best evidence of a sack, but until we can see it we have to use the same source that we use for all the teams and therefore have to use the play-by-play total.

To, to be clear, we are not saying Johnson didn't have 20½ sacks in 1978, he very well may have, but it wouldn't be right to count his coaches totals (if that is what these are) and then not use the coaches totals for Harvey Martin in 1977. 

We'd love to see the weekly totals for Johnson and then we could perhaps know who to take sacks from to raise his total to 20½ because it's a zero-sum game and the total has to be the same as the team total as far as possible. In this year there was one play that should have been scored a sack, we found it and it seems the media guide total reflects it as well since we both came up with 49 and the team total was 48. 

But if someone is a purist that one could be removed, it makes little difference.

So one day we hope to get to the bottom of this anomaly because we'd like to give Johnson credit for a 20-sack season and Packer fans still can if they go by the media guide. All we can say is the play-by-plays show 17½.

We are always looking for the best information possible and welcome any information that would shed light on this situation. We are not the final arbiter of the total, we just try and post what we find in the gamebooks and explain any issues we find and this is one of those cases. 

Neither is wrong, both are right, it's just different sources with slightly different totals.

You Can Do it Luke—Kuechly on a Record Pace

By Nick Webster

In 2013 J.J. Watt had a somewhat down year after his breakout 2012 season, late in the year the battle for Defensive Player of the Year was still very much undecided, until; in a December game Luke Kuechly posted 24 tackles in a single game.

Now we have many problems with tackle statistics, which are not official, and it is worth noting that in this game Kuechly tallied just nine solo tackles and 15 Assisted tackles, he was there to help another an unusual number of times, by comparison the last 24-tackle game was notched by the renowned (not really) David Harris in 2007, in that game Harris made 20 solo tackles and assisted on just four.

But the media went crazy, ESPN went crazy, and the Defensive Player of the Year award was Luke’s to lose—and he did, in some outlets anyway. People have tended to default to the Associated Press award as the only NFL Defensive Player of the Year award but there are other outlets casting votes as well and in fact the Pro Football Writers Association is still issuing the award and started issuing it prior to the AP in 1969, the AP first issued it in 1971 (lots of caveats here for another day).

Kuechly did win the AP award, but Rams pass rusher extraordinaire Robert Quinn won the award from the Pro Football Writers Association. In fact, unanimous winners are relatively rare, people who note Lawrence Taylor's three DPOY Awards should note that only his ’86 award was the consensus.

So why revisit 2013 again in 2018, because Luke Kuechly the somewhat controversial winner of the 2013 award is performing truly exceptionally this year.

Below are Luke’s career numbers, with 2018 through 14 games.

Luke’s 21.0 run/pass stuffs already ranks second all-time, and first among LB’s; he has passed Ed McDaniel’s’ 18.5 in 1995, with the caveat that Mark Barron also had 18.5 in 2015 playing as a hybrid LB in the Rams scheme. (Stuffs are tackles for a loss, either in a run or pass play)

At this point, Luke is only trailing J.J. Watt’s 23.5 in 2012 (these are complete numbers since 1982 – to align with the ‘official’ sack era—but Luke is second total and first among LB’s in any data we’ve compiled prior to 1982 as well). In fact, Luke is on pace for exactly 24 stuffs which, if he keeps it up, would surpass Watt for tops on the all-time single-season list.

An amazing detail underlying Kuechly’s 2018 dominance is that eight of those stuffs are on passing plays, but even if you took away all of his pass stuffs and allowed everyone else credit for their pass stuffs, he would still currently lead the league with 13 stuffs.

Here is a list of all of Kuechly's stuffs (click to enlarge)

The eight pass stuffs is the most since 1982 (and the most of what we’ve recorded prior) surpassing Ray Lewis’ 1999 total of seven; so Kuechly has passed peak Ray Lewis as a tackler on passing plays— quite impressive.  

See leaders of pass, run, and total stuffs through 14 games below:

So, as you think about your choice for Defensive Player of the Year, who do you choose. Through 14 weeks, the eye test tells me Aaron Donald is on another level. There are numbers and impact to overall team defensive performance to support both Khalil Mack and J.J. Watt as reasonable choices.  

But don’t sleep on Kuechly, he’s having a truly all-time great season and deserves mention amongst the names above. It would take quite a finish to have anyone surpass Donald at this point, but with 2 games left it’s still not in the bag, how about 24 tackles again in week 15 Mr. Kuechly?

2018 Pro Bowl Alternates—and Some Guesses

By John Turney

With the Pro Bowl picks there always is some consternation as to who should have gone who didn't (snubs) or some picks that were not deserving (reputation selections). However, when the Pro Alternates are released it does shed some light on the subject.

Unfortunately, not all teams release their alternates and some, when they do release of them they do not release what order they are listed, i.e. first alternate, second alternate, etc.

We will et more information over the next few weeks are the injured players are officially replaced and the Super Bowl is set. Until then, this is the time we like to take some guesses about who the alternates are and in what order they come.

AFC
OFFENSE
Wide receiver: DeAndre Hopkins*, Houston Texans; Tyreek Hill*, Kansas City Chiefs; Antonio Brown, Pittsburgh Steelers; Keenan Allen, Los Angeles Chargers
Alternates
JuJu Smith-Schuster, WR, Pit (?);  T.Y. Hilton, IND (??); Jarvis Landry, Cle (3), A.J. Green, Cin (4), Emmanuel Sanders, Den (5)

Landry, Green, and Sanders are confirmed, as is Hilton but we are not 100% sure if he was a first alternate or second alternate. We are speculating that he's the second alternate and that Smith-Shuster is the first alternate. The Steelers sometimes release their alternates, sometimes they don't. This year they didn't but looking at the numbers it's a safe bet that Smith-Shuster is an alternate and is at the top of the list.

Tackle: Taylor Lewan*, Tennessee Titans; Alejandro Villanueva*, Pittsburgh Steelers; Eric Fisher, Kansas City Chiefs

Alternates

Russell Okung, LAC (1), Ronnie Stanley, Bal (2); Mitchell Schwartz, KC (??)

Okung and Stanley are the top two and Schwartz is an alternate, but we assume he's the third alternate. We don't know of any other AFC tackles that are alternates.

Guard: David DeCastro*, Pittsburgh Steelers; Marshal Yanda*, Baltimore Ravens; Quenton Nelson, Indianapolis Colts

Alternates

Joel Bitonio, Cle (1), Kelechi Osemele, Oak (??); Kevin Zeitler, Cle (4)

With Zeitler a confirmed fourth alternate and Bitonio a first there are two in between one is Osemele. The Patriots don't release their alternates but we are reasonably sure that Joe Thuney or Shaq Mason is one between and maybe the other is a fifth alternate.

Center: Maurkice Pouncey*, Pittsburgh Steelers; Mike Pouncey, Los Angeles Chargers

Alternates

Ryan Kelly, Ind (??); Rodney Hudson, Oak (??)

We don't know the order of the alternates of if there are more than two, but Kelly and Hudson are confirmed alternates.

Tight end: Travis Kelce*, Kansas City Chiefs; Eric Ebron, Indianapolis Colts

Alternate

Jared Cook, Oak, (??)

It's possible Rob Gronkowski is an alternate that he didn't have his best year.

Quarterback: Patrick Mahomes*, Kansas City Chiefs; Philip Rivers, Los Angeles Chargers; Tom Brady, New England Patriots

Alternates

Andrew Luck, Ind (??); Deshaun Watson, Hou (??);  Baker Mayfield, Cle (4); Marcus Mariota, Ten (??);

Mayfield is a confirmed fourth alternate and we think Ben Roethlisberger is one of the three in front of him and we are speculating that Mariota is the fifth alternate. We also are speculating that Luck is the first alternate.

Running back: James Conner*, Pittsburgh Steelers; Melvin Gordon, Los Angeles Chargers; Phillip Lindsay, Denver Broncos

Alternates

Derrick Henry, Ten (??); Lamar Miller, Hou (??); Joe Mixon, Cin (3)

Mixon is a definite third alternate and Miller and Henry are ahead of him but we are not sure what order they come in.

Fullback: Anthony Sherman*, Kansas City Chiefs

Alternate

James Develin, NE (1?),     Derek Watt, LAC (3)

Watt is the third alternate and we are speculating that Develin is the first alternate. We are not sure who the second alternate is.

DEFENSE

Defensive end: J.J. Watt*, Houston Texans; Myles Garrett*, Cleveland Browns; Melvin Ingram, Los Angeles Chargers

Alternates
Chris Jones, KC (1); Calais Campbell, Jax, (?);  Jerry Hughes, Buf (4)

Jones is a confirmed first alternate. Hughes is the fourth. We think Campbell is second and we are not sure who might be the third. Our best guess is Trey Flowers.

Interior lineman: Geno Atkins*, Cincinnati Bengals; Jurrell Casey*, Tennessee Titans; Cameron Heyward, Pittsburgh Steelers

Alternates

Kyle Williams, Buf (1);  Denico Autry, Ind (??)

Williams is reported as the first alternate. Autry is an alternate but we don't know if he's the only defensive interior player to have such status.

Outside linebacker: Von Miller*, Denver Broncos; Jadeveon Clowney*, Houston Texans; Dee Ford, Kansas City Chiefs

Alternates

Darius Leonard, Ind (1); Bradley Chubb, Den (2), TJ Watt, Pit (???)

Leonard and Chubb are confirmed first and second alternates. We strongly think Watt is a third alternate.

Inside linebacker: C.J. Mosley*, Baltimore Ravens; Benardrick McKinney, Houston Texans

Alternates

Wesley Woodyard, Ten (??) Anthony Hitchens, KC (?); Avery Williamson, NYJ (4)

There are three inside linebackers in front of Williamson. Woodyard and Hitchens are alternates but we don't know what order. It's possible Hightower of the Pats is the missing one.

Cornerback: Xavien Howard*, Miami Dolphins; Jalen Ramsey*, Jacksonville Jaguars; Stephon Gilmore, New England Patriots; Denzel Ward, Cleveland Browns

Alternates

Chris Harris Jr, Den (1), Casey Hayward, LAC (2); Kareem Jackson, Hou (4)

We think the Steelers Joe Haden is the third alternate but at this point cannot be 100% sure.

Free safety: Derwin James*, Los Angeles Chargers; Eric Weddle, Baltimore Ravens

Alternates

Kevin Byard, Ten (??); Tyrann Mathieu, Hou (??)

Strong safety: Jamal Adams*, New York Jets

Alternate

Reshad Jones, Mia (??)

We don't have good information on the AFC safeties.

SPECIAL TEAMS

Kicker: Jason Myers*, New York Jets

Alternates

Justin Tucker, Bal (1); Harrison Butker, KC (?)

Tucker is first, Butker is an alternate but we don't know if he's the only one.

Punter: Brett Kern*, Tennessee Titans

 Alternates

Dustin Colquitt, KC (?) ;  Britton Colquitt, Cle (2)

The Colquitts are two alternates, but we don't know if there are other punters with alternate status.

Return specialist: Andre Roberts*, New York Jets

Alternate

Cordarrelle Patterson, NE (?); Tyreek Hill, KC (??);  Alex Erickson, Cin (3)

Erickson is third, deduction and numbers suggest Patterson and Hill are the first and second.

Special teamer: Adrian Phillips*, Los Angeles Chargers

Alternate

Clayton Fejedelem, Cin (1)

We don't know if there are other alternates, we think the Patriots likely have one.

NFC 

OFFENSE

Wide receiver: Julio Jones*, Atlanta Falcons; Michael Thomas*, New Orleans Saints; Adam Thielen, Minnesota Vikings; Davante Adams, Green Bay Packers

Alternates

Mike Evans, TB (1), Odell Beckham, NYG (2); Larry Fitzgerald, Ari (3?); Robert Woods, LAR (4)

Fitzgerald is an alternate, but the Cardinals didn't release what number he was but he fits between the confirmed second and fourth alternates.

Tackle: Tyron Smith*, Dallas Cowboys; Terron Armstead*, New Orleans Saints; Trent Williams, Washington Redskins

Alternates

Andrew Whitworth, LA (1);  David Bakhtiari, GB (2?); Ryan Ramczyk, NO (??); Lane Johnson, Phi (??); Charles Leno, Chi (??)

Whitworth is a confirmed first alternate. We don't know the order of the others, though they are confirmed alternates.

Guard: Zack Martin*, Dallas Cowboys; Brandon Brooks*, Philadelphia Eagles; Trai Turner, Carolina Panthers 

Alternates

Rodger Saffold, LAR (1), Andrus Peat, NO (??); Larry Warford, NO (??) ; J.R. Sweezy, Sea (??)

Same as the NFC tackles.

Center: Alex Mack*, Atlanta Falcons; Max Unger, New Orleans Saints

Alternates

Jason Kelce, Phi (1); Cody Whitehair, Chi, (?) Corey Linsley, GB (?)

Same as the tackles and guards, we know the first alternate but the order we don't know after Kelce.

Tight end: Zach Ertz*, Philadelphia Eagles; George Kittle, San Francisco 49ers

Alternates

Jordan Reed, Was (?); Trey Burton, Chi (??); Austin Hooper, Atl (???)

We have no information as to the order of the tight ends.

Quarterback: Drew Brees*, New Orleans Saints; Jared Goff, Los Angeles Rams; Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers

Alternates

Matt Ryan, Atl (?); Russell Wilson, Sea (??); Mitchell Trubisky, Chi (???)

We don't know the order, but we think it's how we listed them

Running back: Todd Gurley*, Los Angeles Rams; Saquon Barkley, New York Giants; Ezekiel Elliott, Dallas Cowboys

Alternates

Alvin Kamara, NO (1); Christian McCaffrey, Car, (2); Adrian Peterson, Was (??)

Peterson is an alternate but we don't know if he's third or if there are other running backs that are alternates.

Fullback: Kyle Juszczyk*, San Francisco 49ers

Alternate

C.J. Ham, Min (2)

Ham is reported to be a second alternate. We don't know whi is first or if there are others behind Ham.

DEFENSE

Defensive end: Cameron Jordan*, New Orleans Saints; DeMarcus Lawrence*, Dallas Cowboys; Danielle Hunter, Minnesota Vikings

Alternates

Chandler Jones, Ari (?); Frank Clark, SEA (??); Jason Pierre-Paul, TB (3); Brandon Graham, Phi (??)

Other than Pierre-Paul we don't know the order.

Interior lineman: Aaron Donald*, Los Angeles Rams; Fletcher Cox*, Philadelphia Eagles; Akiem Hicks, Chicago Bears

Alternates

DeForest Buckner, SF (1), Kawann Short, Car (2) Sheldon Rankins, NO (??);  Kenny Clark, GB (?)

Rankins and Clark are alternates but we don't know the order.

Outside linebacker: Khalil Mack*, Chicago Bears; Ryan Kerrigan*, Washington Redskins; Anthony Barr, Minnesota Vikings

Alternates

Olivier Vernon, NYG (1), Leighton Vander Esch, Dal (??); Demario Davis, NO (??); Leonard Floyd, Chi (??); K.J. Wright, SEA (??)

Aside from Vernon, we don't know the order.

Inside linebacker: Luke Kuechly*, Carolina Panthers; Bobby Wagner, Seattle Seahawks

Alternates

Roquan Smith, Chi (??);  Danny Trevathan, Chi (??)

We don't know the order and if there are more NFC inside linebackers with alternate status.

Cornerback: Kyle Fuller*, Chicago Bears; Patrick Peterson*, Arizona Cardinals; Darius Slay, Detroit Lions, Byron Jones, Dallas Cowboys

Alternates

Marshon Lattimore, NO (?); Xavier Rhodes, Min (2); Marcus Peters, LAR (3); Josh Norman, Was (??); 

We know the status of Rhodes and Peters. We are relatively sure Lattimore is first.

Free safety: Eddie Jackson*, Chicago Bears; Harrison Smith, Minnesota Vikings

Alternate

D.J. Swearinger Sr, Was (?)

Strong safety: Landon Collins*, New York Giants

Alternates

Malcolm Jenkins, Phi (1); Bradley McDougald, Sea (??); Budda Baker, Ari (3); Quandre Diggs, Det (4)

We are guessing that McDougald is second, but cannot be sure.

SPECIAL TEAMS

Kicker: Aldrick Rosas*, New York Giants

Alternates

Robbie Gould, SF (?); Dustin Hopkins, Was (??); Wil Lutz, K, NO (??)

We  don't know the order of the kickers but feel strongly that Gould is first.

Punter: Michael Dickson*, Seattle Seahawks

Alternates

Tress Way, Was (?); Johnny Hekker, LAR  (2)

Hekker is second, Way is an alternate but we don't know if he's first or if there is someone else that is first and Way is further down. However, our best estimate is Way is first.

Return specialist: Tarik Cohen*, Chicago Bears
Alternates

Tyler Lockett, Sea (?); Marcus Sherels, Min (2)

We think Lockett is first, Sherels is second. We don't know if there are any others.

Special teamer: Cory Littleton*, Los Angeles Rams

Alternates

Michael Thomas, NYG (1), Justin Bethel, Atl (???); Mark Nzeocha, SF (??); Justin Hardee, NO (???)

Thomas is first, the others we don't know.