NOLA- New Orleans Saints defensive end Cameron Jordan is finally receiving some of the recognition he deserved.
The Associated Press announced its 2017 All-Pro teams on Friday, and Jordan made the first team, earning the honor for the first time in his seven-year career. Jordan is the first Saints player to receive this honor since tight end Jimmy Graham in 2013. Jordan finished the year with career highs in sacks (13) and passes defensed (11). He also had 62 tackles, 17 for loss, two forced fumbles, an interception and scored the first touchdown of his career. His performance should make him one of the top candidates for Defensive Player of the Year. ---------- I don't know if there's all that many things that more impressive than being named one of the two most dominant defensive ends in the NFL during era in which a premium has been put on pass rushing. However, if I were to add a late entry into the polling, I would say that humbly grinning and bearing it year-after-year-after-year while similarly sensational efforts were statistically castrated by the incompetence of almost everyone else around him would give it a run for its money. I couldn't be happier that Cameron Jordan is finally getting acknowledged for his ability to excel in every facet of defensive line play, but it shouldn't be forgotten that it took defenses that were increasingly and historically horrific to overshadow the work of a player whose top-notch talent didn't suddenly come out of nowhere. He's too much of a leader to ever say so, so I'll do it for him - playing for the New Orleans Saints has been a burden on a guy whose undying optimism would never let you believe that were so. He'd tell you his play has reached another level this season, and - while he's probably right - there were circumstances outside of his control that might as well have been handcuffing him down as criminally underrated. Shit, if we are going by passes defended then you can make the argument that a 290 pound defensive end was also the Saint's best cornerback prior to this offseason. Need an idea of destitute the defense around him was? If the video for 'Ironic' was three years long and the premise was that she was driving the world's most versatile car but it was forever stuck in reverse, Cam Jordan might as well have taken the wheel from Alanis Morissette. I'd imagine it has something to do with the fact that adding a little bit of talent around him has shined a brighter light on the endless array of abilities possessed by a legitimate Defensive Player Of The Year candidate (my guess would be runner-up to Aaron Donald), but - unlike the quarterbacks he's consistently frustrating - Cam Jordan's ear-to-ear grin is looking a little less forced these days. Simply put, after being sucked into a 7-9 wormhole, there's no one that deserves to take the postseason stage as an All-Pro more than the guy whose always excelled at all aspects of being a pro.
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