The 2015 All-Cook Team: Defense/Special Teams

Hi, hello & welcome to the All-Cook Team: Defense/Special Teams! Last time we named our offensive players, this time we're going defense. As a football fan that was raised on AFC North football, nobody appreciates good defense more than me. So what kinds of things do I look from defensive players to make this team?

-Guys that hit people hard.
-Guys that leave it all out on the field.
-Guys that shut down their opposition.

OK, these are all pretty obvious things to look for, right? Let's talk defense!

Defensive End: JJ Watt, Houston Texans

You can't have a team like this without Watt. As annoying as the hype around him gets, unlike a lot of people that ESPN incessantly talks about, he can back it up on the field and then some. He was hobbled most of the season with a groin injury & a hand injury, but dude still led the league in sacks & performed at his usual top-notch level. If he was 100% healthy nobody would be safe. Hell, nobody's safe as it is.

Defensive End: Khalil Mack, Oakland Raiders

I can't get a straight answer on whether or not Mack is an end or a linebacker, but I want him on the field somewhere. Apparently the NFL writers share my confusion and appreciation, as Mack made the All-Pro team at both positions. First team at that. Unreal. Two years in and this kid's turning heads and making an impact. He's one of the major reasons why we think the Raiders are going to be good sooner rather than later.

Think Madden would have liked this kid on his teams? Oh yes.

Defensive Tackle: Aaron Donald, Los Angeles Rams

Maybe being in Los Angeles will get this cat some attention next season. The Rams have an elite defense and Donald is one of the major reasons why. We love Pro Football Focus around here, and Donald had the highest grade in the history of the service this season. He's as dangerous as anybody in football, and my guess is that people will start to notice during the 2016 season.

Defensive Tackle: Geno Atkins, Cincinnati Bengals

Going into the 2013 season, Atkins was considered one of the best defensive tackles in the league. He'd set the Bengals single season sack record in 2012 & was feared by opponents. He got a big contract in September and everybody thought it was great...until he got injured in November. Atkins was slow to heal from an ACL tear and wasn't the same player in 2014. Bengals fans wondered they had seen the best of Geno. 2015 ended those fears, as Atkins was back to the sack-happy tackle we knew and loved in 2012. 3 sacks in 2014 went up to 11 in 2015. Teams had to contend with the Bengals pass rush again, which made things a lot easier for everybody. Except opposing QBs, but we don't care about them. A healthy Atkins going forward means big things on the defensive side of the ball for my Bengals.

Inside Linebacker: Luke Kuechly, Carolina Panthers

You guys might remember Luke from Jeremy Lambert's tweets and writing from 2012-2014. Lambert seemingly cast Kuechly aside for the 2015 season to focus all his attention on Josh Norman, but ol' Luke still had himself a pretty good year. His tackles and sacks were down due to missing some time early due to a concussion but his interceptions were up.

More importantly, it can't be denied that the improvement of the Panther defense and the arrival of Kuechly go hand in hand. Luke is a great player but he also brings great leadership and stability to the locker room. That's a player anybody should want on their team.

Outside Linebacker: Vontaze Burfict, Cincinnati Bengals

To say this guy is a loose cannon would be an understatement. Burfict is a bad dude, one of the most dangerous players in the game and a guy that always makes an impact in the game. Sometimes it ends up bad for his team....but more often than not, he does enough positive things to even it out. This is the kind of guy that John Madden would have loved to have on his 1970s Raiders teams. He would have fit right in with those guys, and the hits he put on people wouldn't have been illegal.

Burfict takes it a bit too far sometimes, but he's the kind of guy you would rather have with you than against you. At least he's keeping all of his aggression on the field, which has been a problem for some previous Bengals. You wonder just how great Burfict could be if somebody could channel that aggression. Apparently nobody on the Cincinnati staff can.

Outside Linebacker: Von Miller, Denver Broncos

Miller was a big part of shutting Tom Brady down and sending the Broncos to the Super Bowl, but it ain't like this is recency bias. Miller delivers every single week in key situations, and he has been as integral in the Broncos defense becoming one of the best in the league as anybody. He also does a mean sack dance, which we always could use more of.

Cornerback: Richard Sherman, Seattle Seahawks

Not only is Sherman one of the best corners in the game, he's one of the most intelligent people. Ask him and he'll tell you about it. But you need a guy like that in the locker room to keep everybody together. You also need him on the field to keep half of the field inaccessible to your opposition's quarterback. Its hard to imagine what kind of numbers Sherman would get if QBs regularly threw the ball towards people he was covering.

Cornerback: Tyrann Mathieu, Arizona Cardinals

The Honey Badger was obviously a talented player during his time at LSU, but the kid seemed more interested in the weed than playing football. He's been on his best behavior since getting to the league, and has rewarded the Cardinals for taking a chance in the draft by becoming one of the best defensive backs in the league. You saw how inept the Arizona defense was without him in the playoffs. Hopefully he'll recover from his injury and come back strong next year.

And hey, if he wants to self-medicate, we won't hold it against him this time. The league might, but whatevs.

Safety: Charles Woodson, Oakland Raiders

The number of Raiders legends has certainly dropped in the last 20 years or so. There aren't that many guys that have donned the Silver & Black since their return to Oakland that remind one of the guys that used to win championships in the 70s & 80s. Charles Woodson had to leave to get his ring, but he more than anybody in the past 2 decades personifies what Raider Football used to be about.

Woodson retired after this season, but he went out on a good note. The Raiders didn't have a successful season but they seem headed in the right direction, and the defense will take the lessons Woodson taught them & apply them going forward.

Safety: Eric Berry, Kansas City Chiefs

Any time you kick cancer's ass, come back to football and perform just as well as you always have, you get a spot on this team, along with the respect of everyone. Berry certainly earned everybody's admiration this season. Even if he did something good against your team, you couldn't be too mad about it.

Don't you just hate people like that? Its a lot easier to root against people that have no obstacles to overcome and are just plain jerks. You can root against the Vontaze Burficts of the world and feel good about it, but you can't root against Eric Berry. It just ain't right

Kicker: Blair Walsh, Minnesota Vikings

Madden was not a fan of kickers. Most years he would name his broadcast partner and former kicker Pat Summerall as his kicker so he wouldn't have to waste time on it. I have to part ways with him here, as Walsh's contribution of 23 points to my Omaha Beef on Sunday night of Week 16 got me right back in the game and in position to come back & win the championship. That alone would ensure Walsh a spot on my team.

Then there was the wild card round. Walsh single-handedly kept the Vikings in the game, kicking 3 field goals when Pro Bowler Teddy Bridgewater & fellow All-Cook Team member Adrian Peterson couldn't find the end zone. Unfortunately, Walsh missed a last second kick to somehow give the Vikings the victory, and Minnesota sports fans went insane. They threatened him & his family, they begged the Vikings to cut him, and they forgot that the Vikings would have scored 0 points that day if not for Blair Walsh.

Kicking is a thankless job. Nobody notices you unless you screw up. I think more of us can identify with kickers than we can with quarterbacks & wide receivers that receive endless praise when they do their jobs properly. They deserve it, but kickers deserve some love too. If nothing else, they deserve a slot on the All-Cook Team. And who better than a man who went to an elementary school to thank some 3rd graders for sending him some nice letters after the playoff game?

That sort of community involvement and togetherness is what football should be all about. Blair Walsh. Good dude.

Well, there you have it! The first edition of the All-Cook Team is complete. Do you agree with who made the cut? Who got unfairly left out? Let me know on Twitter or Facebook or however you kids post your opinions these days! Thanks for reading.