Willie Earns Team MVP

[Kirkendall]

...and rightly so. Love the guy.

http://www.bengals.com/press/news.asp?iCur...=0&news_id=2706

[jjakq27]

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/art.../501070391/1066

Willie also made the NFL All -Pro team.

New tag for Anderson: All-Pro

Tackle is first Bengal selected first team since Ambrose in 1996

By Mark Curnutte

Enquirer staff writer

Right tackle Willie Anderson was a Bengals rookie in 1996, when cornerback Ashley Ambrose made first team All-Pro.

Anderson on Thursday was announced as the first Bengals player since Ambrose in 1996 to make the Associated Press All-Pro team.

Anderson and Kansas City's William Roaf each earned 16 votes from a nationwide panel of 48 reporters and broadcasters who cover the NFL. Seattle's Walter Jones received 34 votes. All three tackles were selected as first-team All-Pro players.

"It's definitely an individual honor that's related to our growth as a team," Anderson said Thursday. "It's all about people getting to know you and the kind of player you are. I humbly accept it, but I'm not playing any different than I was three or four years ago."

Anderson extended his streak of consecutive games started to 80 and played the season on an injured knee. He said he is scheduled to undergo surgery Tuesday on the knee in Birmingham, Ala., and will meet first on Monday with Dr. James Andrews, who will perform the operation.

Anderson was part of an offensive line that blocked for tailback Rudi Johnson, who rushed for a single-season franchise record 1,454 yards. The Bengals gained 450 yards of offense in three consecutive games for the first time in franchise history, and the blockers allowed just 12 sacks in the last nine games.

Also elected to his second consecutive Pro Bowl, Anderson thanked his teammates and coaches, especially offensive line coach Paul Alexander.

"We've kind of come up together with the things he has taught me," Anderson said.

The other Bengals receiving All-Pro votes were cornerback Tory James, eight; and wide receiver Chad Johnson, two. James and Johnson, like Anderson, are on the AFC Pro Bowl team. Former Bengals linebacker Takeo Spikes, in his second season with the Buffalo Bills, was the leading vote getter among outside linebackers with 32.

Bengals wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh received one vote for Comeback Player of the Year, won by Chargers quarterback Drew Brees, also announced Thursday.