While the future of the Pro Bowl after 2013 remains in question. It’s clear that being selected to the team has a great deal of significance to the players.
The NFC Pro Bowl squad features a combined 12 players from two of the NFL’s most storied franchises – the San Francisco 49ers with nine players and the Green Packers with three players.
You would imagine being named starting quarterback for the NFC conference would be common place for Aaron Rogers at this point, but the recognition stills means everything for quarterback who has accomplished so much. This is Rodger’s third selection to the Pro Bowl in his career, and throwing for 35 touchdowns to only 8 interceptions is great, but being nominated to the Pro Bowl by your pears and fans makes the recognition that much better.
“It’s an honor to be voted in, knowing that it’s a combination of the fans, my fellow players and the coaches,” Rogers said. “To be recognized by all of those people, it’s pretty special.”
What makes the trip even more special for Rodgers is the possibility of receiving snaps from fellow teammate Jeff Saturday, who earned the backup center position behind Seattle’s Max Unger.
Saturday, who lost his starting job last week to Evan Dietrich-Smith, is making his sixth Pro Bowl appearance and his first as a Packer. The 37-year-old veteran knows his time in the league may be coming to a close, and hoped to pass the torch to some of the younger players on the Packers offensive line.
“It has been fun. I have enjoyed the young guys and playing next to new guys for me,” Saturday added. “I am disappointed for Josh Sitton; I think he should be there.” “It is disappointing for me, for him. I would love to be able to pass it to him.”
Their defensive counterpart and teammate Clay Matthews will join Rodgers and Saturday on the field in Hawaii. Matthews is the only player in Packer history to make the Pro Bowl team in his first four seasons — an impressive feat considering the history of former players to wear a Packer uniform.
“It’s pretty special to hear something like that. Obviously, there have been so many great players to have come through here, so it is very meaningful,” Matthews said. “But to me, making the Pro Bowl again really speaks a great deal to the team we have and what we’ve been able to accomplish over these past four years in my short tenure here.”
Although Matthews has been injured in the latter part of the season, he still managed to grab 12 sacks, which is two shy of his career high with one game remaining. The injuries to Matthews might explain why he didn’t get the nod as an NFC starter, but San Francisco linebackers Aldon Smith, NaVarro Bowman and Patrick Willis may have something to do with it as well.
Aldon Smith has accumulated 19.5 sacks on the year, and has a chance to add to that total in the final game of the season against the Arizona Cardinals. But personal accolades aside, Smith believes the number of 49er players selected to the Pro Bowl is a testament to how good the 49ers really are.
“That says a lot about the team.” Aldon Smith said. “How many guys are really playing at a high caliber and how many guys are playing at an elite level. It just shows everybody that we have team full of guys that are talented, confident individuals.”
Speaking of talented individuals, linebackers Patrick Willis and NaVorro Bowman will represent the middle of the field for the NFC. The two backers have combined for a total of 206 tackles on the season, and Bowman spoke about how the two players mirror each other’s game.
“It worked out. You know me and Pat we know we play similar we know we can do some of the same things, so really within the scheme we really don’t have to switch positions or switch assignments too much,” Bowman said. “We can really stay in place and let the defense work out for itself and I think that’s benefited for us as a defense.
What’s also benefited the 49er defense is the play of safety Donte Whitner. The starting safety for the NFC has 78 tackles on the season, and during an interview, remembered the days of being an alternate in the Pro Bowl and how much it means to finally be a starter.
“Well It’s a longtime coming, I was an alternate once in Buffalo and an alternate last year here so that’s not really good feeling,” Whitener said. “But actually making it, actually being recognized by your peers, coaches and teammates as a player who deserves to be in the game — feels great.”
