Now that we know who has been selected to play in the Pro Bowl based on the newly announced roster, it is time to take a look at some things to know about this year’s crop of players, who was unnecessarily left out, and the meaning of it all.
Quick facts:
- The Denver Broncos led all teams with nine players selected for the Pro Bowl, including Peyton Manning, Demaryius Thomas, Aqib Talib, and Ryan Clady.
- The Dallas Cowboys were second with six players picked, including Tony Romo, DeMarco Murray, Dez Bryant, and three offensive lineman (tackle Tyron Smith, rookie guard Zach Martin, center Travis Frederick), leading in both offensive lineman and offensive players selected overall.
- Six teams (Indianapolis Colts, Philadelphia Eagles, Green Bay Packers, New England Patriots, Pittsburgh Steelers and Seattle Seahawks) each had five players selected to the Pro Bowl.
- Four teams (New York Giants, Tennessee Titans, Jacksonville Jaguars, Minnesota Vikings) did not have a single player selected to the Pro Bowl.
- Guard Zack Martin of the Dallas Cowboys, defensive tackle Aaron Donald of the St. Louis Rams, and inside linebacker C.J. Mosley were the three rookies selected to the Pro Bowl this season.
- Peyton Manning was selected to a Pro Bowl for the 14th time, extending his NFL-record for most by quarterbacks, while Tom Brady was selected for a 10th time.
Notable Snubs:
- Odell Beckham Jr., New York Giants- Beckham has played in only 11 games, but with his spectacular catch against the Dallas Cowboys a few weeks ago on Monday night football and a historic eight-game stretch (69 catches, 1,024 yards receiving, and 8 touchdowns), he appeared to be the rare example of a player who made a late Pro Bowl run after missing an early portion of the season. Unfortunately, despite have the 13th most receiving yards, tied for the fourth-most touchdown catches, and ranking third in receiving yards per game (101.8), Beckham was passed by a Calvin Johnson who ranked 16th in receiving yards (1,038). Beckham will hopefully make it in the future, but in today’s NFL where passing offenses are king, receivers will always put up huge stats, so a complete season may be what’s needed to stand out consistently.
- Justin Forsett, Baltimore Ravens- Forsett was a career journeyman before this season, but got his chance this season to be a top back, and ran with it. He has rushed for the sixth-most yards in the NFL (1,147), had the beast average of any of the top 30 running backs in yardage (5.3 yards per carry), and is tied for the most carries of 20 yards or more (14). However, he was passed over by Alfred Morris, who was ranked 8th in the league in rushing yards, and Jamaal Charles, who placed 11th in that category. Just like Beckham, it is a perfect case of reputation superseding production.
- Russell Wilson, Seattle Seahawks- Yes, Wilson is only 17th in passing yards (3,236), but has thrown 20 touchdowns to only 6 interceptions despite losing two big playmakers from last season (Golden Tate and Percy Harvin), and getting sacked the sixth-most times in the NFL (39) while avoiding his fair share. Wilson is also 15th in rushing yards (842) while averaging a league-high 7.5 yards per carry with three 100 yard rushing games, and he recently took apart an elite Cardinals defense, throwing for 339 yards and two touchdowns, and ran for 88 yards and a score.
- Eddie Lacy, Green Bay Packers- Whenever you are the running back behind Aaron Rodgers, you are going to get overlooked. That being said, Lacy ran for more yards than Pro Bowl selection Alfred Morris (7th in yards compared to 8th for Morris), and had a better yard per carry average (4.7 to 4.1).
The meaning of it all
- If you want to make the Pro Bowl as a receiver in today’s pass-happy NFL, you have to be the best receiver on your team, or at least be perceived as it. Emmanuel Sanders is sixth in receiving yards (1,331), but being second-fiddle to Demaryius Thomas, who is third in that category (1,504). Golden Tate is seventh (1,286 yards), but being paired with Calvin Johnson limited his potential for the Pro Bowl, as was the case with Randall Cobb, who is tenth in yards (1,207) and had 10 touchdowns, but Jordy Nelson, third in yards (1, 433 yards) and second in touchdowns (13). One player who this did not apply to was Jeremy Maclin, who put up the eighth-most yards (1,269 yards) and 10 touchdowns while playing with two quarterbacks in Nick Foles and Mark Sanchez, but Pro Bowl selection Dez Bryant was ninth in receiving yards (1,221) and had 14 touchdowns in an offense that used the run game a lot.
- Glover Quin’s case about Pro Bowl voting for fans not beginning until Week 13, which we covered in an earlier column, as he was one of four free safeties selected, and made the case that if you are productive toward the end of the season and play well enough, you can make it despite low fan voting numbers. However, as Beckham’s own situation illustrates, sometimes that isn’t enough, and maybe fan voting should be later, as Julius Thomas struggled the second half of the season with injuries while Delanie Walker and Martellus Bennett were very productive down the stretch, but were left out of the tight ends selected for the Pro Bowl. Quin is right that maybe fan voting should start during the final quarter of the season or close to it so fans have a clearer picture, but a full season performance must mean something as well. It will be interesting to see what this debate means for the future of voting for the Pro Bowl.
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