Pro Bowl Snubs, Bad Picks, and Hard Luck Misses
By Jason Lisk
HARD LUCK MISSES
This category goes to guys who happened to play at stacked positions within their conference, but normally would have produced a pro bowl caliber year.
At running back in the AFC, I agree with all three selections, though not necessarily the starting order (Jones-Drew, Foster, Charles), but both Peyton Hillis and Darren McFadden had strong campaigns. It’s also telling that Chris Johnson put up a pretty good year for most backs, but was a disappointment and not in the running for a pro bowl in the AFC.
At outside linebacker in the AFC, Tamba Hali put up a pro bowl caliber year, and is easily in the discussion with the guys who were selected. I can’t complain too much about Cameron Wake, James Harrison and Terrell Suggs, though I think the AFC should have adjusted and taken an extra outside linebacker at the expense of a defensive end, since so many teams play the 3-4. Lamar Woodley was also squeezed by the numbers at outside linebacker.
Aaron Rodgers at quarterback in the NFC would have been on my list. I know that Vick, Brees and Ryan all have their cases as well, but I would have found room for Rodgers at the expense of one of them. Pretty sure he joins only Philip Rivers (in a horrible snub from a couple of years ago) as only guys to not be selected to Pro Bowl who played most of season and had a rating over 100.
Desmond Bishop at inside linebacker in the NFC was squeezed because only two are taken, and I can’t complain about Willis and Urlacher. But Bishop was deserving as well.
Trent Cole deserved a pro bowl nod. Peppers, Abraham, and Tuck were solid choices, but Cole should have been one of the three selections.
Mike Wallace came on strong and had to be in consideration at wide receiver. The four selected at receiver in the AFC (Andre, Wayne, Bowe, and Lloyd) all were deserving as well, though.
SNUBS & BAD CALLS
The guard and center positions are probably the one where reputation matters the most, and you basically have to kill someone or lose multiple limbs to stop getting selected once you get penciled in. So this is a laundry list. The NFC should have had both Josh Sitton of Green Bay and Harvey Dahl of Atlanta, while Jahri Evans and Chris Snee got selected based on past performance, not this year. In the AFC, I think they took the wrong Chief, and I would have gone with Ryan Lilja over Brian Waters.
Tramon Williams should have been the cornerback selected for Green Bay, and feel free to kick out either Charles Woodson or DeAngelo Hall. Hall is perenially overrated, and got interceptions this year because he gets thrown on frequently, and gave up a lot of yards and touchdowns along with those picks. He may get an interception in the pro bowl, because of all the opportunities he will get with Manning, Rivers and Brady targeting him frequently.
Kellen Winslow has a beef at tight end, and with the Bucs having no pro bowl selections this year, he would have been a good choice. Tony Gonzalez has had a great career and I love him, and he’s still a solid player in this league, but I’m pretty sure this pro bowl was his first reputation pick.
Brandon Meriweather is an absolute head scratcher. The Patriots pass defense wasn’t a strong point this year, and that is in part because of the uneven play of Meriweather, who was benched at one point. His most memorable play is the cheap shot on Todd Heap. You could pick about any starting safety in the AFC and make a better pick. I’ll go with Eric Weddle of the Chargers.
[photo via Getty]