When the NFL announced the Pro Bowl rosters a week ago, it happened right in the midst of Christmas and Bowl season. If they think they got away with their annual popularity contest without a comment or two, they were mistaken.
The problem with Pro Bowl voting is that the fans are involved at all. Also, the players don’t do that hot either. Nope, the Pro Bowl should only be voted on by media, coaches and NFL administrators. Yeah, in this case I’m against the common man having a say.
But, you guys did put in your votes, as did the players who might be even poorer judges of their peers. When we talk about snubs, we mean a guy that should have gotten into the Pro Bowl on the first pass. It doesn’t mean he won’t get to suit up in Orlando at the end of January. With no members of the Super Bowl teams playing in the exhibition, many of the “snubs” get brought in as alternates anyway. Let’s see how the NFL players and fans did in picking this year’s teams.
AFC
OFFENSE
Quarterback
Tom Brady (New England Patriots), Philip Rivers (Los Angeles Chargers), Ben Roethlisberger (Pittsburgh Steelers)
Snub: Alex Smith, QB, Kansas City Chiefs
Alex Smith had a road passer rating of 118.0 in 2017. That is the 6th best road passer rating in NFL history (minimum 175 attempts)
— Gary McKenzie (@Super_G_Chiefs) December 28, 2017
All the voters here did was hit passing yards on the NFL.com website and pick the top three guys. Smith, for the first month of the season, was the best quarterback in the league. Even as his team wilted at the midpoint, his play and performance stayed about the same. Not only that, his team is in the playoffs and won the division. Rivers is a great quarterback and in a terrible situation with one of the worst coaches in the league. It’s fine that he made the Pro Bowl, but Smith deserved the spot he’ll surely get when Roethlisberger or Brady plays in the Super Bowl.
Running Back
Le’Veon Bell (Pittsburgh Steelers), Kareem Hunt (Kansas City Chiefs), LeSean McCoy (Buffalo Bills)
Snub: None. This is a solid list and if Bell does make it to the Super Bowl, the next best guy, Melvin Gordon of the Chargers, will probably slide in.
Wide Receiver
Antonio Brown (Pittsburgh Steelers), DeAndre Hopkins (Houston Texans), A.J. Green (Cincinnati Bengals), Keenan Allen (Los Angeles Chargers)
Snub: Jarvis Landry, WR, Miami Dolphins
Jarvis Landry needs 156 yards in the final two games to become the first Dolphin with three straight 1,000-yard receiving seasons.
— Hal Habib (@gunnerhal) December 17, 2017
Landry leads the NFL in catches with 103 and has the exact same number of touchdowns as Green (8). He has fewer yards (895-1061) and neither guy is on a winning team. I don’t have a big problem with Green getting the nod over Landry, but it’s not a cut and dried case. Hopefully, like with the other two spots, the Steelers represent the AFC in the Super Bowl and Landry gets to make the short trip to Disney-ville.
Tight End
Travis Kelce (Kansas City Chiefs), Rob Gronkowski (New England Patriots)
Snub: None. Not only are these two guys the best tight ends in the AFC, they’re the best in the league and two of the best in the history of the sport.
Fullback
James Devlin (New England Patriots)
Snub: This shouldn’t be a spot. How many teams even play with a fullback now? Even the teams that do probably only use them on a third of their offensive snaps, if that. This should be folded into a “specialist” category.
Offensive Tackle
Alejandro Villanueva (Pittsburgh Steelers), Taylor Lewan (Tennessee Titans), Donald Penn (Oakland Raiders)
Snub: Anthony Costonzo, OT, Indianapolis Colts
Colt Anthony Costanzo has the highest run blocking grade for Tackles and has allowed 0 sacks and only 2 QB pressures in the last 2 games.
— PFF IND Colts (@PFF_Colts) October 4, 2017
He’s on a losing team, so voters had no idea he allowed just three quarterback hits through Dec. 13 and posted a pass blocking efficiency rating of 95.3. He was the highest rated tackle in the AFC.
Offensive Guard
Kalechi Osemele (Oakland Raiders), David DeCastro (Pittbsurgh Steelers), Richie Incognito (Buffalo Bills)
Snub: Joel Bitonio, G, Cleveland Browns
Midway through December, Bitonio was the highest graded AFC interior offensive lineman by Pro Football Focus. He plays for the Browns. That’s why no one knows how good this kid is. Incognito had a great season, but Bitonio was better.
Center
Maurkice Pouncey (Pittsburgh Steelers), Rodney Hudson (Oakland Raiders)
Snub: David Andrews, Center, New England Patriots
Patriots offensive player position rankings according to @PFF: Brady (1), Gronk (1), Dion Lewis (2), David Andrews (4), Shaq Mason (8), Joe Thuney (13).
— Mind Body Stephen (@mindbodysteph3n) December 28, 2017
There’s really no excuse why Andrews didn’t make the list. He plays for the Patriots and has given up just two sacks all season.
DEFENSE
Defensive End
Joey Bosa (Los Angeles Chargers), Calais Campbell (Jacksonville Jaguars), Khalil Mack (Oakland Raiders)
Snub: No snubs here. While Bosa and Mack haven’t torn up the sack stats (they’re still both in double digits), they’ve piled up the tackles. Mack has 72 and Bosa has 65.
Defensive Tackle
Geno Atkins (Cincinnati Bengals), Jurrell Casey (Tennessee Titans), Malik Jackson (Jacksonville Jaguars)
Snub: Again, We’re good here. Deatrich Wise of the Patriots might have an argument to get into the conversation, but these three guys are your top interior defensive linemen in the AFC.
Outside Linebacker
Von Miller (Denver Broncos), Jadeveon Clowney (Houston Texans), Terrell Suggs (Baltimore Ravens)
Snub: Melvin Ingram, OLB, Los Angeles Chargers
The disrespect to @MelvinIngram gotta stop #ProBowlSnub
— Larry Wright (@PettyMonster85) December 20, 2017
Considering that Suggs is the only guy with even a puncher’s chance of getting to the Super Bowl, it’s a damn shame Ingram will be watching the Pro Bowl in the stands or at home. He has more tackles and more sacks than Clowney and plays on a better team. What other criteria do you need? Clowney is simply a more popular player with a bigger name. He’s fantastic and deserves to be in the conversation. He doesn’t deserve to be on the team here ahead of Ingram.
Inside Linebacker
C.J. Mosley (Baltimore Ravens), Ryan Shazier (Pittsburgh Steelers)
Snubs: Preston Brown, MLB, Buffalo Bills, Joe Schobert, MLB, Cleveland Browns
Now, Shazier won’t be able to play in the Pro Bowl and there’s a chance he might never play again, so it’s not cool to deny him his first bid. I will say that Brown and/or Schobert absolutely deserve to make the trip in his place. They’re both tied for second in the league with 132 tackles. Schobert has the edge in sacks with three while Brown is actually playing for a team with a playoff shot in Week 17.
To be continued…
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