Pro Bowlers
By Zach
The NFL Pro Bowl squads were announced, and I was of course pleased to see five Seahawks on the roster. Hasselbeck, Alexander, Hutchinson, and Jones were no-brainers, but I'm really pleased to see long-time Seahawk fullback Mack Strong finally get his due. He's opened holes for John L. Williams, Chris Warren, Ricky Watters, and now Shaun, and done it as well as anyone in the league.
I was disappointed to see that Lofa Tatupu only made the squad as an alternate, but there's a decent chance he'll get on the field anyhow. Center Robbie Tobeck and kicker Josh Brown also got alternate spots.
The rest of the NFC roster was just about as I expected, except at the quarterback position. Michael Vick got in because of fan voting, because I can't believe his play or his statistics swayed anyone. Same thing to a lesser extent with Jake Delhomme, who has only looked good this year when he throws short passes to Steve Smith and then lets him run. Mark Brunell, Drew Bledsoe, and even Eli Manning would have been better choices in my opinion. Also, I had Clinton Portis in over Warrick Dunn, but both have put up similar numbers, so it's not quite as much of an outrage (though I would have loved to see what sort of costume Clinton would break out for the Pro Bowl).
On the AFC side, it was interesting to see how much Chris Chambers' late push helped him in his campaign. The same could be said for Larry Johnson, who has the most impressive statline despite not becoming a full-time starter until early November. The Colts defense got more love than I thought it was worth, especially safety Bob Sanders who is lost in pass coverage. But everyone seems to love guys who play good run defense and lay big hits even if they can't defend against the pass, thus explaining Roy Williams' inclusion on the NFC side. As usual, there are any number of guys who got in on reputation more than actual performance (Zach Thomas, John Lynch, Tony Gonzalez, Jonathan Ogden), but that's to be expected in any all-star game.
Too bad no one's going to watch.
I was disappointed to see that Lofa Tatupu only made the squad as an alternate, but there's a decent chance he'll get on the field anyhow. Center Robbie Tobeck and kicker Josh Brown also got alternate spots.
The rest of the NFC roster was just about as I expected, except at the quarterback position. Michael Vick got in because of fan voting, because I can't believe his play or his statistics swayed anyone. Same thing to a lesser extent with Jake Delhomme, who has only looked good this year when he throws short passes to Steve Smith and then lets him run. Mark Brunell, Drew Bledsoe, and even Eli Manning would have been better choices in my opinion. Also, I had Clinton Portis in over Warrick Dunn, but both have put up similar numbers, so it's not quite as much of an outrage (though I would have loved to see what sort of costume Clinton would break out for the Pro Bowl).
On the AFC side, it was interesting to see how much Chris Chambers' late push helped him in his campaign. The same could be said for Larry Johnson, who has the most impressive statline despite not becoming a full-time starter until early November. The Colts defense got more love than I thought it was worth, especially safety Bob Sanders who is lost in pass coverage. But everyone seems to love guys who play good run defense and lay big hits even if they can't defend against the pass, thus explaining Roy Williams' inclusion on the NFC side. As usual, there are any number of guys who got in on reputation more than actual performance (Zach Thomas, John Lynch, Tony Gonzalez, Jonathan Ogden), but that's to be expected in any all-star game.
Too bad no one's going to watch.
posted by Zach at 5:01 PM
6 Comments:
I agree with the Delhomme argument. But Ken Lucas a 3rd team alternate?? WTF? Will Witherspoon, not even a mention? A travetsy.
No Kyle Orton . . . bummer.
You picked Portis over Dunn? The costumes have got to be the only reason for that because Dunn averages almost a whole yard more per carry than mr. clinton. I agree though that Vick has no place on this squad.
TAQ, if you read my post about my ballot a while back you'd see that indeed most of my justification for taking Portis was costume-based. Similarly, I'd have no problem with Vick being at the game if he'd just agree to wear a jersey with "Mexico" on the back.
I like it. Or maybe if Portis goes due to one of the other three getting injured his alternate personality costume could be Vick in disguise as Ron Mexico. That would be like an alternate personality within an alternate personality.
I can't believe you guys aren't giving Zach Thomas props. He's a baller who is everywhere on the field. Yes, Chambers has had an impressive streak, but I was also surprised that he made it as more than an alternate.
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