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Memo to Pro Bowl voters: you suck
November 14, 2007
By Jonathan Comey
Cold, Hard Football Facts bowling expert
 Snubbed by Pro Bowl voters in 2006 in favor of Philip Rivers, New England quarterback Tom Brady will get a ticket to Hawaii this year for sure. As of right now, he's the No 3 vote-getter among all players, No. 2 in the AFC.
But that doesn't mean he isn't being snubbed again. As of this week it's Peyton Manning, not Brady, who has the most votes as the AFC's starting quarterback.
That pretty much tells you everything you need to know about the merits of Pro Bowl voting. The guy who has had, without a shred of doubt, the greatest first half in the modern era of the NFL, is the No. 2 QB in his conference according to the Pro Bowl voters.
Brady isn't the only guy who is being short-changed by the teeming, unwashed masses.
Let's start with the AFC. Here are the leading vote getters at each position:
| Pos. | Name, Team |
Votes | Pos. | Name, Team |
Votes | | QB | Peyton Manning, Colts |
441,852 | DE | Dwight Freeney, Colts |
209,272 | | RB | Joseph Addai, Colts |
297,504 | IL | Vince Wilfork, Patriots |
100,032 | | FB | Lorenzo Neal, Chargers |
194,880 | OLB | Shawne Merriman, Chargers |
148,287 | | WR | Randy Moss, Patriots |
342,250 | ILB | Tedy Bruschi, Patriots |
121,099 | | TE | Antonio Gates, Chargers |
199,593 | CB | Champ Bailey, Broncos |
183,109 | | T | Matt Light, Patriots |
179,054 | SS | Troy Polamalu, Steelers |
134,868 | | G | Eric Steinbach, Browns |
188,052 | FS | Ed Reed, Ravens |
110, 412 | | C | Jeff Saturday, Colts |
168,502 | P | Chris Hanson, Patriots |
52,131 | | K | Adam Vinatieri, Colts |
82,922 | ST | Larry Izzo, Patriots |
105,147 | | KR | Wes Welker, Patriots |
69,590 | | |
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There are some choices here that could be cause for reasoned debate. Is guard Eric Steinbach really the best in the AFC, or is it Logan Mankins of New England? Vince Wilfork, or Tennessee's Albert Haynesworth? Free safety Ed Reed, or Indy's Antoine Bethea?
All close calls.
But seven positions are currently led by guys that just have no business being there.
AFC kicker: Adam Vinatieri. Even before his meltdown against the Chargers, Vinateri was having a so-so season. No long field goals, mediocre kickoffs, all in a dome. Meanwhile, Kris Brown of Houston and Rob Bironas of Tennessee are 7-of-8 from 40+ , and Bironas kicked eight in a game!!
AFC punter: Chris Hanson. Embarrassing. Hanson barely gets on the field (21 punts), and is 18th in net punting. Meanwhile, Oakland's Shane Lechler is having another ridiculous season -- a 49.9 yard per punt gross (3rd), and a league-leading 44.5 yard net average.
AFC kick returner: Wes Welker. Welker is having a great season as a receiver, a good one as a punt returner. But he only has six kick returns to go with his good-not-great 11.6 punt average. Cleveland's Josh Cribbs is the obvious pick here, with a spectacular 32.4 yard kick return average and an OK 9.8 punt average doing double duty -- with no fumbles.
AFC defensive end: Dwight Freeney. Indy's speed rusher won't be there in the end, thanks to a season-ending injury, and he certainly didn't deserve to be anyway. A one-dimensional end to start with, he had 3.5 sacks for an Indy front seven ranked in the bottom 10 in our defensive Hog Index. Jared Allen (9.5 sacks) has been a monster in seven games for Kansas City, keeping them in the playoff mix practically by himself.
AFC outside linebacker: Shawne Merriman. Merriman is having a good season, 5.5 sacks and 35 solo tackles. But the Charger defense is mediocre (No. 15 points per game allowed, No. 22 yards per play allowed), and Pittsburgh's James Harrison (six forced fumbles) and NE's Mike Vrabel (9.5 sacks) are having monster years for great Ds.
AFC inside linebacker: Tedy Bruschi. Bruschi is a solid player, but he's in a three-man rotation with Junior Seau and Adalius Thomas inside and has only made 33 solo tackles. Any number of candidates would probably be better choices -- including Ray Lewis, who anchors the league's best front seven in Baltimore, Jacksonville's Mike Peterson or Oakland's Kurt Morrison.
AFC cornerback: Champ Bailey, Denver. The Broncos' No. 27 rank in defensive passer rating should more or less take Bailey out of the running. Indianapolis' Marlin Jackson is doing a great job in Indy (No. 2 def. passer rating), Asante Samuel is playing well for New England, and San Diego's Antonio Cromartie has made so many huge plays (leads league in INTs, 6, and passes defensed, 18) that you'd have to consider him as well.
The NFC's roster of voting leaders isn't nearly as poor as the AFC's.
| Pos. | Name, Team | Votes | Pos. | Name, Team |
Votes | | QB | Brett Favre, Packers |
458,837 | DE | Osi Umenyiora, Giants |
166,529 | | RB | Adrian Peterson, Vikings |
317,388 | IL | Tommie Harris, Bears |
96,227 | | FB | Tony Richardson, Vikings |
79,499 | OLB | DeMarcus Ware, Cowboys |
151,589 | | WR | Terrell Owens, Cowboys |
255,490 | ILB | Nick Barnett, Packers |
96,140 | | TE | Jason Witten, Cowboys |
238,598 | CB | Charles Woodson, Packers |
137,925 | | T | Flozell Adams, Cowboys |
138,986 | SS | Roy Williams, Cowboys |
108,450 | | G | Leonard Davis, Cowboys |
124,316 | FS | Sean Taylor, Redskins |
93,639 | | C | Andre Gurode, Cowboys |
121,462 | P | Mat McBriar, Cowboys |
85,609 | | K | Nick Folk, Cowboys |
107,372 | ST | Keith Davis, Cowboys |
70,490 | | KR | Devin Hester, Bears |
249,212 | | | |
It's tough to find any major faults there, but we'll certainly nit-pick a couple.
NFC defensive end: Osi Umenyiora. The Giants' DE is still living large off that six-sack game against Philly, but two of the best individual seasons in the NFL have come from Philly's Trent Cole and Green Bay's Aaron Kampmann. Kampmann has the numbers (30 tackles, 9 sacks) and is the most notable player on the 8-1 Packers' top-shelf defense. And Cole has been a monster for Philly, with 48 solo tackles and nine sacks.
NFC guard: Leonard Davis. It's incredibly hard for any fan to pick one lineman out of a group and say that he's the best, but the Cowboys' O-line isn't so dominant that it deserves to lead all three spots. Here's hoping that the Giants' Chris Snee gets his due. New York's offensive line has been phenomenal (despite shoddy QB play), and haven't missed a beat in the running game despite Tiki Barber's absence (No. 3 in the NFL in rush yards).
Other than those two -- neither of which are egregious -- the NFC picks are pretty solid.
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