The Pro Bowl

[SuperUberBob]

Voting for the NFL Pro Bowl teams is now underway.

Out of curiosity, I want to get a feel for what the overall consensus is regarding the Pro Bowl rosters for this season.

Rather than have every player listed, I guess it would be easier to choose the bare bones for a team (unless you really want to include all of your picks). So for AFC/NFC teams:

QB (1)
RB (1)
WR (2)
FB (1)
TE (1)
K (1)
P (1)

Optional positions:
Guard (2)
Tackle (2)
Center (1)
Cornerbacks (2)
Strong Safety (1)
Free Safety (1)
Defensive End (2)
Inside Linebackers (2)
Outside Linebackers (2)
Interior Lineman (2)
Kick Returner (1)
Special Teamer (1)

I will break the ice (and I'll do the optional positions as well despite knowing little about the offensive linemen):

AFC
QB - Peyton Manning
RB - Ladanian Tomlinson
WR #1 - Reggie Wayne
WR #2 - Chad Johnson
FB - Lorenzo Neal
TE - Antonio Gates
K - Matt Stover
P - Brian Moorman
G #1 - Will Shields
G #2 - Alan Faneca
T #1 - Tarik Glenn
T #2 - Johnathan Ogden
C - Jeff Hartings
CB #1 - Champ Bailey
CB #2 - Chris McAlister
SS - Troy Polamalu
FS - Kerry Rhodes
DE #1 - Jason Taylor
DE #2 - Aaron Schobel
ILB #1 - Zach Thomas
ILB #2 - Ray Lewis
OLB #1 - Shawne Merriman
OLB #2 - Keith Bulluck
IL #1 - Warren Sapp
IL #2 - Ty Warren
KR - Pacman Jones
ST - Larry Izzo

NFC
QB - Drew Brees
RB - Steven Jackson
WR #1 - Darrell Jackson
WR #2 - Marques Colston
FB - Mack Strong
TE - Jeremy Shockey
K - Robbie Gould
P - Jason Baker
G #1 - Larry Allen
G #2 - Steve Hutchinson
T #1 - Walter Jones
T #2 - Kareem McKenzie
C - Olin Kreutz
CB #1 - Charles Woodson
CB #2 - Ronde Barber
SS - Roy Williams
FS - Sean Taylor
DE #1 - Julius Peppers
DE #2 - Michael Strahan
ILB #1 - Brian Urlacher
ILB #2 - Antonio Pierce
OLB #1 - Julian Peterson
OLB #2 - A.J. Hawk
IL #1 - Fred Robbins
IL #2 - Laroi Glover
KR - Devon Hester
ST - David Tyree

[PokerFink]

You pick more than one player for each position for the Pro Bowl (ie 3 QB), but whatever. You have a nice list. I'll bold my changes.

AFC

QB - Peyton Manning
RB - Ladanian Tomlinson
WR #1 - Reggie Wayne
WR #2 - Chad Johnson
FB - Lorenzo Neal
TE - Tony Gonzalez
K - Matt Stover
P - Brian Moorman - nice pick
G #1 - Will Shields
G #2 - Alan Faneca
T #1 - Tarik Glenn - nice pick
T #2 - Johnathan Ogden
C - Jeff Hartings

CB #1 - Champ Bailey
CB #2 - Rashean Mathis
SS - Troy Polamalu
FS - Kerry Rhodes - not sure about this one
DE #1 - Jason Taylor
DE #2 - Aaron Schobel
ILB #1 - Zach Thomas
ILB #2 - Ray Lewis
OLB #1 - Shawne Merriman
OLB #2 - Keith Bulluck
IL #1 - Vince Wilfork
IL #2 - Hagolit Nata or whatever his name is
KR - Pacman Jones
ST - Larry Izzo

NFC

QB - Drew Brees
RB - Steven Jackson
WR #1 - Marques Colston
WR #2 - Roy Williams
FB - Mack Strong
TE - Alge Crumpler
K - Robbie Gould
P - Jeff Feagles
G #1 - Shawn Andrews
G #2 - Steve Hutchinson
T #1 - Walter Jones
T #2 - Orlando Pace
C - Olin Kreutz

CB #1 - Charles Woodson
CB #2 - Ronde Barber - I might put Lito here, toss up
SS - Anyone But Roy Williams
FS - Anyone But Sean Taylor
DE #1 - Julius Peppers
DE #2 - Michael Strahan
ILB #1 - Brian Urlacher
ILB #2 - Antonio Pierce
OLB #1 - Julian Peterson
OLB #2 - DeMarcus Ware
IL #1 - Shaun Rogers
IL #2 - Tommie Harris
KR - Devon Hester
ST - David Tyree

[PokerFink]

Just to expand on some of my changes:

Gonzalez - Having the best year of any TE in the league after a really slow start. Gates is probably second, so this is splitting hairs. They will both make the pro bowl.

Mathis - Once of the better players no one has ever heard of. Another great cog in that Jax defense. He has seven picks I believe. Just ask Needle how good he is.

Nata - Having a great year as the rookie NT for Baltimore. Why do you think Ray Lewis is so good again?

Crumpler - Basically Vick's only weapon in the passing game. But it's close; Shockey is having a nice year as well.

Jeff Feagles - This isn't really close, Feagles is amazing.

Andrews - Quietly turning into a dominant interior lineman.

Ware - The biggest omission on your list.

Harris - The second biggest omission on your list.

As for the NFC safeties, I will have to think about who I would put there. But it's definitely NOT Taylor and Williams - they are both huge liabilities in deep coverage.

[SuperUberBob]

Yes, you can pick more than one for some positions on the ballot. But I felt it would be overkill to list all of them. I thought it would be overkill enough to put in the optional positions.

I'm not particularly versed in the best defensive players in the league. For most of the defensive side, I went by statistics that I recognized. I probably overlooked some players and made some bad decisions.

As for some of your changes, I voted those guys on my ballot. But I didn't consider them the absolute best (Gonzalez, Crumpler, Mathis).

The reason I picked Shockey over Crumpler is that the beef of Crumpler's numbers came all in one game. Otherwise, aside from a couple of flashes in the pan, he hasn't done that much. Shockey is unfortunately poorly utilized by Eli Manning. If he got the ball more often, I think it would end up making Eli look a bit better since Shockey can make bad passes look like sensational catches.

[PokerFink]

[ QUOTE ]
Yes, you can pick more than one for some positions on the ballot. But I felt it would be overkill to list all of them. I thought it would be overkill enough to put in the optional positions.

[/ QUOTE ]

Oh, I see what you're saying. I thought you meant it would be overkill to list all the options, the way it does on the actual ballot. This might be more fun because it leads to tougher decisions.

[ QUOTE ]
I'm not particularly versed in the best defensive players in the league. For most of the defensive side, I went by statistics that I recognized. I probably overlooked some players and made some bad decisions.

[/ QUOTE ]

No worries. But next time you see a Dallas game (they play on SNF next week), make sure you watch DeMarcus Ware. That guy is a monster. He is similar to Merriman, outside LB in the 3-4 that lines up all over the place, rushes the passer and stops the run. Complete player.

Offensive line is even tougher than defense. Some guys are obvious picks (Walter Jones) but who is the best NFC center? Honestly, I have no idea.

[ QUOTE ]
As for some of your changes, I voted those guys on my ballot. But I didn't consider them the absolute best (Gonzalez, Crumpler, Mathis).

[/ QUOTE ]

That's fine. It's close on all those picks - Gonzalez/Gates, Crumpler/Shockey, Mathis/McAllister. All six of those guys will probably make the pro bowl in the end.

[Kneel B4 Zod]

Manning
LT2


that's really all I'm sure about [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[PokerFink]

I feel bad for Manning. He's going to lose another MVP trophy to a running back.

[SAchamp]

k2 baby, k2.

[Kneel B4 Zod]

[ QUOTE ]
I feel bad for Manning. He's going to lose another MVP trophy to a running back.

[/ QUOTE ]

or to another QB, if Peter King has his way!

[Jeff W]

This is more of an all pro team--which is great, I like all pro teams better than pro bowl, even if it means Rivers gets snubbed. [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]

For NFC safety, FWIW, a guy who gets talked about a lot as the best safety in football is Adrian Wilson.

Is Ray Lewis really a pro bowler this year or is he making it on rep?

I think the historically awesome Minnesota run defense needs a representative.