MVN - Most Valuable Network

Pro Bowl Snubs? Not for Broncos

At this point, everyone should know that the Pro Bowl is just a popularity contest. Maybe it isn’t as bad the NBA, NHL or MLB, but it still seems to select multiple players each year based on reputation alone. With all this said, the Denver Broncos got pretty much what they deserved from their mediocre 2007 campaign when it comes to the Pro Bowl.

Champ Bailey is the best corner in the NFL. The Fans know it, his peers know it, and every coach in the league knows it. What these three groups do not seem to realize when they vote is how bad Dre Bly has been this season because he has been selected as a third alternate for a trip to Hawaii. The big-play gambling that paid off during his first seven years in Detroit has led to more heartache than interceptions this year. His numbers are decent (5 interceptions, 41 tackles), but no one would peg him as one of the top ten corners in 2007. Any good decent quarterback could have torn him to shreds, just ask Brett Farvre, who successfully targeted him time and time again during a 19-13 Packers victory in which he went 21-for-27 for 331 yards and two scores.

Brandon Marshall has been the brightest spot in a shady underachieving offense this season with 1,136 receiving yards on 86 catches with six touchdowns. He also filled the tremendous void that was created with Javon Walker slowed by a knee injury almost all season. Brandon Stokley’s emergence as a no. 2 wide-out has obviously been a huge help, but it is Marshall who has provided Jay Cutler with the outlet he needs to progress as a pro quarterback.

Nonetheless, he is not a Pro-Bowler…at least not this year when you look at the AFC’s top wide-outs. Randy Moss (87 rec., 1343 yds, 19 TD), Reggie Wayne (76, 1307, 14) and Braylon Edwards (68, 1170, 13) get the nod over Marshall on numbers alone. Moss is obviously the top wide receiver in football while Wayne has is a close second and Braylon Edwards has served as the catalyst in turning Cleveland’s offense into one of the highest scoring units in the league (5th in the NFL with 26.3 points/game). Despite the struggles of the Cincinnati Bengals, T.J. Houshmandzadeh (101, 1028, 11) and Chad Johnson (85, 1265 and 6 TDs as a Pro Bowl alternate) still rank among the game’s elite and deserve to be selected ahead of Marshall. That makes five players ahead of Marshall and the roster only has four spots. The fact that he was not even selected as an alternate, however, is rather ridiculous. Wes Welker, the first alternate at wide receiver, has the advantage of Tom Brady and the best offense in recent memory when he trots out every Sunday. Marshall often doesn’t know which offense he will be a part of each week; it could be the tragic and ugly disaster that has been seen against San Diego and Detroit or the powerhouse that pounced Kansas City and Tennessee. Marshall has stepped up in times of need despite not having Randy Moss looking at him from across the field as Welker has had all season.

John Lynch is the first alternate at safety for the AFC, but even Lynch would be the first to admit that this is not a typical first-class season for the eight-time Pro-Bowl safety. Regardless of whether his less-than-spectacular play is a result of his own aging or the team’s poor overall performance under Jim Bates’ new defensive scheme, he is not one of the top three safeties in the AFC. While Troy Polamalu has had an equally disappointing season because of a knee injury, he must be given the advantage because of the obvious difference he makes when in the Steelers lineup. Lynch was on the sideline against Kansas City, when the defense had one of its best games, but was also present during the 41-3 blowout by San Diego. The play of the unit has not altered drastically based on his presence on the field. He is a Hall-of-fame safety and one of the greatest to play his position, but the popularity contest was not enough to get this fan favorite to Hawaii this season (unlike Jonathan Ogden and half the offensive linemen, who are going to the Pro Bowl on reputation alone).

As for Elvis Dumervil, he is one of the best pass rushers in the league, but everyone in the league seems to have a serious man crush on Kyle Vanden Bosch so Dumervil will have to wait until next season. Dumervil will be in Honolulu next season and that is a guarantee, but this year he will have to settle for the role of fourth alternate. Mario Williams was rather silent the first three quarters of the season, but he has been dominating enough as of late to rank ahead of Dumervil as well as Vanden Bosch and Jason Taylor, who join Kansas City’s Jared Allen on the Pro Bowl roster. The hit on Dumervil is the team’s refusal to play him regularly on running downs (just 34 tackles this season, far less than any of the Pro Bowl DE’s). Odds are that this will begin to change next season as he continues to transform into a true NFL end, rather than the pure rushing end that he was in college.

The Broncos representation at the Pro Bowl is very much like their 2007 campaign; lots of almosts but very few genuine successes. As the only Denver Pro Bowler, Bailey is the Broncos best and most well-known player. He has done everything that the franchise has asked of him in his four years with Denver, except the one thing Mike Shanahan brought him to Denver for- a Super Bowl ring.

This entry was posted on Thursday, December 20th, 2007 at 9:44 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.