Greg Auman
NFC South Reporter
Ah, Pro Bowl snubs.
There isn’t even a real game anymore, and the game isn’t in Hawaii or Las Vegas but back in Orlando. But the honor of being named to the Pro Bowl remains an important currency toward building a résumé for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
So every year, when the combined voting from fans, players and coaches is tabulated, there are inevitably heinous oversights and inexplicable choices that make fans angry their team is underappreciated on the NFL’s All-Star team.
We’ll offer up five of the most obvious snubs:
Antoine Winfield, Bucs safety: That Winfield is an alternate and Arizona’s Budda Baker made the cut is nonsensical. Winfield has been a ballhawk who’s made splash plays all year for what’s likely a playoff team — an unprecedented combination with three interceptions, five forced fumbles, four fumble recoveries and five sacks. Baker has none of those four things, on a far worse team. Great tackler, great in coverage, but not a game-changing player at the level Winfield has been. Pro Football Focus rankings can be suspect, but they have Winfield as the NFL’s No. 2 safety and Baker … at No. 53.
Jalen Hurts or Jared Goff, NFC quarterbacks: It was easy to choose the Cowboys’ Dak Prescott and the 49ers’ Brock Purdy for two of the three NFC quarterback spots. But picking the Rams’ Matthew Stafford for the third spot is a poor choice. He ranks eighth in the NFC in passer rating, with a modest 24 touchdowns against 11 interceptions. He’s led his team to the playoffs, yes, but you can say the same about Hurts or Goff, with better overall statistics. Goff has four more touchdown passes and 290 more passing yards; Hurts isn’t better as a passer but obviously adds 15 rushing touchdowns as part of his contributions.
Kevin Dotson, Rams guard: The Eagles’ recent collapse probably happened too late to factor much in Pro Bowl voting, but Philadelphia already had a bit of what…
Source link : https://www.foxsports.com/stories/nfl/5-pro-bowl-snubs-buccaneers-antoine-winfield-leads-the-way
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Publish date : 2024-01-04 03:25:04
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