Top 10 Undeserving Pro Bowlers

Unlike other perennial Pro Bowlers, Maurkice Pouncey has done little in his career to justify the honors he receives.

As big of an NFL fan as I am, I will be the first to admit that the Pro Bowl is the worst of the all-star contests out there.  But even if the game itself is meaningless, Pro Bowl selections are important because they help determine which players ultimately make the Hall of Fame and which don't.  

When the Pro Bowl teams were announced last night, I was pleased with most of the picks.  But inevitably there were going to be a few mistakes, where a popular player with a poor year was included over an unknown player with better production.  Two weeks ago, I covered the offensive and defensive players that deserved to add a Pro Bowl to their resume.  Now that the rosters were officially announced, let's look at the 10 players who will go to Hawaii, even though they don't deserve to.

(Note: If you're wondering where I get all my blocking, pass rushing, and other advanced metrics from, go to ProFootballFocus.com.  I highly suggest signing up for a premium account there if you want to see how your favorite players stack up against their peers.)

1) Maurkice Pouncey, C - It's no surprise that the biggest Pro Bowl farce happens on the unit that fans and players pay the least attention to: the offensive line.  At some point last year, Steeler Nation decided that their center was going to be a perennial Pro Bowler, and the national media took the bait.  Pouncey is an average run blocker and struggles in pass protection, and yet still was voted in over Chris Myers, the engine for the powerful Texan run game.  Houston's offensive line is the best in the league, yet will not have a single representative in Hawaii.

2) Dwight Freeney, DE - Freeney has been one of the best defensive ends of the last decade, but this season was his worst in five years.  His 7.5 sacks are nothing impressive and he has just 12 tackles all season.  TWELVE.  J.J. Watt has 5.5 sacks and 47 tackles, and has been a disruptive force for the Texans after Mario Williams was lost for the year.  It's a shame his excellent play this season couldn't overcome Freeney's popularity.

3) Vince Wilfork, DT - Sacks are an unreliable stat when judging a player's performance, but not in this case.  Wilfork has had an average year with only 2.5 quarterback takedowns and another 14 QB pressures. Cincinnati Geno Atkins, on the other hand, has 8 sacks and 25 QB pressures. The Bengals would be nowhere near the playoff race without the most dangerous tackle in the league.

4) Greg Jennings, WR - There is no doubt that Jennings is one of the best receiving threats in the game, but the NFC wide receiver field is so stacked that I don't understand how folks voted for a player who missed 3 games and won't even pass the 1,000 yard mark.  I'd rather give this spot to Jordy Nelson, who leads the Packers in receiving yards and touchdowns, or Victor Cruz, who has 400 more yards than Jennings.

5) Antonio Gates, TE - Gates has long been the standard for receiving tight ends, but he fell behind the pack this year.  Do you want a tight end who puts up stats?  Aaron Hernandez, Dustin Keller, Owen Daniels, and Jared Cook have all outproduced Gates this year.  Do you prefer your Pro Bowl tight end to actually (gasp!) run block?  Then Anthony Fasano is your man. There were way too many options here for the voters to automatically default to Gates.

6) Davin Joseph, G - Unlike the others players on this list, Davin Joseph is not a household name.  Yet as a below-average blocker in both the passing and running game, he's just as undeserving of the honor bestowed upon him.  The Eagles' Evan Mathis has been by far the best run-blocking guard in the league and he hasn't given up a single sack all season. 

7) Ray Lewis, ILB - Don't get me wrong, Lewis has played well this season.  He just hasn't been nearly as productive as Brian Cushing.  Cushing has pressured, hit or sacked the quarterback 34 times this season.  Lewis has had only nine such plays, and was injured for a quarter of the season to boot.

8) Brian Urlacher, ILB - There are some positions in sports that are more hallowed than others, like center fielder for the Yankees or guard for the Lakers.  In the NFL, no position carries more historical weight than middle linebacker for the Chicago Bears.  As soon as Brian Urlacher flashed his talents in his rookie season, the media anointed him the next Mike Singletary or Dick Butkus.  Urlacher often deserves the Pro Bowl recognition that he receives, but this year he does not.  The 49ers' NaVorro Bowman leads the league in run stops and has over 40 more tackles than the Bears' middle linebacker. 

9) Charles Woodson, CB - Woodson leads the league with seven interceptions, but he has also given up 566 yards in coverage.  I'd rather give this spot to Atlanta's Brent Grimes, whose 258 yards surrendered are the lowest amount by any starting cornerback in the league.

10) Champ Bailey, CB - Bailey hasn't had a bad year, but he hasn't done much to distinguish himself above the other cornerbacks in the AFC.  Cortland Finnegan has stepped up his coverage to match his excellent run support.  He's allowed just 8.6 yards per reception, a league low among cornerbacks.

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