So the Pro Bowl selections were announced yesterday and, of course like a typical Houston fan, I’m upset about the apparent lack of respect for the Houston Texans. I know that Pro Bowls are much more about star power than actual performance and no one outside of the beltway has heard of players like Conner Barwin or Chris Myers. Two Texans did make the initial roster and nine Texans were named as alternates. Arian Foster will be making his second consecutive trip to the Pro Bowl and Johnathan Joseph gets the call for the first time. But on a team with the best offensive line in football and the 2nd best defense to have only 2 Pro bowlers is a slap in the face if you ask me, and neither of which will be starters.
The fact that the Texans have no Pro Bowlers on arguably the best offensive line in football is possibly the biggest Pro Bowl snub in the league. LT Duane Brown gave up zero sacks and had only 2 penalties all year. A left tackle gave up ZERO sacks! Think about that for a second. Profootballfocus.com said Chris Myers at center was easiest selection of all the AFC players and that no one was even close. Yet the Jets have 2 Pro Bowlers on their offensive line that wasn’t even close to the Texans. 700 less rushing yds and 8 more sacks given up than the Texans. The Texans sack numbers are also a bit inflated too due to the addition of a rookie QB.
The other big snub for the Texans is Brian Cushing. Ray Lewis gets voted in off sheer reputation. He’s missed 4 games this year and his stats don’t stack up well against Cushing. Every Pro Bowl projection I’ve seen had shown Cushing and Derrick Johnson as the starters. Cushing has played lights out this year with impact plays all over the field. He has 110 tackles, 4 sacks, 2 interceptions and 2 forced fumbles. Many of the pundits have said today that Cushing may have been affected by his previous PED suspension 2 years ago. But to that I say what about Ray Lewis? He was allegedly picked up at the border trying to sneak out of the country in a car trunk after he was implicated in a murder! I guess that makes Ray Lewis a scary bad ass and Cushing a cheater?
I think that Conner Barwin is deserving of a Pro Bowl selection, but again, ask someone in New York or LA who Conner Barwin is and most likely you’ll hear something like “huh?” or “who?”. Plus Barwin gets penalized for being an OLB on a 3-4 defense. If it were a 4-3 he would likely play DE in which he would have most certainly made the Pro Bowl… I hope. Considering that he had 11.5 sacks compared to Dwight Freeney’s pathetic 7.5 sacks and 18 total tackles. The fact that Freeney gets a Pro Bowl start with JAG numbers off of the worst team in football and one of the worst defenses in the NFL is downright outrageous! It’s not like he didn’t have his chances either. The Colts defense was on the field longer than any in the league and they were 3rd from the bottom in plays allowed.I always tell fans that are angry about lack of Texans coverage from ESPN or NFL network that respect is earned and the fact that they are not getting it just means they have to work harder. The Texans have done well this year in the underdog role and have responded to adversity at seemingly every turn. Hopefully the Texans will post this one on the bulletin board and try to prove themselves to their doubters, again.
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