Charles, Bowe And Waters Going To Pro Bowl
The Kansas City Chiefs are sending 3 players to the Pro Bowl.
WR Dwayne Bowe, OL Brian Waters and RB Jamaal Charles were among those announced this evening as Pro Bowlers.
Charles is an obvious choice here, though he should be starting over Jones-Drew. Charles has had a much, much better season. He has more yards than MJD with far fewer carries. We all know that Charles has a historic average and he is the best back in the league. Hands down. Still, he deserves this honor so good for him.
Bowe has done well too. Though he had some dry spells this year, he is finally beginning to morph into the receiver the Chiefs always hoped he would be. I feel that Bowe deserves this, especially after having such a rough season last year and a distracting offseason. Bowe has really bounced back nicely.
I do not believe Brian Waters is having a Pro Bowl season. I think he gets in here because of his name recognition and because of the success of the Chiefs running game. Waters is playing just fine but I don’t think he is one of the top guards in the league any longs. Ryan Lilja is actually having a Pro Bowl season and deserves this honor over Waters.
Still, Waters will be a fine representative and really he can go and represent the entire offensive line which has done a nice job this season.
My reaction to the snubs after the jump.
It is a flat out crime that Tamba Hali was not selected. He consistently brings more pressure than anybody in football. I know other guys out there have more sacks than Hali but Tamba is the Chiefs’ only legit pass rusher. If he was playing against someone who could rush the passer, rather than Mike Vrabel, he’d probably have 4 or 5 more sacks.
Brandon Flowers could have made it but he wasn’t a slam dunk. The guys selected ahead of him are very good corners and are all deserving. Early in the season Flowers was an absolute beast, however it appears his hamstring injury and a reported ankle injury slowed him down a bit at the midway point. Flowers played through those injuries and it probably cost him on the stat sheet but he is just another example of the kind of player the Chiefs want. Flowers put his team ahead of individual glory and the Chiefs have been rewarded for it. He’s a Pro Bowler in my book.
Some folks may be upset that Derrick Johnson didn’t make it but I am not. DJ has had a nice season but he was too inconsistent to make the Pro Bowl. He was a Pro Bolwer the first quarter of the season, average in the middle of the year and has returned to Pro Bowl form the last few games. Had he pulled in some of those sure pick sixes he dropped earlier int he year he probably would have made it. Still, DJ has had a very fine season and he has nothing to be ashamed of.
If Matt Cassel threw for 500 or so more yards he would have had a shot but it is a tall order getting in as a QB in the same conference as Manning, Brady and Rivers. Cassel did not play like a Pro Bolwer early in the season and that probably hurt him here. Still, he has been remarkable efficient all year and has been elite the last couple of months. If any of the other3 drop out, Cassel should be next in line.
There was some talk of Eric Berry being a possible candidate and while I think he played well I do not think he is at a Pro Bowl level just yet.
Overall I am pretty happy. I would rather Waters be replaced with Hali but other than that I think the selections are fair. The Chiefs have gone from having no Pro Bowlers to having 3 and that is nothing to sneeze at.
Congratulations to Brain, Dwayne and Jamaal. Hopefully a couple of people will drop out and Tamba and Flowers will get their tickets punched as well. Maybe even Cassel.