Pro Bowl: An AFC QB got snubbed ... just not sure which one
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Pro Bowl selections were announced Monday, and a quarterback in the AFC definitely got snubbed. Exactly which player it is, well, that’s not so clear. But San Diego Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers does not seem to belong in Honolulu at the late-January game. Not this season.
Still, there he is as a Pro Bowl selection, right behind Tom Brady of the New England Patriots and Ben Roethlisberger of the Pittsburgh Steelers, the only two obvious choices at quarterback in the AFC. Now, Rivers did put up some big numbers — he’s second in the AFC in both passing yards (4,314) and touchdown passes (24, tied with the New York Jets’ Mark Sanchez behind Brady’s 41).
But Rivers also threw 19 interceptions — that’s the most in the entire league, tied with the likes of Rex Grossman of the Washington Redskins, Ryan Fitzpatrick of the Buffalo Bills and Josh Freeman of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Sorry, but a guy who has that many picks just shouldn’t be considered all-pro.
For most of the season, we were wondering what was wrong with Rivers. He did come on strong late in the year, with eight touchdowns and no interceptions during a four-game stretch before a rough outing against the Detroit Lions last week — but that’s only a quarter of the season.
A couple of young quarterbacks — Cincinnati’s Andy Dalton and Miami’s Matt Moore — put together nice seasons. But they don’t have Rivers’ résumé, which includes three other Pro Bowl selections in his eight-year career.
Anyhow, that’s just one ‘snub’ that can be debated. What about the NFC quarterbacks? Should Detroit’s Matt Stafford or Carolina’s Cam Newton have gotten the nod over the New York Giants’ Eli Manning? And what about all the other positions? Who got left out?
Let the debating begin!
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-- Chuck Schilken
