Last night, the NFL announced their 2015 Pro Bowl rosters, and I’m just going to go ahead and say it: The Broncos got robbed.
After grabbing a franchise record 11 spots in 2014, Denver only came home with four this year. And while Chris Harris Jr., Aqib Talib, Von Miller and DeMarcus Ware are all incredibly deserving, there are more than a handful of guys who should be on that roster, too.
The offense may have taken a dramatic turn for the worse, but the defense, despite their performance last week, has been the best group in the entire NFL. Not to mention, they’ve been doing it despite a barrage of injuries.
So let’s walk through some of the Broncos biggest snubs, as well as special honorable mention, from this year’s Pro Bowl selections:
Honorable Mention: QB Peyton Manning
Has Peyton Manning played like a Pro Bowl player? No, absolutely not.
Still, after all that he’s done for this game, would anybody really be angry if he was awarded one last spot? Discounting the 2011 season where Manning missed all 16 games following neck surgery, The Sheriff has been to 12 consecutive Pro Bowls. Would a 13th really kill anyone? It’s not like he’s going to play anyways; they can just give his spot away when he announces he’ll no-show.
We see it all the time in other sports. We’re seeing it right now with Kobe Bryant. The Black Mamba, who’s also in his final year (though Manning has actually admitted that much), will undoubtedly be starting in the NBA All Star game, and he’s horrible. Literally, he may be the most detrimental player on any basketball team, and he’s going to be starting come tip off. And we’ve seen it with Allen Iverson and Yao Ming, too; both guys were named to the All Star game despite the fact that they had hardly played a minute all season.
And in baseball we’ve seen it with Derek Jeter and Cal Ripken. Football, though, I guess they just take the Pro Bowl too seriously. I mean, it’s only the most important, exciting game of the year, right? (Please note the sarcasm)
So, no, Manning doesn’t deserve to be playing in the Pro Bowl for his work this season, but if this were any other sport, he’d be named a starter — no question.
5. WR Demaryius Thomas
Oddly enough, this is probably the one player not named Vernon Davis Broncos Country would disagree with, and I totally get it; he’s infuriating. He may be coming off a two-touchdown performance, but all Broncos fans can remember is his drop in the fourth quarter.
Still, DT, who’s been to the Pro Bowl in each of the last three years, is a fantastic football player. As I wrote last week, Thomas may be having an off year, but he’s still putting up one of the greatest seasons in Broncos history.
As of today, he’s sixth in receptions and ninth in yards; the one drawback is that he only has five touchdowns, tied for 37th in the NFL, but part of that has to be attributed to the Denver quarterbacks’ inability to put points on the board.
And if he continues on the pace he’s currently on, he’ll finish the season with 106 receptions, 1,289 yards and six touchdowns; by most any standard, that’s a Pro Bowl season.
Now, I’ll admit, I don’t think DT deserves a spot in the Pro Bowl, but I would completely understand if he did get in. Either way, the most important thing to remember is that he is still a Pro Bowl-caliber wide receiver, whether he actually plays in the game or not.
4. S David Bruton
David Bruton has long deserved a Pro Bowl selection, and I’m not talking about his play at safety; for years now, Bruton has been both the captain and heart-and-soul of the Denver Broncos special teams, and he’s never been rewarded by the NFL for his outstanding play with a Pro Bowl nod.
Instead, they just keep giving that designation to the Patriots’ Matthew Slater, who’s made the Pro Bowl as the AFC’s special teams player for the last five years.
And Slater deserves those distinctions, but if there was ever a year to give that spot to someone else, it would have been this year.
Now, Bruton hasn’t been as impactful on special teams this season, but that’s because he’s been a major part of the NFL’s best defense. With that taken into consideration, along with his nomination for the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award and the fact that he played through an entire game with a broken fibula (!!), I think the guy deserved the spot, even if it is more of a body-of-work selection.
3. DE Malik Jackson
I debated putting both Malik Jackson and Derek Wolfe in this spot, but in the end, I had to go with Jackson; he’s simply played more snaps for this defense.
But both guys have had outstanding contract seasons, and this offseason, they’re going to get paaaaaaiiiiiiid.
Jackson, especially, has taken the step from solid contributor to full-time star, and he’s only getting better. In fact, next to Von Miller, Jackson has Pro Football Focus’ highest grade for any Denver Broncos player (23.9), and three of his five best games have come in the last three weeks.
And as we covered last week, Jackson is leading the league in one of football’s most-underrated stats, the batted pass.
Before this season, it would have been safe to wonder if Jackson could take his success as a contributing player into a more meaningful, full-time roll, but after 14 straight starts and the numbers to back him up, it’s clear that Jackson will be a starter in this league for a long, long time.
Mark my words: Before his career is done, he’ll have several Pro Bowls under his belt.
2. S T.J. Ward
T.J. Ward isn’t everybody’s favorite player — he’s prone to some dumb mistakes from time to time — but he’s the heartbeat of this Denver Broncos defense; that much is clear based off how the unit has played with Ward out of the lineup these last three weeks.
Ward brings a toughness and mentality that pushes this team to go out, as John Elway would like to say, “kicking and screaming.” And sure, maybe that can go too far, maybe that leads to Ward punching Jeremy Maclin in a lost game, but it sure would have helped last week against the Steelers and the week before against the Raiders.
Plus, Ward was named a Pro Bowler last year! He’s been significantly better this season, so how does he miss out now?
Last year, Jack Del Rio had Ward playing a lot of man-on-man coverage against tight ends and running backs, and he got smoked, sporting PFF’s sixth-worst grade (-5.8) for any safety in coverage. This season, Wade Phillips has let Ward do what he does best — blitz, play the run and simply make plays — and suddenly his overall grade through Week 15 has doubled in the last year.
Is he the perfect player? No. But he is one of the most important players on the NFL’s best defense. In most scenarios, that should earn you a trip to Honolulu.
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[adrotate banner=”10″]1 (Tie). ILBs Brandon Marshall and Danny Trevathan
Far and away, this is the biggest snub of them all. And while I thought about splitting these guys up into two separate snubs, they just work so well as a duo.
People love to call Luke Kuechly and Thomas Davis the best linebacker duo in the NFL, but, while Kuechly may be the best of the bunch, Marshall and Trevathan hold that distinction by a long shot — at least in my book.
According to PFF, Marshall (5th) and Trevathan (6th) are two of the games most elite inside linebackers, and they complement each other perfectly; Marshall is lock-down run defender, while Trevathan is one of the league’s best coverage linebackers, though both are great in the other aspect, too.
There’s a reason why the Broncos are one of the best run and pass defenses in the NFL, and it all starts with these two guys. When you have linebackers who can not only step up and stuff the run but drop back into coverage on running backs and tight ends, it makes an offense’s job nearly impossible.
NaVorro Bowman, Clay Matthews and Bobby Wagner all made the Pro Bowl roster on name recognition alone; two of those three spots should have gone to Brandon Marshall and Danny Trevathan.