The Pro Bowl rosters were announced Tuesday, despite the vote only reflecting 13 of the 16 games in the regular season. Therefore this year's Pro Bowler can be referred to as the "Players Who Played Exceedingly Well in 81 Percent of the Games".
The AFC quarterback race was one of the more open positions this season, with possible names including and not limited to Peyton Manning, Jay Cutler, Philip Rivers, Chad Pennington, and Matt Cassell.
But when the votes were tallied the three gunslingers still standing were Peyton Manning, Jay Cutler, and Brett Favre.
Broncos' quarterback Jay Cutler had a great first 13 games, throwing for 3,851 yards and 24 touchdowns. He also has thrown for 15 interceptions and has a QB rating of 88.2.
Peyton Manning made it for the ninth time in his 11 seasons. He has thrown for 3,543 yards and 23 touchdowns. Manning has 12 interceptions and a 90.2 QB rating.
Brett Favre made the Pro Bowl for the tenth time in his career. He has thrown for 3,052 yards and 21 touchdowns. He leads the league in interceptions with 17 and has a 86.5 QB rating.
Chad Pennington is one of the glaring misses on the "Players Who Played Exceedingly Well in 81 percent of the Games" roster. He has thrown for 3,218 yards and 14 touchdowns. He has thrown for the league fewest interceptions with just six and has a QB rating of 95.1. He has led the 1-15 Dolphins to a 9-5 record, the same exact record that Favre has led the Jets too.
Pennington has about 150 more passing yards than Favre and 11 less interceptions. Sure, his touchdown passes are considerably fewer than Favre's, but someone who leads the league in interceptions does not deserve to be in the Pro Bowl. Although QB rating is not always the best way to compare quarterbacks, Pennington's is about 10 points higher than Favre's rating.
Favre's inclusion can be attributed to the large market he plays in. The Jets had the most selections with seven despite having just a 9-5 record. The Steelers are 11-3 and had only three players selected. Miami had two players selected, running back Ronnie Brown and linebacker Joey Porter.
Pro Bowl voting needs to be changed in two ways. First, the voting needs to take place after the season is over. Voters would have gotten a chance to watch Pennington and Favre battle it out in Week 17, possibly for a playoff spot.
Secondly, make coaches and players selections worth a lot more than fan votes. Fans in big markets vote for their favorite players 100 times a day even though they do not deserve a spot. Also, veterans make it out of name recognition even though they did not have a very good season (Brett Favre can make it into this category, as well as others).
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