2012 Pro Bowl Selections: The Top 10 Players Who Got Screwed

These NFL stars have a Pro Bowl-level beef.

There just aren't enough spots for all this tremendous talent, and the fallout is as sizable as Tim Tebow's biceps. Here are those football studs who will be doing what everyone in the world does doing the Pro Bowl, and that's something else. 

The game is hardly the reason we clamored around the TV, Twitter feed or sports news sites Tuesday evening. The reason is exactly why most of us love sports—they allow us to argue. 

The games may be won and lost by rules and scores, but there is nothing objective in what we think of the men and women who play our beloved sports. 

The Pro Bowl may garner little attention, but being able to call someone a "Pro Bowl player" is huge. What ensues is contrary to the norm for other All-Star exhibitions; the mere announcement far outweighs the event. 

So you can bet that something as grave as a Pro Bowl snub is worth noting. The only way that these fine fellows will get love now is through pieces like this that do the whining for them. 

So here are the most notable players that were left off the list of best in the NFL. In a sport that sees stars come and go every few seasons, snubs like these really hurt. 

There may be no tomorrow for some of these stars that just played one hell of a year in the league, so it is with that thought that we hold up our glasses filled with sorrow and cheer their efforts.

They may not be Pro Bowl players, but they played some damn good football this year. 

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Honorable Mention: Aldon Smith

The San Francisco 49ers landed eight Pro Bowl bids, but the rookie linebacker was not among them. I am going to step out on a limb and say that Smith will be a Pro Bowl player as early as next season. 

He showed immense growth and maturity in garnering 14 sacks so far in his rookie campaign. We have not yet seen how good this kid can be. 

Honorable Mention: Ryan Clark

I was on the fence for Ryan Clark, but this is how I see it: The man has been good for years and needs to be a Pro Bowl player at some point. 

Ten years in, he finally mixed maturity and experience with athletic ability, providing a season in which he has amassed a career-high 96 tackles.

Another season like this and the Pittsburgh Steelers safety can't be held out of what would be the crowning achievement of an underrated career. 

Honorable Mention: Cliff Avril

It's tough to get love when you play on the side of the ball with Ndamukong Suh, but Cliff Avril is nasty...in a great way. 

The Detroit Lions strike fear into quarterbacks with one of the best pass rushes in the NFL. Avril's 36 tackles and 11 sacks are a big reason why. 

10. NaVorro Bowman

The 49ers topped all NFC teams with eight players selected for the Pro Bowl. There might be more since NaVorro Bowman was selected as an alternate. That is a small consolation for a player who is simply awesome at what he does. 

The 49ers linebacker has 133 tackles—102 of those on his own. He brings a tenacity to the field that has made the Niners into one of the scariest teams for offenses to face. 

9. Jordy Nelson

Jordy Nelson has stated before, via a CBS News report, that he believes his race helps him succeed as corners slack off a white receiver.

If cornerbacks foolishly overlook the burner, then you can bet the voters do too. It's hard to argue with 1,101 yards and 12 touchdowns for a Green Bay Packers team that is flush with receiving options. He also has an average of 18.1 yards per catch. 

This hardly matters as Nelson loves winning and making his team better over personal accolades. A just Pro Bowl nod would be nice, though. 

8. Marshawn Lynch

Just as we will find that the Pro Bowl could use a great deal of Tebowmania, they also could use a huge amount of Beast Mode. 

The Seattle Seahawks have little to be proud of on offense, but that sentiment stops at Marshawn Lynch's locker. The man is a dynamo who can't be stopped by conventional weapons. 

Forget the 1,000-plus yards and 12 touchdowns he has amassed on an otherwise stagnant offense—I need some of his highlight potential at Aloha Stadium. This omission just makes me sad. 

7. Andy Dalton

The AFC was a lot thinner on arms than their NFC counterparts—that's why I was confident Andy Dalton would sneak in. 

I love his stats, but I love what he has done for the mentality of the Cincinnati Bengals more.

This was a team without a quarterback or an offensive identity. Carson Palmer may have left, and it's great that he did. Bright days are ahead with Dalton under center. 

6. Tim Tebow

This one stings the heart of millions who wanted to believe a myth. Tim Tebow came onto the scene as a "winner" who defied a horrible throwing motion to win a string of ballgames. 

The last two games were awful for Tebow, and that might have done him in at the end.

I still think that the dying exhibition the Pro Bowl seems to have become could use a shot in the arm, and the ever-popular Tebow would do that. 

If the Pro Bowl is 50 percent popularity, Tebow maxes that out—and then some.

Consider that through nine games on the season, he has thrown for 1,669 yards and rushed for 644 more, while leading the Denver Broncos to enough wins to be in reach of the playoffs, and you can see that he is more than deserving. 

5. Cam Newton

Somewhere deep in the recesses of my brain, I am okay with this snub.

Seeing Newton play this season has been divine and you just know that there will be a boatload of Pro Bowl selections coming his way. 

This still hurts though. While everyone was going gaga over Tebow, Newton was somehow flying under the radar with a sick rookie campaign for the Carolina Panthers. 

Let's just say 3,893 yards passing, 674 yards rushing and 34 touchdowns by land and air is pretty damn good. 

4. Duane Brown

This was a pretty sizable snub since there is hardly a better offensive tackle than Duane Brown.

A great amount of the Houston Texans' success in the passing and running games can be attributed to Brown's skill and leadership. 

The man simply doesn't back down from a fight and makes offensive line play actually fun to watch.

At 26, Brown should see this snub remedied shortly. 

3. London Fletcher

I feel sorry for the old man. The NFL mainstay is a Pro Bowl veteran who made the Hawaii game in 2009 and 2010. In an odd turn, he was better this season and was ignored. 

Fletcher has been as spry as ever for the Washington Redskins, and one of the rare flashes of brilliance on an otherwise mediocre team. 

His 163 tackles and 70 assisted tackles are the most of his career. He might be getting up there in age, but he is playing with the hunger of a rookie. 

2. Victor Cruz

This was a painful one. Victor Cruz can go have a Coke and a smile, because he will be a Pro Bowl player next year—of this I am sure. 

It usually takes one tremendous season for fans and voters to get on board. Cruz just placed that tremendous season in his bag as he continues to put together some highlights that would make Larry Fitzgerald proud. 

Cruz is an elite receiver who will catch just about anything put in his vicinity. If you don't believe it, consider this catch. The New York Giants wideout has the talent to be a star and only needs health to be on his side. 

1. Matthew Stafford

We have been waiting for the first healthy season for Matthew Stafford. We finally get it, only to see the young star get snubbed in the end.

The Detroit Lions QB has to take a seat as Eli Manning gets the nod by having one of his best seasons. It still is hard to stomach such a disregard of fortunes when you look at the stats. 

Stafford has, so far, passed for 4,518 yards and 36 touchdowns. Manning, who will be going to Aloha Stadium, has notched 4,587 yards and 26 touchdowns. 

It's plain to see why Stafford should be pouting that he got worked for merely not having a famous brother who makes the family name a household one.