Can Someone Explain Why Maurice Jones-Drew Is Not an NFL Pro Bowl Starter?

Can't a Jaguar get some love?

I am just going to come right out and say it—the selection of Maurice Jones-Drew to the 2011 Pro Bowl is a great accomplishment. But the fact that the NFL's leading rusher is not starting for the AFC in Hawaii is a crime.

How can this happen? The Pro Bowl is for the best of the best and while voting is done through fans and the league, something needs to be done to make sure the league's best is starting in the All-Star exhibition.

In a story written by Tania Ganguli of the Florida Times-Union, Jones-Drew is the fourth player in Jaguars history to make three consecutive Pro Bowls. After placing three players on last year’s Pro Bowl roster, Jones-Drew was alone from the Jaguars (4-11) this season.

If you look at stats, Jones-Drew is the most important piece to any offense in the NFL. And the fact that the Jaguars are last in total offense while boasting a top-5 defense in this league proves his worth every time he touches the ball.

Jones-Drew is responsible for over 46 percent of the team's offense and while he is first in the league with 1,437 yards, he is also second on the team in receptions.

Jones-Drew appears to be humble in accepting the honor of playing in a postseason event such as this, but how is this fair? Last season, the Texans' Arian Foster won the rushing title and Jones-Drew started in the Pro Bowl. This season, Ray Rice of Baltimore was voted the starter instead of the Jaguars back. Foster is also named to the team.

Karma or righting a wrong? Either way, there is some injustice somewhere.

The vote is somewhat of a popularity contest. While fans and players vote for their favorite stars, it can be a crap shoot who really gets in. And while the Jaguars are a 4-11 team, that may have something to do with who is on and who is off the rosters of both the AFC and NFC. Jones-Drew has been one of the best, if not the best all season long.

The Jaguars have the 32nd ranked passing offense in the league. They changed quarterbacks three times in less than a month to start the season and have been flying on the arm of a rookie quarterback who has been the fourth best passer in a 2011 quarterback class that has seen Cam Newton and Andy Dalton excel.

Incidentally, Newton set the NFL's rookie passing record and has led Carolina to three-times the wins they had in 2010 and he was left off the team. Dalton is on the verge of taking his Cincinnati Bengals to the playoffs.

Jones-Drew has continued to downplay the "me first" approach to the game, putting his team first regardless of where he stands in the ranks of the best runners in the game. With this team having little play for once—it was eliminated from playoff contention—earning a running title would speak volumes about the ability of Jones-Drew and the play of the offensive line with run blocking.

But when you look at everything that has happened this season—the fact that he is "the" offense of this team and that there are few backs who have an impact like he has this year—how can you explain the "snub?"

What does a man have to do to truly be recognized for his greatness?