NFL Pro Bowl Selections 2013: Best and Worst Choices for Both Conferences

The NFL’s 2013 Pro Bowl selections were announced Wednesday, and there were a surprising amount of unworthy players on the list to go along with the obvious candidates.

Let’s take a look at a few names that stuck out to us as ridiculous, a few that undoubtedly deserve to be in Hawaii, and a few that need to prove themselves at the All-Star game from each conference.

AFC

Best: Peyton Manning, QB, Denver Broncos

Manning is a front-runner for the NFL’s MVP award, so it’s no surprise that he’s going to be starting in the Pro Bowl (should the Broncos fail to make the Super Bowl).

He has put together a vintage season and looked like the Manning of old, this time wearing the Broncos’ orange instead of the Colts’ blue.

Expect Manning to absolutely light it up for the limited amount of snaps he gets at Aloha Stadium.

Worst: Eric Berry, S, Kansas City Chiefs

Berry is coming off an ACL injury and didn’t round into form as a formidable safety until the last few weeks of the season.

Considering the Chiefs were only able to win two games so far in 2012 (with a chance to up that number to a whopping three), it’s a real shame that Berry made it over some more deserving candidates (Jairus Byrd and others).

What is truly a travesty is that the Chiefs managed to send five players to Haiwaii after one of the worst seasons in franchise history.

 

Wild Card: Matt Schaub, QB, Houston Texans

It’s hard to knock Schaub’s selection as the third-string QB, as his team is currently 13-2 and looking bound for a postseason bye and possibly home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.

However, it’s also hard to credit Schaub for most of those wins, as RB Arian Foster and the defense carried most of the load for the resurgent Texans. We aren’t quite sold on this signal-caller, so we’ll see if he puts together a nice performance out in Hawaii.

NFC

Best: Adrian Peterson, RB, Minnesota Vikings

AP has one more chance to chase down Eric Dickerson’s long-standing, single-season rushing record, and he has the Vikings on the verge of an improbable playoff appearance.

Considering everyone (especially fantasy football players) wrote off All Day prior to the 2012 campaign (he was coming off a torn ACL at the end of last season), and Minnesota wasn’t expected to be in postseason contention, it’s perhaps the most impressive single season of any player in the NFL.

Don’t sleep on AP making some noise in Honolulu.

Worst: Jason Pierre-Paul, DE, New York Giants

JPP’s Giants are about to be bounced from a chance at the postseason, less than a year after winning the Super Bowl.

His sack numbers dipped from 16.5 down to 6.5 and he was not nearly as dominant against the pass as last season.

The third-year pro out of South Florida may have improved against the run, but not enough to warrant a selection to this All-Star event.

Wild Card: Patrick Peterson, CB, Arizona Cardinals

Considering Peterson was selected ahead of Seattle CB Richard Sherman, he has a huge amount of expectations now riding on his shoulders.

Peterson was inconsistent for an awful Cardinals team, but was clearly the best defender on a weekly basis and one of the better corners in the conference.

If he doesn’t grab at least one interception in the Pro Bowl, this selection will be ridiculous with Sherman sitting at home.

Pro Bowl Selections 

AFC Offense

Position	Player	Team
QB	Peyton Manning	Denver Broncos
QB	Tom Brady	New England Patriots
QB	Matt Schaub	Houston Texans
RB	Arian Foster	Houston Texans
RB	Jamaal Charles	Kansas City Chiefs
RB	Ray Rice	Baltimore Ravens
FB	Vonta Leach	Baltimore Ravens
WR	A.J. Green	Cincinnati Bengals
WR	Andre Johnson	Houston Texans
WR	Reggie Wayne	Indianapolis Colts
WR	Wes Welker	New England Patriots
TE	Rob Gronkowski	New England Patriots
TE	Heath Miller	Pittsburgh Steelers
T	Joe Thomas	Cleveland Browns
T	Duane Brown	Houston Texans
T	Ryan Clady	Denver Broncos
G	Logan Mankins	New England Patriots
G	Marshal Yanda	Baltimore Ravens
G	Wade Smith	Houston Texans
C	Maurkice Pouncey	Pittsburgh Steelers
C	Chris Myers	Houston Texans
P	Dustin Colquitt	Kansas City Chiefs
PK	Phil Dawson	Cleveland Browns
KR	Jacoby Jones	Baltimore Ravens
ST	Matthew Slater	New England Patriots

AFC Defense

Position	Player	Team
DL	J.J. Watt	Houston Texans
DL	Cameron Wake	Miami Dolphins
DL	Geno Atkins	Cincinnati Bengals
DL	Vince Wilfork	New England Patriots
DL	Elvis Dumervil	Denver Broncos
DL	Haloti Ngata	Baltimore Ravens
LB	Von Miller	Denver Broncos
LB	Tamba Hali	Kansas City Chiefs
LB	Jerod Mayo	New England Patriots
LB	Robert Mathis	Indianapolis Colts
LB	Derrick Johnson	Kansas City Chiefs
CB	Champ Bailey	Denver Broncos
CB	Johnathan Joseph	Houston Texans
CB	Antonio Cromartie	New York Jets
S	Ed Reed	Baltimore Ravens
S	Eric Berry	Kansas City Chiefs
S	LaRon Landry	New York Jets

NFC Offense

Position	Player	Team
QB	Aaron Rodgers	Green Bay Packers
QB	Matt Ryan	Atlanta Falcons
QB	Robert Griffin III	Washington Redskins
RB	Adrian Peterson	Minnesota Vikings
RB	Marshawn Lynch	Seattle Seahawks
RB	Frank Gore	San Francisco 49ers
FB	Jerome Felton	Minnesota Vikings
WR	Calvin Johnson	Detroit Lions
WR	Brandon Marshall	Chicago Bears
WR	Julio Jones	Atlanta Falcons
WR	Victor Cruz	New York Giants
TE	Tony Gonzalez	Atlanta Falcons
TE	Jason Witten	Dallas Cowboys
T	Russell Okung	Seattle Seahawks
T	Joe Staley	San Francisco 49ers
T	Trent Williams	Washington Redskins
G	Mike Iupati	San Francisco 49ers
G	Jahri Evans	New Orleans Saints
G	Chris Snee	New York Giants
C	Max Unger	Seattle Seahawks
C	Jeff Saturday	Green Bay Packers
P	Thomas Morstead	New Orleans Saints
PK	Blair Walsh	Minnesota Vikings
KR	Leon Washington	Seattle Seahawks
ST	Lorenzo Alexander	Washington Redskins

NFC Defense

Position	Player	Team
DL	Jason Pierre-Paul	New York Giants
DL	Julius Peppers	Chicago Bears
DL	Justin Smith	San Francisco 49ers
DL	Henry Melton	Chicago Bears
DL	Jared Allen	Minnesota Vikings
DL	Gerald McCoy	Tampa Bay Buccaneers
LB	Aldon Smith	San Francisco 49ers
LB	DeMarcus Ware	Dallas Cowboys
LB	Patrick Willis	San Francisco 49ers
LB	Clay Matthews	Green Bay Packers
LB	NaVorro Bowman	San Francisco 49ers
CB	Charles Tillman	Chicago Bears
CB	Tim Jennings	Chicago Bears
CB	Patrick Peterson	Arizona Cardinals
S	Dashon Goldson	San Francisco 49ers
S	Donte Whitner	San Francisco 49ers
S	Earl Thomas	Seattle Seahawks