Green Bay Packers: Jordy Nelson and Josh Sitton Are Finally Getting Their Due

The NFL announced its Pro Bowl selections on Tuesday night, and the Green Bay Packers were well represented.

Five Packers made the roster. The group included quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who made the team for the fourth time, as well as fullback John Kuhn (second), linebacker Clay Matthews (fifth), wide receiver Jordy Nelson (first) and guard Josh Sitton (second).

The Packers also had another group of players who were selected as alternates. This group included offensive tackle David Bakhtiari, wide receiver Randall Cobb, running back Eddie Lacy, guard T.J. Lang, linebacker Julius Peppers, cornerback Sam Shields and cornerback Tramon Williams. Alternates can be later named to the Pro Bowl roster to replace injured players and those playing in the Super Bowl.

Players like Rodgers and Matthews have had the Pro Bowl honor bestowed upon them a number of times now, but it was especially nice to see both Nelson and Sitton now get the recognition that they most certainly deserve.

You could say the same thing about Kuhn, who already is a folk hero to Packer Nation and had his best game of the year against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this past Sunday.

But this honor was the first for Nelson, who is having an incredible season. And although this was the second time Sitton was selected for the Pro Bowl team, No. 71 seems to fly under the radar when pundits talk about the best guards in the NFL.

A couple of months ago, I wrote a story about the great season Nelson was having and also an article on a scout's perspective of Sitton. When I wrote the piece on Nelson in mid-October, No. 87 was on pace for 115 receptions for 1,685 yards and 13 touchdowns. With one game to go in the regular season, Nelson has 92 catches for 1,433 yards and 13 touchdowns.

The 13 scores are second in the league, and Nelson is also second in the NFL with eight receptions of 40 yards or more.

When it's all said and done after Sunday's game against the Detroit Lions at Lambeau Field, Nelson could hold one of the all-time individual records for the Packers. If Nelson gets just 65 yards receiving against the Lions, he will break the team's yardage record set by Robert Brooks in 1995.

And with eight more receptions on Sunday, the former Kansas State star will become only the fourth player in team history to have over 100 catches. Sterling Sharpe did it twice (112 in 1993 and 108 in 1992), while Brooks had 102 receptions in 1995.

Nelson is already among the team's best when it comes to touchdown passes in a season. Sharpe has the top spot with 18 scores in 1994, while Don Hutson had 17 touchdown catches in 1942. The third-best mark was by Nelson in 2011, who had 15 touchdown receptions.

Nelson has a chance to tie his mark with two more scores on Sunday.

Currently, Nelson is already eighth in team history with 394 receptions and ninth with 6,023 yards receiving. Nelson will also be around awhile, as he received a contract extension from the Packers worth $39 million, with $14.2 million guaranteed, in late July.

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As for Sitton, except for the 2012 season, this will be the first time he has been named to the Pro Bowl roster. No. 71 was named as an alternate in 2010, 2011 and 2013.

Sitton was also named second-team All-Pro by The Associated Press last season and Offensive Lineman of the Year by the NFL Alumni Association in 2010. But even with that recognition, you don't hear the name of Sitton mentioned too often by the media when naming the best guards of the NFL.

That is why I wanted to get the opinion of scout Chris Landry, who is one of the best in the business. When I talked to Landry in October, he gave me his take on whether or not Sitton is an elite guard in the NFL.

"He is. He's very good and he's graded out extremely well," Landry said. "I do put him in that upper echelon. He's consistently been graded in the red area and at times in blue. He's really good. Really solid in both the run and the pass game. He's been very positive for them (the Packers)."

The bottom line is that it was great to see the Packers get so many individual honors last night as the Pro Bowl roster was named, especially Nelson and Sitton.

But as great as the recognition is, none of the Packers want to play in the All-Star game slated for January 25, 2015. Why? The team would rather be preparing for Super Bowl XLIX on February 1 in Arizona instead.

The first step for that possibility begins this Sunday, because if the Packers beat the Lions, the team will clinch the NFC North title and will also have a first-round bye in the NFC playoffs. The Packers would also be guaranteed to host at least one postseason game at Lambeau Field, where the team is a sparkling 7-0 this season and have been outright dominant at times.