Were the Cincinnati Bengals Snubbed from the Pro Bowl?

Every year, many great NFL players get invited to the Pro Bowl.  Every year, some great players also get snubbed from the Pro Bowl.  When the selections were announced on Tuesday, many people noticed and cried foul at the fact that there were no Cincinnati Bengals invited to South Florida.  But were any of them truly deserving?  Let's take a look.

Offense

Quarterback - Carson Palmer While Palmer has been an integral part of the Bengals' turnaround season, statistically he falls far short in comparison to the three Pro Bowlers at the position.

Palmer trails all three by over a thousand yards each, and trails each by an average of 8 touchdowns. Clearly, not any more deserving than these three quarterbacks.

Running Back - Cedric Benson Cedric Benson has had a fantastic year, to the great surprise of many.  Benson's hip injury caused him to miss the better part of three games, which hurt his stats and was perhaps the catalyst of him being left off the final Pro Bowl roster.

Benson trails in yards by an average of 231, and has an average of 5 touchdowns than the Pro Bowl running backs.  His closest comparison is Baltimore's Ray Rice, but Rice has 500 more yards receiving than Benson.  If not for his injury, Cedric Benson would probably be a Pro Bowler.

Wide Receiver - Chad Ochocinco Chad had a great season by his standards, but the AFC is absolutely loaded at Wide Receiver this year.  

Chad actually has more touchdowns than the others' average, but he falls short in the average of yards by 254 and in receptions by 31.  Those deficits are far too great too overcome for Chad Ochocinco to be a Pro Bowler.

Tight End - J.P. Foschi/Daniel Coats Tight end was an ugly turntable for Cincinnati this year, with Coats playing more the first half of the year, and Foschi playing the second half.

If you combine their stats, they are still 36 catches, 747 yards, and 5 touchdowns short of reserve Pro Bowl tight end Antonio Gates.

Offensive Tackle - Andrew Whitworth The Bengals' left tackle, Andrew Whitworth has started every game this year, and has been sound.  However, he doesn't have the name recognition that the other tackles do.  He also played guard starting out his career before switching to tackle this past offseason, hurting his reputation with fans.

The right tackle position has been shared by three players this year, none of which played well enough to earn a Pro Bowl spot.

Guard - Bobbie Williams/Evan Mathis/Nate Livings Bobbie Williams, a 10-year veteran of Cincinnati, Williams played the right guard position as well as anyone in the AFC this year.  Again, the name recognition part of the Pro Bowl comes into play here.  Bobbie Williams deserves to go to South Florida.

The left guard position was split between Evan Mathis and Nate Livings.  Mathis played well, but didn't play enough games and doesn't have the name recognition to be a Pro Bowler.

Center - Kyle Cook Kyle Cook, a first year starter for Cincinnati, has started every game this year, but his level of play has not been anywhere near high enough to be considered for the Pro Bowl.

Defense

Defensive End - Antwan Odom/Jonathan Fanene Antwan Odom played at a Pro Bowl level for the first five weeks of the season, racking up 8 sacks.  Early in the sixth game, however, he tore his Achilles' tendon, ending his season. 

His replacement, Jonathan Fanene, has played relatively well in his place, acquiring six sacks in 9 starts, but it is not near a Pro Bowl level.

Defensive Tackle - Domata Peko/Tank Johnson Peko has had a bit of a drop off from his excellent 2008 year, while straining his MCL during the year.  Peko was also removed from nickel packages this year, and two-down defensive tackles don't make Pro Bowls. 

Tank Johnson was signed in April, and found his way into the starting lineup as a penetrating tackle, but his statistics haven't shown it.  He has only two sacks on the year.

Linebacker - Dhani Jones/Rey Maualuga/Keith Rivers All three linebackers have played well for Cincinnati this year, with Dhani having the best stats.  Unfortunately, none have played remotely close to having Pro Bowl recognition.  Rivers is better in coverage, while Maualuga is better against the run.

Cornerback - Leon Hall/Johnathan Joseph Leon Hall has played absolutely exceptional this year, racking up 6 interceptions with 67 tackles.  His coverage was second in the AFC to only Darrelle Revis.  He deserved to go to the Pro Bowl.  The only reason he didn't is because his name isn't as well known as Champ Bailey or Nnamdi Asomugha.  

Johnathan Joseph is harder to decide if he belongs.  He also had 6 picks, with one less tackle than Hall.  However, his coverage wasn't as good.  Still solid, just not the spectacular season that Leon Hall has had.

Safety - Chris Crocker/Roy Williams Chris Crocker played at an average level this year, being better in coverage than a run-stuffer.  Roy Williams played the strong safety position very well for four games this year, before fracturing his forearm.

Kicker - Shayne Graham Graham has had a pretty good year, hitting 82 percent of his kicks. However, he was six field goals and 9 percent short of the leader.

Punter - Kevin Huber Kevin Huber was a rookie out of Cincinnati.  He played below average his first year in the NFL, but should continue to improve during his career.

The only Pro Bowlers on the Bengals roster should have been Bobbie Williams and Leon Hall.  Injuries may have hurt other players chances, but these two were snubbed out of a trip to South Florida.