NFL Pro Bowl Announcement 2012: Date, Time, TV Info and Preview

While the actual NFL Pro Bowl game has become a huge joke, the honor of being selected to the team remains one of the top awards that a player can receive.

The announcement of the AFC and NFC teams is an exciting moment, but it also stirs up emotions of snubs and players that didn’t deserve the honor. Let the controversy begin.

When: Tuesday, December 27, 7:00 PM ET

Watch: NFL Network

Favorites

Aaron Rodgers—There is no person that follows the NFL on a regular basis that can tell me anyone but Aaron Rodgers deserves to be the starting quarterback for the NFC.

Rodgers is third in the NFL in yards with 4634, first with 45 touchdowns and his six interceptions are the lowest number of any top ten quarterback.

LeSean McCoy—The best running back in the league all season overcame his Philadelphia Eagles’ early-season woes to remain the best overall back the NFL had this season.

McCoy is the reason the team was anywhere near contention, amassing 84 first-down runs, over 1600 all-purpose yards and a total of 20 touchdowns. An easy choice as the league’s top running back.

Wes Welker—The New England Patriots showed that Wes Welker was the only wide receiver Tom Brady really needed, racking up one of the most impressive years in a long time.

Welker has almost 30 more catches than any other player in the NFL, and his 1518 yards are the most in the league. Nine touchdowns also don’t hurt his campaign efforts.

Snubs

Matthew Stafford—If you look at the numbers and the success of their teams, Matthew Stafford and Tom Brady were very similar this season.

If Stafford isn’t selected after proving all of the doubters wrong about his ability to stay healthy and dominate at the NFL level, there is something wrong with the system.

James Laurinaitis—While the St. Louis Rams were atrocious all season, one of the bright spots on their defense has been the Pro Bowl worthy play of James Laurinaitis.

Laurinaitis was fifth in the league in tackles, deflected seven passes, added three sacks and even had two interceptions. With little help in St. Louis, Laurinaitis was a one-man wrecking crew.

Cliff Avril—The unsung hero of the Detroit Lions defense this season has been Cliff Avril. Lost in all the Ndamukong Suh talk are the run, pass and stat sheet stuffing abilities of Avril.

While he didn’t have a huge number of tackles, Avril had 11 sacks, four passes deflected, an interception, six forced fumbles, three recovered fumbles and one defensive touchdown. That’s called making an impact.

Surprises

Victor Cruz—The New York Giants turned an undrafted free agent into the third-best wide receiver in the NFL this season. That’s called taking lemons and making lemonade.

With 1358 yards through the air, eight touchdowns and 76 receptions, Cruz is near the top of almost every major receiving statistic there is.

Charles Woodson—While many fans thought this was the end of the road for Charles Woodson, he came back to Green Bay to show that he has plenty left in the tank.

Not only does Woodson deserve the Pro Bowl honor for defying the old man moniker, he deserves it for the elite numbers he put up again. I’m thinking seven interceptions and two defensive touchdowns is pretty good.

Reggie Bush—My comeback player of the year was even looking bad in the beginning of the season, but it was the emergence of Matt Moore and a passing game that allowed Bush to flourish.

Bush was the only running back in the top 15 to average 5.0 yards per carry, but it’s the 1086 yards on just 216 carries and his ability and willingness to run between the tackles that had people stunned.

Check back for more on the National Football League as it comes, and check out Bleacher Report’s NFL Page to get your fill of all things football.

Follow @Donald_Wood