NFL Pro Bowl 2012: AFC & NFC Selections, Roster and TV Schedule

At long last, the rosters for the 2012 Pro Bowl have been announced.

There are no shortage of debates that we can have about the Pro Bowl rosters, and this year's crop definitely has plenty of snubs and surprises.

So let's go ahead and get down to brass tacks. Read on for a full roster breakdown and discussions of snubs and surprises.

Where: Aloha Stadium

When: Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012 at 7:00 p.m. EST

Watch: NBC

* Starters

AFC Offense

Position	Players	Team
Quarterback	Tom Brady*  Ben Roethlisberger  Philip Rivers	New England Patriots   Pittsburgh Steelers  San Diego Chargers
Running Back	Ray Rice*  Maurice Jones-Drew  Arian Foster	Baltimore Ravens  Jacksonville Jaguars  Houston Texans
Fullback	Vonta Leach*	Baltimore Ravens
Wide Receiver	Wes Welker*  Mike Wallace*  A.J. Green  Brandon Marshall	New England Patriots  Pittsburgh Steelers  Cincinnati Bengals  Miami Dolphins
Tight End	Rob Gronkowski*  Antonio Gates	New England Patriots  San Diego Chargers
Tackle	Joe Thomas*  Jake Long*  D'Brickashaw Ferguson	Cleveland Browns  Miami Dolphins  New York Jets
Guard	Logan Mankins*  Brian Waters*  Marshall Yanda	New England Patriots  New England Patriots  Baltimore Ravens
Center	Maurkice Pouncey*  Nick Mangold	Pittsburgh Steelers  New York Jets

Snubs

No Tim Tebow? Seriously?

I'm actually not kidding. This has been a down year for AFC quarterbacks, and Tebow has been pretty solid during his time under center for the Denver Broncos. He's won the majority of his starts, and he's had a knack for finding the end zone.

Then again, Andy Dalton would have also been a good pick. Anybody but Philip Rivers, really. 

Surprises

Maurice Jones-Drew deserves to be the AFC's starting running back. He's leading the league in rushing, and he's doing it for a Jacksonville offense that is utterly incapable of moving the ball through the air.

NFC Offense

Position	Players	Team
Quarterback	Aaron Rodgers*  Drew Brees  Eli Manning	Green Bay Packers  New Orleans Saints  New York Giants
Running Back	LeSean McCoy*  Matt Forte  Frank Gore	Philadelphia Eagles  Chicago Bears  San Francisco 49ers
Fullback	John Kuhn*	Green Bay Packers
Wide Receiver	Calvin Johnson*  Larry Fitzgerald*  Steve Smith  Greg Jennings	Detroit Lions  Arizona Cardinals  Carolina Panthers  Green Bay Packers
Tight End	Jimmy Graham*  Tony Gonzalez	New Orleans Saints  Atlanta Falcons
Tackle	Jason Peters*  Joe Staley*  Jermon Bushrod	Philadelphia Eagles  San Francisco 49ers  New Orleans Saints
Guard	Jahri Evans*  Carl Nicks*  Davin Joseph	New Orleans Saints  New Orleans Saints  Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Center	Ryan Kalil*  Scott Wells	Carolina Panthers  Green Bay Packers

Snubs

With all respect to Eli Manning, you can count me among the people who wanted to see Cam Newton get the nod for the Pro Bowl. He's had arguably the greatest rookie season in NFL history, and the Panthers have improved mightily under his watch.

In addition, the fact that Victor Cruz didn't make the Pro Bowl roster is a joke. The only NFC receiver having a better season than Cruz is Calvin Johnson.

Surprises

Kinda surprised to see Matt Forte's name on this list. He definitely deserves a Pro Bowl nod, but he's been out for a couple weeks with a knee injury. I highly doubt he'll actually play in the game, and that should open the door for Marshawn Lynch to sneak into the mix.

AFC Defense

Position	Players	Team
Defensive End	Dwight Freeney*  Andre Carter*  Elvis Dumervil	Indianapolis Colts  New England Patriots  Denver Broncos
Interior Linemen	Haloti Ngata*  Vince Wilfork*  Richard Seymour	Baltimore Ravens  New England Patriots  Oakland Raiders
Outside Linebacker	Terrell Suggs*  Von Miller*  Tamba Hali	Baltimore Ravens  Denver Broncos  Kansas City Chiefs
Inside Linebacker	Ray Lewis*  Derrick Johnson	Baltimore Ravens  Kansas City Chiefs
Cornerback	Darrelle Revis*  Champ Bailey*  Johnathan Joseph	New York Jets  Denver Broncos  Houston Texans
Free Safety	Ed Reed*  Eric Weddle	Baltimore Ravens  San Diego Chargers
Strong Safety	Troy Polamalu*	Pittsburgh Steelers

Snubs

I'm a little annoyed that Cleveland middle linebacker D'Qwell Jackson didn't make the cut. He's had an outstanding season, and I'd wager that he deserves to go to Hawaii over Ray Lewis. He's still great, but Lewis is getting into these things because of his reputation at this point.

Surprises

It's cool that Andre Carter got the nod, but he wasn't exactly consistent and now he's hurt. Still, it's pretty sweet that he made the Pro Bowl after getting cut by the Washington Redskins earlier this year.

NFC Defense

Position	Players	Team
Defensive End	Jared Allen*  Jason Babin*  Jason Pierre-Paul	Minnesota Vikings  Philadelphia Eagles  New York Giants
Interior Linemen	Justin Smith*  Jay Ratliff*  B.J. Raji	San Francisco 49ers  Dallas Cowboys  Green Bay Packers
Outside Linebacker	DeMarcus Ware*  Clay Matthews*  Lance Briggs	Dallas Cowboys  Green Bay Packers  Chicago Bears
Inside Linebacker	Patrick Willis*  Brian Urlacher	San Francisco 49ers  Chicago Bears
Cornerback	Charles Woodson*  Carlos Rogers*  Charles Tillman	Green Bay Packers  San Francisco 49ers  Chicago Bears
Free Safety	Earl Thomas*  Dashon Goldson	Seattle Seahawks  San Francisco 49ers
Strong Safety	Adrian Wilson*	Arizona Cardinals

Snubs

Where's the love for Aldon Smith? All he's done this year is rack up 14 sacks, which puts him half a sack away from tying the rookie record set by Jevon Kearse in 1999. Pretty bummed that he didn't make the cut.

Aside from that, no major gripes on my end.

Surprises

Absent from this list? None other than Ndamukong Suh.

That's not a huge surprise, as Suh hasn't been as productive this season as he was in his rookie campaign. Nevertheless, you'd think he would make it on reputation alone. I guess Suh's other reputation cost him here.

AFC Special Teams

Position	Players	Team
Punter	Shane Lechler	Oakland Raiders
Kicker	Sebastian Janikowski	Oakland Raiders
Kick Returner	Antonio Brown	Pittsburgh Steelers
Special Teamer	Matthew Slater	New England Patriots

Snubs

I would have picked Josh Cribbs over Antonio Brown, but he's a good choice. No major snubs to be found here.

Surprises

This is Sebastian Janikowski's first Pro Bowl nod. Talk about something being overdue...

NFC Special Teams

Position	Players	Team
Punter	Andy Lee	San Francisco 49ers
Kicker	David Akers	San Francisco 49ers
Kick Returner	Patrick Peterson	Arizona Cardinals
Special Teamer	Corey Graham	Chicago Bears

Snubs

No complaints here. All four players did more than enough to earn Pro Bowl nods this season.

Surprises

Good year for Bay Area kickers, don't you think?