With the release of the Pro Bowl rosters on Tuesday, it’s tough to find much fault with them.
As someone who covers the St. Louis Rams on a regular basis I was hopeful that either or both Chris Long and James Laurinaitis would get their first trips to Hawaii.
Long has 13 sacks this season, but got passed over for three other defensive ends who all have at least 15.5 sacks. Laurinaitis has better statistics than Chicago Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher, who was essentially a legacy vote. But the snub of Washington’s London Fletcher, the former Ram who leads the NFL in tackles, is an even more heinous omission.
People are viewing Tim Tebow’s omission from the AFC roster as a snub and that’s just ridiculous. In a season where quarterbacks like New Orleans’ Drew Brees, Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers, Carolina’s Cam Newton and New England’s Tom Brady are setting records left and right, Tebow’s stats just do not compare to the signal callers who did get the Hawaii invitation.
Brees broke Dan Marino’s single-season passing yardage mark on Monday night – with a full game still remaining. Rodgers and Brady could also pass Marino’s mark of 5,084 passing yards this season. Rodgers, who has already surpassed Brett Favre’s single-season mark of 39 touchdown passes to break Green Bay’s team record, will also likely set a new single-season passer rating record – breaking Peyton Manning’s 2004 record. Although unlikely, Rodgers needs five touchdown passes against Detroit on New Year’s Day to tie Brady’s 2007 record of 50.
Newton, the first overall pick in the 2011 draft, has already accounted for twice as many touchdowns as the Rams collectively have as a team. His 14 rushing touchdowns is an NFL record for a quarterback and he has set numerous rookie passing records – including most passing yards by a rookie. He is a no-brainer for the NFL’s offensive rookie of the year and he did not get a Pro Bowl invite – and that’s perfectly all right because Rodgers, Brees and Eli Manning of the New York Giants have had better seasons. Newton’s time will come.
RON’S RAMBLING RANT:
The Rams promoted tight end Ben Guidugli from the practice squad on Tuesday to fill the roster spot of suspended WR Austin Pettis. They also signed rookie tight end DeMarco Cosby, a Missouri native, to the practice squad. Cosby was with the Rams during training camp.
Guidugli’s promotion is long overdue – he made the final roster only to be released in place of former Cardinals and 49ers tight end Stephen Spach. Guidugli was then re-signed to the practice squad but released a couple more times during the season only to wind up back on the practice squad.
Guidugli’s ego was understandably bruised when the team claimed St. Louis native Mike McNeill off of Indianapolis’ practice squad last week. McNeill was then inactive for last Saturday’s game at Pittsburgh. Guidugli has been around all season and knows the offense, so the signing of McNeill didn’t make much sense unless if it was just a PR move to sell a few more tickets for the season finale at home against San Francisco. I really enjoyed speaking to McNeill in the preseason and on the day he was signed but, as somebody pointed out to me last week, shouldn’t it be about winning games?
Next up on the “should-be-promoted-from-the-practice-squad” list is offensive tackle Ryan McKee, who has spent the last two seasons on the eight-man unit. McKee has been invited to training camp next season, but that’s not guaranteed if a new coach and general manager renege on the current regime’s promise. McKee is not eligible for the practice squad next year, so 2012 will be the make-or-break year for his NFL career.
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