Tag: Pro Bowl

Texans ILB Zach Cunningham lets his actions speak for themselves

Houston Texans inside linebacker Zach Cunningham is having an outstanding season, where he’s letting his actions speak for themselves.

Quietly, the AFC has a new tackling-machine. He resides in Houston and plays for the Texans.

Third-year inside linebacker Zach Cunningham paces the AFC with 128 combined tackles, which also sits at fifth in the NFL. His 89 solo tackles are second in the league. He has also cut-down his missed tackle rate from 13% to 7.9%, per Pro Football Reference.

On Tuesday evening, the NFL recognized Cunningham’s efforts by naming him as a Pro Bowl alternate behind Darius Leonard and Dont’a Hightower. For him, it’s an honor, but it wasn’t one he pushed for.

A quiet menace, the Vanderbilt product lets his play do the talking.

“I let my actions speak for themselves,” Cunningham said on Wednesday.

Cunningham isn’t just one of the top tackles in professional football, he’s also one of the top run defenders. According to Pro Football Focus, he leads the NFL in run stops (44) and run-stop rate (14.3%).

Cunningham’s numbers and fiery style of play earns him recognition from those around the NFL. Though he lets his action speak for themselves, as he says, he can’t help but realize that the recognition means a lot to him.

“To definitely have that recognition, you know, just knowing that you got that respect around the league, that’s something that means a lot to me,” Cunningham said.

His peers have noticed. After games, Cunningham attracts the attention of opponents who would like to tell him to continue doing well and compliment him.

“There’s a few things I’ve heard after games,” Cunningham said. “Just guys letting me know that I’ve been doing real good. And (what they say) it’s keep balling, stay healthy, those type of things.”

At 25 years old, Cunningham is still a relative newbie to the NFL. However, the league is taking notice of his actions, even if he isn’t one to show them first-hand.

After slow start, punter Michael Dickson has found his groove

Seattle Seahawks punter Michael Dickson may not have made the Pro Bowl, but he’s rounding into form in the second half of 2019.

It was always going to be hard for Seattle Seahawks punter Michael Dickson to top his rookie campaign.

After all, the Australian out of the University of Texas immediately quieted those who questioned Seattle’s decision to trade up in the fifth round to draft him, earning a Pro Bowl nod and All-Pro recognition in his first NFL season.

This year, despite a slow start, Dickson has managed to come on as of late and is thriving at the perfect time for this Seattle team.

“I think Mike has really found his groove,” coach Pete Carroll said on Wednesday. “I think early on, for whatever reason, he wasn’t quite as sharp with his consistency. I don’t know, at least six or eight weeks of it, maybe it was longer than that, he really hit it. He’s doing great. I think he was not hitting the ball as cleanly as he had hoped. I know he felt that was [the case]. He’s been on it at least since the bye it seems. It was probably the time it seems like it turned around I think.”

Despite winning the fan vote, Dickson was not selected to the Pro Bowl this season, or even selected as an alternate. His yards per punt average dropped from 48.2 last year to just 44.9 this season, but recently his accuracy in pinning teams down within the five yard line has improved, an area he struggled at the beginning of the year.

Dickson has all the tools to be among the league’s best punters for the next decade or so. Small growing pains in year two are nothing to worry about, especially since he seems to have already put them aside.

The Seahawks will play their second-to-last home game of the season on Sunday afternoon against the Cardinals. Kickoff is slated for 1:25 p.m. PT.

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Texans WR DeAndre Hopkins works hard to play in the Super Bowl, not Pro Bowl

Houston Texans wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins is a four-time Pro Bowler. While impressive, that’s not why he plays the game at a high-level.

All-star games are a counting man’s game. While an honorable award and certainly one worth celebrating, most NFL players don’t play the grueling game to go to the Pro Bowl.

For seasoned vets that have seen and gone to the spectacle, a bid to be a Pro Bowler is simply a resumé booster for an application into the Hall of Fame. At least, it is for Houston Texans wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins.

Hopkins said on Thursday, “to be considered at the top, it’s an honor.” But, he also said that it’s not what he practices for. The goal is not to play in it, as that would hint at being in the Super Bowl.

“That’s the reason that we come out to practice every day, for that reason, not to play in the Pro Bowl,” Hopkins said.

Hopkins has his eyes set on the Super Bowl, as all Texans players and members of other playoff-eligible do. Through his first six seasons in the NFL, he didn’t get close to sniffing it, as Houston has never gone as far as the AFC Championship.

At 9-5, Hopkins’ Texans are the AFC’s fourth seed. They can lock-up their spot in the playoffs, and a subsequent first-round home game, if they beat the 7-7 Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Saturday, who have won four straight.

“Those guys have some injuries, they still got a good team over there,” said Hopkins. “So we got to come out and focus and take it play by play.”

On the season, Hopkins has 99 receptions for 1,142 yards and seven touchdowns. Not only is he going to his third-straight Pro Bowl, but his season also makes him a candidate to make the All-Pro first team for the third-straight season.

Don’t tell Hopkins that, however, because he couldn’t care less about those individual accolades.

Ex-Broncos OLB Shaq Barrett earns Pro Bowl nod after leading NFL in sacks

In his first season as a full-time starter, former Broncos outside linebacker Shaq Barrett leads the NFL in sacks.

After spending the first five years of his career as a rotational pass rusher behind Broncos stars including Von Miller, DeMarcus Ware and Bradley Chubb, outside linebacker Shaq Barrett became a free agent in March.

Barrett made it clear that he wanted to go somewhere where he could be a starter and he picked the Buccaneers, betting on himself to win a starting job. Denver couldn’t offer him a starting position over Miller or Chubb.

Barrett’s gamble paid off as he quickly emerged as a starter in Tampa Bay and had a breakout season in 2019, leading the NFL with 16.5 sacks through 14 games. His previous career-high was 5.5 sacks in 2015. Earlier this week, Barrett was selected to the Pro Bowl for the first time in his career.

Barrett’s success as a starter hasn’t been a surprise to Miller.

“I’m definitely not surprised,” Miller said in October. “All the plays that he’s making, he made them in practice. The spin versus the Rams, he’s done stuff like that. Interceptions, he’s done stuff like that here in practice.”

Barrett is scheduled to become a free agent again in 2020. Bucs coach Bruce Arians said earlier this week that Barrett “ain’t going nowhere.”

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Titans coach Mike Vrabel wary of ‘very fearless’ Deonte Harris

Tennessee Titans coach Mike Vrabel has been frustrated by special teams; now he has to prepare for New Orleans Saints returner Deonte Harris

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Somehow, the New Orleans Saints found a rookie Pro Bowl returns specialist in undrafted free agency. Deonte Harris has been a revelation for the Saints in 2019 despite his overlooked pedigree as a NCAA record-setter out of Assumption College (a small liberal arts school in Worcester, Mass.). Harris missed two games with a hamstring injury and still leads the NFL in punt return yards (298, the most of any player in the Sean Payton era), ranking second-best in yards per punt return (9.9). He’s also ranked seventh overall in kick return yards (494) and sixth in yards per kick return (24.7).

And he’s a headache for Tennessee Titans coach Mike Vrabel to prepare for. The Titans have one of the NFL’s worst punt coverage units, allowing the sixth-most yards gained per punt return (9.3). They’re more of a middle-of-the-pack squad when covering kickoffs (22.3 yards allowed per kick return) with a season-long of just 32 yards. Still, Harris has proven he has the acceleration to punish teams that can’t maintain lane discipline or are slow to crash down on him.

It’s something Vrabel is well aware of. He’s done his homework on the Saints special teams unit and Harris in particular; when asked to describe the rookie Pro Bowler during his conference call with New Orleans media, Vrabel was mindful of Harris’s skills and the group the Saints have surrounded him with: “Very fearless. They’ve got a very good special teams group. They’ve blocked punts. They have returned kicks for touchdowns, and Harris is explosive and he’s tough, and he is physical. That is a pretty good quality to have as far as (a) returner.”

Still, finding success on special teams requires more effort that you can get out of a one-man band. The Saints have invested a lot of resources in revamping their performance in the third phase of the game, and Vrabel credited them for that, continuing, “Like I said, they have a lot of great special teams players, (J.T.) Gray, (Justin) Hardee, (Taysom) Hill and obviously (Dwayne) Washington because of blocked punts and their gunners are excellent. With the kickers, Pro Bowl kicker (Wil Lutz), (and with Thomas Morstead) obviously a great punting team as well.”

Whether the Saints special teams units have a great day against the Titans can’t be said yet. Things look terrific on paper, but they still have to play the game, and New Orleans knows as well as any team that there’s no such thing as a guaranteed win — remember that time a 1-7 Atlanta Falcons team beat the 7-1 Saints at home, coming off of a bye week? At least the Saints have remained focused since that upset. If they can carry over the positive momentum they established on Monday night against the Indianapolis Colts, things just might go according to plan.

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Two Former Longhorns Named to NFL Pro Bowl

Two former Texas Longhorns standouts named to the NFL Pro Bowl.

It is that time of year in the NFL where Pro Bowl voting has closed and players will be announced as part of the annual Pro Bowl festivities. This year two former Longhorns and now teammates were selected to the 2019-2020 Pro Bowl. Both are members of the Baltimore Ravens who currently own the best record in the NFL. Should the Ravens make it to the Super Bowl then both players will be replaced on the roster as they will be preparing to chase their second Super Bowl championship.

Justin Tucker

There are many accolades for the former Longhorns kicker. Tucker is the most-accurate kicker in NFL history with at least 100 attempts. He owns many other accolades including fastest player to 1,000 points in NFL history. This season Tucker is hitting 95.8% of his kicks which is the 2nd best mark of his career (97.4% in 2016).

Earl Thomas

Former Longhorns safety Earl Thomas is enjoying his 10th season in the league and this marks his seventh Pro Bowl selection. The numbers aren’t the same for Thomas but he is still proving that he can be a force in the defensive backfield. He has 27 tackles, two interceptions and four passes defended this year.

You can watch both players in the Pro Bowl should the Ravens miss the Super Bowl on January 26, 2020 which will be aired on ESPN.

Chandler Jones says Budda Baker is doing ‘amazing’ and ‘crazy’ things in 2019

“Honestly, Budda makes everyone look slow on the field,” he said.

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Arizona Cardinals outside linebacker Chander Jones and safety Budda Baker were both named Pro Bowl starters for the NFC. It is the third time Jones is in the Pro Bowl and second as a member of the Cardinals. It is Baker’s second selection, although it is his first as a safety.

It is a big step in Baker’s career and Jones says he deserves it because of the way he plays. Baker should be getting national recognition.

“Honestly, Budda makes everyone look slow on the field,” he said after practice on Wednesday. “The reason why, it sounds funny, but he outruns everyone. If you watch the film, there are times when he’s running past me, running to the ball and the effort that you see, you can’t coach that. You can’t coach effort.”

Baker has piled up stats this season. He has 125 total tackles and leads the NFL with 92 solo tackles. He has six pass breakups, a QB hit, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.

“Some of the things he does are amazing,” Jones said. “(I’m) happy he’s getting national recognition for it because what he’s doing is crazy.”

Hopefully, this is the first of many years he is doing crazy, amazing things.

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Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Stitcher Radio.

Ep. 252:

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Ep. 251:

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Bucs teammates show Chris Godwin love on Instagram for his Pro Bowl selection

See what Tampa Bay Buccaneers teammates had to say on Instagram after wide receiver Chris Godwin posted about his Pro Bowl selection.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have already ruled wide receiver Chris Godwin out for Saturday’s game against the Houston Texans with a hamstring injury suffered in last week’s win over the Detroit Lions.

Godwin, the third year receiver out of Penn State, will likely be held out over the team’s final two games rather than risk further injury. If it is the end of Godwin’s season, he finishes the year with career highs across the board in receptions (86), receiving yards (1,333) and touchdowns (9).

His breakout season not only earned him the respect of fantasy football owners everywhere, but also a spot in the Pro Bowl, his first selection. Godwin joined fellow receiver Mike Evans and linebacker Shaq Barrett on the roster.

Godwin took to Instagram the other day to voice his appreciation.

Two of his fellow Bucs teammates replied to his IG post, showing their support.

Given the hamstring injury, it remains to be seen whether or not Godwin participates in the event.

Tampa Bay will look to down the Texans on Saturday with a depleted receiving corps to pull their record above .500 for the first time this season.

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Watch: Michael Thomas gifts every Saints teammate a pair of Air Jordan 11 sneakers

New Orleans Saints wideout Michael Thomas celebrated his third Pro Bowl nod by gifting each teammate a fresh pair of Air Jordan sneakers.

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Michael Thomas was named to his third consecutive Pro Bowl on Tuesday, and helped celebrate the season on Wednesday by gifting every one of his teammates their own pair of Air Jordan 11 Bred sneakers ahead of Christmas. These shoes run for about $300 at retailers, but Thomas can afford it between the five-year, $100 million contract extension he signed with New Orleans earlier this year and his exclusive sponsorship agreement with Nike as one of their few Jordan brand ambassadors.

He’s previously gifted sneakers to Saints coach Sean Payton, who wore a pair of Air Jordan 11 Concords at the Zurich Classic golf tournament. “He’s got a pretty good shoe deal, different than any coaches have,” Payton joked.

The Saints put together a supercut of various Saints players’ reactions as they received their new kicks, ranging from Pro Bowl kicker Wil Lutz to veteran wide receiver Ted Ginn Jr. It’s great to see Thomas embracing the giving season, and his teammates’ responses speak for themselves. New Orleans’ front office has put a lot of effort into cultivating strong team chemistry in the locker room, and the appreciation these people have for each other is on clear display. You love to see it.

 

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What does Romeo Crennel tell the Texans’ Pro Bowl alternates?

The Houston Texans have Pro Bowl alternates on defense, and defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel has solid advice for all of them.

The Houston Texans have three Pro Bowl alternates in defensive tackle D.J. Reader, inside linebacker Zach Cunningham, and outside linebacker Whitney Mercilus.

Considered a “snub” as they weren’t named initial starters or reserves on the AFC’s all-star roster, defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel has seen his fair share of snubs in his 39 years of coaching at the pro level. His message resonates.

“Like I told Whitney, because Whitney I think is an alternate also, sometimes Whitney doesn’t feel like that people notice what he does, and I told him, I said, ‘People notice what you do. That’s why you got the award. That’s why you’re where you are,'” Crennel told reporters Wednesday.

In the case of Mercilus, he is tied for the second-most forced fumbles among AFC linebackers with four and is tied for the fourth-most interceptions among linebackers in the conference with two. He isn’t leading any particular statistical category like Cunningham is, who has the most tackles in the AFC with 128.

“He shows up every game,” Crennel said. “Many games he’s been a double-digit tackler the last couple of games anyway. That tells you that he’s around the ball, he’s fitting where he’s supposed to fit. That’s a good accomplishment for him and it’s well deserved.”

However, the third-year linebacker is an alternate. The nearest Pro Bowler is the Indianapolis Colts’ Darius Leonard with 104, the fifth-most in the AFC.

Another overlooked defender is Reader, who has produced career highs with 2.5 sacks, 49 tackles, six tackles for loss, and 12 quarterback hits.

“In our system, they don’t get many accolades,” Crennel explained. “They take a pounding and all that, but I think they realize their importance to the defense and the linebackers definitely realize the job that they do.”

The one accolade all of the Texans’ alternates seek is to play on Super Bowl Sunday. That would be worth getting overlooked for the Pro Bowl.