Tag: Pro Bowl

Texans’ Laremy Tunsil is everything you look for in a left tackle

Houston Texans left tackle Laremy Tunsil is everything you want in an offensive tackle, says offensive coordinator Tim Kelly.

In his fourth year in the NFL and his first with the Houston Texans, left tackle Laremy Tunsil made the Pro Bowl.

For offensive coordinator Tim Kelly, that should come as no surprise. Tunsil, who stands at 6-5, 315-pounds with 34-1/4-inch arms, is a prototype.

“He’s really athletic,” Kelly said on Wednesday. “He’s got great feet. He’s a physical player, and he’s got good length. He’s just really everything you’re looking for in a left tackle.”

To the rest of the NFL, Tunsil’s recognition as a Pro Bowler also doesn’t come as a surprise. Entering the NFL out of Ole Miss in 2016, he earned praise as the best overall prospect in his draft class.

A monumental blunder caused Tunsil to drop to the Miami Dolphins at No. 13, where he was considered a steal and instant franchise left tackle. For three years, he was just that, until the Texans came calling with a bundle that included two first-round picks.

The Dolphins struck a deal to send Tunsil to Houston and the rest is history. The 25-year-old is playing the part of one of the best in the NFL, carrying an outstanding 89.9 Pro Football Focus pass-blocking grade while also paving lanes for the NFL’s seventh-ranked rush offense.

Former Oklahoma players Mark Andrews, Tress Way named to Pro Bowl

Former Oklahoma tight end Mark Andrews and punter Tress Way were each named to the NFL Pro Bowl.

Former Oklahoma tight end Mark Andrews and punter Tress Way were each named to the NFL Pro Bowl.

In Andrews’ sophomore campaign with the Ravens, he smashed their record for single-season touchdowns by a tight end, scoring eight in 14 games played. He grabbed 58 receptions for 759 yards, and his team holds an AFC best 12-2. It will be his first Pro Bowl. Andrews played for the Sooners from 2015-17 and earned the John Mackey Award, given to the best tight end in college football, in his last season as a Sooner.

Former Oklahoma and now-Ravens teammate Orlando Brown will serve as an AFC alternate at tackle for the Pro Bowl. Raven’s teammate and 2017 Heisman Trophy winner, Lamar Jackson will be Andrew’s quarterback.

Way is in his sixth professional season, all of which he has spent with the Redskins. This will be his second Pro Bowl. Way was at Oklahoma from 2009-12.

The 2020 Pro Bowl will be in Orlando, Florida at Camping World Stadium on January 26 at 1 p.m. CT.

2 former Wisconsin Badgers selected for 2020 Pro Bowl

Former Wisconsin Badgers quarterback Russell Wilson and center Travis Frederick were both named to the 2020 Pro Bowl rosters.

The 2020 Pro Bowl rosters were announced late Tuesday evening and two former Wisconsin Badgers, quarterback Russell Wilson and center Travis Frederick, were selected.

For Wilson, it is his seventh Pro Bowl appearance in the last eight years, and the nod may be coming in his strongest NFL season to date. The MVP candidate has completed 300 passes for 3,708 yards with an excellent 28-to-five touchdown-to-interception ratio.

The mega contract extension he signed with the Seahawks this offseason has more than paid off thus far, and he’ll look to get Seattle a first round bye in the team’s final two regular season games.

Frederick is making his fifth appearance in the Pro Bowl, an incredible accomplishment in his own right but even more impressive considering he’s coming off Guillain-Barre Syndrome.

He has picked up right where he left off in 2019 however, and will once again make the Pro Bowl roster alongside teammates Zack Martin and Tyron Smith.

The 2020 Pro Bowl will be played on Sunday, Jan. 26, 2020 and televised live on ESPN at noon PT from Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Fla.

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3 Vikings make Pro Bowl, including Dalvin Cook

A few players who probably should have gotten a look for the Pro Bowl include Kirk Cousins, Eric Kendricks and Anthony Harris. 

The Vikings had three players named to the Pro Bowl for the 2019 season.

Defensive end Danielle Hunter, safety Harrison Smith and running back Dalvin Cook will represent the Vikings.

For Hunter, this is his second-straight selection. He has 13.5 sacks on the season and just one away from his career-high mark of 14.5 that he hit last season. Earlier this season, he became the youngest player in NFL history to reach the 50-sack mark.

For Smith, this is his fifth-straight appearance on the list. He has 11 passes defended and a career-high two forced fumbles this season.

And for Cook, this is his first selection. Cook has been on a cold streak lately, going seven weeks without a 100-yard game. But his overall numbers are solid, rushing for 1,135 yards and 13 touchdowns to go with 53 catches for 519 yards.

A few players who probably should have gotten a look for the Pro Bowl include Kirk Cousins, Eric Kendricks and Anthony Harris.

We’ll have more about them in another piece.

Stats that prove Texans QB Deshaun Watson deserved another Pro Bowl nod

Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson is now going to the Pro Bowl in back-to-back years. His individual stats tell why.

Deshaun Watson is going back to the Pro Bowl.

The third-year signal caller from Clemson is the first Houston Texans quarterback to produce consecutive Pro Bowl selections in team history, and the stats tell why.

Though 14 games, Watson has the Texans at 9-5. Houston needs one more win or a Tennessee Titans loss to go to the playoffs in consecutive years. His team’s success isn’t just why he’s going back to Orlando. The 24-year-old has the individual stats that scream all-star.

On the season, Watson is 314 of 463 (67.8%) passing for 3,668 yards, 26 touchdowns, 11 interceptions and a 100.4 passer rating. He has turned 75 rush attempts into 376 yards and seven touchdowns.

Watson’s five games of three or more passing touchdowns are second-most in the NFL. His seven rushing scores are the most in franchise history in a season for quarterbacks.

Watson is the first player in NFL history to record back-to-back seasons of at least 25 passing touchdowns and five rushing touchdowns. He ties Steve Young (1994, 1998) for most all-time.

The Texans quarterback has recorded five games of at least 250 passing yards and 40 rushing yards. Watson leads the NFL in such a stat, also tying Randall Cunningham (1988) for most in a season single season.

It’s fair to say that No. 4 deserved another visit to the Pro Bowl.

Of course Tom Brady deserved to be snubbed from the Pro Bowl

It makes so much sense.

For the first time since 2008, Tom Brady wasn’t chosen to be a part of the AFC Pro Bowl roster.

The three quarterbacks chosen ahead of him were MVP favorite Lamar Jackson, Kansas City Chiefs star Patrick Mahomes and Deshaun Watson. who’s having a career year for the Houston Texans.

If you’re complaining that Brady deserves to be in ahead of any of those three, then you’re obviously very wrong.

The numbers spell it out — Jackson and Mahomes are No. 1 and 2 in QBR at the moment and Watson is seventh, but third among AFC quarterbacks. Brady? He’s 21st! Right behind Jacoby Brissett and ahead of … Joe Flacco! Yeesh.

There’s also this little nugget about his recent play and health from USA TODAY Sports:

Since Week 12, however, signs point to that right elbow injury as something that’s been holding the 42-year-old back. In that four-game span, Brady hasn’t completed more than 52.8% of his passes in a game. His 50.3% completion percentage and 76.8 quarterback rating since Week 12 are the lowest among all NFL quarterbacks who have played in four games.

I’ll throw one more in there: Since tossing three touchdowns against the Redskins in Week 5, he’s tossed multiple scores just three times.

That said, he could find himself back in the game that doesn’t matter if the Pats are knocked out of the playoffs — if one of the QBs is in the Super Bowl, they get replaced. But you can bet participating in the Orlando game isn’t what matters to Brady. It’s the game schedule the week after that’s on his mind, and even if he’s having a mediocre season by his lofty standards, none of this matters.

But let’s take a second to say, wow, what an 11-year run of success this represents.

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OLB Whitney Mercilus headlines the 5 Texans 2020 Pro Bowl alternates

The Houston Texans announced their five Pro Bowl alternates, and outside linebacker Whitney Mercilus is one of them.

The Houston Texans announced Tuesday evening they had three selections to the 2020 NFL Pro Bowl in quarterback Deshaun Watson, receiver DeAndre Hopkins, and left tackle Laremy Tunsil.

The Texans are one of the teams in the league that also makes public their Pro Bowl alternates. Here are the five Texans who have been sensational throughout the season but didn’t make the cut to be a part of the AFC roster.

1. OLB whitney mercilus

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(AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

The 29-year-old edge defender was off to a fast start with four forced fumbles through the first five weeks of the season. However, Mercilus, much like the Texans’ pass rush, tapered off midway through the season. He also saw more double teams as defensive end J.J. Watt tore his pectoral muscle and teams keyed on the former 2012 first-round pick as the Texans’ only credible pass rusher. A second-team All-Pro in 2016, Mercilus has been on the cusp of getting more premier accolades. His alternate status shows once more how close he has come.

Who’s ahead: Ravens OLB Matt Judon, Broncos OLB Von Miller, Steelers OLB T.J. Watt

Chances to make the team: Fairly good given that Judon could be playing in the Super Bowl and Miller, who has had an injury plagued season and already named to eight Pro Bowls, may back out.

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Cowboys’ Elliott, trio of his blockers named to 2020 Pro Bowl

Ezekiel Elliott was named to his third Pro Bowl on Tuesday; he’ll be joined in Orlando by a trio of teammates all making a return trip.

He may not win his third rushing title this season, but Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott will showcase his skills as one of the best in the game at this year’s Pro Bowl. And he’ll have some familiar faces clearing a path for him.

Elliott was named to the league’s all-star game on Tuesday, along with center Travis Frederick, guard Zack Martin, and tackle Tyron Smith. They will be the Dallas representives for the NFC in Orlando on January 26, provided they don’t have a bigger game to prepare for in Miami the following week.

For Elliott, it’s his third Pro Bowl selection in four seasons as a pro. Frederick makes his fifth appearance to the Pro Bowl roster, a remarkable capping achievement to his first year back from Guillain-Barre Syndrome. Martin has been named to the Pro Bowl every single year he’s been in the league; this is his sixth selection.

Smith earns his seventh trip to the all-star affair.

As the Pro Bowl draws nearer, there is a good chance that several other Cowboys will be added to the lineup as alternates, to fill in for players who are injured or otherwise unavailable.

The Baltimore Ravens just tied an AFC record held by the 1973 Dolphins

The Baltimore Ravens have 12 players named to the 2020 Pro Bowl, tying a record for most in the AFC — held by the 1973 Miami Dolphins.

The Miami Dolphins may not have any players on the 2020 Pro Bowl roster as things currently stand, but they do have some company in all-time Pro Bowl history. The Baltimore Ravens, who are poised to claim the top seed in the AFC this weekend, have 12 Pro Bowl representatives set to appear in the 2020 Pro Bowl.

That figure ties the most ever for a team in the AFC, according to Elias Sports.

The 1973 Dolphins are the second leg of Miami’s back to back Super Bowl championships during the early days of the Don Shula era in South Florida — it serves as an impressive reminder of just how potent this team used to really be back at their peak as an organization. The 12 Dolphins who made the Pro Bowl that year?

Quarterback Bob Griese*

Center Jim Langer*

Wide receiver Paul Warfield*

Running back Mercury Morris

Left Tackle Wayne Moore

Fullback Larry Csonka*

Offensive guard Larry Little*

Kicker Garo Yepremian

Defensive end Bill Stanfill

Free safety Dick Anderson

Strong safety Jake Scott

Linebacker Nick Buoniconti*

*Hall of Fame inductee

Who knows if the Baltimore Ravens will soar to the same heights we saw the Dolphins take to all those years ago, but for now, Miami can happily welcome another AFC team into the rare club of owning a dozen Pro Bowlers in a single season. And the best part about it? It doesn’t concede any added population to Perfectville — the population there is still 1.

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Dolphins shut out of preliminary 2020 Pro Bowl rosters

The Miami Dolphins are not represented on the NFL’s preliminary 2020 Pro Bowl rosters.

The Miami Dolphins are facing the prospect of just two more games yet this season — with no hope of the playoffs, this will be the final call for making plays and trying to convince the organization that a long-term role is in the cards for many of these players. And as things currently stand, there will be no exhibition football for the Dolphins in early 2020, either — the results are in and the Miami Dolphins are currently unrepresented on the preliminary 2020 Pro Bowl rosters.

The Dolphins are one of two teams with zero players represented, the other is the 3-11 New York Giants.

Dolphins fans will undoubtedly feel some kind of way upon seeing that two of the players that Miami traded away at the beginning of this season, Texans OT Laremy Tunsil and Steelers FS Minkah Fitzpatrick, are in fact on the Pro Bowl roster in the AFC. Each is receiving their first career Pro Bowl honors in their first year away from Miami.

But context is required here. Before fans bemoan the decision to trade both players away, remember that Miami initially didn’t plan to trade either one of them. The Texans pursued Tunsil for weeks on end, gradually increasing their trade offers to Miami until Grier decided, for the good of the organization’s long-term future, to make the deal. And while Tunsil has played well this season, he also has double digit false starts.

As far as Fitzpatrick, the player in question ultimately made up his own mind that he did not want to be here. Whether it comes back to his usage or whether Fitzpatrick’s frustrations were rooted more so in the status of the Dolphins’ organization and the forecast for 2019, it doesn’t really matter. Miami made efforts from a coaching front with Brian Flores, a management front with Chris Grier and an ownership front with Stephen Ross to meet with Fitzpatrick and smooth things over.

Fitzpatrick still wanted out. And for Miami to cut their losses after one year and get a 1st-round pick that will be somewhere around the 20th pick in the draft for a player who had mentally checked out isn’t something Miami should really be hammered for. The negativity of not buying in to Coach Flores’ vision for a team wasn’t worth keeping and working around.

So no, the Dolphins didn’t have any Pro Bowlers announced yesterday and two of their former standouts have gotten the call. So be it.