The NFL Pro Bowl has become a laughingstock around the league. Fans, who know very little about the intricacies of the game, carry far too much weight in the voting. And sometimes, the All-Pro voting is even ridiculed.
The Associate Press is renowned, but most of them never played the game at a competitive level, which will always be held against them by the ones who did. Now, the players are taking control; the NFLPA released its “The Players’ All-Pro teams.” Here is how they describe it:
“For too long, we have allowed everyone else to define the best of us as players. That ends now.
This year, we made the call with the first Players’ All-Pro Team. We asked players across the league to select who had the most impact this season. The players were tasked with voting for the best player at their same position and positions they line up against.”
Several Falcons made the cut too. Keith Smith was the fifth-ranked fullback; Chris Lindstrom was the second-ranked right guard; Cordarrelle Patterson was the top-ranked kickoff returner, and Avery Williams was the fifth-ranked punt returner.
I like the idea of having a few separate All-Pro voting systems. It would prove useful as a comparative tool in seeing how the players see themselves and the journalists who cover the entire sport. Most of the time, I’ll go with peer voting over the traditional format. Congratulations to all of the Falcons on their appearances on the first-ever Players’ All-Pro teams.
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Photographer: David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire
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