Pro Bowl needs new parameters

Pro Bowl News

For the 2008 Pro Bowl, the NFL has gone to a new format: the AFC against three-quarters of the NFC.

The bizarre development was revealed earlier this week, when for what is believed to be the first time in NFL history, an entire division (the NFC South) was snubbed when the Pro Bowl rosters for each conference were announced. Only seven teams in the entire NFL failed to earn at least one Pro Bowl spot, meaning the Buccaneers, Saints, Panthers and Falcons combined to constitute more than 57 percent of the snubbery.

A fundamental failing in the Pro Bowl selection process? Absolutely, especially when the conference-leading Cowboys earned more than 20 percent of the positions (11 players).

Is the NFC South that bad? Not really. Two of the other divisions in the NFL (the NFC West and AFC West) had overall weaker records than the NFC South entering Week 16.

Devoid of quality choices? Not true either. All four NFC South teams had legitimate candidates, not the least of which were Saints wide receiver Marques Colston (who is among the league leaders in receptions, yards receiving and touchdowns) and Panthers linebacker Jon Beason (who entered yesterday second in the NFL in total tackles).

So what's the best way to fix the problem? Come to the same conclusion as baseball, which suffered a ballot-stuffing problem in 1957, when the entire Cincinnati Reds infield was voted the starting team for the National League: make it mandatory that every team is represented in Hawaii by at least one player. At the very least, every playoff team should have at least one player, a point underlined by the Jaguars also being snubbed in the AFC.

The most discussed omission for Jacksonville was running back Fred Taylor, who earlier this season eclipsed the 10,000-yard rushing barrier but has never made the Pro Bowl.

Willie Parker's broken leg should open up a spot for Taylor, but has he really been snubbed multiple times as we have been led to believe?

Examining Taylor's best seasons, we find that in 2000 he probably should have made the AFC team. That year, Taylor led the AFC in total yards from scrimmage (107.6) and may have been a better choice than the Bengals' Corey Dillon. In 1998, three running backs were good choices for the final two spots in the AFC: the Titans' Eddie George, Jets' Curtis Martin and Taylor. George and Martin got in and Taylor was the odd man out.

Taylor had another big year in 2003, averaging almost 100 yards per game, but that was a great year for running backs and that was simply a case of having a great year at the wrong time; Jamal Lewis rushed for 2,006 yards and Priest Holmes scored 27 touchdowns. But there is no doubt that Taylor belongs this year: he has had five consecutive 100-yard rushing games and is the biggest cog on a team that might be the third-best team in the NFL behind the Patriots and Colts. He is averaging over five yards per carry, a full yard better per attempt than the Colts' Joseph Addai and Parker entering Week 16.

There will always be controversy whenever an all-star team is chosen and that's not necessarily a bad thing; conversation breeds interest. But with Pro Bowl appearances a factor in eventual Hall of Fame worthiness and a reward for excellence, too many quality players and teams were missed this time around.

When a wide receiver with the separation of the Packers' Greg Jennings or an all-around safety like the Bucs' Jermaine Phillips must sit home, one needs no more proof that that the current Pro Bowl selection system is a failure.