Late last week, when results of fan voting for the 2009 NFL Pro Bowl squads began to surface, you easily could distinguish the powerful publicity machines across the league from the more laissez faire franchises.
The last-place Redskins were about to fall to 7-7, but their ardent fans -- bolstered by an aggressive "Vote the Redskins Ticket"
public-relations campaign -- stuffed the ballot boxes so effectively that a startling 12 Redskins were deemed worthy enough to be starters for the 26-man NFC squad.
Thank goodness the fan vote, which ended a week before the squads were announced, counts only one-third toward the total.
No disrespect to any NFL follower who has the enthusiasm and makes the effort to check a name on a ballot. But when the official Pro Bowl rosters were announced Tuesday, the two-thirds that comprise coach and player voting ensured the Redskins' advertising-driven viral-voting effort was trumped by common sense.
Instead of 25 Redskins who were in the top 5 among fan voting at various positions, the actual Pro Bowl roster has only one Washington player, fullback Mike Sellers, among those guaranteed a trip to Honolulu.
Seriously: Does anybody think Washington kicker Shaun Suisham, who leads the NFL in missed attempts, merited a starting spot ahead of the Eagles' David Akers (NFL-most 127 points)? Or the Giants' John Carney, 44, the oldest Pro Bowler ever, who rightfully was named the NFC starter after making 27 of 29 attempts as a fill-in this season for the once-injured Lawrence Tynes?
If it weren't for the coaches and players, Raiders cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha would not have received the long-overdue honor of being selected an AFC starter. Asomugha is considered so adept that few opposing quarterbacks will throw in his direction.
A week ago, when the fan voting concluded, Asomugha might have been supplanted by Denver's Champ Bailey, a perennial starter who tends to make the squad on reputation.
Instead, clearer heads (players and coaches) prevailed. Asomugha will be joined on the AFC roster by Titans cornerback Cortland Finnegan, a player who is so dominant, he is a legitimate candidate for Defensive Player of the Year.
Asomugha's selection showed the process, despite team politics and fan influence, can get it right. Sometimes.
Raiders punter Shane Lechler, who was selected to his fourth Pro Bowl, also feared his team's 3-11 record might discourage fans from supporting worthy Oakland players.
"You're exactly right, we talked about this a couple of weeks ago at practice,"
said Lechler, adding that the players had said among themselves, "'It's probably only going to be one of us.' So to get the news that it was both of us to go and represent the Raiders, it was a good feeling. Like I said, I've been there, three times, two times it was just me, and you get hit with all the questions like, 'How is it in Oakland, and what's going on?' and this and that. Now Nnamdi can answer all those questions."
The Pro Bowl has gone the way of all-star events in other pro sports -- annual popularity contests that don't always reflect a given season's true standouts. Some players get in year after year on reputation alone.
No wonder television ratings aren't what they used to be. Coaches wearing those gaudy Hawaiian shirts, players barely tackling, no blitzing, vanilla offensive game plans and football so boring, the networks have tossed the game around like a hot lava rock.
But for players with incentive-laden contracts, a Pro Bowl berth means big bucks in the form of bonus money. And it's still a proud achievement, voting glitches and all.
That's why 49ers linebacker Patrick Willis, an All-Pro and Pro Bowl selection in 2007, his rookie season, was worried his team's mediocre record would keep him from a second consecutive starting berth.
Willis said he believes he has earned enough respect from coaches and players to merit his latest selection.
"Like I said, my stats were nowhere near like they were last year,"
Willis said. "That's the way I was looking at it. I was looking at it like, 'Man, the stats were not what they were last year, so they'll try to hold that against me.'"
"But now that I think about it, it has to be respect level. Because, 'He goes out here and continues to play, he does his job, keeps his nose (clean), and he's deserving of it.' So, I'm thankful for that."
Asomugha has only one interception this season, a far cry from his breakthrough 2006 season when he had eight. Fans outside the Bay Area probably viewed that one pick as ho-hum.
Asomugha's NFL peers recognize his game-changing ability. He also got a boost from a PR campaign waged by teammates, including Lechler, and for that, he is grateful.
"Yeah, I was aware of it because in the past that attention wasn't quite there, even in the '06 year with all the interceptions, the attention still wasn't quite there,"
Asomugha said Tuesday. "I mean, we had the attention here from you all down here in this area, but the national attention wasn't as much so, but I did definitely notice it a little bit more this year."
"Talking with Shane all the time, and he has connections in the league and he would let me know on plane rides, you know, 'Your chance is better this year than any other year.' So I would take that into consideration a little bit."
