Packers have three Pro Bowlers: Josh Jacobs, Rashan Gary and Xavier McKinney. McKinney is the lone starter.
— Matt Schneidman (@mattschneidman) January 2, 2025
First alternate: Elgton Jenkins
Other alternates: Jordan Love, Kenny Clark, Keisean Nixon, Tucker Kraft, Josh Myers, Jaire Alexander
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Mom and Mrs Clark must have a vote
Zach Tom is a glaring omission (and yes, the Pro Bowl is pretty meaningless).
Some really...interesting...selections on that list.
@michiganjoe posted:Zach Tom is a glaring omission (and yes, the Pro Bowl is pretty meaningless).
Yep. As is usually the case, these players get named 1-2 years after they should have made it in.
Also pretty noticeable that the best QB in the league didn't make the cut (Mahomes, not Love).
@michiganjoe posted:Also pretty noticeable that the best QB in the league didn't make the cut (Mahomes, not Love).
It sounds ridiculous until you look at the three who made it. Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson are going to be 1-2 for MVP. Joe Burrow is the other one. Burrow has 42 TDs and 8 interceptions and may throw for 5000 yards.
Who do you keep out instead of Mahomes? I guess Burrow but a 42/9 vs 26/11 TD/Int ratio is a gigantic statistical difference.
Do the voters watch the games?
Is Rashan Gary better than we (or at least I) think he is? 6.5 sacks for a pass rush specialist?
Alexander played 6 games (and 14% of the snaps in the 7th) and he's an alternate?
@MichiganPacker2 posted:Who do you keep out instead of Mahomes?
It's both noticeable and probably warranted.
It will be fascinating to see if KC still wins another SB while Mahomes is 26/11. If there was ever a case to be made for not relying on your HOF QB to have to carry your team, KC would be it. He is still the most deadly player in a fourth quarter one score game but he wouldn't even be IN that situation if his D hadn't kept the game close while he was going 26/11 with the ball. It's as if KC/Reid actually learned something from NE/Belichick.
Those Packers are going to be playing in the Superb Owl, not the Probe Owl.
It’s a team sport, individual honors and stats mean little.
@Pikes Peak posted:It’s a team sport, individual honors and stats mean little.
Except for salary bonuses.
Gary and McKinney both get 250K bonuses for making it (or at least increase to their base salaries next year)
@michiganjoe posted:Zach Tom is a glaring omission (and yes, the Pro Bowl is pretty meaningless).
Josh Myers is one of the worst centers in football according to Pro Football Focus ratings. He's 48th out of 62 centers ranked. And he's an alternate.
https://www.pff.com/nfl/player...992#latestNewsWidget
Tom is the 5th ranked tackle out of 138. He's not even mentioned.
How accurate are the PFF ratings anyway?
I know Pro Football Focus has its flaws, but it's at least an attempt to rate players in an unbiased way and I would guess it has some basis in reality.
Rashan Gary is about where I'd expect him. He's 34th out of 205 edge rushers. In other words, he's not a total stiff, but he's just a little above average and every team, on average, has at least one guy better than him.
https://www.pff.com/nfl/players/rashan-gary/42905
McKinney is the 5th best safety in football out of 166. https://www.pff.com/nfl/players/xavier-mckinney/55775
Jacobs is 3rd out of 47 RBs. https://www.pff.com/nfl/players/josh-jacobs/45953
There are about 90 WRs ranked. The Packers WRs are ranked 46 (Reed), 52 (Watson), 53 (Doubs), and 70 (Wicks). One way to look at this is the Packers have 3 guys that are roughly as good as every other teams #2 WR, but no one better than an average #2 WR. I think that's accurate.
@Fedya posted:How accurate are the PFF ratings anyway?
I would guess there is a lot of statistical noise between whether someone is really the #1 at their position vs. the #3 person in subjective rankings. However, I don't think someone ranked in the bottom third of the rankings (like Myers) is going to be ranked as an average player in any evaluation.
Andy Herman also grades every player on every down. His grades are overall in line with PFF. He too grades Myers fairly consistently as our worst offensive lineman.
Someone has to be the worst. There will not be pro bowlers (whatever that means) at every position. The trick is to put the lower ranked guys in position to be better. That’s coaching.
@Pikes Peak posted:Someone has to be the worst. There will not be pro bowlers (whatever that means) at every position. The trick is to put the lower ranked guys in position to be better. That’s coaching.
We've talked about this in previous threads, but some of the most successful personnel guys have a philosophy of investing draft capital (and prioritizing free agent signings) on the defensive side of the ball. The reason for this is that defensive players are usually reacting to what the offense is doing and there is only so much coaching can improve them if they aren't good athletes or lack football instincts to begin with. Other than QB on offense, you can usually scheme to hide your weaknesses or get guys open with formations, route combinations, and motion. Having a quality LT on the blind side of your QB is probably the next most crucial thing, because it opens up the playbook.
That's what the Packers have done for years in the draft philosophy. They just haven't hit on any impact players on defense in the higher rounds of the draft, other than maybe Cooper. And no, I don't think Rashan Gary is a Pro Bowl level edge rusher in any universe.
You can scheme them open but you can’t scheme them to make a catch, I won’t stop harping, this team needs a true go to WR1
The difference between MIN's passing attack and GB's was stark. It always helps when you can keep your QB clean but just focusing on catch rate and separation told much of the story last weekend. Addison would be WR1 in GB and he's paired with Jefferson. That's almost not fair.
Players/coaches know he's a dirty player. Thus, the on getting those votes from them.
Fans voted Kerby Joseph first at free safety, but Xavier McKinney (voted second by fans) was the Pro Bowl starter while Joseph didn’t make the team. Coaches and players must really not like this guy. https://t.co/0BD7PiNJfZ
— Matt Schneidman (@mattschneidman) January 2, 2025
Jaire's legend (in his own head) will grow even bigger after this pro bowl selection. He's the most dominant player in the NFL that doesn't even need to suit up
@packerboi posted:Players/coaches know he's a dirty player. Thus, the
on getting those votes from them.
Fans voted Kerby Joseph first at free safety, but Xavier McKinney (voted second by fans) was the Pro Bowl starter while Joseph didn’t make the team. Coaches and players must really not like this guy. https://t.co/0BD7PiNJfZ
— Matt Schneidman (@mattschneidman) January 2, 2025
Loud and clear.
ON KERBY JOSEPH NOT MAKING THE PRO BOWL:
— Tazim Wajid Wajed (@NFLHitman33) January 3, 2025
Of course anyone with even a little bit of NFL football knowledge is well aware that Kerby should’ve made the Pro Bowl this season. Word is he received the most votes for a safety according to the Fans Voting!
So, why didn’t he make the…
