AFC Pro Bowl Snubs

This is the second in a two-part series documenting the Pro Bowl snubs for the 2011 season. If you want to read my NFC snubs, click here.

Quarterbacks
Voted In: Tom Brady, New England Patriots; Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh Steelers; Philip Rivers, San Diego
Snubbed: I don't believe there were truly any significant snubs, but I would have taken the Dolphins' Matt Moore, who has a 15:7 TD-INT ratio, a better quarterback rating than Rivers, and has helped the Dolphins be very competitive in his starts despite having fewer offensive weapons than Rivers.

Running Backs
Voted In: Ray Rice, Baltimore Ravens; Maurice Jones-Drew, Jacksonville Jaguars; Arian Foster, Houston Texans
Snubbed: You won't hear any complaints from me, as they are the three top rushers in the AFC. What makes it more impressive is Jones-Drew plays on a team without a passing game to speak of, and Foster played about 30 minutes of football in the season's first three games. Reggie Bush (Dolphins) and Ryan Matthews (Chargers) are also over 1,000 yards on the ground, and are averaging 5.0 and 4.9 yards per carry, respectively.

Fullbacks
Voted In: Vonta Leach, Baltimore Ravens
Snubbed: I'd have voted for Lawrence Vickers, as he continually opens up holes for Foster and Ben Tate, and the Texans have the #2 rush offense in the NFL. Leach is still a beast, and does have to do more blocking as the Ravens' offensive line isn't quite on the Texans' level.

Wide Receivers
Voted In: Wes Welker, New England Patriots; Mike Wallace, Pittsburgh Steelers; A.J. Green, Cincinnati Bengals; Brandon Marshall, Miami Dolphins
Snubbed: All of the players are deserving, but you could make the case for the Chargers' Vincent Jackson (58 catches, 1,077 yards, 8 TD) and the Chiefs' Dwayne Bowe (75 catches, 1,066 yards, 5 TD).

Tight Ends
Voted In: Rob Gronkowski, New England Patriots; Antonio Gates, San Diego Chargers
Snubbed: Gronkowski is having what is likely to be the greatest season for a tight end in NFL history, so his selection was a no-brainer. Gates was effective when healthy, but I would have voted for fellow Patriots TE Aaron Hernandez (72 catches, 772 yards, 6 TD).

Offensive Tackles
Voted In: Joe Thomas, Cleveland Browns; Jake Long, Miami Dolphins; D'Brickashaw Ferguson, New York Jets
Snubbed: All are talented players, but I'd have replaced Ferguson with the Broncos' Ryan Clady, who is a more athletically gifted offensive lineman, and has played more consistently than Ferguson.

Offensive Guards
Voted In: Logan Mankins and Brian Waters, New England Patriots; Marshall Yanda, Baltimore Ravens 
Snubbed: I'd have put in Buffalo's Andy Levitre over Brian Waters, who has still been solid, but didn't quite play as well as he did for the Chiefs in years past. No problem at all with the Mankins selection, and Yanda is the nastiest guard I've seen play in a while.

Centers
Voted In: Maurkice Pouncey, Pittsburgh Steelers; Nick Mangold, New York Jets
Snubbed: The NFL's two best centers both play in the AFC, and both were selected. Nothing wrong with the center position.

Defensive Ends
Voted In: Dwight Freeney, Indianapolis Colts; Andre Carter, New England Patriots; Elvis Dumervil, Denver Broncos
Snubbed: Robert Mathis had a better statistical season than teammate Freeney, but Freeney is still the Colt defensive end that opponents lose sleep game-planning for.

Defensive Tackles
Voted In: Haloti Ngata, Baltimore Ravens; Vince Wilfork, New England Patriots; Richard Seymour, Oakland Raiders
Snubbed: Wilfork is definitely talented, but plays on the league's worst defense. Seymour plays quick and with great leverage inside, but his teammate Tommy Kelly had a better year than Seymour. I'd also replace Wilfork with Geno Atkins of the Bengals (45 tackles, 8 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, 2 fumble recoveries).

Outside Linebackers
Voted In: Terrell Suggs, Baltimore Ravens; Von Miller, Denver Broncos; Tamba Hali, Kansas City Chiefs
Snubbed: The three top sack artists in the AFC made the game, but Connor Barwin (11.5 sacks, tied with Miller) plays on the league's #2 defense, and is also very deserving.

Inside Linebackers
Voted In: Ray Lewis, Baltimore Ravens; Derrick Johnson, Kansas City Chiefs
Snubbed: Lewis missed a few games this year, and is more of a reputation pick, as while he's still a very good inside linebacker, he wasn't one of the two best in the AFC this season. I'd have replaced Lewis with Houston's Brian Cushing (110 tackles, 4 sacks, 2 interceptions). The Browns D'Qwell Jackson (145 tackles, 3,5 sacks) is also deserving.

Cornerbacks
Voted In: Darrelle Revis, New York Jets; Champ Bailey, Denver Broncos; Jonathan Joseph, Houston Texans
Snubbed: Revis is clearly the #1 cover corner in the league, and Joseph is emerging as a top-tier cornerback as well. Like Ray Lewis, Bailey is still a very effective player in the league, but I would have chosen the Chiefs' Brandon Flowers, who is possibly the most underrated cornerback in the league.

Free Safeties
Voted In: Ed Reed, Baltimore Ravens; Eric Weddle, San Diego Chargers
Snubbed: No problem with either selection, though Buffalo's Jairus Byrd (95 tackles, 1 sack, 3 INT, 3 forced fumbles, 1 TD) and Cincinnati's Reggie Nelson (83 tackles, 2 sacks, 4 INT, 2 forced fumbles) both had Pro Bowl-caliber seasons.

Strong Safety
Voted In: Troy Polamalu, Pittsburgh Steelers
Snubbed: Polamalu didn't make his usual impact (89 tackles, 1 sack, 1 interception), and Buffalo's George Wilson outperformed him (95 tackles, 4 INT) despite missing almost three full games for the Bills.

Kicker
Voted In: Sebastian Janikowski, Oakland Raiders
Snubbed: Hard to vote against Janikowski, as he didn't miss a single field goal under 40 yards, and two of his four misses were blocked. Arguments can be made for Cincinnati's Mike Nugent (30-34) and Tennessee's Rob Bironas (26-29).

Punter
Voted In: Shane Lechler, Oakland Raiders
Snubbed: Lechler was the best in the AFC in yards per punt (50.7), and #3 in net yards per punt (40.9). Zoltan Mezko of the Patriots doesn't have the booming leg of Lechler and others, but is a great directional kicker who was #1 in the AFC in net yards per punt (41.4).

Kick Returner
Voted In: Antonio Brown, Pittsburgh Steelers
Snubbed: No complaints, as Brown and Cleveland's Josh Cribbs were the two best return men in the AFC this year.

Special Teamer
Voted In: Matthew Slater, New England Patriots
Snubbed: Kassim Osgood of Jacksonville has blocked a punt this season, and is probably better as a gunner on coverage units, but Slater isn't a poor choice.

Here's the breakdown of how I did on my mid-season AFC Pro Bowl predictions.
25 Correct, 15 Incorrect
62.5% Correct