Jacksonville Jaguars’ Sen’Derrick Marks Has Every Right To Feel Snubbed By Pro Bowl
Kirby Lee-USA Today Sports
As much as I despise watching the Pro Bowl I do feel that players who have standout performances during the course of the season deserve recognition. Even if that recognition is a Pro Bowl selection. Jacksonville Jaguars‘ defensive tackle Sen’Derrick Marks spoke out Wednesday about being snubbed from the Pro Bowl this season. Marks leads the Jaguars this season with 8.5 sacks and is one of the very few bright spots on their defense. So it is only natural that a player with this type of performance would not be to thrilled about not being invited to join the fraternity of NFL players that will represent the league in late January.
Marks expressed his disenchantment with the Pro Bowl voting process, calling it “political.” And he is absolutely right. The NFL ballot committee adds players to the ballot based on popularity and not performance. But Marks may have been affected by the fact that he is playing on a Jaguars team that is 3-12 and in a small market. The fan vote accounts for only one-third of the ballot. For a franchise such as the Jaguars with much obscurity outside of the Jacksonville area it is hard for players like Marks to even receive widespread fan recognition.
What helped Cleveland Browns wide receiver Josh Gordon land a spot in the Pro Bowl in the 2013 season is that he led the league in receiving yards and set records. Gordon also lit up the Fantasy Football leagues which drastically helped his case. Sure, the Browns finished just 4-12 that season, but Gordon’s numbers were just staggering. A combination of performance and popularity earned Gordon a spot in the Pro Bowl last season.
Moving forward the NFL Pro Bowl ballot committee needs to change their evaluation process when it comes to determining which players have their names added to the ballot. Those criteria need to include player performance and what the player brings to the table regardless of market size. If they can make this adjustment then perhaps deserving players such as Marks will not be snubbed in the future.
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