ESPN's Courtney Cronin Profiles the Viking Pro Bowl Snubs
Courtney is our beat writer for the Vikings at ESPN and she is very good at her job and has great takes on our team, and not always pro, she sees the flaws too.
Here is what she said about the 4 players she thought should have gotten the Pro Bowl nod from the Viking squad (we think Pat Elfin deserved a Pro Bowl selection too)
SNUBS
Harrison Smith, S: Um. How? Smith, who made the Pro Bowl the past two years, is ranked as the No. 1 safety by Pro Football Focus and has made his case for the NFL’s defensive player of the year award. This snub leaves many, including this writer, very confused.
Eric Kendricks, LB: You know who has more tackles than Anthony Barr? Eric Kendricks. The third-year linebacker has 60 tackles, a sack and the Vikings' only pick-six of the season. His coverage skills have improved immensely from 2016 to now and Minnesota is essentially set at middle linebacker for the foreseeable future.
Linval Joseph, DT: Find a better run-stopping nose tackle in the NFL. You know why teams are terrified to run on the Vikings' defense? Because of the 329-pound anchor in the middle of the No. 2 run defense in the NFL. Joseph is an athletic freak. He has a rare combination of high-powered athleticism, power, strength and technique. He made the Pro Bowl last year and should have been a sure bet this season. Just ask the guards and centers whose lives he has made a living nightmare this season.
when the results were announced, I just assumed that Harry had made it. Wow.
Malcolm Jenkins over Harry? WTF
if only Harry raised his fist for black power before games.
our two best players Linval and Harry missing Pro Bowl show just how under the radar or disrespected our team is. nationally no one knows about our team
Can't argue with any of those choices. I just expected Linval and Harry to get in. I was blown away. And yeah, I think Kendricks deserves some recognition on this D and I'll even say that I can't imagine our D without him. As far as Case is concerned, I really don't know what else that guy has to do to get respect....oh wait, yes I do...win the SB...but then I even wonder if he'd get it as most would say (and of course there's truth to it) that it's the team around him. It's all fine and dandy, but the guy still has to go out and execute in games. Case should have gotten the nod too.
The just lost votes cuz everyone knows the Vikes will be too busy to play in the probowl. ;)
@"Vikeking2" said: Malcolm Jenkins over Harry? WTFif only Harry raised his fist for black power before games.
our two best players Linval and Harry missing Pro Bowl show just how under the radar or disrespected our team is. nationally no one knows about our team
I don't understand this comment at all. You believe this is somehow related to pro bowl selections?
As for Cronin's take, I completely agree with her.
Leaving out Smith is crazy (let's leave race comments out of this). The rest, I can at least make an argument for. Smith lost out to Earl Thomas. Thomas has a bigger name and plays on a better known, SB-winning team. But Smith should have been the choice. Had he been considered at SF rather than FS, he should be ahead of either Collins or Jenkins. Either way, Smith should be in.
You cannot really compare Kendricks and Barr. Kendricks is an ILB and Barr goes in at OLB. Picked ahead of Kendricks were Kuechle and Wagner. Not too shabby.
As for Joseph, maybe he could have gotten in over McCoy. Aaron Donald gets in over Joseph (is there a better DT in the NFL?) and Fletcher Cox probably should, too. Those guys are great pass rushers and make lots of splash plays. Splash plays get Pro Bowl votes.
Case lost out to Wentz, Wilson and Brees. Wentz was the MVP leader until he got hurt. Wilson is the entirety of the Seahawks offense. Through approximately week 10 he was responsible for over 95% of their TDs - either throwing them or running them in himself. And Brees is doing everything Case is doing except a little better. Case is a great story and we can pretend that he has been snubbed but objectively, that is not so.
@"Nichelle" said:@"Vikeking2" said: Malcolm Jenkins over Harry? WTFif only Harry raised his fist for black power before games.
our two best players Linval and Harry missing Pro Bowl show just how under the radar or disrespected our team is. nationally no one knows about our team
I don't understand this comment at all. You believe this is somehow related to pro bowl selections?As for Cronin's take, I completely agree with her.
yea i believe Malcolm Jenkins, could get additonal credit for his “activism” and makes him more likely for accolades. Similar example would be Michael Bennent man of the year, even after being proven a liar and dirty player, just because he is all in on protest and activism.we have always known that there is a popularity contest element to pro bowl voting. well this year it was popular to protest. its reasonable to think the most vocal and visible representatives of the protests would benefit with more notoriety and praise. well pro bowl selection is notoriety and praise.
@"Vikeking2" said:@"Nichelle" said:@"Vikeking2" said: Malcolm Jenkins over Harry? WTFif only Harry raised his fist for black power before games.
our two best players Linval and Harry missing Pro Bowl show just how under the radar or disrespected our team is. nationally no one knows about our team
I don't understand this comment at all. You believe this is somehow related to pro bowl selections?As for Cronin's take, I completely agree with her.
yea i believe Malcolm Jenkins, could get additonal credit for his “activism” and makes him more likely for accolades. Similar example would be Michael Bennent man of the year, even after being proven a liar and dirty player, just because he is all in on protest and activism.we have always known that there is a popularity contest element to pro bowl voting. well this year it was popular to protest. its reasonable to think the most vocal and visible representatives of the protests would benefit with more notoriety and praise. well pro bowl selection is notoriety and praise.
While I think I can understand your reasoning, I'd be very cautious about implying that this garners him more "notoriety and praise". Although I personally support their right to protest (as well as the cause), I've read quite a few negative comments on this board alone about players who knelt and participated. While they may be popular with some, they are definitely not popular with others. Perhaps their fan bases simply voted more. Perhaps the coaches viewed them differently. Perhaps other players did as well.As far as Bennett, while you might disagree with his selection, he appears to have been nominated for man of the year for the following reasons:
Bennett’s foundation, The Bennett Foundation, has worked to fight obesity through OCEAN Programing (fighting Obesity through Community, Education, Activity and Nutrition). Bennett has also routinely held free camps and health clinics in Seattle, his hometown of Houston, his offseason home of Honolulu, and this year in South Dakota on the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe.
Bennett also pledged his 2017 endorsement money to, as he wrote on Instagram, “help rebuild minority communities through STEAM programs (science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics), as well as initiatives that directly affect women of color, in hopes of creating more opportunities for our youth to build a brighter future.”
His foundation is also partnering with the Africa-led global movement iamtheCODE to provide 100 marginalized girls in Africa entrance into STEAMED programs (science, technology, engineering, arts, mathematics, entrepreneurship and design), as well as with multiple local organizations to start a gardening program for youth in juvenile detention. Bennett and his brother, Martellus Bennett, received the Shine A Light Awards at the BET Awards for the work they have done to uplift and inspire youth in minority communities.
Bennett regularly visits the King County Juvenile Youth Services Center on Fridays before home games, and has been generous with his time for teammate causes, not just locally, but also traveling as far as Haiti to support fellow Seahawks defensive end Cliff Avril, and Norfolk, Virginia to support safety Kam Chancellor.
So, getting back to the Pro Bowl selections, unless there is a trend of protesters being undeservedly nominated, I wouldn't rely on that theory as an explanation for Smith's absence from the list. Sometimes crazy sh*t happens. Thanks for sharing your POV.
The Bennett brothers are two players I admire a lot.
just 3 weeks ago Harrison was leading fan voting. id assume that was the case all the way until annoucement last night. so, Jenkins apparently gained more player/media push/votes which was very possibly influenced by the praise and noteriety he clearly received from players/media throughout recent protests. doesnt mean Jenkins isnt a good player. But, both guys play for good teams and have been pro bowlers before. im not sure exactly how rest of voting goes, but something else decided that Jenkins and the other two safties were select over Harrison if Harrison was top fan vote receiver
Doesn't matter, our players won't be able to play in that game anyways. They will be preparing for the Jaguars.
@"Vikeking2" said: http://m.vikings.com/news/article-1/3-Vikings-at-Tops-of-Positions-in-Pro-Bowl-Voting/81237e6f-3ae1-4e52-baae-fe5fcc68ffdajust 3 weeks ago Harrison was leading fan voting. id assume that was the case all the way until annoucement last night. so, Jenkins apparently gained more player/media push/votes which was very possibly influenced by the praise and noteriety he clearly received from players/media throughout recent protests. doesnt mean Jenkins isnt a good player. But, both guys play for good teams and have been pro bowlers before. im not sure exactly how rest of voting goes, but something else decided that Jenkins and the other two safties were select over Harrison if Harrison was top fan vote receiver
That was good 3 weeks ago but it wasn't the case until the announcement.
Link to fan vote results: http://ftw.usatoday.com/2017/12/nfl-pro-bowl-rosters-fan-vote-results-leveon-bell-tom-brady
The fans have spoken🗣️ Here are the results for NFC Defense #ProBowlVote
The Vikings individual defensive stats don't stand out because we play sound fundamental rotational "team" defense. We also don't have the splash defensive plays - Int's, TO's, Sacks that other defenses have. Just sound at every position which will leave some guys like Harry and Linval out.
Harry specifically asked that pro-bowl is not in his contract...Team guy
See my post on mixed signals in secondary and Packers...
That said, the fact that about 3 players from our team arent in it is a travesty.
@"purplefaithful" said: Harry specifically asked that pro-bowl is not in his contract...Team guySee my post on mixed signals in secondary and Packers...
That said, the fact that about 3 players from our team arent in it is a travesty.
Interesting info. The reasoning? That it's completely arbitrary. I appreciate that since the selection is out of his control. On the other hand, if you look at Malcolm Jenkins twitter account, he did some campaigning to his fan base.
Last chance!!! Vote for me and your favorite @Eagles !!! #FlyEagelsFly http://www.nfl.com/probowl/ballot?icampaign=pro-edi-ProBowlVote_Centerpiece_3840x2160
Different people, different approach. Both are okay with me.
One could also make a case for Reiff. Has he given up a sack at all this season ??
@"Sir Viking Bob VWO" said: One could also make a case for Reiff. Has he given up a sack at all this season ??Technically, yes. 1 I believe. I think Zimmer hinted that it might not have been all his fault though
I'll tell you what Harry thinks about all this. When interviewed earlier this week he was asked about being snubbed for the pro bowl and his response was "I have bigger things to worry about."
These guys are playing to win the Super Bowl not win individual honors. That to me is the epitome of a team and means the most to me as a fan of the Minnesota Vikings.
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