Four Giants Headed to Pro Bowl
Pro Bowl rosters were released by the NFL yesterday and four Giants players have made the NFC squad. The Giants will be sending right guard Chris Snee, center Shaun O’Hara, defensive end Justin Tuck and safety Antrel Rolle to represent Big Blue in the NFL’s all-star game. Wide receiver Hakeem Nicks is notably missing from that list and seems to have been snubbed despite enjoying a breakout season. We can sit around all day and debate who was left off the Pro Bowl rosters, but for now let’s take a look at whether the players who actually made the team were deserving or not.
Chris Snee: Deserving
Chris Snee was perhaps the most deserving member of the Giants and was named the NFC’s starter at right guard. He remained one of the few constants on the Giants line which experienced a great deal of shuffling throughout the season. A great pulling guard, Snee was instrumental to the success of Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw in the run game this season. Snee is the son-in-law of head coach Tom Coughlin, but he has proven that the Giants drafted him for his outstanding talent rather than because of his family ties. Snee will be a Pro Bowl starter for the third straight year and none of those selections are more deserved than this one.
Shaun O’Hara: Undeserving
Unlike his fellow offensive lineman Snee, Shaun O’Hara does not deserve his spot on the NFC roster. It is not really O’Hara’s fault, but he has been sidelined with injury for most of the season. He got hurt in week five and only came back last week before getting hurt again. This spot should have gone to Giants left guard Rich Seubert who was moved over to center in O’Hara’s absence and was outstanding. O’Hara seems to have been selected purely on reputation and his excellent play in the past few seasons. Regardless he will also be going to his third straight Pro Bowl, and the former Rutgers Scarlet Knight will be the backup center to Dallas’ Andre Gurode.
Justin Tuck: Deserving
Tuck was voted a Pro Bowl starter last season, but this year was only named as a reserve. It seems that Tuck got a mini-snub of his own as he deserved to be a starter once again. John Abraham and Julius Peppers were named the NFC starting end duo and while Abraham seems to be deserving of the nod, a comparison of Tuck and Peppers’ statistics shows that Tuck should be the starter and Peppers should be a the reserve. Tuck has three more sacks than Peppers (11 to 8) and leads the Giants with 74 tackles to only 50 for Peppers. Peppers probably got the nod because of his high profile bounce back season and the overall success of the Bears’ defense this season. The NFC squad will be just fine with either of these men on the field, but it would have been nice to see JT get a little extra recognition for his monster year.
Antrel Rolle: Undeserving
This was a tough call as Rolle did have a career high in tackles while shoring up the weakest position on the Giants defense. He didn’t register many big plays though as he only had one interception, one fumble forced, and half a sack. Fellow free agent acquisition Deon Grant arguably had a bigger impact on the team in the form of big plays. Rolle gets media attention for his mouth more than his play on the field at times, but attention is attention and it may have helped him secure a Pro Bowl berth. This spot was probably going to Washington’s LaRon Landry who was having a career before landing on injured reserve. Rolle was not a bad choice by any means, but no one would have been surprised if he had been left off the NFC roster.
