Of all the Pro Bowl snubs — John Abraham, DeAngelo Williams, Philip Rivers being the most egregious in my eyes — there’s one in particular that stands out to me. It’s not so much that Wes Welker made the Pro Bowl because I do believe he’s deserving over All-Star-type accolades, but I’m wondering how Welker made it to the Pro Bowl over his teammate and fellow receiver, Randy Moss. Sure, Welker has more catches and yardage this year than Moss, but it’s a chicken/egg type discussion that goes in favor of Moss.
While Welker is a very good possession receiver, Randy Moss is one of the most dangerous play-making threats in the NFL. It’s Randy Moss who teams need to double-cover and shade with a safety to avoid giving up the big play. It’s the type of attention that Randy Moss attracts from defenses that allows the short passes and underneath stuff to work so well for the Pats. No doubt that Welker has excelled in his role and should have been a Pro Bowler last year, but it’s because of Moss that Welker looks this good. Take Moss and stick him on any team with any quarterback and he’s still scoring touchdowns. Do the same with Welker and he won’t have anywhere near 100 catches and 1,100 yards.
Moss’ overall numbers aren’t stellar, but he does lead the AFC with 10 receiving touchdowns. The one game he was left with single coverage he scored three of those touchdowns. It’s that big-play explosiveness that strikes fear into the hearts of opposing defenses and allows Welker to accumulate the stats he does. Not the other way around. The Pro Bowl voters need to get it right.
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More Hot Stories at larrybrownsports.comThis entry was posted on Wednesday, December 17th, 2008 and is filed under Football. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.
The real question should be: How did Reggie Wayne make the pro bowl over Randy Moss?
Statistically both Welker and Moss deserve it more than Wayne. I guess it would look odd having two receivers from a team with a worse record (not that that stopped the Cardinals from sending both Fitz and Boldin).
Larry,
You make the same argument against Welker that has been made at every level he’s played at. While its true that Moss’ has long stride and more stylistic then Welker, Welker has far better hands. Look at his catch to target %. My question is what if Welker was the number one, drawing double coverage every time and Moss was the possesion receiver would Moss catch as many? Very unlikely, simply because he drops more. Welker has the speed to be a deep threat as well assuming the quarterback can deliver a fantastic pass that isn’t outside his reach. I also believe Welker caught almost 70 passes his last year in Miami with mediocre QBs and wasn’t thrown to nearly as much. Just get tired of hearing the same old argument that everyone around Welker is what makes him great.