Chicago Bears defensive tackle Stephen Paea is having the best season of his career, and he feels he is not getting the recognition he deserves.
On Tuesday, the 86 players who made the Pro Bowl were announced. Paea didn’t make the cut, nor has he been named as an alternate for the all-star game. The 26-year-old is not pleased.
It's funny how a NT with 6 sacks (that gets double-teamed every other play) don't make it to Pro Bowl. Not even Alternates.
— Stephen Paea (@PAEA92) December 24, 2014
Paea has six sacks, two forced fumbles and 30 tackles in 15 games this season. Here are the six players who were elected to the Pro Bowl as interior defensive linemen:
Marcell Dareus — 10 sacks, one forced fumble, 48 tackles
Aaron Donald — 8.0 sacks, one forced fumble, 39 tackles
Gerald McCoy — 8.5 sacks, one forced fumble, 35 tackles
Dontari Poe — 5.0 sacks, no forced fumbles, 43 tackles
Ndamukong Suh — 8.5 sacks, no forced fumbles, 46 tackles
Kyle Williams — 5.5 sacks, no forced fumbles, 40 tackles
The statistics will tell you that Paea should have been right in the mix and probably could have been named an alternate. His numbers are very similar to most of the aforementioned players.
The biggest snub had to have been Odell Beckham Jr., who is an alternate and obviously did not make the cut because he missed the first four games of the season. In just 11 games, Beckham has 1,120 receiving yards and is tied for fourth-most in the NFL with 11 receiving touchdowns. He also happened to make one of the greatest catches you will every see in your life.
Beckham could have easily made the cut over AJ Green (959 yards, 6 TDs) or Calvin Johnson (1,038 yards, 6 TDs).
