Now that we are about halfway through the regular season, it is time to start considering which players are deserving of the Pro Bowl. For this series, we will look at the three most deserving candidates for each team. Obviously, some teams will have more or less than three players selected to the Pro Bowl, but for simplicity purposes, we will discuss the top three either way.
Top Midseason Pro Bowl Candidates: Green Bay Packers
The Packers have suffered a boatload of damaging injuries this season. Their biggest setback was losing Jordy Nelson for the year with a preseason ACL tear. A nagging shoulder has slowed Randall Cobb. Currently Bryan Bulaga, James Jones, and Eddie Lacey are offensive standouts battling the injury bug. Clay Matthews is trying to shake an ankle injury. Despite their struggles to put their best players on the field the Packers surged to 6-0 before losing to two of the NFL’s best defensive teams in undefeated Denver and Carolina. At midseason, the Packers still have Aaron Rodgers and a clear shot at the NFC Central title.
Aaron Rodgers
Rodgers is once again putting up huge numbers despite losing his favorite target in Jordy Nelson. He is fourth among the NFL’s top quarterbacks in QB rating with a 108.2. Tom Brady, Andy Dalton, and Carson Palmer are the three ahead of him. He has thrown for 1,937 yards with 19 touchdowns and only three interceptions. Considering his age, and his hampered wide receiving corps, Rodgers still might be the best quarterback in the NFL. Tom Brady has an argument, but Rodgers’ career quarterback rating is 106.2 – number one all-time.
Randall Cobb
There is an argument to be made that James Jones has actually outperformed Cobb at wide receiver this season. Jones leads the Packers with 483 receiving yards, and Cobb is right behind with 476. However, for the Pro Bowl consideration purposes look for Cobb to solidify his role as Rodgers’ go-to guy down the stretch. Right now Cobb has only 40 receptions, but with improved heath that pace will increase significantly.
Clay Matthews
Midway through last season Packers’ defensive coordinator Dom Capers moved Matthews from outside to inside linebacker. Their defense improved significantly. In early October of this season Capers commented on the move for Matthews and the team:
“Your goal is to try to get your best 11 football players on the field. Obviously, we had more depth at outside linebacker than we did at inside linebacker,” Capers said. “He’s a unique guy. I’ve always felt he’d be a Pro Bowl inside or Pro Bowl outside linebacker. Our job is to figure out what it’s going to take to win a game.”
Matthews has posted only 4.5 sacks this season, but he is willing to sacrifice his individual stats for the Packers’ defensive improvement. His ability to disrupt from sideline to sideline has freed up space for players like nose tackle B.J. Raji and outside linebacker Julius Peppers.
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