Pro Bowl voting will end next week. And since fans can vote as many times as they like, you should be voting as often as possible.
Many Raider fans will simply vote for all the Raider players on the ballot. But for those who are looking for the players that have actually earned a Pro Bowl invite, here are a few suggestions.
Darren McFadden
He is fourth in the NFL in yards per carry and seventh in AFC in yards at 993. He is also fourth in AFC in receiving yards among runningbacks, fifth in total yards and tied for fourth in total touchdowns with ten. All this despite missing two games to injury and gaining just 16 total rushing yards in weeks 11 and 12.
Shane Lechler
He leads the AFC in punt average among punters with over 50 punts. The only punter with a better punt average is the Chargers’ Mike Scifres but Lechler destroys him in net average, 40.5 to 29.6. That’s distance AND hangtime. And one doesn’t mean much without the other.
Zach Miller
Among AFC tight ends, he is second in yards per game, fifth in receiving yards, seventh in receptions (42), second in AFC in catches over 20 yards (10), third in first downs. He is also second in yards per catch and third in first down percentage (69%) among tight ends with at least 40 catches. You get to vote for two and the only tight end better is Antonio Gates.
Tommy Kelly
He has more sacks than any other defensive tackle in the AFC (6.5). He ranks ninth among AFC defensive linemen in tackles (47). And among those defensive lineman ahead of him in tackles, none have as many sacks.
Richard Seymour
He is second in AFC in sacks among DT (5.5), right behind his teammate Tommy Kelly. He is also 11th in AFC among defensive linemen in tackles (46). Seymour’s contribution is measured mostly by his leadership and his dominance. Teams focus on trying to keep him out of the backfield and they run away from him, yet he still has a good number of tackles and sacks.
Nnamdi Asomugha
As usual he doesn’t really have any stats to show for his efforts, which just shows you how good he is because they rarely ever throw to his receiver. His only bad game this season, he was hobbled by an ankle injury.
Marcel Reece
This season has been beyond a breakout season for Reece. He wasn’t even on the team last season. Now he is widely recognized as a potent weapon and matchup problem for any opposing defense. As a fullback he performs his blocking duties quite well. But he also carries the ball, takes dumpoffs out of the backfield, and lines up split out wide. The former wide receiver has the hands and speed of a wide out with the body of a tight end. These physical attributes make his statistical numbers better than most fullbacks but he blocks behind an often questionable offensive line while helping Darren McFadden become the Raiders’ first 1000 yard rusher since 2007.
Jacoby Ford (as kick returner)
He has the most kick return touchdowns in the AFC (two) and he had one other kick return of over 40 yards. That puts him second in AFC in returns over 40 yards. He is also eighth in AFC in returns over 20 yards.
An additional tip if you would like to up the odds that your chosen Raiders get in would be not to vote for other candidates at the same position. For instance, it will let you vote for up to three players at runningback but if you would like Darren McFadden to be chosen, only choose him and then move on. No need to vote for someone else as well just to fill out the three votes you have. Those other players might end up getting chosen over McFadden and therefore you unintentionally helped prevent him from getting voted in. Reserve your votes for players on other teams at positions you don’t feel a Raider is worthy of being chosen.
As I said, voting ends next week so if you want to have a say then you better get out and vote for the players you think are deserving. To head over to the Pro Bowl ballot, Click Here.
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