Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman earned Pro Bowl honors on Tuesday, but that doesn’t mean he was happy about the announcement.
Sherman was one of five Seahawks named to the 2014 Pro Bowl squad, but when asked earlier in the day what might upset him about the Pro Bowl announcement coming that night, he said, “If we only have five players named again.”
Sherman, safeties Earl Thomas and Kam Chancellor, running back Marshawn Lynch and linebacker Bobby Wagner were all named to the Pro Bowl roster, meaning the Seahawks will have at least five Pro Bowlers for the fourth consecutive year, but many other potentially deserving players were left off, most notably quarterback Russell Wilson.
Thomas earns Pro Bowl honors for the fourth straight season, while Sherman gets his second nod, Chancellor gets his third and Lynch his fifth. It’s the first Pro Bowl selection for Wagner, who has been one of Seattle’s best players this season, but who also missed five games with a toe injury, putting his chances in doubt despite being one of the best linebackers in the league this season.
The Seahawks also had five players named Pro Bowl alternates: Wilson, left tackle Russell Okung, center Max Unger, defensive end Michael Bennett and kicker Steven Hauschka.
That Wilson, Bennett and others weren’t named to the team outright—they still could be selected if somebody bows out because of an injury, and that happens a lot—will bug Sherman as much as it does a lot of fans.
“It’s kind of frustrating, because you sometimes feel like your teammates are getting punished for being on a good team,” Sherman said, “Your linebackers are getting punished for not having a D-line that allows them to make 130, 140 tackles. Your D-line is being punished because everybody is not going to get 10 sacks or one guy is not going to get 14, 15 sacks—that’s difficult to get on a team like this. You just feel for guys. In the secondary, I think we get the acclaim a lot of times, Legion of Boom, and they respect our games. I think it’s well deserved, a lot of people say it’s well deserved. I think the rest of our defense recognition would be well deserved. I think Mike Bennett should be in the Pro Bowl this year, I think Bobby Wagner should be in the Pro Bowl, K.J. Wright should be in the Pro Bowl and a number of members of our secondary. Obviously, Marshawn and Russell, but unfortunately, I’m not sure it’s going to go like that.”
Sherman will, however, be happy that Wagner is a first-time Pro Bowler after campaigning for the middle linebacker frequently in press conference throughout the season.
And of course in the end the Seahawks, and every other playoff team, hope that none of their players actually play in the game since it takes place the weekend before the Super Bowl, meaning players on the two Super Bowl teams don’t participate in the Pro Bowl.
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