The votes have been counted and, baring dropouts and late additions, the Falcons will not be represented in the AFC-NFC Pro Bowl.
Rosters for the league’s annual all-star game were announced Tuesday evening. That’s when word started to spread about the snub which is sure to generate debate given the Falcons run at the playoffs in 2008, solid start in 2009 and chance at a winning record heading into Week 17.
Two players — Roddy White and Michael Turner — went to the Pro Bowl following the 2008 season.
Alternates for the game are not announced by the league. If no Falcons player ends up in the game, it would be just the sixth time in franchise history no ‘Bird’ logo graced the field.
“Unfortunately, we did not have any players selected to go to the Pro Bowl this season,” Head Coach Mike Smith said. “I felt like we had a number of guys who turned in some very good individual performances for us this season, but we did not have anyone selected to represent our team this season.”
Detroit, Tampa Bay and Seattle were the only other NFC teams to be snubbed in Pro Bowl selection.
CLICK HERE FOR PRO BOWL ROSTERS
Pro Bowl spots are decided by a combination of fan, coach and player votes. Tony Gonzalez had the most fan votes among NFC tight ends but will not go to the game, snapping a 10-year streak of all-star appearances by the future Hall of Famer.
White was again among players who, statistically, appeared to have a shot, leading the Falcons with 1,087 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns through 15 games. Gonzalez leads the team with 80 catches, the most in a season by a Falcons tight end.
Also left off the all-star roll is linebacker Curtis Lofton who, in his second year, spent much of the season as the league’s leading tackler (according to NFL.com statistics). He enters the final game of 2009 with a combined 154 tackles (four for loss), two passes defensed and two fumble recoveries.
Jonathan Babineaux’s name was also in the mix. The defensive tackle leads the team with six sacks and also has 52 tackles, two passes defensed, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries. With one game left he’s one tackle from tying his career high in tackles set in 2007.
Linebacker Mike Peterson also figured to get a glance from the league’s coaches and players for his play in his first year with the Falcons.
The 12-year veteran has 137 combined tackles, an interception, a sack, six passes defensed and two forced fumbles this season. His turnovers have led to 16 Falcons points and he’s inching up the list for career tackles among active NFL players (sixth through 15 games).
Injuries clouded the Pro Bowl outlook for quarterback Matt Ryan and Turner.
Turner went to the Pro Bowl after a 1,600-yard season in 2008 but has missed four of the last six games with a nagging ankle injury.
Ryan threw three touchdown pass last week but is still just two games removed from turf toe and a nasty streak of games with at least one interception.
With his recent contribution as a kickoff man and all-around talent, there were rumblings of Kroy Biermann getting some recognition as the NFC’s special team’s contributor. He leads the Falcons with nine special teams tackles and a forced fumble. The second-year defensive end also has five sacks.
So, Falcons fans…
Your thoughts?
40 Comments
WE GOT SCREWED OVER! THIS HAPPENS ALL THE TIME! NO RESPECT FOR THE FALCONS! NEXT YEAR IS OUR TIME!!! HOW IS JASON WITTEN BETTER THAN TONY G? OR MILES STUPID AUSTIN OVER RODDY WHITE? AND CURTIS LOFTON WAS 2ND IN THE NFL IN SACKS!! WE GOT SNUBBED! BIG TIME!
we had a solid statistical season lofton was great tony was great that is so messed up
i think thats bull that no falcons got voted into the pro bowl.
i thought at least gonzalez or lofton at least should have went….
i thought that roddy white would surely go
It is a shame that such players as Todd McClure aren’t selected to the game. His talent as a leader and a player are far beyond those of the ones ” voted” into the Pro Bowl.
I’m not sure what the voters were smoking!!?? It’s gotta be jealousy on the part of the other players. I guess the falcons players will have to come out next year and show everyone what they’re about. Gonzo, White, and Lofton are all having a terrific season.
Tony Gonzalez not on the pro bowl roster!? Really? Maybe later on one of the TE’s will get injured or won’t be able to play and he’ll be the replacement
You would think the stats you listed would match what is listed on NFL.com since that is posted on each players profile page INSIDE of AtlantaFalcons.com??????? Lofton nor Peterson stats match what you listed could be more I stopped there. Can someone get this right?????
this is crap. tony g is 3rd in the league for tightends and curtis lofton leads the nfl in tackles. its obvious the league is against the falcons.
Gonzalez is an obvious snub, but at least Witten’s numbers were comparable.
Curtis Lofton is the biggest snub in the league. I was asolutely shocked that he was not invited to the Pro Bowl. He has played great all year. I hope he does even better next year just to prove he is an elite linebacker. How can anyone have that many tackles and not be an all-star selection??
Keep up the good work Falcons!
I really was upset, after the last home game of this season, most of the players did not want to sign autographs. White,Houston,Abraham,Tony G., the players that children sat out in the cold to get their autographs and didn’t because those selfish a**ed players ignored them. Granted Tony didn’t come out where most players did, he went out a totally different way to avoid the fans period. Houston came out behind the fans with his baby covering his face, I started to bust him but I figured noone wanted his autograph anyway. Abraham walked out like he was Moses and didn’t give one and Tony went out the back way to make sure he wasn’t asked for one
Stop buying their jerseys, they don’t deserve it.
On the other hand, cudos to Norwood(who was most impressive of all),Coleman (who had his beautiful daughter in his arms),Grimes,Clabo,Nicholas,Bierman,Baker,Babineaux,Finneran,Lofton,Weems,McClure,Mughelli and Matty Ice. I would like to thank them all for showing the love and appreciation and sign autographs….I guess what really p’s me off is, there were not many people there waiting and the kid who waited for Whites autograph with an 84 jersey in the cold and was ignored, made me really teary eyed…Glad they didn’t make pro bowl…they are truly not worthy! Stop buying their jerseys!
That was McClure where Mc cut off
The fact that Gonzo got left out of the Pro Bowl (despite winning the popular vote, to my knowledge) is a word worse than a travesty than I can’t think of. It almost is on the level of a hate crime minus the hate crime part.
He’s having a fantastic season. He’s 3rd in the league with 22 3rd down catches for 1st downs, and Jason Witten gets the nod over him?!?! Are you (bad word) kidding me?
I’m tellin ya, Jmike, this makes me want to start a riot. What a joke the pro bowl has become.
pure feces!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I’m on the other side of the planet and even I can see that this is ridiculous. The NFL’s own stats had some of these players at the top tier of their positions.
im amazed no falcons but the players and coaches see it from the field so this year we must have been lacking in talent or effort or both
To Mercedes, for some stupid reason people in this society worship athletes and celebrities and expect them to be good people and at our beck and call. They are just people like you and I STOP asking these people for there autographs. I like Tony Gonzales as a football player but at the end of the day he puts his pants on just like us. Sometimes they don’t want to be bothered just like us. People stop luring your children into the trap of worshipping these people they are football players not gods they don’t deserve your worship.
Ladies and Gentlemen…lets remember our 2008 season when Abraham had 16.5 sacks and didn’t even make the Pro bowl…I’m not surprised that certain players such as Curtis Lofton and Tony Gonzalez were snugged..I’m so sick of us being treated like this…We got to suck this up and start winning more games and turning the playoffs upside down by beating teams to the ground…I’m so sick and tired of saying next year…next year…next…Atlanta Falcons if you are reading this…I want you to go ham on the rest of the NFL next year and play Sunday football as if you you are playing against the entire NFL instead of one team in the NFL……….Dirty Birds LETS GET IT!!!!!!
I, like most of the Fan’s who voted, don’t think anyone on the Falcons defense deserved a spot. What are they 30th against the pass and 20th against the run (before last week). Mike Petrerson and John Abraham are disappointments, the secondary is atrocious, and the fact that Lofton can catch someone from behind , after he gains 5-6 yards, and rack up 154 tackles does not change my opinion. On the offensive side of the ball White and Gonzales were good—but neither were consistent throughout the season.
The only player you could really make a case for is the punter Koenan.
It is one of the most overlooked positions outside of the O line but Ovie should have at least got an honorable mention in the write up. I have heard analysts in several games who mentioned he should be heading to the Pro Bowl.
As much flack as Ovie has received about his paycheck by some they clearly don’t realize his talent and affect on this team.
man, as a true falcons fan, the Falcons get no respect. every accomplishment or goal we set, it seems like it gets overshadowed by one of the more overrated teams. At first i though it was only opposing fans that made this true, but now i see that it is everyone that brodcast football on their stations. we never get recognition for anything. Witten over gonzalez? come on man. I am just so pissed and so tired of the falcons getting did this way. when i first saw our schedule for 2009, i was like wow they really hate us. That said, im confident with the owner, pesident, coach, and players that we have. we will be back next year better and stronger. Kudos to Roddy, Tony, and Curtis. Even though you were snubbed of your spot, you all are still pro bowlers to the true Atlanta fans.
As an Atlanta Falcons FAN, i feel so disrespected so i wonder what the actual players who got snubbed feel like. And Mercedes, if what you are saying is really true, those players should be really ashamed of themselves for being so selfish! That doesnt sound Smitty like at all for them to do that to the fans.
If you look at the players who did make it, you can’t really feel bad that no Falcons made it. Too many players get in on the strength of name and not their actual performance. Can anyone explain why there are Vikings O-line players starting. McKinnie got benched because Peppers lit him up so bad they were worried Favre wouldn’t be able to sustain the beating he was getting. Ray Lewis hasn’t been good for a couple years but annually gets in on his name. There are some clearly correct choices, Chris Johnson, Dallas Clark, Rivers, Andre Johnson and many others but there are many names on the roster who have no business getting a vote much less an actual selection for the game. So while it is frustrating not to get recognition for the players on the Falcons, I take comfort in the fact that much of the lineup is a joke. And comfort in the hope for back to back winning seasons.
WOW!?! I’m stunned! Looks like i won’t be watching the pro bowl this year.
End of the day, the Atlanta Falcons don’t have any true “STAR” appeal. That being said, the Atlanta Falcons go un-noticed to the mass public. Back in the Vick days, Vick was the star, he brought the star appeal and he made non-Falcons fans watch Falcons games. The only way we can make ourselves relevant and start budding stars is to win, Win, WIN!!! We have some up and comers though, Brent Grimes is going to be great… He’s such a ball hawk. Too bad he’s short, but his vertical makes up tremendously for what he lacks in height… We’ve all seen it.
I just read the site’s section “Expert’s Take Falcons and Bucs,” yet there was nothing written about Falcons or Bucs. I come to this site to read about the Falcons, not the other teams that are going to the playoffs. I know this isn’t your article J Mike, but maybe you can tell me why, when we are all sitting here with the pro bowl blues, would the site put up an article with this title and it have nothing to do with the Falcons?
I just read the site’s section “Expert’s Take Falcons and Bucs,” yet there was nothing written about Falcons or Bucs. I come to this site to read about the Falcons, not the other teams that are going to the playoffs. I know this isn’t your article J Mike, but maybe you can tell me why, when we are all sitting here with the pro bowl blues, would the site put up an article with this title and it have nothing to do with the Falcons?
That’s a good question and I understand the confusion. Basically, we try to give a well-rounded look at the NFL in Expert’s Take. This week there’s a lot being said about the playoff picture and this article was filed before Pro Bowl news hit. If it were after, I’m sure there would have been some discussion. Thanks for your support!
Mike Peterson was the emotional leader of the falcons weekend and week out. Look at the turnovers caused that lead to points. When you talk about his on the field performance and his impact on the maturation of defensive teammates I say PRO BOWLER MIKE PETERSON!
the pro bowl is the same every year… only the big names from the big name teams get to go and guys like curtis lofton who had a better season than anyone gets snubbed
I can surely tell you why none of our falcons were voted. It’s because of the B.S. corporate network powerhouse that we call ESPN who gives all the coverage to the West coast and major populated sports cities. They come up with cool catch frases and names for many of the players who are featured in these markets, and the majority of the time it is these players who are in the Pro Bowl. They “Break” a story about any little B.S. that happens in any one of these cities and the audiences only have what they see on tv to base their votes. Only the “die hards” have NFL sunday ticket and can watch every game and actually see who is performing well. Unfortunatley, that is only about 5% of the people who vote. The majority of the fans have to resort to the unprofessional reporting and bias that these networks put out, and it ends up screwing the small market teams like Atlanta and Cincinnatti. How ever they justify it, (yea it brings in the viewers, yea it makes the money and I understand this is the only thing that is important to them) it is always an injustice to us. It is unfortunate where we as Americans would rather see a story about Kobe bryant and Tiger Woods having an affair as opposed to Warrick Dunn(I know hes no longer on our team) buy houses for and help aid families with single moms survive. It’s controversy and we eat it up. So keep it up ESPN. Keep up with your coverage of Dallas and Tony Homo, NYG and Eli Manning, NYJ, New England and Tom Brady, Pittsburgh, and Minnesota and Brett Favre, because while they are worth covering, just remember that there are other teams in the NFL, and until you realize it, we are going to be constantly talking about these Pro Bowl Snubs. Curtis Lofton, Brent Grimes, Harvey Dahl, Tyson Clabo, Todd McClure, Johnathan Babineaux, Erik Coleman, Kroy Biermann, and Ovie Mughelli (not saying all of them deserved to go this year) will never go to the Pro Bowl because nobody outside of the “die hards” knows who they are, and ESPN is out to make sure that it stays that way. But these players do not need a Pro Bowl berth to know their worth to our team. I would go to war with any of the players we have on our team, and we do not need a ridiculous popularity contest to prove that. Keep it up Falcons because we know what your worth!!!
RODDY GOT SCREWED, LOFTON GOT SCREWED, TONY G. GOT SCREWED….. JUST LIKE LAST YR, JOHN ABRAHAM GOT SCREWED AND HE HAD 16 1/2 SACKS…. THEY DONT LOOK AT THE PLAYERS, THEY LOOK AT THE TEAM RECORDS… THERES NO WAY IN HELL, VILMA (SAINTS), IS BETTER THAN CURTIS LOFTON…
THIS IS LOFTON 2ND YR IN THE LEAGUE AND ALREADY AMONG THE TOP LEADERS IN TACKLES BEHIND A GOOD PATRICK WILLIS… ITS BULL**** AND THE NFL KNOWS IT..
I am repeating what you all wrote, the Falcons are not a hot team. I stare in shock when I see people with Falcon attire, I live in Montreal Quebec. But there are fans here, me being one. IT seems the league is against us, but we need to win, as one fan said. Keep winning. Good luck next year, GO Birds!!!!!
It is bowl that Tony did not the pro bowl hats of to Curtis Lofton in his second year at Atlanta’s Line Backer he Truly earned it also it has been a great to have one of the best TE
on the falcon’s team hope he can come back next year to try and snag the SUPER BOWL
The league is definitely full of crap to think that no Falcons players especially Gonzalez, White, and Lofton were not qualified to make the pro bowl team. I am so sorry we have so much hate against our Falcons team. Hope the AFC blow them out of the water at the pro bowl game. Our time is coming!!!!!!!!!!!!!
start winning superbowls and then u get respect
man come onnnn somebody cheated…tony g is the tight end ever…loften is number 2 leading tackler but he is not weel known so thats why he didnt get in the pro bowl
I can’t believe Tony G. did not get chosen. Or Koenen. Others as well were spectacular, but I’m just shocked at Tony G. That has to be some type of grudge against the Falcons because Tony G is a tight end STAR.
I am a ride or die Falcons fan from Statesboro, Ga, and they treat us like under dogs even though the numbers are there. Next year will be the year to QUIET ALL THE HATERS !!!!!!!!!!!! PROBOWLS COOL BUT THE SUPERBOWL IS BETTER. LMAO
To think that none of the Falcons players aren’t good enough to be in the Pro-Bowl is complete bull because they have multiple players that have the stats that would place them over the top. But I guess in order to make the Pro-Bowl you have to have a certain level of popularity, and it seems a little childish that the selection for the Pro-Bowl has turned into a popularity contest rather than people voting on whoever gets talked about more on ESPN. For example Jason Witten(1 TD) over Tony Gonzalez(6 TDs), Johnathan Vilma (87 tackles) over Curtis Lofton(154 tackles), i mean come on stats speak for themselves. But then again its not the Pro-Bowl anymore, its the Popularity-Bowl, and everyone knows that. So until the year comes where the voters sit down and actually evaluate the individual performances of players that DESERVE recognition and make a dicision based on the players individual efforts to better the TEAM (things like being an overall leader on the Team, and who has made clutch plays consistently throughout the season, and individual stats) the Popularity-Bowl’s voting process will continue to be NFL staff members sitting down eating chips and wathing ESPN, and NFL Network trying to tally whoes names were said the most…
2 Trackbacks
[...] Falcons Left Off Pro Bowl List [...]
[...] Falcons Left Off Pro Bowl List [...]