Pro Bowl Watch: Panthers Earning Respect?

NFL.com released a list of Pro Bowl ballots by their writers, and there are a surprising (to me, anyway) number of Panthers making appearances.

Here's the full list.

Of the five ballots cast by their writers, I'll list each Panther who makes an appearance, and the number of ballots on which they appear:

• DeAngelo Williams (1)
• Brad Hoover (1)
• Steve Smith (2)
• Jordan Gross (3)
• Travelle Wharton (1)
• Ryan Kalil (1)
• Julius Peppers (4)
• Jon Beason (2)
• Ken Lucas (1)
• Chris Gamble (1)
• Richard Marshall (1)

Winning sure does put peoples eyes on you, even if you're not on national broadcasts.

The biggest misses by the writers, from a Panther perspective, are at RB, WR, ILB and K.

Only one mention of DeAngelo, with Portis and Jacobs splitting the rest. AP and The Burner are locks. We've already had a whole post on this, so I won't belabor the point.

But to only have two votes for Smitty is silly. Sure, there's tough competition there, with the Arizona pair, Roddy White, Greg Jennings and Calvin Johnson all vying for four spots. I think Roddy White's presence is mandatory, but everyone's putting both Arizona receivers in, which I think is ridiculous. I don't have a single thing bad to say about either receiver, but look at the system they're in and tell me that they're more deserving than Calvin Johnson and Steve Smith, guys who are the only arial threats their teams have.

Jon Beason, based on his rookie year and this year should be a lock for one of the two ILB spots, but he's only on two ballots. Yes, both Barrett Rudd and London Fletcher had good seasons. But can't we all agree now that these two roster spots should, for the next ten years, go to Patrick Willis and Jon Beason? They are the class of the NFC ILB position. Let's just etch this one in stone and stop worrying about it.

As for John Kasay, I can't see how anyone could deserve the spot more than Kasay. Perfect on the year except for a 58-yarder. I mean, sure, Matt Bryant went through an unfathomable, emotional loss and still performed when it mattered most, and perhaps he deserves the trip for his fortitude. I'd be fine with that. But Robbie Gould (23/26, long of 48)? John Carney (29/31, long of 48)? Ryan freakin' Longwell (26/31)?!? A guy who misses five field goals should go to the Pro Bowl? Gah!

Okay, I'll stop my complaining now, and move on to the interesting bits beyond that stuff.

Jordan Gross looks like he'll finally make a trip to Hawaii, oddly on what I would say has not been his best year. Of course, it's also happening just as we're removing the franchise tag. Ick. That might spell trouble for the team, but I am glad he's being recognized for his talent.

The most interesting omission is Jared Allen, making only one appearance, while Justin Tuck, John Abraham and JPep get all the rest. I think that's completely fair, since those three guys are all complete players who do fantastic against the run and the pass, and Allen's more limited in his all-around game. But for the last three or four years, it's been my secret dream to have John Abraham and Julius Peppers lining up alongside one another. It looks like that's going to happen this year.

I look forward to hearing everyone else's opinions.