It doesn't take a genius to know that not a lot of Panthers will be named to the Pro Bowl this year, but even that knowledge wont prepare you for the mind-numbing stupidity of voting as its currently trending.
Turning an All Star game into a popularity contest is bad enough, especially in an era where a single motivated message board can destroy any semblance of normalized rankings -- but when it comes to good players like Greg Olsen getting left out in the cold it's proof the system has failed.
#Panthers' Greg Olsen is 5th among TEs in Pro Bowl balloting. 4 will go. Cam Newton and Thomas Davis not in top 10 at their positions.
— Joe Person (@josephperson) November 26, 2014
Olsen is currently second in the NFL in receiving yards by a tight end, and 93 behind Rob Gronkowski in first place. His five receiving touchdowns does push him back to 8th place in the league, but still keeps him tied for third in the NFC.
And yet this puts in him 5th place.
Sure we can make the argument that Jimmy Graham's four more touchdowns are more valuable than Olsen's 49 extra receiving yards -- and obviously Gronk is the best in the NFL. Julius Thomas should be in the conversation for the best in the league, depending on how much you value touchdowns.
So who's No.4? That's a trick question, there shouldn't be one. It should be Olsen and it shouldn't be close. But the Panthers suck, and here we are.
In addition to Kuechly and Olsen, only other #Panthers in top 10 in Pro Bowl voting are C Ryan Kalil (7th) and CB Antoine Cason (8th).
— Joe Person (@josephperson) November 26, 2014
Antoine Cason is in 8th place? I give up.