In a little over a week Pro Bowl voting will be closed and, inevitably, players will make it based on their reputation or popularity and not by how well they played this season. That shouldn’t stop us from trying to vote in those deserving players.
Throughout the season we’ve done some Pro Bowl Cheat Sheets to help you out. This week the 32 Observations series will join in the fight, letting you know one of the more deserving player on each team that could be voted to their first Pro Bowl along with something you didn’t know about them.
AFC East
Buffalo Bills: Defensive tackle Marcell Dareus has 44 stops on the season which is the fifth most for a defensive tackle since 2008. It would take seven more in these last two games for him to take the title.
Miami Dolphins: On intermediate passes(from 11-20 yards in the air), quarterback Ryan Tannehill has an Accuracy Percentage of 67.8%, which is fourth-best among quarterbacks with at least 100 intermediate attempts.
New England Patriots: Defensive end Rob Ninkovich has a +22.8 run defense grade this season, which is the highest for a 4-3 defensive end since Terrell Suggs in 2008.
New York Jets: Defensive end Sheldon Richardson has a Run Stop Percentage of 10.8% which the highest a starting rookie defensive end has had in the last six years.
AFC North
Baltimore Ravens: Since being traded to the Ravens, Eugene Monroe has a Pass Blocking Efficiency of 96.3, which is the fifth best for all tackles.
Cincinnati Bengals: Running back Giovani Bernard has seen 90 of his 144 carries go for 3 or more yards. That rate of 62.5% is second among running backs with at least 100 carries.
Cleveland Browns: Safety T.J. Ward leads all safeties in run stops at 28, while the next most is 21.
Pittsburgh Steelers: Left guard Ramon Foster has a Pass Blocking Efficiency of 97.7 which is fourth-best among all guards. He has not allowed a sack in his last eight games.
AFC South
Houston Texans: Right guard Brandon Brooks has a run block rating of +14.3, which is tied for the best among all right guards.
Indianapolis Colts: Ignoring a rough two-game stretch after the Colts bye week, Vontae Davis has been allowing 9.0 yards per catch, which is better than any another cornerback with at least 600 snaps.
Jacksonville Jaguars: Cornerback Alan Ball is one of just four cornerbacks with 12 or more passes defended and one or fewer touchdowns allowed.
Tennessee Titans: Defensive tackle Jurrell Casey leads all defensive tackles in sacks at 11, and his Pass Rushing Productivity of 9.4 is third best among defensive/nose tackles.
AFC West
Denver Broncos: Right guard Louis Vasquez has the best Pass Blocking Efficiency of all right guards at 98.6.
Kansas City Chiefs: Fullback Anthony Sherman leads all fullbacks with a blocking grade of +14.0.
Oakland Raiders: Outside linebacker Kevin Burnett has 28 run stops, which is the fifth most for all 4-3 outside linebackers.
San Diego Chargers: Wide Receiver Keenan Allen has just dropped three of his 66 catachable passes. His Drop Rate of 4.55 is fourth lowest in the league.
NFC East
Dallas Cowboys: Running back DeMarco Murray has an average of 2.7 yards after contact per carry which is ranked fifth for backs with at least 100 carries.
New York Giants: Safety Will Hill has just missed one tackle in the pass game which has helped lead to his Tackle Efficiency of 31.0 which is third best for safeties.
Philadelphia Eagles: Left guard Evan Mathis has had a positive overall grade in 45 consecutive games. The next most for a guard is 13.
Washington Redskins: Tight end Jordan Reed has a Yards Per Route Run of 2.19 which is fourth best in the league.
NFC North
Chicago Bears: Wide receiver Alshon Jeffery has caught 12 deep passes for 482 yards and four touchdowns. The yards total is third-highest in the league.
Detroit Lions: Guard Larry Warford has the most pass blocking snaps (587) of all guards who have yet to allow a sack.
Green Bay Packers: Wide receiver Jordy Nelson has 11.1 yards per target which is third highest in the league among those with 70 or more targets.
Minnesota Vikings: Defensive end Brian Robison has 80 total pressures on the season which is the second most for any player regardless of position.
NFC South
Atlanta Falcons: Cornerback Desmond Trufant has 13 passes defended on the season which is tied for the most in the league.
Carolina Panthers: Defensive end Greg Hardy is one of just three 4-3 defensive ends with a rating better than +8.0 in both run defense and pass rushing.
New Orleans Saints: Defensive end Cameron Jordan leads all 3-4 defensive ends in sacks at 12, and his Pass Rushing Productivity of 11.3 is third at the position.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Offensive tackle Demar Dotson has allowed just six combined sacks and hits, which is tied for the second fewest amongst right tackles.
NFC West
Arizona Cardinals: From 2008-2012, the only 3-4 defensive ends with 60 or more pressures in a season were Justin Smith and J.J. Watt. This year Calais Campbell joins them.
St. Louis Rams: Defensive end Robert Quinn has a Tackling Efficiency of 20.5, which is the fourth best for all 4-3 defensive ends with at least 20 tackles.
San Francisco 49ers: If cornerback Tramaine Brock hadn’t allowed that 75-yard catch to Larry Fitzgerald in Week 6, he would be leading all cornerbacks who have been targeted at least 50 times in yards after the catch average at 2.5. In his last six games he has allowed just 13 total YAC on 15 catches allowed.
Seattle Seahawks: Cornerback Richard Sherman has the second lowest Yards Per Coverage Snap allowed for those with at least 475 coverage snaps at 0.94. He also leads all cornerbacks in interceptions at six.
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