LT Joe Thomas Only Browns Player Elected to Start in the 2011 Pro Bowl
He hasn’t missed a snap since joining the Browns in 2007, and he hasn’t missed a Pro Bowl either. For the fourth time in his four years in the league, left tackle Joe Thomas has been named to the Pro Bowl. He was named as a starter and, much to the dismay of Browns fans, is the only the Browns player who will be starting in the game.
Running back Peyton Hillis was well on his way to locking up a spot on the Pro Bowl roster, but he hasn’t scored a touchdown in four weeks and his rushing yards are lacking behind the three AFC Pro Bowl running backs. However, when you combine rushing and receiving yards in addition to touchdowns, Hillis makes a strong case for the Pro Bowl roster:
Peyton Hillis: 1,638 total yards, 13 total touchdowns
2010 AFC Pro Bowl Running Backs
Maurice Jones-Drew: 1,641 total yards, 7 total touchdowns
Arian Foster: 2,030 total yards, 16 total touchdowns
Jamaal Charles: 1,835 total yards, 7 total touchdowns
It’s a pretty strong resume for Hillis, but the Browns’ record (and recent play) certainly didn’t help his cause. Hills was, however, named as a second alternate, along with Eric Steinbach and Alex Mack.
Josh Cribbs, Ray Ventrone, and Lawrence Vickers were named third alternates while rookie cornerback Joe Haden was named a fourth alternate.
As the snooze-fest that is the Pro Bowl nears, more and more players will drop out for one reason or another, so it’s likely that we will see at least a couple more Browns make it onto the roster. Major congratulations go out to Joe Thomas, though, for not knowing an off-season without a Pro Bowl nomination.