Happy Festivus (and some NBA talk): While We’re Waiting…
December 23, 2015Browns fans in Seattle: The Secret Society
December 23, 2015Browns linemen and perennial fan favorites Joe Thomas and Alex Mack are heading back to the Pro Bowl in 2016. An announcement on Tuesday named the left tackle and center to the NFL’s All-Star roster, with tight end Gary Barnidge, wide receiver Travis Benjamin and special teamer Johnson Bademosi selected as alternates.
Thomas’ selection is his ninth in as many NFL seasons, tying the franchise record for Pro Bowl appearances alongside Browns legends Jim Brown (1957-65) and Lou Groza (1950-55, 1957-59). Last season, Thomas became the first offensive lineman in NFL history to be chosen for the Pro Bowl in each of his first eight seasons. Now, he joins an exclusive list of NFL standouts at any position who began their careers with nine or more consecutive Pro Bowl appearances.
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“Jim Brown and Lou Groza are two of the greatest Browns of all time and the list of players who have been selected to the Pro Bowl their first nine seasons is a who’s who of NFL history,” Thomas said, per an announcement from the team. “The neat thing about that list is that it spans many generations. To be included with names like those is pretty special and very humbling.”
Mack, who scored a touchdown in 2011’s Pro Bowl, becomes the first center in Browns history to be selected for three All-Star appearances. After spending 11 weeks of the 2014 season on injured reserve, Mack has started and played every offensive snap in all 14 games this season.
“It’s an honor to be voted to this year’s Pro Bowl, especially coming off of a season where I had to watch from the sidelines for the first time,” Mack said. “It was a lot of work during the offseason to come back from injury, but it was all worth it to be back on the field with my teammates. As a lineman, you depend on the man next to you, and I owe a lot of this honor to my teammates and coaches. Unfortunately, we haven’t had the success that we wanted this year, but I look forward to representing Cleveland and the Browns in Hawaii.”
The 2016 Pro Bowl will be played on Sunday, January 31 and televised live on ESPN from Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii. Players will be assigned to their teams through the Pro Bowl Draft, which is scheduled to air on ESPN2 on Wednesday, January 27.
9 Comments
I hope they let Bademosi play CB. That’s his natural position, clearly.
I suppose this means Pettine will be starting Bademosi at CB forever.
So are they looking to set a Pro Bowl record for most sacks given up or for smallest running lanes?
Thank you. Can someone please explain to me how the line can be so bad with those 2 being supposedly so good?
I’ve been wondering that for a while now. Greco was supposed to be good, too, right? Is it a personnel acquisition vs. scheme thing?
Are they overrated? Mack going down last year seemed to really hurt (along with Gordon returning).
I think the Pro Bowl selection for football is a joke.
Benjamin and Barnidge earned it, but that offensive line almost got all the QBs killed at one point or another.
JoeT is still the best LT in the game. He shuts down his counterpart every week. Schwartz has actually been really good this year too on the other side.
But, Bitonio took a step back (then got hurt), Greco is really a backup OG, and there is only so much Mack can do (and I’d say he got put on by name recognition this year).
Good luck running inside without push from the OG, good luck running outside when your WRs are 5’7″.
I am SHOCKED Mack got a pro-bowl election. Doesn’t make sense. He has not played well this year. I think Thomas deserves it, but I also think he is the only half way decent guy on our OL. I do think Schwartz has improved, and worth keeping. There is hope for Bitonio. Mack said yesterday winning is important when considering whether or not he will be back, and there is an NFL.com article on it. Since he is a “false” pro-bowl election, this will make him demand more money. I am unsure if he is worth keeping, with Farmer drafting Irving as his replacement, if Farmer is doing the draft again, the Browns franchise is in real trouble… as if they are not already…
electing Thomas is a Joke,may as well elect hadden also