Martin Mayhew might be biased, but he also has a good idea.
And it’s a good idea, of course, because we agree with it.
The Lions General Manager, upset with star linebacker DeAndre Levy being snubbed by the Pro Bowl voters, wants to change the way the all-star team is picked.
Mayhew mentioned Levy and Buccaneers linebacker Lavonte David struggling to get recognition because the Pro Bowl outside linebacker spots are taken up by 3-4 outside linebackers with gaudy sack totals. Panthers linebacker Thomas Davis falls under the same category, having played excellent football and never making it to Hawaii (or Miami or Arizona).
“I’m on the GM advisory committee, I’m going to make a recommendation that we elect a Pro Bowl team with a 3-4 defense and a Pro Bowl team with a 4-3 defense,” Mayhew said, via Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. “You see guys like DeAndre and like Lavonte David that don’t really get the credit they deserve and get an opportunity to be Pro Bowlers because in the 3-4 these guys have so many sacks.
“A lot of fans are voting for guys with sacks, but there’s some 4-3 outside linebackers who are outstanding players and I think they should be recognized as such.”
Five of the six outside linebackers picked – Justin Houston, Von Miller, Elvis Dumervil, Clay Matthews and Connor Barwin – are in the top 12 of the league in sacks, and Tamba Hali has traditionally been up there.
Mayhew is right — and not just because he agrees with us.
There are other things to fix with the Pro Bowl, of course, but this is definitely something that deserves more discussion.