The Pro Bowl ballot does not include long snappers, because, really, who can identify the NFL’s best long snappers? But someone has to long snap in the Pro Bowl, so the coaching staffs of the AFC and NFC teams each choose a long snapper. And today came the news that the Pro Bowl long snappers will be Miami’s John Denney for the AFC and Detroit’s Don Muhlbach for the NFC.
Denney was chosen by John Fox and the Broncos’ staff, while Muhlbach was chosen by Mike McCarthy and the Packers’ staff. The Pro Bowl coaching staffs in each conference are the higher seeds of the divisional-round losers, so this year that’s the No. 1 seed Broncos in the AFC and the No. 3 seed Packers in the NFC.
Denney has been with the Dolphins since 2005 and was previously selected to the Pro Bowl in 2010. Muhlbach has been with the Lions since 2004 and has never been to the Pro Bowl before.
More than any other position in the NFL, long snappers tend to get noticed only when they do something wrong. Today we congratulate Denney and Muhlbach for doing something right.