Bills have no Pro Bowlers, which they call “embarrassing” and “BS”

Getty Images

The Bills were, along with the Raiders and Buccaneers, the only teams without a Pro Bowler. Some in Buffalo aren’t happy about that.

Bills kicker Stephen Hauschka thought the snubs reflected badly on the team.

“Nobody made the Pro Bowl?” Hauschka said, via NewYorkUpstate.com. “That’s embarrassing.”

The Bills’ offense and special teams are among the worst in the NFL, but their defense is among the best: They’re first in the NFL in passing yards allowed, second in total yards allowed, third in yards per play allowed and fourth in first downs allowed. Surely someone should have made the Pro Bowl off that defense?

“I think it’s BS, to be honest. If you look at the production that our guys have had and the numbers. As a whole, our defense has played phenomenal and it’s one of the top-ranked defenses in the league,” wide receiver Zay Jones said. “I know that Kyle [Williams] and Jerry [Hughes] were alternates, and not to say that that’s anything to look down on, but to have guys not be in the Pro Bowl, I think is crap. In my personal opinion Tre'Davious White should be in the conversation, Jerry should be in the conversation, Kyle and Lorenzo [Alexander] should definitely both be Pro Bowlers. Jordan Poyer – I know Micah Hyde was previously. It’s frustrating because I see the work these guys put in day in and day out and to get snubbed like that, I don’t agree with that at all.”

The Bills got off to such an ugly start this season that a lot of people haven’t noticed that they’re actually playing reasonably well since getting rid of Nathan Peterman: They’ve won three of their last five games, one started by Matt Barkley and four started by Josh Allen. When they have a competent quarterback, their defense is good enough for them to be competitive. Unfortunately, by the time they got a competent quarterback, Pro Bowl voters weren’t paying attention.

49 responses to “Bills have no Pro Bowlers, which they call “embarrassing” and “BS”

  1. Maybe if the team had that kind of anger and fight in them they wouldn’t be 5-9. It’s the Pro Bowl. Settle down and focus on actually winning games that count.

  2. The problem with these “Player X got snubbed for Pro Bowl” articles is that they don’t make a case for who SHOULD NOT have been voted in or who they should replace. Yes, Player X might be having a great year, but that usually ignores the fact that Player Y just happens to have a slightly better year.

  3. Vince Young, Derek Anderson and Kerry Collins were pro bowlers.

    I don’t think the Bills are missing much by having no players there.

  4. donterrelli says:
    December 20, 2018 at 9:40 am
    It’s more just a popularity contest more than anything now.

    Totally. Not sure why anyone gets fired up about this. Half the guys don’t even show up.

  5. You should be more embarrassed about your record. Most fans couldn’t care less about hiow many Pro Bowlers their team has, especially since most don’t even watch that game. As a Bucs fan I’m more embarrassed about 5-9 over 0 Pro Bowlers which is well deserved btw.

  6. What does “in the conversation” even really mean? Hauschka said Tre’Davious White and Jerry Hughes should be in the conversation being Pro Bowlers. How would that “conversation” go?

    NFL exec #1: “Hmm…you know Buffalo’s Tre’Davious White is having a good season. I think we should nominate him to the team.”

    NFL exec #2: “Yeah, but Xavien Howard, Denzel Ward, Jalen Ramsey, and Stephon Gilmore have all been better.”

    NFL exec #1: “True. Oh well, at least we talked about Tre’Davious. Case closed.”

  7. Relax. The Patriots only had 2 selected and they are 9-5 and destined to win the division for the 17th time in 19 years (the other two years losing on tiebreakers).

  8. Even though the Pro Bowl is a joke, at least it’s a bit more of a meritocracy than say the MLB All-Star game where every team sends someone (anyone!!). That’s pro sports version of a participation trophy, right there.

  9. As a whole, our defense has played phenomenal and it’s one of the top-ranked defenses in the league

    ——————————————–

    That’s the key, as whole they’re a good defense. They do have some good players who are statistically around top 10 at the their positions but unless your top 5 or better it’s not guaranteed because it becomes a popularity contest.

  10. Hmm, they may have a point. Hear me out. I watched that Bills vs Texans game earlier this season, and the Bills outplayed the Texans all game. Nathan Peterman’s two late interceptions cost the Bills that game. It just so happens that the Texans used that game to springboard their run. But Buffalo was in the Bills’ backfield all game long. It’s just hard to keep that up when the offensive side isn’t up to snuff; eventually you get worn down.

  11. Just wait: By the time the Pro Bowl is played the Bills, Bucs and Raiders will all have guys in the game but at least 3 teams who initially did have players picked will end up without anybody due to dropouts.

  12. conormacleod says:
    December 20, 2018 at 9:10 am
    Maybe if the team had that kind of anger and fight in them they wouldn’t be 5-9. It’s the Pro Bowl. Settle down and focus on actually winning games that count.
    _______
    Most of the responsibility for the team starting 5-9 falls squarely on the coach and front office. They thought it was a great idea to start the season with a rookie QB and Nathan Peterman. How in the world is the team suppose to overcome that? Cleveland also started poorly due more to inept coaching decisions then front office decisions and they righted the ship with firings and trades. Oakland was just a mess and most of the blame i put on the coach and owner.

  13. itsalwaysabout says:
    December 20, 2018 at 9:45 am
    I’m not sure Brady or Gilmore belong on that team this year. pats fan, just sayin
    ——-
    Gilmore has been really good this year and deserves. I’d be fine if Brady didn’t get the nod but like someone said above, who do you put in his place? Not Den, Raiders, BAL, CINN, CLE, MIA, BUF, NYJ, TEN or JAX. Perhaps a case for Big Ben, Luck or Watson would be fine with me. They’re all in the same basket to me with Mahomes and Rivers playing

  14. It is a popularity contest. If you are on a bad team, you have no hope of getting on.
    There are several players not in the Pro Bowl who should have been.

  15. Notice how bad teams have good defenses and most of the top teams have bad defenses…

    Well, it’s because the bad teams can’t score are getting stomped on and the winning teams play a base offense to kill the clock. It’s not because the bad team is some juggernaut of a defense.

    On the flip side, top teams give up points because they’re up so much and play prevent defense most of the game.

  16. Yeah, they just sunk so early that it was hard to get attention. They were eliminated by Week 4 in most people’s minds.

    I have a couple Bills fans friends and I tell them they should be happy with this season overall though. The team has kept fighting, they have a young starting QB who right now is at least viable and for later has a lot of upside, and the defense is excellent.

    My Redskins have been in playoff contention (at least mathematically) all year but their offense is really no better than the Bills, their defense is definitely worse than the Bills, and frankly the Bills are probably in better shape heading into next year. That Peterman/Anderson stretch really killed em.

  17. gscott104 says: “the MLB All-Star game where every team sends someone (anyone!!). That’s pro sports version of a participation trophy, right there.”
    ================

    The MLB recognizes the All-Star game as a tv revenue generator. If you exclude players from some teams, you can pretty much say bye-bye to those tv viewing markets.

  18. annes22 says: “It is a popularity contest. If you are on a bad team, you have no hope of getting on.”
    ====================

    The following ‘bad’ teams have two Pro-Bowlers (same as the 9-5 Patriots):
    – Browns, Falcons, 49ers

    The Giants, Jets and Titans have 3 each.

  19. akira1971 says:

    December 20, 2018 at 11:44 am

    annes22 says: “It is a popularity contest. If you are on a bad team, you have no hope of getting on.”
    ====================

    The following ‘bad’ teams have two Pro-Bowlers (same as the 9-5 Patriots):
    – Browns, Falcons, 49ers

    The Giants, Jets and Titans have 3 each.

    ====================

    The Titans are 8-6 with a very winnable game Saturday to make them 9-6. I don’t consider that a bad team.

  20. Good defense as a whole.. Yes that is true but the Pro bowl is not as a whole it is the individual. Nobody on that defense is good enough to beat out better players elsewhere. So who should have been replaced? There are better players at all defensive positions who did not make it that are better than the players on the Bills who did not make it. I would say most were down a couple of guys before they would have had a shot. You are what you are.

  21. Well they did release their pro bowl receivers: Benjamin (gave up 2 picks) and Coleman (gave up another pick). Maybe it could of been McCoy (often injured this year). Or perhaps Josh Allen. Or maybe somebody on that stout defense.

  22. The record plays a big difference no matter what people say. Look at the Bears… last year, zero representation, this year 5 starters plus more than a half dozen alternates. And just about every Bears player honored this year (with the obvious exception of Kahlil Mack) was on the team that got shut out last year as well.

  23. December 20, 2018 at 12:05 pm
    akira1971 says:

    December 20, 2018 at 11:44 am

    annes22 says: “It is a popularity contest. If you are on a bad team, you have no hope of getting on.”
    ====================

    The following ‘bad’ teams have two Pro-Bowlers (same as the 9-5 Patriots):
    – Browns, Falcons, 49ers

    The Giants, Jets and Titans have 3 each.

    ====================

    The Titans are 8-6 with a very winnable game Saturday to make them 9-6. I don’t consider that a bad team.
    ——————————————–
    The titans are not a good team despite their record and BUFFALO BEAT THEM…

  24. It’s hard to win a popularity contest when most everyone on the team sucks. Are any of them on anybody’s fantasy league? I didn’t think so.

  25. The PB is a fan event. If a team doesn’t have what it feels is appropriate representation, they can look squarely at their fanbase for not voting hard enough.

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to leave a comment. Not a member? Register now!

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.