ASHBURN — London Fletcher isn’t sure what more he can do to make the Pro Bowl anymore. He leads the NFL in tackles. He’s never missed a game in his career. He’s continued to earn praise from around the league.
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But there is one thing the Redskins can do to help him: win games. That would have helped a player such as Lorenzo Alexander as well. However, when you play for a team that is on its third straight double-digit loss season — and fourth consecutive last-place finish in the NFC East — postseason honors will be tough to garner.
That’s why the fact that the Redskins received no Pro Bowl selections might have irked players in the locker room, but it didn’t stun them.
| Note |
| » Coach Mike Shanahan said one reason they released running back Ryan Torain was to prevent Aldrick Robinson from signing elsewhere. Shanahan said another team was interested in signing Robinson off the practice squad. Robinson is one of nine receivers on the roster though one is return specialist Brandon Banks. Robinson spent the first 15 games on the practice squad. “It’s been a long time,” Robinson said, “but it’s over now. I’m part of the 53 [man roster]. It feels good.” As for Torain’s release, Shanahan, who coached him for a season in Denver and two in Washington, said, “You’ve got to make tough decisions sometimes. He still has a chance to play in the [NFL]. He’s proven he can average between four and a half and five yards a carry, but with the depth we have it was best to go in a different direction.” |
“Teams that win typically have more players in the Pro Bowl,” Fletcher said. “I’m probably disappointed for maybe an hour or two when the results came out [Tuesday]. I’ve done the stuff that I can do, I control what I can control. We just need to win more games around here.”
However, Fletcher is a first alternate so if San Francisco’s Patrick Willis or Chicago’s Brian Urlacher can’t play, then Fletcher would get the nod. That’s how he’s played each of the past two seasons. Alexander, linebacker Brian Orakpo and punter Sav Rocca also are alternates.
Winning clearly helps a player reach Hawaii. Of the 42 players on the NFC roster, 16 play for teams under .500, though seven of them play for Chicago or Philadelphia, who often are in the playoffs. The AFC has 10 such players.
“I’ve been on teams where we’ve won 12, 13 games and you look at how many guys are in the Pro Bowl and you say, ‘Hey, they didn’t have Pro Bowl years,’?” Redskins coach Mike Shanahan said. “I’ve been on teams that have won obviously not a lot of games and, all of a sudden, you had no players and there’s two or three that are deserving.”
Shanahan puts Fletcher in that latter category. He leads the NFL in tackles, with 17 more than the next player. That statistic can be skewed as only 10 defenses have faced fewer plays than Washington. However, the Redskins have faced more running plays than 18 teams, which helps build tackle stats.
“You’ve just got to look at film and you know London played at a Pro Bowl level all year,” Shanahan said. “There’s no question in my mind that he should have been a first-teamer.”
Fletcher called the reaction to his not being voted in “humbling.”
“I don’t want to take anything away from the guys who were voted in,” Fletcher said. “They’re also very worthy and very deserving. I appreciate all the support I’ve received. … I’m just gonna play football the right way, the way I think it’s supposed to be played, each week go out and try to help my team win games.”
Alexander, too, was disappointed. But he said he voted for the player who was chosen as the special teams representative: Chicago’s Corey Graham.
“If anyone deserves to go, it’s him,” Alexander said. “You’ve just got to continue to work as a player and become dominant to where it’s not even a question as to whether or not you should be there.”
Shanahan said of Alexander, “I haven’t been around a guy that has dominated more on special teams. He’s just relentless.”
