The uneven nature of Washington’s season continued with the Pro Bowl selection Tuesday. The defense that has ranked in the top 10 all season got shut out. Meanwhile, the offense that has been the primary reason for the Redskins’ downfall landed four players on the squad.
Fullback Mike Sellers earned his first trip to Hawaii and will be the lone Redskins starter. He’ll be joined in Hawaii by running back Clinton Portis, tight end Chris Cooley and left tackle Chris Samuels. Those three players will be reserves.
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Sellers earned lofty praise earlier this season for his blocking ability, though he was often removed in favor of an extra receiver or tight end. In the season’s first 10 games, Sellers carried the ball just one time and caught two passes.
Part of the reason was because coach Jim Zorn said he didn’t want to give the ball to Sellers, then see a hole that Portis could have gained many more yards if he had the ball.
But in the last five games Sellers has caught eight passes for 78 yards and run the ball five times for 21 yards.
Still, his blocking, particularly on Portis’ isolation runs, is the primary reason for his inclusion. Portis has often described Sellers as a 285-pound guard in the backfield.
He certainly helped Portis reach the Pro Bowl for the first time as a Redskin. Portis is the NFL’s third-leading rusher with 1,337 yards. However, injuries and top-5 defenses have combined to slow him in the second half of the season. After rushing for 84 yards or more in seven of the first eight games, he’s surpassed that number just once in the past seven games.
Minnesota’s Adrian Peterson is the starting running back while Atlanta’s Michael Turner is the other reserve.
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Samuels made it for the sixth time, which is one shy of the team record shared by Darrell Green and Ken Houston. But Samuels’ season ended after the Dec. 7 loss to Baltimore when he tore a tricep muscle. He recently had surgery to repair the tear in his right tricep. He also battled knee issues in the second half of the season. He’ll be unable to play in the Feb. 8 game.
Cooley, making his second trip, leads Washington with 73 receptions for 764 yards and a touchdown. The 73 catches are a new franchise record by a tight end.
The only tight end with more catches this season is Kansas City’s Tony Gonzalez, the AFC starter, with 84. Dallas’ Jason Witten, who has 69 catches and three touchdowns, is the NFC starter.
Redskins middle linebacker London Fletcher, in his 11th season, was named as a second alternate. He was beaten out by San Francisco’s Patrick Willis (starter) and Carolina’s Jon Beason (reserve). Safety LaRon Landry was named as a first alternate. Right guard Randy Thomas was named as a second alternate. Receiver Santana Moss was named as a third alternate.
