Redskins linebacker will replace Vilma
He turned off the television with the score tied late, his stomach churning, and decided the phone calls would let him know the outcome. After five … then 10 … and finally 15 minutes of silence, London Fletcher turned the Minnesota-New Orleans game back on just as overtime started.
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And when the Saints won in overtime, he joined in their celebration, sprinting around the house. But his joy stemmed from something different: It clinched his first Pro Bowl appearance after 12 seasons.
Because the Pro Bowl is now a week before the Super Bowl, players from participating teams will be absent. That meant New Orleans’ middle linebacker Jonathan Vilma would miss the game and therefore first alternate Fletcher would play.
“That was the most gut-wrenching game I ever watched,” said Fletcher, who exchanged text messages with Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, one of his former coaches, Monday morning. “[Before] I was thinking what more can I do? Will it ever happen? When it finally became a reality it was a relief. I didn’t sleep much at all [Sunday] night.”
Fletcher joins teammate and fellow linebacker Brian Orakpo, a rookie, at the game in Miami.
Fletcher doesn’t mind getting in this way as opposed to being voted into the game. As he said Monday on a conference call with reporters, he’ll still be called a Pro Bowler. That was his goal. He also knows how much teammates and coaches have lobbied on his behalf over the years.
“I don’t think it validates my career,” he said. “The writers and my peers and fans of the NFL who have watched my career already know what type of player I am. You can’t have anything but respect for how I played the game and have been one of the top players at my position. I didn’t need this to validate my career, but it was something I coveted.”
