Pro Bowl snubs become godsends to NFL coaches

Jaguars quarterback David Garrard has thrown only two interceptions this season. Bill Frakes/SI

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The Jaguars, Buccaneers and Browns are a combined 28-14 this season. Tampa Bay has qualified already for the playoffs, while Jacksonville and Cleveland could do so as early as this weekend.

Still, the teams combined to land only one non-special teams player on the Pro Bowl rosters that were announced today. For that, their coaches say:

Thank you, voters.

NFL coaches love nothing more than walking into their respective offices on Monday or Tuesday morning and finding a new motivational tool on the desk. It's the equivalent of you or me finding a $100 bill on the sidewalk. You can almost hear them addressing their teams:

Look, guys! The public, your peers and opposing coaches don't think you're good enough or deserving enough to be recognized for your accomplishments. And there's only one way to show them that they're wrong.

Tampa Bay is the only division champion that failed to land a player on the AFC or NFC roster, but maybe it shouldn't have been surprised considering no team from the NFC South had a player selected for the game. In fact, Tampa Bay and Jacksonville were among seven teams that were shut out in the voting. Wide receiver Braylon Edwards and returner Josh Cribbs made it for the Browns.

As snubs go, the biggest was arguably Jacksonville running back Fred Taylor, a first alternate who has run for at least 100 yards in four consecutive games and ranks sixth overall with 1,091 yards. His average of 5.05 yards per carry is second in the league among rushers with at least 200 carries; his runs of 80 and 76 yards are the longest in the AFC this season; and his four touchdowns are twice as many as Pittsburgh running back Willie Parker, who leads the conference in rushing and is headed to Hawaii.

What's interesting about Taylor's situation is that he's the only player in league history who has run for at least 10,000 yards in his career yet failed to appear in a Pro Bowl. A case could be made that he is on the road to the Hall of Fame considering he needs just 40 more yards to move into 17th place on the league's all-time rushing list. Each of the top 16 who are eligible are members of the Hall.

For now, the AFC's running backs will be Parker, LaDainian Tomlinson of San Diego and Joseph Addai of Indianapolis.

Jaguars quarterback David Garrard also was left off the team, despite leading the league in touchdown-to-interception ratio at 8:1 -- he has thrown for 16 scores with just two picks -- and ranking second overall with a 101.6 passer rating. He lost out to New England's Tom Brady, Indianapolis' Peyton Manning and Pittsburgh's Ben Roethlisberger.

Another AFC quarterback who could grouse is Cleveland's Derek Anderson, who arguably has been the biggest surprise of the season. The Browns shopped him before the season, then put him in the lineup in the first half of the opener after Charlie Frye was benched (then traded the next week). All he has done is throw for 3,384 yards and 26 touchdowns with 14 interceptions. He also is third in the league with 49 completions of 20 or more yards, 13 of which have gone for touchdowns.

Tampa Bay quarterback Jeff Garcia ranks seventh in the league with seven touchdown passes of 20 or more yards, third in passer rating (93.6) and first in interception percentage (1.3). He arguably is the leading reason the Bucs have gone from 4-12 and last place to 9-5 and first place. Garcia, who came over from Philadelphia in the offseason, has brought stability and playmaking abilities to the team. He also has been a godsend for the defense, which did not land a Pro Bowl spot despite being tied for first in fewest points allowed. Among those overlooked: linebacker Derrick Brooks, who appeared in each of the previous 10 Pro Bowls, and cornerback Ronde Barber, who appeared in the previous three.

"We are very proud of each player's performance this year," Bucs coach Jon Gruden said on the team's website.

You can best believe his words will be a tad stronger when he meets with his squad Wednesday morning.