London Fletcher will be joining Brian Orakpo and DeAngelo Hall at the Pro Bowl in Hawaii on Sunday.
Fletcher was added to the roster when Brian Urlacher of the Bears dropped out due to an injury he sustained in yesterday's NFC Championship game. Orakpo will replace Clay Mathews, who will play in the Super Bowl with the Packers, at outside linebacker.
Hall was selected as a reserve cornerback when the NFC squad was announced in December.
It may seem off that three members of the defense that was ranked 31st in the NFL are going to the Pro Bowl. There are a few possible takes here.
- The defense wasn't that bad--They were in the middle of the pack in terms of points allowed and takeaways, which are left out of the picture when talking about the league's defensive rankings, which are based on yardage given up.
- There were good players on the unit but some fatal flaws as well--In particular, the team couldn't find a nose tackle to plug up the middle, something that hurt them all year long.
- Pro Bowl berths are based largely on name recognition--In the case of Hall in particular, you could easily make the case that he was not one of the top 15 cornerbacks in the NFC. But he had the six interceptions, four of them in one game, and he is a known personality and that greatly aided his Pro Bowl selection.
Redskins safety LaRon Landry led the Pro Bowl fan voting for strong safety and he likely would have been picked as a starter, but an Achilles injury landed him on injured reserve after he played in just nine games.
The Redskins' PR press release is below. There may be a conference call with Orakpo and Fletcher later, will be back with quotes.
LOUDOUN COUNTY, VA – The National Football League announced today that Washington Redskins’ linebackers London Fletcher and Brian Orakpo will play in the 2011 Pro Bowl. Fletcher will be taking the place of Chicago Bears’ linebacker Brian Urlacher, who is unable to participate due to injury. Orakpo will be replacing Green Bay Packers’ linebacker Clay Matthews, who will be playing in Super Bowl XLV.
This will be Fletcher’s second trip to the Pro Bowl. In 2010, he led the Redskins in tackles, with 188 (135 solo). Fletcher also amassed 2.5 sacks, one interception, three forced fumbles and set a career-high with three fumble recoveries. He is currently tied for the longest consecutive games played streak (208) in the NFL with Tampa Bay’s Ronde Barber and Indianapolis’ Peyton Manning. With 167 consecutive starts, he is currently third among all NFL players in consecutive starts behind Manning (208) and Barber (183). Fletcher has the longest consecutive starts streak among active linebackers by 71 games over Dallas’ Bradie James (96).
“I am extremely honored to play in the Pro Bowl,” Fletcher said. “I am very excited to make the trip to Hawaii. I would like to thank all of my teammates, coaches, fans and everyone else who played a part in getting me here.”
In 2010, Orakpo led the team with 8.5 sacks. Coupled with the 11 sacks he had in 2009, Orakpo is the first Redskin since Ken Harvey in 1996-97 to register at least eight sacks in consecutive seasons. In addition, Orakpo totaled 78 tackles (62 solo), one forced fumble and 47 quarterback hurries. Orakpo also earned a Pro Bowl berth as a rookie last season.
“It’s great to get to go to the Pro Bowl again in just my second season in the league,” Orakpo said. “I am excited about going to Hawaii, where the Pro Bowl has been for so many years. Last year was fun, but it will be special getting to play in Hawaii. I want to thank all my teammates and coaches for helping me get here, and I also want to thank all of the fans who voted for me.”
Fletcher and Orakpo, will join teammate DeAngelo Hall on the NFC roster. The game will be played on Sunday, Jan. 30, 2011, at 7:00 p.m. at Aloha Stadium.
