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Bucs Snubbed By Pro Bowl Voters

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By IRA KAUFMAN, The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 19, 2007

Updated: 12/18/2007 11:58 pm

TAMPA - Prime time doesn't want them, and neither does the Pro Bowl.

Despite a 9-5 record and a division title, the Buccaneers were denied a single spot on the NFC's Pro Bowl roster Tuesday, ending an 11-year streak of placing at least one representative on the team.

"I'm just disappointed for our players," Coach Jon Gruden said. "I'm really proud of our guys. We have a lot of good players on this football team. That's too bad. I'd rather have playoff players, anyhow."

Barring an injury to Seattle's Julian Peterson, DeMarcus Ware of Dallas or Chicago's Lance Briggs, the 10-year Pro Bowl streak of Tampa Bay outside linebacker Derrick Brooks has ended.

Cornerback Ronde Barber, who had earned three consecutive Pro Bowl berths and four overall, was also denied Tuesday as voters chose Green Bay's Al Harris and Seattle's Marcus Trufant as starters, backed by Terence Newman of Dallas.

"Derrick and Ronde are the standards at their positions in the National Football League," Bucs linebacker Barrett Ruud said. "When you've put that many quality years on film, you've set the standard."

Fans, coaches and players each had equal input into the voting.

At quarterback, Jeff Garcia was beaten out by starter Brett Favre of Green Bay and reserves Tony Romo of Dallas and Seattle's Matt Hasselbeck.

Despite an average of 17.6 yards per reception that leads all NFL players with more than 50 catches, wide receiver Joey Galloway failed to earn the first Pro Bowl spot of his accomplished 13-year career.

Arizona's Larry Fitzgerald and Terrell Owens of Dallas will open for the NFC squad at wide receiver Feb. 10, backed by Green Bay's Donald Driver and Torry Holt of the Rams.

Tampa Bay has boasted at least two Pro Bowl defensive players each year since 1997 and linebacker Hardy Nickerson was the lone representative for the Bucs in '96, when first-year coach Tony Dungy ushered in a turnaround for a woeful franchise.

"I can go out in my career saying I played with the very best," defensive tackle Chris Hovan said, referring to Brooks and Barber. "Derrick defined the Will linebacker position and Ronde is the best big-play corner I've ever seen in this league."

Tuesday's lack of recognition mirrors the way the Bucs have been viewed in some other circles this season.

Last week, the league announced that Sunday's matchup at San Francisco, originally scheduled for prime time on NBC, would be switched to an afternoon start.

"It's shocking. We're the No. 1 scoring defense in the NFC but we've got nobody on the list," Barber said Tuesday evening on his weekly radio show on WDAE, 620 AM. "There's probably many reasons why but none more important than we didn't have a lot of viewership. We had no national games. It's probably been tough for a lot of our guys to get the type of exposure you need.

"It is what it is."

The entire NFC South Division was shut out by Pro Bowl voters, who also failed to select any player from the 10-4 Jaguars.

The Feb. 10 game at Aloha Stadium is likely to be the last Pro Bowl played in Honolulu, the showcase's home since 1980.

Beginning with the 2009 Super Bowl in Tampa, the league is expected to move the Pro Bowl up on the calendar and switch the event from Hawaii to the Super Bowl site on the weekend following the conference championship games.

If that change is implemented, players from the Super Bowl teams would not participate in the Pro Bowl.

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