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2010 Pro Bowl Ballot: Your 49ers need you

Consider this your daily reminder to vote for your San Francisco 49ers on the 2010 Pro Bowl ballot.  Remember that you can vote for as few or as many positions on the ballot as you want.  So if you just want to vote for Vernon Davis, Aubrayo Franklin, Patrick Willis, and Andy Lee among others, it's quite simple to do.  Most days it will be a simple FanShot, but for today I thought I'd put together the cases for a few of our favorite 49ers.  I realize most people aren't all that interested in the Pro Bowl game itself, but national recognition is always welcome, especially when the players truly deserve it.

Vernon Davis: Davis continued his breakout season with 6 catches for 69 yards and a touchdown against Jacksonville.  On the season, Davis has 57 receptions, 670 yards and 9 touchdowns.  Those numbers in the NFC for respectively third, first and first.  Davis also has 10 catches for over twenty yards, which is also good for first in the league.  There are bigger national names (Gonzalez and Witten), but I really think Davis is having the best year of any NFC tight end.

Patrick Willis: What else needs to be said about Mr. Consistently Great?  Even as the defense around him improves, Bamm Bamm continues to put up obscene tackle totals, while make big plays across the field, all game long.  Among linebackers, Willis is second in the NFC with 107 total tackles, tied for eleventh with 3 sacks (tied for most among NFC ILBs), tied for first with 8 pass deflections, second in interceptions, is one of two NFC ILBs with a touchdown, and also has forced a pair of fumbles.  The man remains an absolute playmaking beast.

Andy Lee: Andy Lee for MVP indeed.  Lee's leg is a freakish weapon for the 49ers.  We'd all like more offense, but if the offense stalls out, we know Lee will more likely than not pin a team back.  Jacksonville even elected to take a 5 yard penalty at the end of a return rather than let Lee have a second chance to pin them deep.  Among NFC punters, Lee is first in gross and net average, and this comes on a league-leading 66 punts.  Not a great stat for the offense, but it shows an amazing level of consistency from Lee.  He's second with 10 downed punts, and fourth with 20 punts inside the 20.  On returns, opposing teams are only getting 5 or so yards per, showing an ability to not out-kick his coverage.

Aubrayo Franklin: Franklin has quietly (outside of the Bay Area it's quiet) put together an immensely entertaining season.  A nose tackle in the 3-4 is expected to do a lot of the dirty work, but Franklin has stepped up to become a playmaker for this defense.  It's hard to truly assess his work because a lot of time his play involves opening holes for the inside linebackers to make plays.  Individually, Franklin has 28 tackles (5 for a loss), 2 sacks and a huge redzone interception against Chicago.  However, on top of that is the fact that one could argue he's been a key in the 49ers ability to stuff the inside run.  The 49ers have given up 3.6 yards per carry (tied for 2nd in the NFL), and most rushing damage has come outside the tackles.  Franklin has either plugged up the middle, or provided space for Willis and Spikes to shut down the middle.  Some argue it's a walk-year performance, but he really began building this early last season.

One guy I didn't include, but probably deserves more recognition than he gets is Justin Smith.  Smith has 40 tackles, 2.5 sacks and 2 forced fumbles on the season but doesn't get much publicity for the Pro Bowl.  The problem for him, like a guy like Aubrayo Franklin, is that a 3-4 defensive end isn't exactly a glamor position.  However, every game Justin Smith does something that stands out as a huge play.  I think he's a guy worth including on your Pro Bowl ballot.  So, when you get a chance, head over and submit your Pro Bowl ballot, multiple times if you'd like.  Remember that you don't need to fill out every single position.

0 recs  |  Comment 23 comments |

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Crabtree

as i was voting i could help but look at crabtree’s name on their and wondered if anyone was going to vote for him.

I would have given how he has played but didnt becuase of the hold out (not a full season to base the vote on).

by DCSMITH722 on Dec 1, 2009 10:12 AM PST reply actions   0 recs

If he makes the pro-bowl 2 times in his career the last year of his contract is voided

I’m not voting for him.

:)

What we've got here is a failure to communicate.

by chikmagnet_565 on Dec 1, 2009 5:38 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Good Point!!!

I can jump that band wagon :-)

by DCSMITH722 on Dec 2, 2009 4:32 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

4 easily

I can very easily see four Niners going to the pro bowl, all mentioned above.

BTW, anyone know why it’s moving away from Honolulu this season??

by Mangoman1 on Dec 1, 2009 10:29 AM PST reply actions   0 recs

Moving

I think the reasoning was that they wanted to showcase more of the NFL’s cities (or maybe even cities abroad). I could be wrong, though.

by sfgfan on Dec 1, 2009 10:49 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Sounds right

How many years has it been in Honolulu now? Well over a decade. Change must happen at some point.

by Mangoman1 on Dec 1, 2009 10:57 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

What ever the reason...

It’s a huge blow for Hawaii. I spent the summer there last summer working for an internship and the people there love the game. They don’t get to see any live performances (by sports players or by musicians since its only on the way to Japan and costs too much to just go to Hawaii for one show). The people there love the game of football and would die for that one chance to see all of the best players. It’s a bummer for them.

by renke81 on Dec 2, 2009 8:17 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

They should!

Hey a great vacation AND they get to watch a meaningless pro football game? You can’t beat that. :)

by Mangoman1 on Dec 1, 2009 10:35 AM PST reply actions   0 recs

That is weird...

i went to vote and it had Justin Smith and Isaac Sopoaga as DT’s instead of DE’s

by sanfranfanmdk on Dec 1, 2009 12:03 PM PST reply actions   0 recs

Makes sense.

I think that the Pro Bowl rosters are constructed with a 4-3 base defense in mind. In that kind of defense, Smith and Sopoaga are probably better fits at DT than DE.

by sfgfan on Dec 1, 2009 12:14 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I voted for Jamarcus Russell

just for the hell of it

Fat, drunk and stupid is no way to go through life, son

by lincecuminyourface on Dec 1, 2009 1:38 PM PST reply actions   0 recs

The software just tosses away that ballot.

by bignerd on Dec 1, 2009 9:35 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Feels good

Having more than one player who deserves to go. I certainly hope that Willis, Davis, Franklin and Lee go as starters. There are homer leaning arguments that can be made for a few other guys which also shows how much better this team is from two years ago.

You gotta bring ass to get ass.

by SpurredOn on Dec 1, 2009 4:04 PM PST reply actions   0 recs

Sims should be on there

and he’s not. They’ve got Staley listed as our tackle option and he hasn’t played for most of the season. Shows how messed up the pro-bowl voting is.

by smileyman on Dec 1, 2009 5:32 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Staley has six starts

Sims has five.

You gotta bring ass to get ass.

by SpurredOn on Dec 1, 2009 11:38 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

i voted to sabotage the AFC roster...

and picked most of the Cleveland Browns. Is that mean?

by Doni S on Dec 1, 2009 4:12 PM PST reply actions   0 recs

Nope

I’m sure the Browns would appreciate your vote of confidence

by Mangoman1 on Dec 1, 2009 4:39 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I picked

random raiders, bucs, browns, and of course niners listed above

I want winners! I want people that WANT to win!

by Iwantwinners on Dec 1, 2009 6:53 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Willis

The 1 problem I’ve seen for the man touted as the best young middle-linebacker in the league is that he cant cover man-man on TE’s to save his life. If you are going to be the best, then you need to be the best at every part of the position. He’s not there yet but is fastly approaching it.

"Bar None!" - William Floyd

by maveric_87 on Dec 1, 2009 7:51 PM PST reply actions   0 recs

Not exactly a fair assessment. I’ve written before the 49ers give him too many assignments on pass plays. He has to honor play action without much safety help plus the best inside passing target on the offense, whether TE/RB/FB.

by bignerd on Dec 1, 2009 9:38 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Since the Pro Bowl is before the Super Bowl this year I might as well, considering the great stars will most likely be playing for a ring the following week.

AcaiCleanse

by Addisonhype on Dec 1, 2009 9:34 PM PST reply actions   0 recs

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