Did Evan Mathis Get Snubbed For the Pro Bowl?

The Eagles didn’t have a single player earn a Pro Bowl nod when the announcements were made last night.

But the question is: Was anyone deserving of the recognition? Here’s a roundup of what some national writers had to say.

ESPN.com’s Dan Graziano thinks Evan Mathis should have made it instead of the Giants’ Chris Snee:

Giants guard Chris Snee is not having his best season, and I don’t think he’s even the best guard in the NFC East. I think the Philadelphia Eagles’ Evan Mathis has outplayed him, especially considering Mathis has lost all four of his offensive linemates to injury, but the Eagles have no Pro Bowlers at all.

Mathis also made Clark Judge’s list on CBSSports.com:

Congratulations, Philadelphia. The destruction is complete. No Eagles made this year’s Pro Bowl, the first time that has happened since 1998 and only the second since 1970. I can understand blanking most of this club, but not Mathis.

The guy was one of only four Eagles to start all 15 games this season and the only one on offense. OK, so longevity doesn’t translate to Pro Bowl success. I get that. But I also get that in a year where so many Eagles stunk, Mathis produced his best season ever. In fact, he was so damned decent that I’d think long and hard about putting him on my All-Pro team.

The Eagles paid a lot of money during the last offseason to keep Mathis away from Baltimore, and it’s easy to see why: The guy became a first-rate lineman and an anchor in an offensive line that had as many holes as injuries. Mathis played the last few weeks on a badly sprained ankle, and, with the Eagles spiraling downward, you couldn’t blame him if he chose to sit down. But he didn’t, insistent in his belief that he had to hold together a makeshift offensive line, and too bad nobody recognized him for what he is — one hell of a good player on one really underachieving team.

Khaled Elsayed of Pro Football Focus also thinks Mathis should have made it over Snee:

People seem to think that because we applaud the play of Evan Mathis that we’re overstating how good he has been. To those people I say just put on the tape and watch how he plays. There’s a reason why he is dominating our grading system for guards.

Seriously, I get the Jahri Evans pick, but Chris Snee? Where the heck did that come from? He’s not had a bad year, but it’s a crime that Mathis won’t ever get the respect he deserves because he plays for a poor Philadelphia team and doesn’t have a reputation. If you still think we’re overdoing it, let’s talk about another player, like our third-ranked guard this year, Alex Boone. He’s a huge reason that line went from good to great so quickly.

If you want my opinion, Mathis has played at a consistently high level all season long. Despite moving parts all around him, I’d argue that he’s been better this year than he was last year. Having said that, I haven’t paid close attention to how the guards selected ahead of him have performed.

Follow Sheil Kapadia on Twitter and e-mail him at skapadia@phillymag.com.
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