Brady, Rodgers named starting QBs on Pro Bowl rosters

NEW YORK — Tom Brady is one of eight Patriots and Patrick Willis one of eight 49ers to make the Pro Bowl, the most on each roster.

Man for the big occasion: Green Bay's Aaron Rodgers has been named starting quarterback for the NFC in the Pro Bowl. AP

Defending Super Bowl champion Green Bay (14-1), led by starting quarterback Aaron Rodgers, and Baltimore (11-4), led by veteran linebacker Ray Lewis, have seven apiece for the Jan. 29 game in Honolulu, the NFL announced Tuesday.

Brady is one of seven starters from New England (12-3). The others are receiver Wes Welker, tight end Rob Gronkowski, defensive tackle Vince Wilfork, defensive end Andre Carter, and guards Brian Waters and Logan Mankins all are starters for the AFC from the Patriots.

Special teamer Matthew Slater is the other New England representative.

Linebacker Willis, DE Justin Smith, cornerback Carlos Rogers and tackle Joe Staley will start for the NFC from the 49ers (12-3), who had only Smith and Willis make the Pro Bowl last year.

Green Bay's Rodgers is the starting NFC quarterback, backed by record-setting Drew Brees of New Orleans (12-3).

"It does have special significance, because when I was voted in in 2009, I was the third guy and I was very thankful to be voted in, and got the opportunity to start because of some injuries and guys not going," Rodgers said. "It's great to be voted in as a starter, that means a lot to me and it's a special honor."

Four of the NFL's biggest headline makers this season did not get voted in by players, coaches and fans: Lions DT Ndamukong Suh, Steelers LB James Harrison, Panthers rookie QB Cam Newton, and Denver QB Tim Tebow.

Suh might have lost support after drawing a two-game suspension for stomping an opponent, and Harrison's one-game suspension for his helmet-to-helmet hit on Browns QB Colt McCoy might have reduced his support.

Fifteen first-time Pro Bowlers made the NFC squad, including Rogers, Staley and safety Dashon Goldson of the 49ers. Thirteen AFC players were first-time selections, including Gronkowski, Carter and Slater of New England. Carter is on injured reserve (left quadriceps) and won't play.

"If you look around the NFC, you see a ton of amazing and talented players at tight end," said the Saints' Jimmy Graham, the starter at the position and a first-time Pro Bowler. "And to be thought of in that company by my peers, the head coaches and the fans who follow the NFL is something I take seriously."

Fourteen teams from each conference were represented, with St. Louis (2-13) and Washington (5-10) drawing blanks in the NFC, Buffalo (6-9) and Tennessee (8-7) shut out in the AFC.

Pittsburgh (11-4), New Orleans and Chicago (7-8) each had five representatives.

Three rookies were chosen: Denver linebacker Von Miller, Cincinnati receiver A.J. Green, and Arizona cornerback Patrick Peterson, selected as a kick return specialist. He has tied an NFL record with four punt runbacks for TDs this season.

All the kickers are from Bay Area teams.

NFC special teamers included two 49ers: record-setting placekicker David Akers, and punter Andy Lee; Peterson; and Corey Graham of Chicago.

For the AFC, the Raiders' Sebastian Janikowski is the placekicker, Shane Lechler the punter. The kick return specialist is Pittsburgh WR Antonio Brown, and the special-teams player is Slater.

METAIRIE, LOUISIANA — Although Sean Payton helped Drew Brees become the NFL's all-time single-season passer, the coach isn't divulging whether he'll enable his star quarterback to maintain that distinction.

With 5,087 yards passing after Monday night's victory over Atlanta, Brees enters the final week of the season 190 yards ahead of New England's Tom Brady. Yet the Saints' regular-season finale might not matter in terms of playoff seeding, meaning the more prudent choice for Payton could be to rest Brees for much of Sunday's game against Carolina.

The Patriots, by contrast, must beat Buffalo to ensure they'll have the top seed in the AFC.

Payton says he must consider what puts the Saints in the best position to make a Super Bowl run, and that such decisions are not always popular.

View the original article here

Broncos eager to test newfound strength against Brady, Pats

ENGLEWOOD, Colorado — The Denver Broncos haven't been to the playoffs since 2006, so they're in no position and certainly no mood to judge the quality of the opponents they're dispatching with all this last-minute magic.

They're 7-1 since Tim Tebow took over and started engineering a series of outrageous second-half comebacks. Those opponents, though, have a combined record of 39-52.

With Tom Brady and the powerful New England Patriots (10-3) coming to town Sunday, the Broncos (8-5) see this as a chance to prove they're not just a curiosity but a contender.

"Yeah, well, we need to prove it to ourselves," star cornerback Champ Bailey said. "We've played against some teams that were kind of struggling. We'd like to go put it together against a top-quality quarterback like Brady."

It's not just Tebow who's facing what could be his toughest test since he started the final three games last season and then supplanted an ineffective Kyle Orton in October after a 1-4 start.

Denver's dominant defense, which has two hiccups — against the multifaceted Lions and Packers, faces another formidable challenge in the Patriots, led by Brady, who's thrown for 33 touchdown passes, 15 of them to big tight end Rob Gronkowski and nine to Wes Welker, who already has 100 catches.

"He's getting them all the ball," said Broncos safety Brian Dawkins. "Nobody's really starving for catches."

And so, the AFC East-leading Patriots are feasting on opponents, putting up an AFC-best 31 points a game.

That kind of firepower means the AFC West-leading Broncos' notoriously slow-starting offense will have to keep pace, and given New England's defensive shortcomings, this game could turn into a shootout.

Only twice have the Broncos piled up points since Tebow took over in October. They put up 38 at Oakland and 35 at Minnesota. But six times they've failed to even score 20 points with Tebow starting.

That's why so many see this game as the Broncos' best barometer yet.

The Patriots have the pedigree the Broncos used to have when they, too, were a perennial playoff team. But Denver hasn't punched its ticket to the postseason party since losing to Pittsburgh in the AFC Championship Game following the 2005 season.

"Obviously New England has been a team that's been in the playoffs for the last decade or whatever. So they've got a lot of players who've been there," Broncos pass rusher Elvis Dumervil said. "They're the team that's always been in the playoffs. We want to establish ourselves as that team. This is a good challenge for us."

The Patriots could clinch a playoff spot and inch closer to home-field advantage throughout the playoffs, which could prove the best salve for their defensive troubles.

The Broncos could take a lot of pressure off themselves over the final two weeks of the season, with games against Buffalo on the road and at home against AFC West rival Kansas City.

Bailey, the perennial Pro Bowl cornerback, will have his work cut out for him, covering either Welker in the slot or the Patriots' two big tight ends in Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez.

"What makes them so tough is their size," Bailey said. "I can keep up with them with my feet, but it's just the pushing and the shoving and the ball placement. It's tougher when you have a quarterback like Tom Brady, because he puts the ball where nobody else can get it."

Then, he might have to chase around Welker, the 175-cm dynamo who's putting up big numbers himself.

"It's like night and day, but they're all productive," Bailey said. "We've got some tools that we're going to use and hopefully they work."

View the original article here