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Dolphins defensive end Randy Starks
PRO BOWL POSSIBILITIES, PART 2
Breaking down the Dolphins players on defense and special teams who have the best chance of being selected
By ALAIN POUPART
Dolphin Digest Associate Editor
Making the Pro Bowl always is a nice reward, but it might be even more special for Dolphins players this year considering the 2010 all-star game will be played in South Florida.
The AFC and NFC teams will be announced on the NFL Network on Tuesday, and there are a few Dolphins players who have a legitimate chance to be selected. Fan voting counts for one-third of the voting process, with the other two-thirds coming from coaches and players.
Here's a breakdown of the Dolphins' Pro Bowl candidates, listed in order of probability.
In Part 2 of this two-part feature, we look at the players on defense and special teams.
The Dolphins rank 18th in total defense and 24th in points allowed heading into the next-to-last weekend of the regular season, and that might make it difficult to get players on the Pro Bowl team considering five of the top six defenses in the league come from the AFC-New York Jets, Denver, Baltimore, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh.
- DE Randy Starks-After starting the season as a relative unknown, Starks has been getting a lot of recognition in recent weeks and you can't watch a Dolphins game on television without the play-by-play man or color analyst mentioning his name. But Starks still faces the challenge of making the Pro Bowl as a 3-4 defensive end, something that hasn't happened since 2004 (Pittsburgh's Aaron Smith). Indianapolis' Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis made the Pro Bowl at defensive end last year along with Houston's Mario Williams, and those three rank first, second and tied for third, respectively, in sacks among AFC defensive ends this season. Hopefully, fans, players and coaches looked beyond sacks when it came time to vote for the Pro Bowl because Starks has made his share of big plays in the running game as well. He stopped the Jets' Mark Sanchez after a short gain when Sanchez had a clear path to the end zone on a scramble late in the second Jets game, and he dropped David Garrard for a 4-yard loss on a quarterback draw on a late fourth down at Jacksonville.
- LB Joey Porter-Considering he's battled nagging injuries for a good part of the season, it's pretty amazing to think Porter has a shot at making the Pro Bowl, but he clearly does. Porter made the Pro Bowl as a starter after his magnificent 2008 performance and he was joined on the team by fellow outside linebackers James Harrison and Terrell Suggs. Harrison is a lock to repeat as a Pro Bowl selection, and he almost certainly will be joined by Denver's Elvis Dumervil, who leads the AFC with 15 sacks. Porter currently ranks fifth among AFC outside linebackers with eight sacks-Harrison has 10, Pittsburgh teammate LaMarr Woodley has 9.5 and New England's Tully Banta-Cain has 8.5. This is a case where's Porter reputation could help, and it's possible voters will want to shy away from putting two Steelers outside linebackers on the team.
- LB Jason Taylor-We put Porter ahead of Taylor on this list, but only because Porter made the team last year. The truth is Taylor has had a better season than his teammate at outside linebacker. He has only one fewer sack than Porter, which is impressive considering he's been playing strongside linebacker. Taylor also has made his share of big plays, with three forced fumbles and his fumble return for a touchdown in the game against the Jets at the Meadowlands. One long-shot candidate Taylor and Porter might have to do battle with is Houston rookie Brian Cushing, who leads the AFC with 119 tackles and has three sacks and three interceptions.
- Kicker Dan Carpenter-Carpenter has a few things going for him, such as leading the AFC in field goal percentage (91.7) and kicking game-winners against both Tampa Bay and New England. But he's got a lot of competition, namely from San Diego's Nate Kaeding, Oakland's Sebastian Janikowski and Tennessee's Rob Bironas. All of them have field goal percentages of 86 or higher, and all of them have at least three field goals of 50 yards or more, compared to only one for Carpenter. All of them also have more touchbacks on kickoffs than Carpenter.
Outside of the four players mentioned, punter Brandon Fields has an impressive 46.2-yard average, but Oakland punter Shane Lechler practically is a lock thanks to his ridiculous 51.5-yard average (with an equally ridiculous net of 44.2).
DOLPHINS PRO BOWL PLAYERS ON DEFENSE AND SPECIAL TEAMS IN THE LAST 10 YEARS
2008-LB Joey Porter
2007-DE Jason Taylor (dnp)
2006-DE Jason Taylor, LB Zach Thomas
2005-DE Jason Taylor (dnp), LB Zach Thomas (dnp)
2004-CB Patrick Surtain (dnp), DE Jason Taylor
2003-S Brock Marion, DE Adewale Ogunleye, CB Patrick Surtain, LB Zach Thomas
2002-DT Tim Bowens, CB Sam Madison, S Brock Marion, CB Patrick Surtain (dnp), DE Jason Taylor, LB Zach Thomas
2001-CB Sam Madison (dnp), LB Zach Thomas (dnp)
2000-DE Trace Armstrong, ST Larry Izzo, CB Sam Madison, S Brock Marion, DE Jason Taylor, LB Zach Thomas
1999-CB Sam Madison, K Olindo Mare, LB Zach Thomas
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