Seahawks' Leonard Williams latest honor proves Pro Bowl is a farce

Maybe making the Pro Bowl is not a big deal unless making the meaningless all-star game would be a bonus that was written into a player's contract. If that is the case then it is a bit unfair. In some cases, a standout performance by a player does not yield Pro Bowl results. Such is the case with Seattle Seahawks defensive tackle Leonard Williams.

Williams had a terrific season. He ranked fourth among defensive linemen in sacks (11), fourth in quarterback hits (28), fourth in pass rush win rate (14 percent), and fifth among interior defensive linemen in total quarterback pressures (55). Oh, and Williams was fully beast mode against the run as well.

And none of that was enough to give him an original Pro Bowl nod. He was named as an alternate and will likely be at the Pro Bowl Games as other players might miss because of injury, but Williams deserves better than backing into the all-star nod. He was deserving of being a First-Team or Second-Team All-Pro.

Seattle Seahawks defensive lineman Leonard Williams snubbed by the NFL this season

He did not make that either, though. In fact, no Seahawks were named to the Associated Press All-Pro teams. Few should have been, of course, but cornerback Devon Witherspoon and Williams should have been given much consideration. One can excuse Witherspoon for being left off the teams because he did not have enough sexy statistics in terms of interceptions as he had zero.

Williams had the stats that people who do not follow the team far out in the Pacific Northwest should have noticed. If people watched even the early games of the season, before Williams was racking up all his raw statistics, one would have noticed how much of an impact the defensive linemen had on any given game. Opposing teams had to scheme for him as much as any other Seattle defensive player not named Witherspoon.

The latest slight of Williams and the Pro Bowl came in the form of the defensive lineman being named the NFC Defensive Player of the Month. In the NFL's write-up of Williams, the league said, "...Williams had an outstanding final six games of the season."

The key here is that Williams was honored not just because of four games, but six. That is more than a third of the season. Too bad the Pro Bowl voting is more of a popularity contest, but the AP All-Pro team should not be. Williams was clearly one of the four best defensive linemen in the NFL this season. He was just snubbed on any recognition of that.