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It became apparent that Whitworth would find himself on the outside last Wednesday when the fan portion of the Pro Bowl vote concluded and he wasn't even in the top-ten. "I'm used to that," Whitworth said via ESPN. "I don't know how many tackles haven't given up a sack all season, but I doubt it's many. But hey, I don't worry about that. I know all the guys who will be on it."
According to Pro Football Focus grading system, Andrew Whitworth is listed as the league's top offensive tackle who has only allowed nine disruptions on 529 pass blocks. Whitworth haven't allowed a quarterback sack this season -- considering that he's closing in on 530 pass protection snaps, that's amazing. That's epic.
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Demarcus Ware, who has squared off against Whitworth since college, offered praise last week.
"When you think about tackles, they'll say another name [first]," said Ware, who played against Whitworth often in college. "Usually they don't say him, but he's one of those guys that needs to be put in that echelon with the top tackles in the league."
Whitworth made his first Pro Bowl in 2012 as an alternate, replacing Denver Broncos left tackle Ryan Clady who was dealing with an injury. He was joined that year by wide receiver A.J. Green, tight end Jermaine Gresham and defensive tackle Geno Atkins.
Prior to that, he was upset that he was selected.
"It’s a joke to me," he said in 2012. "I don’t worry about that stuff every year. I plan to try and make the playoffs and do what I do and that's it. That's all you can do. It doesn't matter one way or the other to me. I know people probably think that’s crazy, but it really doesn't."
In the end, Whitworth offered the same perspective.
It's fine. It's not a contest for me to get to the Pro Bowl. My job is to get my team to the playoffs and win a playoff game. I know if this thing was done off of film and tape I'd be in it."
Whitworth could still be named to the Pro Bowl as an alternate.
Adam Jones, among all returners with a minimum 10 kickoff returns, leads the NFL with a 33.2 yards average on 22 returns this season. Jones ranks second among all punt returners (with a minimum of 20 punt returns) with an 11.9 yard/return average. However the one thing hurting him is that he hasn't scored a touchdown yet.