Raiders animated in protesting Lechler Pro Bowl snub
SportsLine.com wire reports
ALAMEDA, Calif. -- The Oakland Raiders found something to get fired up about Thursday, rallying behind punter Shane Lechler after he was left off the Pro Bowl roster.
This marks the first year no Raiders have made football's annual all-star game in Honolulu since the franchise joined the league with the 1970 AFL-NFL merger. Oakland had five Pro Bowl representatives last year during its Super Bowl run.
"Shane Lechler not making the Pro Bowl is a travesty!" receiver Tim Brown hollered Thursday as he headed to the practice field.
"He's the best punter in the league ever," yelled left guard Frank Middleton.
Yes, the 4-10 Raiders were the most animated they have been in months after learning Lechler isn't headed to Honolulu for the Feb. 8 game.
Two players are picked at all positions but punter, and the AFC's choice was Tennessee's Craig Hentrich. Lechler led the fan voting, but coaches and players also have equal say on who makes the team.
Hentrich is second in the AFC in net punting average and fifth in the NFL at 37.1 yards. His 43.3-yard gross average is fourth in the conference and eighth in the league.
Lechler, meanwhile, leads the NFL in gross average at 46.6 yards and is second in the league in number of punts with 82. His net average of 36.4 yards is sixth in the AFC and he has league-high 12 touchbacks, which could have gone against him in the balloting.
Lechler, a fourth-year pro and a fifth-round draft pick by Oakland in 2000, made the Pro Bowl in 2001. This season, Lechler surpassed Hall of Famer Sammy Baugh for the top career punting average at 45.5 yards, with a minimum of 250 attempts.
"He's our best player," said injured quarterback Rich Gannon, last season's NFL MVP.
"My gut feeling is I won't get it," Lechler said before practice, sounding if he'd already been told.
When asked who he'd vote for if he couldn't vote for himself, Lechler said: "I think Craig. He did double duty a lot of the season and he beat us. He would have been my vote."
Lechler said he has no bonus in his contract for making the Pro Bowl, unusual for a player who has been there before.
"Who's your agent?" long-snapper Adam Treu said. "He's a bum."
Pro Bowl right tackle Lincoln Kennedy even questioned the voting format.
"My punter should have made it," Kennedy said. "It doesn't matter who we vote for. They send anybody."
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