3. Does Leonard Williams take his frustration out on the Rams and reach double digits in sacks?
Every year when Pro Bowl rosters are announced, several players around the league miss out who have deserving resumes, but few snubs this year or any year are as baffling as the decision to leave Seahawks defensive lineman Leonard Williams off the NFC squad.
Williams, who was named an alternate, finished higher in fan voting than all three interior linemen named to the team ahead of him, Dexter Lawrence, Jalen Carter and Vita Vea, and his stats are considerably better than Carter and Vea’s as is his Pro Football Focus grade, if you favor analytics over stats. Williams’ 9.0 sacks and 15 tackles for loss not only lead the team, they’re also tied for the NFL lead among interior defensive linemen, and if all of that somehow wasn’t enough, he also added a 92-yard interception return for a touchdown to help spark a comeback win over the Jets.
“That’s crazy,” cornerback Devon Witherspoon, Seattle’s lone Pro Bowl selection, said of Williams’ omission from the squad. “I’m not going to lie. They have to review that or something, bro. They’re tripping. I’m not going to lie. They’re tripping.”
Williams admitted he had allowed himself to start thinking about Pro-Bowl recognition after spending the last few years not focusing on that after he was snubbed in 2020 despite producing 11.5 sacks and 14 tackles for loss.
“I mean it’s pretty disappointing if I’m being honest,” Williams said. “I feel like I definitely deserved it this year but you know I’m happy for the guys that made it. They equally deserved it. That’s why they’re in the Pro Bowl.”
Williams added, “The year that I was having this year, I was like starting to think about Pro Bowl again and I was like, OK, maybe I deserve it again, and it just didn’t happen. It doesn’t mean everything at the end of the day, I feel like I have so much respect for my teammates. I have so much respect for my coaches and then also other coaches and players across the league have showed me a lot of respect and I think that’s important for me.”
And if the past is any indicator, Williams’ snub could be bad news for the Rams if he uses it as motivation this week. In 2020, the last time Williams put up similar numbers and missed the Pro Bowl, Williams closed out his season with 3.0 sacks, seven tackles and five quarterback hits in a Giants win…
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