Bless Welker's tiny heart, but he's not having a pro bowl season. He's not in the top 20 for receiving yards or TDs. He deserves as many spirit awards as you can name, but to give him a probowl would rob a more deserving player.
Outside of Brady, the only player who merits a probowl on offense would be Connolly, I think. Considering this offense is likely to top 500 points, that really speaks to how insane Brady is playing.
Connolly? Maybe as a kick returner, but definitely not as a guard.
Don't get me wrong -- the guy's done a very solid job filling in for Mankins and now Neal, but he's the last guy on our offensive line that I'd say was playing at a pro bowl level... which actually is more of a credit to the other four starters than it is a knock on Connolly. The fact that the Pats haven't needed to really adjust their protection and run blocking schemes to "hide" Connolly has been huge for us, but he's still the guy on the line from which the the team demands the least -- and gets it -- in terms of individual ability on a given play.
While the Pats might run a play that hinges on Mankins defeating his man at the line and getting into the second level, on Connolly's side on that play, they'd have Connolly engage his defender and pass him on to Koppen in order to free him to take on a linebacker. In pass pro, he'll more often be a help blocker than anyone else.
Mankins is probably the guy playing at the highest level on the line at present, but he's not making the pro bowl after missing the first half of the season. Neal was also playing great until his injury. I think both Light and Volmer have been playing really well, and could be considered pro-bowl worthy if there aren't enough real stand-out tackles in the AFC.
But the guy on the line I think really deserves the pro bowl has got to be Koppen. The Pats have employed a wide array of personnel packages, and from each have used an unprecedented number of different formations, often switching between them on the fly, at the line. The Pats are only able to do this if they're confident that the QB and Center can make these adjustments and keep the backs and receivers and the line all on the same page, all of the time. Koppen's ability to stay so locked in with Brady and make sure that the right guys are in the right place at the right time, play after play, is just nuts.
