Rodgers Says Corey Linsley Deserves Pro Bowl Consideration

Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers is really high on rookie center Corey Linsley.

Not literally. He didn’t smoke him. He just thinks he’s playing really well.

We’re not sure if Rodgers knows anything about good center play, but he certainly knows plenty about shitty center play. The Packers have had a revolving door at the position since Scott Wells left town after the 2011 season. There was the completely awful Jeff Saturday experiment. That was followed by the only slightly better Evan Dietrich-Smith project. Then the Packers decided, hey, let’s go with the injury-cursed J.C. Tretter.

When Tretter suffered his latest long-term injury, the Packers had no choice but to turn to Linsley, a fifth-round pick. The good news is, he’s pretty much made everyone forget about those other clowns.

“Corey has played as solid as anybody,” Rodgers said on his radio show. “I think at some point there needs to be a little bit of campaigning about him for Pro Bowl. He’s played that good. He doesn’t have the name recognition yet. A lot of times, you get voted in the year after you deserve to and maybe a year longer than you deserve to, as they say.”

1. Linsley has been solid.

Agree.

2. The Pro Bowl is a total joke.

Strongly agree.

Let’s deal with No. 1 first. After watching that one season of Jeff Saturday constantly getting beat like a rented mule, we too know what terrible center play looks like. So, yes, Linsley is obviously a hell of a lot better than that. I would probably also make the argument that the totally average T.J. Lang’s play has improved with Linsley in the lineup versus last year’s starting center, Dietrich-Smith.

I doubt that’s coincidence.

As for the Pro Bowl, it’s just a popularity contest with little relationship to merit. First of all, Linsley isn’t the best center in the NFC. That guy is most likely Seattle’s Max Unger. But even if he was, a rookie center isn’t making the Pro Bowl.

That right is reserved for guys who were good two years ago, especially when it comes to offensive linemen.

There are probably still people trying to vote Walter Jones into this year’s Pro Bowl.

Hey! I’ve heard of him! He must be good!

So don’t count on Linsley making an appearance in that sham of an all-star game because, as you surely know, deserve’s got nothing to do with it.