Why exactly is Max Unger so good?

I thought he was having a rough year, but according to .com, he is leading in Pro Bowl votes for all centers. I don't get it.

He seems to be hiking a lot of low snaps as of late, but pretty good otherwise, I think.

Pro bowl is a popularity contest

First: The Pro Bowl is a popularity contest. Once you get voted in (as he has been previously) It's very hard to get voted out. Especially in a position that isn't glorified by stats.

Second: When healthy, he really is that good. I'm not saying he's deserving this year, but he does have pro-bowl ability. He just hasn't been healthy this year.

Hawken-Dazs":285ik9oy said:

I thought he was having a rough year, but according to .com, he is leading in Pro Bowl votes for all centers. I don't get it.

Click to expand...

To make the Pro Bowl as an olineman you need to be a high draft pick and/or on a good team. Once you make it, you need to be really bad to lose your spot...he is making it on name this year.

For some it is as hard to not repeat, as it is for those who deserve it to get there. People see someone as a pro bowler and if he is on a good team, continue to vote him in. The ones who truly deserve it will not make it in sometimes because the spots will go to the ones who have the reputation.

Mack Strong had to deal with the unfair pro bowl selection process for most of his career.

90% of it is the cool, memorable name.
If his name was Marion Pantywad, he would have a harder time getting the votes.

That said.. He seems pretty good to me. Center is an important job, and the Seahawks seem to play better when he's in (low snaps included).

RolandDeschain":2xk1ebqi said:

He seems to be hiking a lot of low snaps as of late, but pretty good otherwise, I think.

Click to expand...

I've been noticing his snaps have been inconsistent. He needs to clean it up in the playoffs. Every time RW has to reach out of his catch zone its precious milliseconds lost to starting his reads.

Last year he was great and deserved all the praise he got. However, this year, he seems to have taken a slight step back with the injuries, missed games and constant low snaps.

rastahawk":3sp0dw8h said:

I've been noticing his snaps have been inconsistent. He needs to clean it up in the playoffs. Every time RW has to reach out of his catch zone its precious milliseconds lost to starting his reads.

Click to expand...

Yeah. It'd be nice to see that fixed. I also hope our normally excellent special teams doesn't have one of its epic breakdowns in the playoffs, allowing a blocked kick/punt. Could be a back-breaker.

Pro Bowl voting is a joke, as is the Pro Bowl itself. When little Freddy at his computer can literally vote over a million times it's worst than American Idol.

Usually when a player like Okung is injured they aren't going to make it in but that makes sense. Unger has missed 3 games so I'm a little surprised he's getting so many votes.

Half is arm and chest is shredded, and he's still balling.

He's Boz with more heart and guts.

Low snaps? He gets his ass blown up pretty regularly, too. I agree, last year he had a solid year, but IMO he's always been a bit overrated. This year he's either taken a big step back or he has already peaked and we're witnessing his slow decline. I hope the injury excuse is legit, but I just don't have a lot of confidence in him right now.

Harsh? Yes, but there ya go.

I've been very underwhelmed with Unger this year. No way he deserves to be in the pro bowl right now. Here's to hoping we start to see improvement. :179422:

Jeff Saturday got in when he was perhaps the worst in the league.

KK84":c06bw5bf said:

Jeff Saturday got in when he was perhaps the worst in the league.

Click to expand...

Ha, 'tis true.

minormillikin":1t21nw0r said:

If his name was Marion Pantywad, he would have a harder time getting the votes.

Click to expand...

I want to wear that jersey in SF on a Sunday when we win there.

It also helps that he plays for the best team in the NFL.

Also centers tend to be slimmer and lighter in the ass than guards. They do get blown up once in awhile.

MysterMatt":3lic4ulh said:

Low snaps? He gets his ass blown up pretty regularly, too. I agree, last year he had a solid year, but IMO he's always been a bit overrated. This year he's either taken a big step back or he has already peaked and we're witnessing his slow decline. I hope the injury excuse is legit, but I just don't have a lot of confidence in him right now.

Harsh? Yes, but there ya go.

Click to expand...

Unger has been having an awful year in pretty much all phases.

Can someone compare the run game with Unger is in versus when he is out? We seem to struggle with him in the Run game the last few games. I understand we faced tough opposition too. But ... we haven't been good running the ball in critical situations (red zone) and I'm sure the center might have something to do with it.