SB Nation’s Colts Blog, Stampede Blue, is celebrating the Indianapolis contingent headed to the Pro Bowl, with special emphasis on tight end Dallas Clark, who will be playing in the exhibition for the first time ever:
After years of being a better tight end than Tony Gonzalez and Antonio Gates (yes people, I said it; and if you actually watched games, you believe it too), Dallas Clark finally was elected to a Pro Bowl. I mean, all he had to do to get on the roster was catch 93-friggin-balls and 10 touchdowns! That is a feat Antonio Gates has never reached, and he’s been to (now) six straight Pro Bowls!
Unbelievable.
Now, for Gonzalez, he’s caught over 90 passes and 10 TDs once before. However, Gonzalez has made ten straight Pro Bowls, and had he not been traded to the NFC and the Atlanta Falcons this year, he might still have knocked Clark out of the Pro Bowl just because of his resume. That, and Gonzalez was the only receiver worth a damn for Kansas City Chiefs for years. If QBs didn’t throw it to him, their other options included the immortal Eddie Kennison, Dante Hall, and Johnnie Morton. Meanwhile, Clark has caught 93 passes and 10 TDs this year on a team featuring Reggie Wayne and two young, dynamic receivers in Pierre Garçon and Austin Collie.
But, whatever. It’s nice to see the best tight end in football finally be recognized as such by fans, players, and coaches. I could care less about which players actually play in the Pro Bowl, but seeing deserving people like Clark get on the roster is kind of cool.
Yes, it took Tony Gonzalez leaving the AFC for a spot to be opened for Clark. Although, to be fair here, last season is the only year that Colts fans could make any case that Clark deserved to be in over Antonio Gates. Clark is having a career-year this season, though, and certainly is well-deserving of this arbitrary and subjective honor.
Also, the addition of Clark to the roster is a nice plus for everyone else on the Pro Bowl team -- they can just sit back, enjoy the sunshine and let Dallas play every position: