Five players on the Baltimore Ravens lead their respective positions in current Pro Bowl voting. That should be all the motivation any Ravens fan would need to head on over to NFL.com to place your vote to keep these guys in first place and earn starting positions for the AFC in Hawaii next February.
The Ravens leading their positions are Ray Lewis (ILB), Ed Reed (FS), Haloti Ngata (DT), LeRon McClain (FB) and Michael Oher (LT). Lewis Reed and McClain are all repeaters as leaders at their spots. Ngata played last year but did not finish first in the voting. The big surprise this season is Oher at left tackle as he was a rookie right tackle last year and didn't move over to protect QB Joe Flacco's "blind side" until this season. I guess name recognition really helps, huh?
(To see the entire story from the NFL as well as the rest of the leaders at each position in both conferences, click on the 'Jump')
INDIANAPOLIS COLTS QB PEYTON MANNING LEADS PRO BOWL CHARGE WITH FOUR WEEKS OF VOTING
REMAINING ON NFL.COM
Teams to be Announced on Pro Bowl Selection Show December 28 on NFL Network
Indianapolis Colts quarterback PEYTON MANNING, with 496,658 votes, leads all NFL All-Stars in balloting for the 2011 Pro Bowl, NFL.com announced today. 2011 Pro Bowl voting will continue online and on web-enabled mobile phones by going to NFL.com/probowl through Monday, December 20. For the first time, fans may vote on Facebook by visiting www.facebook.com/nfl and clicking on the "Pro Bowl" tab.
Philadelphia Eagles quarterback MICHAEL VICK (405,292 votes) leads all NFC players and ranks second overall, while Minnesota Vikings running back ADRIAN PETERSON (400,921 votes), New England Patriots quarterback TOM BRADY (368,469 votes) and Green Bay Packers quarterback AARON RODGERS (343,177 votes) round out the top five on NFL.com.
Balloting will conclude on Monday, December 20 following Monday Night Football (Chicago Bears at Minnesota Vikings, ESPN, 8:30 pm (ET). The teams will be announced at 7:00 pm (ET) Tuesday, December 28 on a special NFL Total Access 2011 Pro Bowl Selection Show on NFL Network.
The 2011 Pro Bowl will be played on Sunday, January 30, 2011 and televised live on FOX at 7:00 pm (ET) at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii.
The AFC and NFC All-Star squads are based on the consensus votes of fans, players and coaches. Each group’s vote counts one-third towards determining the 43-man rosters that represent the American Football Conference and National Football Conference in the Pro Bowl. NFL players and coaches will cast their votes on December 22-23.
The NFL is the only sports league that combines voting by fans, coaches and players to determine its all-star teams. It was the first professional sports league to offer online all-star voting in 1995.
Listed below are the top 10 overall All-Star vote-getters and the players with the most votes at each position through November 22:
NFL ALL-STAR TOP-TEN VOTE-GETTERS
Pos. / Name, Team / Votes
QB / Peyton Manning, Colts / 496,658
QB / Michael Vick, Eagles / 405,292
RB / Adrian Peterson, Vikings / 400,921
QB / Tom Brady, Patriots / 368,469
QB / Aaron Rodgers, Packers / 343,177
QB / Drew Brees, Saints / 296,552
QB / Philip Rivers, Chargers / 291,071
RB / Chris Johnson, Titans / 266,835
RB / Arian Foster, Texans / 263,359
TE / Antonio Gates, Chargers / 252,219
AFC LEADING VOTE-GETTERS BY POSITION
Pos. / Name, Team / Votes Pos / .Name, Team / Votes
QB / Peyton Manning, Colts / 496,658 DE / Dwight Freeney, Colts / 200,281
RB / Chris Johnson, Titans / 266,835 DT / Haloti Ngata, Ravens / 129,460
FB / Le'Ron McClain, Ravens / 125,535 OLB / James Harrison, Steelers / 146,564
WR / Andre Johnson, Texans / 217,424 ILB / Ray Lewis, Ravens / 165,118
TE / Antonio Gates, Chargers / 252,219 CB / Nnamdi Asomugha, Raiders / 134,516
T / Michael Oher, Ravens / 112,565 SS / Troy Polamalu, Steelers / 206,622
G / Eric Steinbach, Browns / 101,519 FS / Ed Reed, Ravens / 128,920
C / Jeff Saturday, Colts / 148,495 P / Shane Lechler, Raiders / 77,405
K / Sebastian Janikowski, Raiders / 75,703 ST / Keyaron Fox, Steelers / 52,682
KR / Joshua Cribbs, Browns / 98,812
NFC LEADING VOTE-GETTERS BY POSITION
Pos. / Name, Team / Votes Pos. / Name, Team / Votes
QB /Michael Vick, Eagles / 405,292 DE / Julius Peppers, Bears / 151,232
RB / Adrian Peterson, Vikings / 400,921 DT Ndamukong Suh, Lions 150,595
FB / Heath Evans, Saints / 96,320 OLB / Clay Matthews, Packers / 183,894
WR / Roddy White, Falcons / 216,313 ILB / Patrick Willis, 49ers / 112,436
TE / Tony Gonzalez, Falcons / 178,129 CB / Charles Woodson, Packers / 153,713
T / David Diehl, Giants / 73,110 SS / LaRon Landry, Redskins / 112,333
G / Steve Hutchinson, Vikings / 89,699 FS / Antrel Rolle, Giants / 86,009
C / Shaun O'Hara, Giants / 101,995 P / Chris Kluwe, Vikings / 48,591
K / David Akers, Eagles / 89,420 ST / Heath Farwell, Vikings / 80,993
KR / Devin Hester, Bears / 105,204