The Oakland Raiders are sending three members of their team to the Pro Bowl.
Two have been shoo-ins for awhile. Sebastian Janikowski has had another amazing season, hitting 12 of 15 field goals from 40 yards and beyond, including an NFL-tying record 63 yarder. Shane Lechler has been booming punts all season, with an average of 50 yards on his punts and 40 yards on his nets. Richard Seymour is a small surprise; he only has 27 tackles on the year but did accumulate six sacks.
The Raiders also had four alternates selected for the Pro Bowl. These include S Tyvon Branch, DT Tommy Kelly, RB Darren McFadden and FB Marcel Reece. They would be available to fill in for players that cannot play due to injury, playing in the Super Bowl the following week, or other reasons.
For the Raiders Pro Bowlers, Lechler and Janikowski led the fan vote. According to Bill Williamson, here are the Raiders that finished top five in fan voting: McFadden (4th), Marcel Reece (3rd - FB), Seymour (2nd - DT), Tommy Kelly (5th - DT), Tyvon Branch (4th - SS), Jacoby Ford (4th - KR), Rock Cartwright (4th - special teams). The team is determined by fan, player and coach vote with each group worth 1/3 the final vote, so it looks like the votes for Seymour made a huge difference.
To discuss the Raiders and their Pro Bowl selections, head to Silver and Black Pride.