Each year the fans, players, and coaches select players to the Pro Bowl and every season it seems more and more painfully clear that it’s not based on performance, but popularity instead.

Anyone who watched the NFL this season knows what it is I’m talking about.  Fans log onto NFL.com and pick players from their favorite teams and players pick friends, but the results would lead one to believe these picks are rarely based on an apparently lost word – performance.   

I’d love to see with a show of hands who thinks Jonathon Ogden earned himself a spot on the Pro Bowl Team.  Just as I suspected… no one does.  A player earning himself a spot this year was Tarik Glenn, but Glenn’s name isn’t a household name like Ogden’s, so unfortunately he’s out and Ogden’s in.

Can anyone here tell me how a player, who misses as many games as Richard Seymour did, makes the Pro Bowl?  Again, this isn't about doubting that someone is a terrific football player and immensely valuable to his team, but instead just another household name making it in more on past performance or reputation than for his play for that season.

Michael Vick, Ty Law, Rod Smith, Jake Delhomme are all examples of players who make the Pro Bowl much more by name than performance.

No one can tell me any of these players listed above were great players this season, but more significant, greater than a number of players snubbed because of their selection.  Law’s best days are behind him, as are Smith’s, and Vick still takes the podium to declare himself a quarterback.  Somehow Vick’s runs manage to confuse people into thinking he’s a new breed of quarterback, associating that ability with being pro bowl QB…instead of Mark Brunell for example, whose production in the passing game surpasses Vick’s on the ground and through the air.

It’s time players were selected to participate in the Pro Bowl simply based on the merits of performance that season and without regard for years past.

So I’ve come up with my own list which I feel rewards players for this season – not the past.

My Pro Bowl Rosters:

AFC Offense

Quarterbacks:  Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Carson Palmer

Running Backs:  LaDainian Tomlinson, Edgerrin James, Larry Johnson

Fullback:  Dan Kreider

Wide Receivers:  Chad Johnson, Marvin Harrison, Chris Chambers

Tight Ends:  Antonio Gates, Tony Gonzalez

Tackles:  Willie Anderson, Tarik Glenn, Willie Roaf

Guards:  Alan Faneca, Will Shields, Brian Waters

Centers:  Jeff Hartings, Jeff Saturday

AFC Defense

Defensive Ends:  Jason Taylor, Aaron Schobel, Derrick Burgess

Interior Linemen:  Marcus Stroud, Jamal Williams, Casey Hampton,

Outside Linebackers:  Joey Porter, Shawne Merriman, Keith Bulluck

Inside Linebackers:  Jonathon Vilma, Mike Peterson

Cornerbacks:  Deltha O’Neal, Champ Bailey, Ike Taylor

Strong Safety:  Troy Polamalu

Free Safety:  Bob Sanders

NFC Pro Bowl Roster

NFC Offense

Quarterbacks:  Matt Hasselbeck, Drew Bledsoe, Mark Brunell

Running Backs:  Shaun Alexander, Tiki Barber, Clinton Portis

Fullback:  Mack Strong

Wide Receivers:  Steve Smith, Larry Fitzgerald, Santana Moss

Tight Ends:  Alge Crumpler, Jeremy Shockey

Tackles:  Walter Jones, Orlando Pace, Chris Samuels

Guards:  Steve Hutchinson, Mike Whale, Larry Allen

Centers:  LeCharles Bentley, Olin Kreutz

NFC Defense

Defensive Ends:  Michael Strahan, Osi Umenyiora, Julius Peppers

Interior Linemen:  Pat Williams, Rod Coleman, Tommie Harris

Outside Linebackers:  Lance Briggs, Demorrio Williams, Derrick Brooks

Inside Linebackers:  Brian Urlacher, Nick Barnett, Lofa Tatupu

Cornerbacks:  DeAngelo Hall, Nathan Vasher, Chris Gamble

Strong Safety:  Adrian Wilson                                    

Free Safety:  Darren Sharper