Washington leads Pro Bowl voting at most positions

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It’s looking like a burgundy landslide in the Pro Bowl balloting as Washington football fans have players for their team leading at 16 of the 19 positions on the ballot.

Even those who haven’t played much or have played well below Pro Bowl caliber are getting the benefit of an aggressive get-out-the-vote campaign conducted by one of the most market-savvy teams in the NFL.

“It’s a surprise,” said Khary Campbell, who has a lead of more than 2 to 1 over the nearest competitor in voting for special-teams specialist. “But I’m happy to see our fans showing the overwhelming support they do have for us.”

The team’s campaign has been so effective that the NFL issued an e-mail last week to the digital media departments of all 32 teams in the league. It urged other teams to begin promoting Pro Bowl voting among their fans lest Washington get all the good spots.

Right now eight of the 11 NFC starters on both offense and defense, plus all four special teams players would come from Washington.

That’s not to say all 20 Washington players are shoo-ins. Fan voting on nfl.com continues through Dec. 9, and it counts for only one-third of the total. Then the coaches and players are polled separately, each counting for one-third.

But some of the leads are so large they could be tough to surmount under the complex formula the NFL uses for apportioning votes.

“Once other teams catch on,” punter Ryan Plackemeier said, “they’ll get some more votes for their guys.”

| The Associated Press

Posted on Wed, Nov. 19, 2008 10:15 PM

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