Pat McAfee INDIANAPOLIS, IN – NOVEMBER 08: Pat McAfee #1 of the Indianapolis Colts celebrates after the 55 yard field goal by Adam Vinatieri during the game against the Denver Broncos at Lucas Oil Stadium on November 8, 2015 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
NFLOnline OutletsBy Andrew Bucholtz on

Selections to the Pro Bowl and All-Pro teams matter for NFL players, not just from an ego perspective but often from a contract perspective. Thus, it’s not surprising to see people complaining when they’re not picked to one team or another. Indianapolis Colts’ punter Pat McAfee was more vehement than most, though, going off on quite a rant about the media Thursday triggered by All-Pro voting.

This rant came after McAfee found out he wasn’t chosen to “the media’s All-Pro team.” He presumably means the Associated Press All-Pro team, the most widely recognized one, but other current media All-Pro teams include one from the Professional Football Writers’ Association and one from Pro Football Focus. The AP and the PFWA both chose Rams’ punter Johnny Hekker instead (but the PFWA did name McAfee All-AFC), but PFF picked McAfee over Hekker. Anyway, here’s what McAfee had to say about “the media”:

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McAfee’s complaints here are understandable; he had a great season and was given the All-Pro honor by coaches and players, but not by “the media,” and that has to be annoying. However, his media criticisms don’t necessarily carry a lot of weight when they’re so specifically linked to something he didn’t get. (Especially considering that those All-Pro teams do not have honorable mentions.) And would he be going on the same rant against coaches or players if he’d been chosen by the media but not in the other All-Pro selections? Probably not. “The media” is an easier target.

It also isn’t really fair to blame the entire media for these selections. The AP panel is “50 writers and broadcasters who regularly cover the NFL,” and while its selections carry a lot of weight given their history, there are many NFL journalists who don’t vote for the AP All-Pro team. The PFWA pool is wider, but it’s still not “the media.”

McAfee’s entitled to complain all he wants, and maybe the voters got it wrong, or maybe they didn’t. Both McAfee and Hekker had excellent seasons, and you can make a case for either. (In fact, Brad Gagnon argues in this Guardian piece that ” Johnny Hekker goes to the Pro Bowl as the most dominant punter ever.”) That’s part of the value of multiple All-Pro teams; they provide the chance to recognize more people, and give each different group (coaches, players, media) a chance to recognize who they feel is worthy. It’s understandable that players who feel snubbed get mad, especially when being picked to these teams often includes contract bonuses. However, taking over the “bum ass media” is quite the response, as is complaining about “too many dumbass fanboys.” Good luck with your media takeover there, Pat.

[Pat McAfee on Twitter]

About Andrew Bucholtz

Andrew Bucholtz has been covering sports media for Awful Announcing since 2012. He is also a staff writer for The Comeback. His previous work includes time at Yahoo! Sports Canada and Black Press.

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