No Vikings Named to Pro Bowl

The Minnesota Vikings have had an up and down year in 2014. But with all the injuries and scandal surrounding the team, most fans would agree that they have performed above expectations in a lot of areas.

Apparently they didn't perform well enough to get anybody named to the 2015 Pro Bowl.

Nobody was clamoring for a dozen players to make the roster from Minnesota, but to get skunked is borderline ridiculous. Let's go through the Vikings candidates that had the strongest claim to being snubbed:

1. Harrison Smith: I'm sorry, but there is simply no excuse for Smith to be omitted from the Pro Bowl. It appears that the voters just said "hey Seattle's good, we should vote both of their safeties in" instead of watching the games. Smith hasn't had much help at the other safety position all season yet remains one of the very best in the league. Pro Football Focus has him as the third best safety in the league but somehow he couldn't crack the top six for Pro Bowl voting.
2. Everson Griffen: Making Jared Allen an afterthought is no easy task, but that's exactly what Griffen did this season. He compiled a career-high 12 sacks so far and is consistently solid against the run as well. The names ahead of Griffen on the Pro Bowl roster are definitely noteworthy, but it would be nice to see Everson recognized beyond Vikings Nation.
3. Xavier Rhodes: The second-year corner is quickly becoming one of the better defensive backs in the league. He recently completed a month-long stretch that saw him ranked among the NFL's elite by Pro Football Focus. The cornerback position does has a lot of elite talent so it's not a huge surprise that Rhodes didn't make it this season; one would think there will be plenty of seasons for him to make the team in the future.

Sharrif Floyd might have had a case at defensive tackle as well if he was able to stay on the field more this year. Of course at least one or two players will likely make the trip to Arizona after injuries and playoff obligations give way to alternates. Still, it seems like a pretty big injustice that zero Vikings were named to the original roster.