Wednesday, December 16, 1998
Associated Press
Quarterback Randall Cunningham, left, and
receiver Randy Moss were voted to the AFC
team for the Pro Bowl today.
Pro Bowl
teams named
Rice, Moss will make the trip
Associated Press
to Hawaii for Feb. 7 game; Emmitt
Smith and Favre were left outNEW YORK -- Jerry Rice, who missed almost all of 1997 with knee injuries, made it back to the Pro Bowl today along with the man who may someday break his receiving records, Minnesota rookie Randy Moss.
Not surprisingly, the Denver Broncos and Minnesota Vikings, who lead their conferences with 13-1 records, placed the most players on the team, nine each.
The Vikings on the roster for the Feb. 7 game in Honolulu are: Moss, receiver Cris Carter, tackle Todd Steussie, guard Randall McDaniel, center Jeff Christy, quarterback Randall Cunningham, defensive tackle John Randle, inside linebacker Ed McDaniel and kicker Gary Anderson.
Moss, the only rookie on either squad, is a starter, along with Randall McDaniel, Christy and Randle.
The nine Broncos are: quarterback John Elway, running back Terrell Davis, wide receiver Ed McCaffrey, offensive tackle Tony Jones, center Tom Nalen, tight end Shannon Sharpe, linebacker Bill Romanowski, safety Steve Atwater, and kicker Jason Elam.
Elam, a graduate of the University of Hawaii, will be making his second appearance in the all-star contest.
McCaffrey, Sharpe, Elway, Davis and Atwater are starters.
Among the notable absentees is Brett Favre, the three-time league MVP, who was beaten out at quarterback in the NFC by San Francisco's Steve Young, Cunningham and Atlanta's Chris Chandler. Also missing are Dallas running back Emmitt Smith, beaten out by Detroit's Barry Sanders, Atlanta's Jamal Anderson and San Francisco's Garrison Hearst.
Also among the missing is 49ers wide receiver Terrell Owens, who is averaging 16.1 yards a catch to 13.6 for Rice and has 12 touchdowns to Rice's seven, and linebacker Zach Thomas of Miami, leader of the league's top defense.
On the AFC team, Jimmy Smith of Jacksonville and McCaffrey are the starting wide receivers, backed up by Eric Moulds of Buffalo and Keyshawn Johnson of the New York Jets; Jacksonville's Tony Boselli and Baltimore's Jonathan Ogden are the tackles, with Jones in reserve; Buffalo's Ruben Brown and Tennessee's Bruce Matthews are the guards, backed up by Kansas City's Will Shields, and Pittsburgh's Dermonnti Dawson is the center, backed up by Nalen.
Sharpe and New England's Ben Coates are the tight ends.
Elway is the starting quarterback with Vinny Testaverde of the Jets and Buffalo's Doug Flutie in reserve; Davis and Indianapolis' Marshall Faulk are the running backs, with Tennessee's Eddie George in reserve, and the Bills' Sam Gash is the fullback.
On defense, the ends are Baltimore's Michael McCrary and Buffalo's Bruce Smith, backed up by Seattle's Michael Sinclair; Darrell Russell of Oakland and Tim Bowens of Miami are at tackle with Buffalo's Ted Washington in reserve.
The outside linebackers are Chad Brown of Seattle and Mo Lewis of the Jets, along with Romanowski. Junior Seau of San Diego starts at inside linebacker backed up by the Ravens' Ray Lewis.
The cornerbacks are New England's Ty Law and the Jets' Aaron Glenn backed up by Seattle's Shawn Springs, and the safeties are Rodney Harrison backed up by Lawyer Milloy of New England at strong safety with Atwater at free safety. The specialists are punter Craig Hentrich of Tennessee, Elam at kicker and two Ravens -- kick returner Jermaine Lewis and special teamer Bennie Thompson.
The NFC team features Moss and Green Bay's Antonio Freeman with Carter and Rice behind them at wide receiver; tackles Larry Allen of Dallas and William Roaf of New Orleans, backed by Steussie. Randall McDaniel and San Francisco's Kevin Gogan are the starting guards and the Cowboys' Nate Newton the backup; Christy and Tampa Bay's Tony Mayberry are the centers and Green Bay's Mark Chmura and Carolina's Wesley Walls the tight ends.
Young is the quarterback, with Barry Sanders, Anderson, and Hearst the running backs and Tampa Bay's Mike Alstott at fullback.
On defense, Green Bay's Reggie White and the New York Giants' Michael Strahan are the ends, with Joe Johnson of New Orleans the backup, and Randle and Tampa Bay's Warren Sapp are the tackles backed by Dallas' Leon Lett.
The outside linebackers are Derrick Brooks of Tampa Bay, Kevin Greene of Carolina and Jessie Armstead of the Giants, and the inside linebackers are Jessie Tuggle of Atlanta and Ed McDaniel.
Dallas' Deion Sanders and Atlanta's Ray Buchanan are the starting cornerbacks backed up by Arizona's Aeneas Williams. The starting safeties are Green Bay's LeRoy Butler and Atlanta's Eugene Robinson, a former Packer. The backup is Dallas' Darren Woodson.
The NFC specialists are punter Matt Turk of Washington; Anderson; kick returner Roell Preston of Green Bay and special teamer Michael Bates of Carolina.
