Damon Harrison: Pro Bowl prefers sacks over “Snacks”

The 2018 NFL Pro Bowl selections were announced Tuesday and there was one “Giant” snub. Damon Harrison missed the cut yet again and shows that the NFL only cares about sacks.

When the 2018 NFL Pro Bowl selections were announced, there was only one member of the New York Giants on the NFC roster. Landon Collins was voted the starting strong safety, making his second consecutive Pro Bowl.

Collins deserved to be recognized for his performance this season. Within the dumpster fire that has been the 2017 season for the Giants, Collins has continued to show up and give his best. However, there is another New York Giant who has stood out this year — Damon Harrison.

“Snacks” got snubbed from the Pro Bowl this year, despite leading the NFL in run stops. Harrison is also Pro Football Focus‘s No. 5 interior defensive lineman with a 90.7 overall grade this season, which they categorize as “elite”.

Representing the NFC on the defensive interior are Fletcher Cox of the Philadelphia Eagles, Aaron Donald of the Los Angeles Rams, and Gerald McCoy of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Admittedly, those three of some of the best interior defensive linemen in the game. It’s tough to argue one of them shouldn’t be a Pro Bowler, but it’s easy to argue that Harrison should be.

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What stands out when comparing stats for Harrison, Cox, Donald, and McCoy, is that “Snacks” does not produce the sack numbers the other three do.

Donald is the most dominant interior pass rusher among the quartet (and in the NFL). Despite holding out all preseason and missing Week 1, Donald has 11 sacks on the season thus far as well as four forced fumbles.

Cox has 5.5 sacks and a forced fumble this season and McCoy has five sacks of his own. Harrison, on the other hand, has just 1.5 quarterback takedowns.

However, if we take a look at total tackles, “Snacks” leads the group. Harrison has 66 total tackles this season, which is significantly more than McCoy (40), Donald (39), and Cox (23).

When it comes to stopping the run, Harrison blows the competition away. According to Pro Football Focus, he leads the NFL with 33 run stops, has the top run defense grade at 94.2, and is tied for second in run stop percentage at 12.4.

PFF even said that “Snacks” was one of their 12 biggest Pro Bowl snubs and that he should replace Gerald McCoy on the NFC roster.

They agree that Harrison’s run-stuffing talent has taken a back seat to the top interior pass rushers:

"People just don’t appreciate the run game when it comes to Pro Bowl voting. The interior players with all the sacks get the votes, and players like Harrison, who is truly unstoppable against the run, are ignored. Harrison – again – leads all interior defenders with 33 defensive stops, a year after leading the league with 52. He is within touching distance of leading it again in run-stop percentage, which would mark the fifth straight season he has led this statistical category, or every year of his career in which he played more than a dozen snaps. Put on the tape and watch Harrison against the run closely, he is just a force that changes how teams have to run the ball against the Giants."

Damon Harrison is one of, if not the best run stuffer in the NFL, yet he’s never been named to a Pro Bowl in his career. He was named a fourth alternate this season, which is almost a slap in the face.

The Pro Bowl needs to start recognizing the ability to stop the run! Especially when it comes to interior defensive linemen! Clogging up the middle is so important for a defense. It shuts down the running game and allows pass rushers to feast on the outside.

Next: Landon Collins makes second consecutive Pro Bowl

When it comes to stopping the run, there is no one better than Damon Harrison. Unfortunately, the Pro Bowl prefers sacks over “Snacks”.