AFC PRO BOWL NEWS

CHIEFS & RAVENS POST NFL-HIGH EIGHT PLAYERS ON ALL-STAR SQUAD; FOUR COLTS, DOLPHINS, TITANS CHOSEN; 19 FIRST-TIME SELECTIONS

Eight Kansas City Chiefs, three of whom are honored as NFL All-Stars for the first time, and eight Baltimore Ravens, including four first-time Pro Bowl performers, top the American Football Conference for the most players from one team on the 2004 Pro Bowl squad that will face the National Football Conference All-Stars, the NFL announced today.

The Pro Bowl starting lineups will be announced on ABC-TV on Wild Card Saturday, January 3.

The 2004 Pro Bowl -- the 25th played in Honolulu, Hawaii – kicks off at 2:30 PM HT on Sunday, February 8 and will be broadcast live by ESPN and CBS Radio at 7:30 PM ET. 

The Indianapolis Colts, Miami Dolphins and Tennessee Titans will send four players each to Hawaii.  Represented by three players are the Pittsburgh Steelers.  Nineteen AFC players were selected for the first time, the most since 21 AFC Pro Bowl newcomers in the 1999 season.

Three NFL Europe League veterans are Pro Bowl-bound – Dallas interior lineman LA’ROI GLOVER (Barcelona, 1997), Kansas City return specialist DANTE HALL (Scotland, 2001) and Green Bay guard MARCO RIVERA (Scotland, 1997).

The 42-man AFC squad is comprised of 21 offensive and 17 defensive players plus four specialists.  A 43rd “need” player will be chosen by the AFC head coach and must be a linebacker, defensive end, cornerback or long-snapper.

The NFL is the only professional sports league that combines voting by fans, coaches and players in determining its all-star teams.  The consensus vote of each group counts one-third towards the total.  Each team submits two ballots – those of the coach and the players with no one permitted to vote for a player on his own team.  The NFL became the first professional sports league to offer online voting in 1995.

This year, a record 55 million votes were cast by fans on NFL.com in voting sponsored by Motorola and AT&T Wireless.  Fans were able to vote at more than 1,000 AT&T Wireless stores nationwide.

Three quarterbacks are named to each Pro Bowl squad.  Chosen for the 2004 game are Kansas City’s TRENT GREEN, who will play in his first Pro Bowl and leads the AFC with five 300-yard passing games; Indianapolis’ PEYTON MANNING, who is 99 yards away from becoming the first quarterback in NFL history to throw for 4,000 yards in five consecutive seasons; and first-time Pro Bowler STEVE MC NAIR of Tennessee, who leads the NFL with a 102.4 passer rating and is the franchise’s first All-Star quarterback since WARREN MOON in 1994.  McNair led all NFL All-Stars in fan balloting with 869,189 votes.

Joining the quarterbacks in the offensive backfield are PRIEST HOLMES of the Chiefs, JAMAL LEWIS of the Ravens and CLINTON PORTIS of the Denver Broncos.  Holmes earns his third consecutive All-Star selection while NFL rushing leader Lewis (1,747) and Portis will make their first trips to Hawaii.  The Chiefs’ TONY RICHARDSON also earns his first All-Star distinction as the AFC’s fullback in his ninth NFL season.

Two of the AFC’s three tackles hail from the top two clubs in the North as WILLIE ANDERSON of the Cincinnati Bengals becomes the second All-Star tackle in team history (Pro Football Hall of Famer ANTHONY MUÑOZ, 1981-91) along with Baltimore’s JONATHAN OGDEN, who was named to the AFC squad for the seventh consecutive season.  Kansas City’s WILLIE ROAF was selected for his ninth Pro Bowl and his second consecutive appearance on the AFC roster.  Also on the offensive line is a trio of guards which returns for its third consecutive All-Star appearance as a group: RUBEN BROWN of the Buffalo Bills, Pittsburgh’s ALAN FANECA, and WILL SHIELDS of Kansas City.  Shields will make his ninth consecutive Pro Bowl appearance, while Brown claims his eighth in a row and Faneca his third in a row.  Kansas City’s Roaf and Shields share the most seniority among AFC All-Stars with nine career Pro Bowl selections apiece.

At center, both the New York Jets’ KEVIN MAWAE and Denver’s TON NALEN were selected to their fifth Pro Bowl team.

Rounding out the AFC offense are tight ends TONY GONZALEZ of Kansas City, who makes his fifth consecutive appearance, and Baltimore’s TODD HEAP, who arrives in Hawaii for the second straight year.  Gonzalez leads all NFL tight ends in touchdowns (10) and Heap is the league’s only tight end to top his team in receptions (55).  The AFC’s wide receivers are MARVIN HARRISON of Indianapolis, Cincinnati’s CHAD JOHNSON, DERRICK MASON of Tennessee, and Pittsburgh’s HINES WARD.  Harrison’s selection is his fifth consecutive honor.  Johnson, the conference’s receiving- yards leader (1,211) travels to Hawaii for the first time.  Mason is an All-Star for the first time as a receiver after playing for the AFC as a kick returner in 2001.  Ward, who leads the conference with 87 receptions, now has three All-Star distinctions to tie JOHN STALLWORTH and LYNN SWANN for the most by a Steelers wide receiver.

Joining Baltimore’s three offensive players are four defenders and the AFC’s special teams player: outside linebacker PETER BOULWARE, inside linebacker RAY LEWIS, cornerback CHRIS MC ALISTER, strong safety ED REED and special teamer ADALIUS THOMAS.  McAlister, Reed and Thomas are first-time All-Stars while Boulware notches his fourth Pro Bowl trip and Lewis his sixth consecutive honor.

All three AFC defensive ends claim their first All-Star recognition.  SHAUN ELLIS of the Jets marks the third consecutive year that a Jet has earned an All-Star defensive end slot (JOHN ABRAHAM, 2002-03).  In his second NFL season, Indianapolis’ DWIGHT FREENEY becomes the first Colts All-Star defensive lineman to play in Hawaii and is the first Indianapolis defensive end to represent the AFC since 1977 when both MIKE BARNES and JOHN DUTTON made the team.  Lastly, AFC sack leader ADEWALE OGUNLEYE (13.0) of the Dolphins is one of four Miami defenders to play in the 50th state this year.

The New England Patriots’ RICHARD SEYMOUR makes his second consecutive Pro Bowl team and joins fellow interior defensive lineman CASEY HAMPTON of Pittsburgh and the Jacksonville Jaguars’ MARCUS STROUD.  Both Hampton and Stroud are first-time AFC All-Stars.

Joining Baltimore linebackers Boulware and Lewis are first-time Pro Bowl selections KEITH BULLUCK of Tennessee and Buffalo’s TAKEO SPIKES on the outside and ZACH THOMAS of Miami inside.  This will be Thomas’ fifth consecutive All-Star Game.

Teaming with the Ravens’ McAlister and Reed in the AFC defensive backfield are cornerbacks TY LAW of New England and AFC interception leader PATRICK SURTAIN (7) of Miami.  This is Law’s fourth Pro Bowl and Surtain’s second.  Earning the two free safety spots are Miami’s three-time All-Star BROCK MARION and the Chiefs’ JEROME WOODS, who is a Pro Bowl newcomer.  Woods is Kansas City’s first safety to play in the game since DERON CHERRY in 1989.

Completing the AFC’s roster of specialists with the Chiefs’ Hall and the Ravens’ Thomas are punter CRAIG HENTRICH of Tennessee and Indianapolis kicker MIKE VANDERJAGT.  Hentrich and Hall reach Hawaii for the second time while this is Vanderjagt’s first Pro Bowl.  Hentrich has placed 23 of 61 punts (37.7 percent) inside his opponents’ 20-yard line and ranks second in the conference with a 37.1-yard net average.  Hall has tied the NFL single-season record with four kicks returned for touchdowns, and Vanderjagt, who has made 38 consecutive field goals, is three away from claiming the longest such streak in NFL history.

The American Football Conference defeated the National Conference 45-20 in last season’s Pro Bowl, holds a 17-16 advantage in the series, and has won the past three games.  The 2004 coaching staff will be from the AFC Championship Game runner-up team.

The selected players with the most votes at each position are the designated starters, and will be announced on January 3.  Under terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, each player on the winning Pro Bowl team receives $35,000, while each player on the losing squad earns $17,500.
 

AMERICAN FOOTBALL CONFERENCE ALL-STARS
AFC-NFC PRO BOWL, SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2004, ALOHA STADIUM, HONOLULU, HAWAII
(* First-time Pro Bowl selection)

(Note: Starters will be announced January 3 on Wild Card Saturday on ABC-TV)

OFFENSE
 

DEFENSE
 

SPECIALISTS