The Pro Bowl will take place this Sunday (8:00 p.m. ET on ESPN) in Arizona, and five Indianapolis Colts players were named to the original Pro Bowl roster: quarterback Andrew Luck, wide receiver T.Y. Hilton, cornerback Vontae Davis, kicker Adam Vinatieri, and punter Pat McAfee. It sounds as if a sixth Colt will be joining them, as safety Mike Adams said on twitter and instagram this morning that he has been named to the Pro Bowl (he was an alternate):
<blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-version="4" style=" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:658px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);"><div style="padding:8px;"> <div style=" background:#F8F8F8; line-height:0; margin-top:40px; padding:50% 0; text-align:center; width:100%;"> <div style=" background:url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAACwAAAAsCAMAAAApWqozAAAAGFBMVEUiIiI9PT0eHh4gIB4hIBkcHBwcHBwcHBydr+JQAAAACHRSTlMABA4YHyQsM5jtaMwAAADfSURBVDjL7ZVBEgMhCAQBAf//42xcNbpAqakcM0ftUmFAAIBE81IqBJdS3lS6zs3bIpB9WED3YYXFPmHRfT8sgyrCP1x8uEUxLMzNWElFOYCV6mHWWwMzdPEKHlhLw7NWJqkHc4uIZphavDzA2JPzUDsBZziNae2S6owH8xPmX8G7zzgKEOPUoYHvGz1TBCxMkd3kwNVbU0gKHkx+iZILf77IofhrY1nYFnB/lQPb79drWOyJVa/DAvg9B/rLB4cC+Nqgdz/TvBbBnr6GBReqn/nRmDgaQEej7WhonozjF+Y2I/fZou/qAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC); display:block; height:44px; margin:0 auto -44px; position:relative; top:-22px; width:44px;"></div></div> <p style=" margin:8px 0 0 0; padding:0 4px;"> <a href="https://instagram.com/p/yE_ZNbqrav/" style=" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;" target="_top">It took me 11 years to get to this point and all I could think of is the Grind! "MOMMA I MADE IT!" (in my Hov voice) #numbersdontlie #jayz #nostruggle #noprogress #straightouttapatterson #teamadams #ColtsNation</a></p> <p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;">A photo posted by Pops (@mdotadams) on <time style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;" datetime="2015-01-20T13:47:38+00:00">Jan 20, 2015 at 5:47am PST</time></p></div></blockquote>
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Congrats to Mike Adams, who had a very good season after being signed as a free agent last offseason. He started all sixteen games for the Colts, notching 87 tackles (a career high), 11 passes defensed (tied for a career high), five interceptions (a career high) and two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries (both tying career highs). He was tied for the most takeaways of any NFL player with seven in the regular season. He was a huge influence at the Colts' safety position - a spot that had major questions entering the season. It still has plenty of questions, but Adams was a steadying force there.
Pro Bowl alternates are those players who replace those who can't or don't play in the Pro Bowl. That's what Adams is, and it's also what former Colts and current 49ers safety Antoine Bethea is, according to his twitter:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Humbled to be nominated for this years ProBowl. Thank you everyone for your support! <a href="http://t.co/YqoW2s0FPq">pic.twitter.com/YqoW2s0FPq</a></p>— Antoine Bethea (@ABethea41) <a href="https://twitter.com/ABethea41/status/557354363832631297">January 20, 2015</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Both the Colts' former safety and the guy who replaced him this year made the Pro Bowl, and so congrats to both Mike Adams and Antoine Bethea for the honor.