Lott One of Eight Raiders Going to Pro Bowl; No Rams Make It : Pro football: Six of eight Oilers named will be starters. Redskins and Bills also place eight players in the Feb. 2 game.
The Houston Oilers led the Pro Bowl parade Wednesday by placing six starters and two backups on the AFC team.
The Oilers, 11-4 going into their final game Saturday with the New York Giants, were one of four playoff teams to place eight players on the Pro Bowl squads--Washington (14-1), Buffalo (13-2) and the Raiders (9-6) were the others.
The Rams were one of six teams that failed to have a player named. The others were Indianapolis, the New York Jets, Seattle, Green Bay, and Tampa Bay.
Vindication was sweet for four of the eight Raiders that made it.
Ronnie Lott, a Plan B free agent thought to be fading, was named to his 10th Pro Bowl at his third different position.
Other Raiders selected who were once castoffs included kicker Jeff Jaeger, left on Plan B by Cleveland in 1989, punter Jeff Gossett, cut several times in a 10-year career, and tight end Ethan Horton, a former No. 1 pick with Kansas City who never panned out as a running back.
Other Raiders named to the team were defensive end Greg Townsend, for the second time, guard Steve Wisniewski (second), center Don Mosebar (third) and Tim Brown, selected for the second time as a kick returner.
Lott made the team at strong safety. While in San Francisco, he was named as both a cornerback and free safety.
“That’s pretty exciting,” he said of making the Pro Bowl at three positions. “It was a goal of mine to come in and try to see if I can do it.”
Lott, 32, said it was not his goal to prove the San Francisco 49ers wrong for leaving him unprotected on Plan B.
“I was trying to send a message to myself, trying to challenge myself,” he said.
The most deserving Raider not named was Elvis Patterson, who was trying to make the squad as a special teams player. Steve Tasker of Buffalo was named instead.
Patterson was selected as a first alternate. Howie Long and Riki Ellison were named as second alternates.
Oilers who will be starters in the Feb. 2 game are wide receiver Haywood Jeffires, center Bruce Matthews, guard Mike Munchak, defensive end William Fuller, cornerback Cris Dishman and linebacker Al Smith. The backups are defensive tackle Ray Childress and quarterback Warren Moon, who with Miami’s Dan Marino will play behind Buffalo’s Jim Kelly.
For the most part, the rosters are typical for the Pro Bowl--the teams that won got the most players.
“This is the kind of recognition you get when you start having success,” said Dallas quarterback Troy Aikman, named one of the NFC’s two backups to Washington’s Mark Rypien.
He was one of four players named to the squad from the Cowboys, who have improved from 1-15 two seasons ago to 10-5 and an NFC wild-card berth this year.
The defending Super Bowl champion Giants (7-8) landed just one berth on the NFC team--center Bart Oates is a backup. A notable absentee was the Giants’ linebacker, Lawrence Taylor, who set a record by making the Pro Bowl in each of his first 10 seasons. Anthony Munoz of Cincinnati, who has an injured knee, made the AFC squad for the 11th time.
Instead, the NFC defense is dominated by Philadelphia, which was eliminated from the playoffs last weekend, and playoff-bound New Orleans.
The Eagles will have the entire starting defensive front--ends Reggie White and Clyde Simmons and tackle Jerome Brown. That’s the first time three defensive linemen from one team have started since 1980, when Fred Dean, Gary Johnson and Louie Kelcher of San Diego started.
Philadelphia, which leads the league in defense, also placed outside linebacker Seth Joyner as a starter. The other three starting linebackers are all from New Orleans--Pat Swilling on the outside and Sam Mills and Vaughn Johnson inside.
Atlanta’s Chris Miller is the other backup to Rypien in the NFC.
PRO BOWL ROSTERS: C10