Three Patriots named second team All-Pros

The Pro Bowl roster was announced last week, and while that's always fun to look at, it's hard to take seriously.

For one, no one watches the game. Secondly, with the fan vote factored in, the results tend to be less educated. Sorry, that's just how it is.

The real awards to pay attention to every year, in any sport, is the All-Pro teams. A roster selected by a panel of 50 media members.

The Patriots have three representatives on the second team this year.

At guard, Logan Mankins. Mankins has had his issues this year, but he's still been the anchor of that offensive line. They've sustained losses to Nate Solder, Sebastian Vollmer and even Marcus Cannon, but if they ever lost Logan Mankins, it'd be disastrous. He also stepped in for a game and a quarter at left tackle in a display of some great versatility.

At safety, Devin McCourty takes the honor on the second team. This one is probably the most significant, as McCourty was unjustifiably snubbed on the pro bowl roster. He's had arguably the best season by a safety this year.

Aqib Talib also rounds out the list on the second team. He arguably single-handedly won the Patriots at least three games this year (New York Jets in Week 2, Tampa Bay then Atlanta).

Now it can be debated how significant second team All-Pros actually are. It's virtually just the best of the rest. It's possible that some of these players may have just received one vote and been elected. Even so, it remains a better snapshot of a season than a Pro Bowl roster.