"Two linebackers primed for Pro Bowl run"

The may not be playing past December, but that doesn't mean every member of the team needs to suffer.The 2008 Pro Bowl voting polls opened this week -- yes, they open this early -- and the race to Honolulu is officially underway. The game won't be played until Feb. 10 of Steelers 10 Santonio Holmes jersey
next year, exactly 115 days from now. Yes, just 2,760 hours away. Don't blink.But it's never too early to pick favorites.Over the past two NFL seasons, only one Raider has made his way onto a Pro Bowl roster. Defensive end Derrick Burgess, who recorded 107 tackles and 27 sacks from 2005-06, started in the game two years ago and last year served as a backup to Miami's Jason Taylor.Cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha was also invited to make the trip to Hawaii belatedly last season, but the last-second offer left the unprepared Asomugha without a flight.It doesn't appear either will make the trip this year.Burgess has just one tackle and no sacks through six weeks, while Asomugha is yet to snag his first interception of the season.There are, however, two new candidates ready to impact the 2008 ballot for the Raiders.Young linebackers Thomas Howard, 24, and Kirk Morrison, 25, have combined for just five seasons of NFL exposure, but have made enough noise early this year to gain serious acclamation. On Wednesday, ESPN.com writer Len Pasquarelli, a 25-plus-year NFL analyst, recognized both athletic linebackers as paving the way for an up-and-coming trend in the NFL."Through six weeks, Oakland strongside linebacker Thomas Howard is tied with Dallas cornerback Anthony Henry for the league lead, with four interceptions," wrote Pasquarelli. "And three other linebackers, including Howard's teammate, Raiders standout middle linebacker Kirk Morrison, have three pickoffs each."At this point, it's not unreasonable to consider both players as Pro Bowl-caliber defenders.At his current pace, Howard will finish the year with 99 tackles, 13 interceptions, three sacks and 19 passes defensed. Already, the former second-round pick has found the end zone twice on defense.His counterpart, the 240-pound Morrison, is in position to put up comparable numbers. The ex-San Diego State standout is en route to finish the year with 106 tackles, 10 picks and 19 passes defensed. He has also forced a fumble."Compare that a year ago when no linebacker recorded more than three picks for the entire season," Pasquarelli added.If you've watched the Raiders at all this season, that seems hard to believe.Already, Morrison and Howard average just over one pick each game a third of the way through the season.Last year's Pro Bowl starter at middle linebacker for the AFC, former Denver Bronco Al Wilson, whose severe neck injury left him without a team this season, recorded 101 tackles, one sack and no interceptions in 2006. Morrison is on pace to shatter that tackle total and has already eclipsed the INT mark.Alongside Wilson, the top two AFC outside linebackers, Shawne Merriman (San Diego) and Adalius Thomas (Baltimore), together averaged just 73 tackles and one interception each last season; instead, they garnered votes by combining for an impressive 28 sacks.Howard may be able to Vikings Brett Favre jersey
find his way onto the roster via the interception route.Although, this early in the season, rest assured neither player is looking ahead to Feb. 10.Both youngsters are focused on Oct. 21, when the 2-3 Raiders host the 3-3 Kansas City Chiefs at McAfee Coliseum.It's never too early to give credit where credit's due, though.Dish out your own credit, Raider Nation: Vote for Nos. 52 and 53 now.