Updated, 7:35 p.m. ET
Jets cornerback Antonio Cromartie and safety LaRon Landry have been named to the AFC's Pro Bowl roster as revealed tonight on NFL Network's "NFL Total Access Pro Bowl Selection Show" that aired at 7 p.m. ET.
The Jets' two Pro Bowlers at the moment are the fewest they've had in the last five seasons. But on the other hand, it's the first time in franchise history that they'll be sending two defensive backs to the NFL's annual all-star game.
"It's a great individual accomplishment for me, but overall I'd rather be playing in the playoffs right now," Cromartie told Jets reporters on a conference call this evening. "I didn't expect anything, to be honest with you. To me, I just went out and played football the best way I knew how.
Cromartie, named the Jets' Curtis Martin Team MVP last week, had gone to one previous Pro Bowl, in 2007, when he had a league-leading 10 INTs in his second season in the NFL as a member of the Chargers. He's carrying on the tradition of top-notch Jets corners being recognized as among the best in the game, most recently Darrelle Revis, who went to the four previous Pro Bowls but was KO'd this season by a knee injury in Game 3 at Miami.
"For my consistency over the entire year, yeah, I'd say this is my best year," Cromartie said, "even better than the year I had 10 interceptions."
Landry, who spent his first five seasons with the Redskins and the previous two fighting through heel problems that limited his time on the field, has played the entire season in the deep middle for the Jets and is going to his first Pro Bowl, which this year will be held Jan. 27 at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu. He is the first Jets safety to be selected for the game in 23 seasons, or since Erik McMillan went to back-to-back Pro Bowls following the 1988-89 seasons.
Both Cromartie and Landry were named reserves on this year's squad.
"Cro" added about the Jets' secondary, which is one of the key components of their second-ranked NFL pass defense this week: "Our secondary's pretty danged good. When Revis went down, that's when guys took it on themselves to make sure everyone was being accountable on the back end, they made sure they were doing what they should be doing. And it's great for LaRon, for what he's been through in his career, to make it to his first Pro Bowl."
Two other mainstays of the Jets' recent successful seasons plus one of the league's top kickoff return men are waiting in the wings as Pro Bowl alternates should they be called to join the AFC roster due to injuries or to the departures of the AFC's Super Bowl team representatives from the initial roster.
T D'Brickashaw Ferguson is a second alternate at tackle after playing in the last three Pro Bowls, and the last two as an O-line starter. And C Nick Mangold is a third alternate, having been named to the four previous all-star games, three of them as the AFC's starting center.
Then Joe McKnight also benefited from the two-thirds voting contributed by the players and the coaches to the fans' online voting that ended following the Jets-Titans Monday night game. McKnight, who has a 28.6-yard kickoff return average this season, among the league leaders one year after he led the NFL with a 31.6-yard average in 2011, is also listed as a third alternate among the AFC kick returners.
We're attempting to reach Landry tonight for his reaction to making the Pro Bowl. All Jets Pro Bowl players and alternates will be available following Thursday's practice at the Atlantic Health Training Center for interviews and we'll bring those responses to you in tomorrow's coverage from Florham Park, N.J., on newyorkjets.com.
Photos: Antonio Cromartie | LaRon Landry
