Bear Digest

Bears Underrated Duo Can't Get Recognized on Underrated Team

If ever two players deserved identification as being underrated it's a current Bears duo and neither can even earn recognition on one website's all-underrated team.

Gene Chamberlain

T.J. Edwards put in a Pro Bowl type of season without even getting proper recognition but now he can't even make an all-underrated team.
T.J. Edwards put in a Pro Bowl type of season without even getting proper recognition but now he can't even make an all-underrated team. / Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports
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It seems only so appropriate, even if it is another slap in the face for someone who gets one quite often.

Bears linebacker T.J. Edwards failed to make the Pro Bowl last year despite very impressive numbers and now he has even failed to make an all-underrated defense picked for The 33rd Team.

Steve Palazzolo reveals his all-underrated defense for the website on a video and Giants linebacker Bobby Okereke and Saints linebacker Demario Davis made it. But Edwards did not.

So the excellent linebacker who fails to get recognized for the Pro Bowl because he's basically underrated can't even make an all-underrated team.

Now that's really underrated.

To his credit, Pro Football Focus mainstay Sam Monson berates Palazzolo in the video release of this underrated team for not having Edwards on the team.

"Demario Davis would not be a name that I had on my list," Monson says. "But the correct answer for the most underrated linebacker in the NFL would be TJ Edwards. You can't have anybody other than TJ Edwards."

Palazzolo knew it was coming, so maybe he should have had Edwards instead of Davis?

"Undrafted, he's so slighted and ignored and overlooked," Monson says of Edwards. "And he's had to come up the hard way: preseason, special teams, you know, smaller role on defense. And ultimately earns himself a starting role.

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"And he's just been good every step of the way: Good college player, good in preseason, good on special teams, good in a limited role, and now good as a full-time every down starter."

After the linebackers release, Monson gets in one good shot at his partner over the lack of Edwards being on the team when he asks him to reveal the all-underrated secondary.

"OK, now, why don't you take a swing at not screwing up the secondary," Monson says.

Palazzolo owns no monopoly on snubbing the underrated in this case.

Monson picked the all-underrated offense and left off DJ Moore, who has never made a Pro Bowl, but he put Drake London on it.

London is a receiver who has averaged 70.5 catches for his first two years and hasn't gone over 905 yards, yet Moore has played six seasons and averages almost 1,100 yards a year and 77 catches, has never been named to the Pro Bowl and didn't make it last year despite 96 catches and 1,364 yards receiving from a quarterback who hasn't gone over 2,562 yards and 61.2% completions for any season in his career.

And Moore can't even make an all-underrated team?

There's enough guilt to be shared by both Monson and Palazzolo when they made these teams and videos. For shame.

Twitter: BearDigest@BearsOnMaven

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

BearDigest.com publisher Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.