Yesterday's post about the most underrated Falcons brought a couple comments about Jonathan Babineaux. Like a spark at an oil refinery, it set off a fireball of thought in my brain.
See, Babineaux is one of the better defensive tackles in the NFL. Your advanced metrics will tell you that, but so will the fact that Babs has ten sacks in the last two seasons and four forced fumbles to go with that. He's a penetrating tackle and a key cog on the line, and year after year he's as close to brilliant as a nearly 300 pound man can be.
Yet for all that, the man I fondly call the USS Babineaux gets no due. Babs has never made a Pro Bowl, has rarely been mentioned among the elite in the NFL and gets sporadic notice inside the Falcons fanbase. It's bizarre, frankly.
Why can't Babineaux get his due from so many pundits and analysts? It's a combination of a couple of different factors. Number one, the Falcons are still struggling to get national recognition, with that coming piecemeal as they achieve success. Number two, defensive tackle in a relatively low-profile position, and it's guys who play in big markets and get their names repeated who get Pro Bowl berths. I'm sorry, but I don't believe Jay Ratliff is better than Babs.
I'd like to hear why you think Babineaux is underappreciated, if you do indeed think that. Sound off!