Ravens fans appreciate special teams just like their Head Coach John Harbaugh.
But there's a bunch of Ravens on the offensive and defensive side of the ball left out in the cold in fan Pro Bowl voting this year.
Punter Sam Koch is the Ravens' only Pro Bowler, according to fan voting.
Good thing fans count for only one-third of the final equation. NFL coaches and players will make up the other two-thirds.
The final 86 All-Star players will be revealed on NFL Network on Tuesday, Dec. 23 at 8 p.m. Players will later be assigned to teams through the Pro Bowl Draft during the week leading up to the game, which will also air on NFL Network.
The Ravens had four Pro Bowlers last year: outside linebacker Terrell Suggs, defensive tackle Haloti Ngata, guard Marshal Yanda and kicker Justin Tucker. They haven't had less than four since 2005 when tackle Jonathan Ogden was the lone representative.
The team with the most fan-voted Pro Bowlers is the Cleveland Browns, who sits in last place in the AFC North (7-7). The Browns have a whopping nine players, including five defenders.
Some of the picks don't make a whole lot of sense. For example, former Ravens outside linebacker turned Brown Paul Kruger got the nod over current Ravens outside linebacker Elvis Dumervil, who leads the league in sacks with 17. Kruger has 10 sacks. Rookie Browns guard Joel Bitonio got more votes than three-time Pro Bowler Marshal Yanda, who is having one of his finest seasons.
According to Pro Football Focus (PFF), the Ravens have three Pro Bowlers among their offensive line: Yanda, Kelechi Osemele and Rick Wagner. The analytical website also named running back Justin Forsett and linebackers Daryl Smith and Suggs as worthy reserves.
Koch, however, is one man that's happy with the voting.
"I appreciate all the support that I have," he said. "It doesn't surprise me with all the fans and the way they love the Baltimore Ravens. Hopefully coaches and players see the same thing."
It's the second time in Koch's nine-year career that he's finished atop the fan vote. He also did in 2010, but didn't get enough votes from players and coaches and was an alternate. Kicker Billy Cundiff went to the Pro Bowl for the Ravens that year instead.
"Hopefully I get the nod, but I've been in this situation before," Koch said. "A lot of these teams, when they go to look at it, they don't want to spend time on looking at [situational] punting. They just want to look at the numbers."
Koch does a lot more than just boom the ball. He's a directional punter who has been excellent pinning opponents back and to the sideline.
Koch ranks sixth in the NFL in punting average (46.9 yards), third in net average (43.3) and tied for fourth in touchbacks with just two.
He doesn't feel too bad for his teammates that were left out of fan voting.
"I'm sure there are guys that are still going to get to go," Koch said.
