In his second season and for the second year in a row, Devon Witherspoon was named a Pro Bowler.

"It's special when the game recognizes who you are," Witherspoon said on the nomination. "So you take in that achievement and it feels good."

Witherspoon, by some standards, has had a quiet season, not putting up quite the same stats that he did during his rookie year, but a simple watch of the tape would show that he's been affecting the game.

"I think well deserved," Julian Love said. "I've said all season, anybody can put on the tape and see that guy plays hard every single snap. He's just one-of-one. There's only one Devon Witherspoon and so for him to get the honor, maybe if some of the fancy stats aren't as high as some peoples are, the tape is the tape. He's a great football player and he deserves the honor."

Witherspoon gives some credit to his teammates for the Pro Bowl nod, saying that his biggest improvement from last season to this year was, "bringing the team, the defense together and us playing as one. So we all played better together."

Witherspoon added, "We play better when we're all out there on the same accord and when we're going out there to dominate people. So my teammates made this come alive, man. It's not just me."

Throughout the season, Witherspoon's teammates and coaches have talked about the effort, energy and passion he plays with and to now get to add two-time Pro Bowler as part of his accolades is "heartwarming" for defensive coordinator Aden Durde.

"For Spoon to get the recognition for the way he plays the game is heartwarming," Durde said. "You see the effort that he puts in the ability he has to close down certain parts of the field, he's tackling his effort. All those things people recognize and they recognize what type of player he is and what he represents. I'm super happy for him."

On the flipside, teammate Leonard Williams, who’s been playing some of the best ball of his career was not voted to the Pro Bowl, but is an alternate, which was a shocker to most who have watched the way Williams has been playing this season.

"That's crazy," Witherspoon said. "I'm not going to lie. They have to review that or something, bro. They're tripping. I'm not going to lie. They're tripping."

And the stats speak for themselves. On the season so far, Williams leads the team with 9.0 sacks, 15 tackles for loss and 26 quarterback hits, and also had a 92-yard pick-six to help spark a comeback win over the Jets. Williams' sack and tackle for loss totals are tied for the most in the NFL among players who line up primarily as interior linemen.

"I mean it's pretty disappointing if I'm being honest," Williams said. "I feel like I definitely deserved it this year but you know I'm happy for the guys that made it. They equally deserved it. That's why they're in the Pro Bowl."

Williams added, "The year that I was having this year, I was like starting to think about Pro Bowl again and I was like, OK, maybe I deserve it again, and it just didn't happen. It doesn't mean everything at the end of the day, I feel like I have so much respect for my teammates. I have so much respect for my coaches and then also other coaches and players across the league have showed me a lot of respect and I think that's important for me."

Love who played with Williams during their time at the Giants said, "Leo obviously had just an insane year… you have to reward guys who have 92-yard pick-sixes, he was sealing a bunch of games for us, he played at a high level. One of the best defensive tackles in the game right now. It's unfortunate. He knows what he did this year is special, everyone around here knows what he did was special. I think we're all shocked by that one."

Quarterback Geno Smith said, "I don't understand that one. Well, I do understand it man. I've been in Seattle long enough to know there's some type of a bias. I feel that way. Honestly, there's a lot of players that have been snubbed from a lot of things here and it's unfortunate for guys like Leo who has had a tremendous season. Guy had a pick-six at defensive tackle. He's been wrecking games. If you turn on the tape, there's no way this guy's not a Pro Bowler."