FOXBORO, Mass. (AP) – Defensive end Richard Seymour was chosen for his third straight Pro Bowl and joined three other New England Patriots on the AFC squad announced Wednesday.

Quarterback Tom Brady, placekicker Adam Vinatieri and special-teams player Larry Izzo also were picked for the game scheduled for Feb. 13 in Honolulu.

Two of the best players on the defending Super Bowl champions – strong safety Rodney Harrison, the Patriots’ leading tackler, and running back Corey Dillon – were left off the roster selected by players, coaches and fans.

“It’s not in my control,” Seymour said before the selections were announced. “I think my play speaks for itself, but I think there’s more to it than that. I think Rodney’s a guy who definitely deserves it year in and year out and he’s not (chosen).”

Why not?

“I think you guys can figure that out,” Seymour told reporters, implying that one factor is Harrison’s reputation as an extremely hard hitter who antagonizes opponents.

The AFC strong safeties chosen were Troy Polamulu of Pittsburgh and Ed Reed of Baltimore. Reed leads the NFL with eight interceptions, Polamulu has five and Harrison has three.

Seymour is second on the Patriots with five sacks after getting a career-high eight last year

“The older that you get, it becomes harder to make” the Pro Bowl squad, he said. “The more people see you play, the more they are going to concentrate on you.”

Dillon wasn’t selected despite being on the brink of breaking the team’s single-season rushing record of 1,487 yards set by Curtis Martin in 1995. Martin leads the NFL this year with 1,511 yards rushing, while Dillon is fourth with 1,430.

Indianapolis’ Edgerrin James, second in the league in rushing, and San Diego’s LaDainian Tomlinson, ranked eighth, were chosen along with Martin, whose New York Jets face the Patriots on Sunday.

Brady was picked for the second time in his career. The first came after the 2001 season, when he was the Super Bowl MVP. He wasn’t selected last season when he won his second Super Bowl MVP award.

The other AFC quarterbacks chosen were Drew Brees of San Diego and Peyton Manning of Indianapolis.

Vinatieri made the team one other time, in 2002, and is having an outstanding season. He has made 28 of his 29 field goal attempts and leads the NFL with 127 points. But he hasn’t tried a field goal in the last three games.

“Everybody congratulated each of us for about five minutes and now it’s back to going in and watching film on the Jets,” Vinatieri said. “It’s an honor for any player that makes it over to Hawaii on any team, but this is still about the regular season.”

Izzo, a linebacker, was picked for the Pro Bowl in 2000 with Miami and 2002 with New England. He leads the Patriots with 25 special teams tackles.

“To be selected by your peers, the coaches and the fans is something I take a lot of pride in,” he said.

AP-ES-12-22-04 2016EST