Thomas Davis isn’t supposed to be trending this way. As he gets older, it seems like he's getting better.

The 32-year-old Carolina Panthers linebacker is averaging nearly 10 tackles per game this season, on pace for what would easily be a career high of 152. With 10 games left, Davis has already matched his career best with two interceptions, and he’s halfway to his single-season career high of four sacks. The 11-year veteran has also made at least one bone-crushing hit per game while leading the unbeaten Panthers’ defense.

So is Davis playing better than ever?

"Honestly, he's been playing at this level since he came back from the last [knee] surgery he had,” coach Ron Rivera said Friday. "Just we've been on a bigger stage lately. We've had some good things that have happened for us the last couple years and he's gotten the notoriety that I think he deserves."

Well, not completely. Davis still hasn’t made the Pro Bowl. While that bugs him, it’s something he’s pretty much resigned to now.

"I'm always the No. 1 or No. 2 snub every year, so it's ok,” he said.

To see why Davis is left out, take a look at his numbers last season versus the six outside linebackers who went to the Pro Bowl:

Team	Player	Tackles	Sacks	PDef	FF
CAR	Thomas Davis	100	2.5	3	2
KC	Justin Houston	69	22.0	5	4
BAL	Elvis Dumervil	37	17.0	1	2
PHI	Connor Barwin	64	14.5	5	2
DEN	Von Miller	59	14.0	2	1
GB	Clay Matthews III	61	11.0	9	2
KC	Tamba Hali	59	6.0	0	3

It’s important to note, everyone on that list except Davis played in a 3-4 defense. Just like this list of Davis with the outside linebackers who went to the 2013 Pro Bowl:

Team	Player	Tackles	Sacks	PDef	FF
CAR	Thomas Davis	123	4.0	7	1
IND	Robert Mathis	59	19.5	1	8
ARI	John Abraham	37	11.5	3	4
KC	Justin Houston	44	11.0	4	1
KC	Tamba Hali	46	11.0	1	4
BAL	Terrell Suggs	80	10.0	0	0
WAS	Brian Orakpo	60	10.0	4	0

Yeah, that one column is why.

"The sack number is a huge number and it's not an indicator of being a true linebacker as much as a lot of guys getting the opportunity to put their hand down and rush the passer,” Rivera said. "We ask Thomas to cover guys, we ask Thomas to read the keys and flow with the ball and he's not always attacking vertically."

Rivera’s idea for giving guys like Davis a legit chance at making the Pro Bowl is to make separate categories, one for outside linebackers in a 4-3 defense and another for those in a 3-4.

"I'm agree with that,” Davis said. “Look at all the 4-3 outside guys that got left out last year: DeAndre Levy, Lavonte David. Those guys have played tremendously over the last few years and haven't gotten recognized.

"Even if I don't make it, I just feel like those guys play well enough. Lavonte David a couple years ago made first-team All-Pro and didn't even make the Pro Bowl. I think that speaks to itself that 4-3 guys get left out."

You can’t blame Davis for being realistic about his fate. Unless the NFL changes the setup, it’s highly likely he’ll end his career without ever playing in the Pro Bowl.

When asked to make a pitch for why he should make it, Davis quickly declined. But he won't stop others who want to start stumping for him.

"Hey, campaign, go for it, I'm all for it,” Davis said.

"At this point in my career, I just play the game. Play the game for the love and the passion and trying to win. That's really what it boils down to. At the end of the year, individually, if something happens, it happens, if it doesn't, you keep moving.

"I can't get caught up in that stuff because at the end of the day it's not up to me. I'm doing what I need to do to put myself in position to be recognized by going out and doing my job, doing whatever I can to help this team win. If it's one of those things where it's recognized, then, hey, I'm all for it. If it's not, then I'm still going to continue to play the game the way I have."