Pro Bowl Blog!

It's that time again! Time for the best exhibition game the NFL has to offer! That's right, it's the Pro Bowl! I will be writing this blog post as I watch the game live, just as I did last year with the MLB All-Star Game. Basically this is my chance to throw out some thoughts on the NFL, the Pro Bowl, and sports in general. Let's dive right in.

- We've got about a half hour until the game gets under way, so this seems like a perfect time to discuss the future of the Pro Bowl. This will be the final year the game will be held in Hawaii, as starting next year it will be moved to the weekend before the Super Bowl and will be held in the city that the Super Bowl is being played in. I can't say that I'm a fan of this decision. First of all, one of the biggest complaints with the game is the number of star players that sit out of the game with "injuries," so to put the game the week before the Super Bowl ensures that there will be no players from the two Super Bowl contestants in the game. Second, the game being a week after the Super Bowl allowed it to be a nice wind-down ending to the season, a game that fans can watch (or not watch, since everyone seems to claim that they don't watch) without the pressure of rooting for a team and potentially being disappointed at the end of the year. It's simply a chance to root for players, even those on rival teams, and see guys play together that never would normally. I understand the complaints that the game isn't played like a normal game (no blitzing is allowed, for example, and teams aren't allowed to line up with four wide receivers, etc.), but that adds to the sense that there's no reason to live or die by the result. Just let it give you a chance to savor one last game before the long offseason.

Third, I have a problem with the game no longer being in Hawaii. Let's face it, the NFL doesn't get most of its revenue from ticket sales. Most of the money comes from merchandise and especially television contracts. So who cares if they can only fill half the stadium in Honolulu. Are they really going to sell out the 2011 Pro Bowl if it's in Indianapolis? (Then again, since they force season-ticket holders to buy preseason tickets at full price, maybe they'll just force Super Bowl ticket holders to buy Pro Bowl tickets are full price. Crap, I think I just gave Goddell an idea.) The idea is to have the game in a destination city, somewhere the players can go and feel like they're being rewarded, and where fans that can't afford a trip to the Super Bowl could still have a family vacation to see a football game.

So, how would I change the game to make it more appealing? On Yahoo! today, a blogger gave the option of creating a 5-on-5 flag football tournament. This seems like a very interesting idea. He suggests that each NFL team send 5 players and that a single-elimination bracket, seeded based on regular season record, would be created. His idea was that only skill-position players (quarterbacks, receivers, running backs, defensive backs, tight ends) be allowed to participate, but I think some teams would actually choose to send some other players that are better athletes (like the Panthers might send Julius Peppers). All the players in this tournament would have to play both ways, and the tournament would be held over three days, with the first three rounds Friday and Saturday and the semis and final held on national network TV on Sunday. This seems like a fascinating idea, but I doubt the NFL would ever consider this. For one thing, it wouldn't necessarily be rewarding all the best players. It would also exclude a lot of very good offensive and defensive linemen that are deserving of recognition and, as usual, would favor the "glory boys" (QBs, RBs, WRs, etc.).

If I were in charge of the Pro Bowl, I'd leave things pretty much as they are, except I would eliminate fan voting and I would absolutely make sure the players weren't officially selected to the game until the regular season is over. It's an absolute joke that players on teams that collapse at the end of the year get rewarded for two good months at the start of the season. Meanwhile, guys that carry their teams at the end of the year, or rookies/younger players that start slow but break out down the stretch are forced to stay home and watch.

Alright, it's go time...

- Pre-game, Peyton Manning gushes about being able to play in the Pro Bowl with his brother and how this is the most special Pro Bowl he's played in. That's sweet and all, but Eli may be one of the players I mentioned above that got in because of a strong start, but by the end of the year was not really deserving of a Pro Bowl slot. Good for them both making it, I just hope we don't have to hear about it all afternoon.

- Do Pro Bowl commercial slots cost even 1/10th of a Super Bowl commercial? 1/100th?

- Why oh why is Flozell Adams starting in the Pro Bowl? Again, fan votes are ridiculous.

- Props to Kris Jenkins (AFC starting DT) for stating during the starting roster introductions, "This jersey is too tight" instead of his college. Awesome.

- Ronde Barber is so screwed by the Pro Bowl rules. Not only does he have to play five yards off the receivers, but he also has to play man coverage most of the time, too. Neither of these play into his strengths in the least.

- Tony Gonzalez is still a great player. If someone can find a way to get him from the Chiefs, as has been rumored, they will be getting a difference maker on offense.

- Ronnie Brown running the Wildcat was great. Leon Washington running the wrong way? Not so much.

- Manning to Gonzo for the TD. Like I said before, Gonzo can still play.

- Peyton Manning is a fantastic interview. I have no doubt that he will have a spot on a TV pre-game show the minute he retires. Then again, who doesn't get a shot at a pre-game show these days? Regardless, Manning is very honest and well-spoken and always interesting to hear from.

- Speaking of Flozell Adams, it's a treat to watch his lazy @$$ jogging around, pretending to block guys. I'll be surprised if he doesn't get a QB killed this afternoon.

- Ta-Dah! One play after that last comment was written, Adams is beaten on fourth and four by Robert Mathis who sacks Brees and forces a fumble. Congrats on your Pro Bowl right tackle, Cowboys.

- (approx. 1:30 in 1st quarter) Someone needs to remind Peyton Manning that intentional grounding is allowed in the Pro Bowl and no one really cares if he throws a pick, so coverage sacks are pretty much inexcusable. Throw it up!

- Uh-oh, the wind's picking up. I guess Eli's not going to play (not well, at least).

- Interesting to hear Kurt Warner talk about the Harrison TAINT in the Super Bowl last week. It sounds like Anquan Boldin was supposed to line up wider toward the sideline which would have made Harrison a non-factor in the middle of the field. But because Boldin lined up tight to the line, his route took him to the middle of the field, right to where Harrison had dropped. Makes you wonder how the game would have changed had Boldin lined up where he was supposed to.

- Nice effort by Marshawn Lynch on the fourth down run midway through the second quarter. Must be a little of that Bills karma rubbing off after the Bruce Smith interview. Of course it was a rather generous spot, but who's complaining?

- Manning better be careful. If he keeps throwing to Tony Gonzalez, Dallas Clark might get jealous.

- Do you think Andy Reid got a new Hawaiian shirt, or did he just bring one from one of his previous Pro Bowl coaching opportunities?

- Ugh, Brandon Marshall really should have caught that fourth and goal pass. You don't get many easier TD chances as a wide receiver.

- Julius Peppers sounds pretty clueless in his interview with Tiki. He doesn't care where he plays, he just wants to get paid.

- Yikes, poor Flozell gets beat again, but this time he's at left tackle while Jammal Brown of the Saints at right tackle gets beat as well, both by Colts. Freeney and Mathis meet at the QB, and Brees gets sacked again.

- Ha, now Albert Haynesworth is dancing around the money issue as Andrea Kremer asks where he wants to play. Sad how these guys think they're fooling anyone by not just saying: "I'll play for the team that pays me the most."

- Sweet! Houston's Owen Daniels scores a TD in his first career Pro Bowl. Good for him, and he better savor it, because he's not going to get too many Pro Bowl chances being stuck in the same conference as the likes of Tony Gonzalez, Antonio Gates and Dallas Clark. (Only two tight ends get to go.)

- Larry Fitzgerald is a freak. Granted Courtland Finnegan's coverage on that half-ending Hail Mary was nothing special (Fitzgerald had inside position the whole way down the field), but it's just incredible the way that guy catches everything thrown near him. Fitting end to a sensational postseason for the wideout.

- Halftime!

- It's amazing there aren't more kick and punt return touchdowns in the Pro Bowl, as none of the players on the field seem to have much interest in playing hard on special teams. Along with the kicker, punter, and return specialist, only two players are chosen for each squad as special teams specialists (a long-snapper and one "specialist"). Almost makes me wonder why they don't just go ahead and choose an entire special teams unit for each Pro Bowl team. Who cares if they end up with 60 players on each roster?

- As expected, Eli's numbers are really not Pro Bowl caliber. Cris Collinsworth apologizes for him because he has to play all year in the Meadowlands, but still. Should players (such as Eli and Kerry Collins) be chosen just because they were the QB for the league's best teams?

- Freeney and Mathis are having a field day with the NFC's offensive tackles. Very sad considering no blitzes are allowed, so the o-line only has to worry about four rushers.

- How good could the Vikings be if they had a real quarterback? If there's any team that ought to seriously consider either trading for Matt Cassel or even trying to pry Kurt Warner away from the Cardinals (and retirement), it would be them.

- Not sure what to think of Eli's pick in the endzone. On the one hand, Boldin never really had position on the play, so Eli probably shouldn't have made the throw. On the other hand, Boldin didn't exactly kill himself to break up the play. If I'm a GM this offseason, I don't know if I give Boldin a huge long-term deal; he's starting to seem like a bit of a prima donna.

- Speaking of Vikings, Jared Allen has been a steal for them. Then, after the fumble forced/recovered by Allen, Adrian Peterson punches it in, and my point about the Vikings absolutely stands. I don't think Matt Cassel is the second coming of Tom Brady, but with the talent already on that team, it seems like he could help them do a lot of damage. By the way, what were the Chiefs thinking trading Allen? Even if they are in the midst of a rebuilding process, the guy is 26! It's not like he was an old vet on the decline.

- Another sloppy play by Brandon Marshall as he fumbles the handoff on an end-around (that may have been an all-out reverse with Andre Johnson coming the other way). Marshall scares me as a Broncos fan, because he seems to have some maturity issues and being a Pro Bowler at this young age may go to his head.

- As we approach the end of the third quarter, I'm still waiting to see Jay Cutler make his Pro Bowl debut...

- As we hear from Vikings soon-to-be Hall of Famer Randall McDaniel, one thing stands out to me about all the HoF-ers they've spoken to today: they all seem very humbled by the fact that they were selected. It's great to hear from guys like that in this era of me-first, attention grabbing, self-absorbed millionaires.

- Immediately after I type that comment, the discussion about the sound bites of "let's get the 45" come on. (The players on the winning team get $45,000, while the losers get $22,500.) Of course I know that if they didn't have a financial incentive to win, these guys would never show, so I'm actually okay with it. At least they're honest.

- Anquan Boldin is really, really pissed off at the Cardinals organization. Not sure if it's completely financial (probably), but he really has a grudge against the Cards front office and I highly doubt he'll be in Arizona next year.

- Larry Fitzgerald is a great guy, not just a great player. The more I see of him and hear from him, the more impressed I become.

- Marshawn Lynch looks very good every time he touches the ball. It's sad he's stuck with one of the worst coaches in the league, because otherwise he'd probably be a top 5 fantasy player.

- Nice little fumble-rooskie play by the AFC. Not much surprise that Ravens coach John Harbaugh would call that play for Ravens FB Le'Ron McClain, but the NFC definitely was surprised.

- NFL games would be so much more entertaining to watch both on TV and in person if they just got rid of the post-kickoff commercial break.

- These defensive rules are just silly. If the defensive front can't get pressure (without blitzing, mind you) then the DBs are toast.

- Did I mention that Larry Fitzgerald is just ridiculous? Because he is completely uncoverable on fades and high throws in general. TD #2 for him here.

- By the way, I think if LeBron James actually said he wanted to play football for the Browns, they'd sign him in about 3 seconds. He would not, however, be wearing #23 (he was an All-State tight end in high school in Ohio). He'd probably be a tight end or wide receiver and would have to wear a number in the 10s or 80s. (Does this mean they've shown that Allstate insurance commercial too many times? Absolutely!)

- Roh-no! Cutler picked by Peppers. Looks like the refs are ignoring defensive offsides to even things out for the defense a little bit. Not only Demarcus Ware on that play, but the Colts ends and others have all gotten pretty suspiciously good jumps. I also don't recall a single false start, and frankly it's nice to not hear from the officials every few seconds.

- Tiki talking to Ronde is more than a little freaky. If it weren't for Ronde's goatee, Tiki could probably put on Ronde's jersey and I don't think anyone would know any different. That is, except for Al Michaels, who apparently believes Ronde looks older. Maybe if he was wearing as much makeup as Tiki, they'd look more identical... identicaler... whatever.

- Crunch time! Two-minute drill for Cutler! Go AFC! Get that 45(k)!

- AFC o-line looks overmatched on first three plays of the drive. HUGE fourth and 10 here. In-Com-Plete! Al Michaels claims the game is not "over over," but I would tend to disagree.

- Time to gush over the Mannings! That was fun and not expected at all!

- Just got a shot of Clinton Portis on the sideline. Did he actually play, or just get dressed to look good on the sideline? I can't remember a single play involving him.

- Field goal is good. Game. Over. 30-21.

- Amazing how Tony Gonzalez and Peyton Manning have gained a rapport on the field after playing together just once a year for nine years. Interesting to get Gonzo's take on the trade rumors; I think he might actually not mind staying in KC.

- Shocker of shockers, Larry Fitzgerald named MVP. Who'da thunkit?

That's all for me. Hope you enjoyed the game (if you watched) and if not, I hope you enjoyed the post anyway.

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