Photo: nationalconfidential.com
- Adam Parker
The Pro Bowl -- a collection of the best NFL players meeting up for an annual all expenses paid week-long vacation in Hawaii. Oh wait, it's also what the NFL considers its All-Star game.
Apparently, the Pro Bowl is an event that only the few fortunate fans and players that attend it in person are able to enjoy or comprehend.
I disagree.
Even if I was lucky enough to be in Hawaii for Pro Bowl week as a fan, I doubt I could really understand the point of it all. If this game wasn't considered a joke in the past among the mainstream fan base, I can't fathom how it's not seen in that light now.
I go back to my opening sentence. An 'All-Star' game is supposed to feature the league's brightest stars. Unfortunately, in the case of the Pro Bowl, this isn't what occurs.
Many of the league's top-tier talents, the guys people really want to see - Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Eli Manning, Ray Rice, Matthew Stafford, Calvin Johnson, Troy Polamalu - are absent from the festivities. They're too busy preparing to play in the Super Bowl or dealing with the agony of not reaching that ultimate goal. Either way, they're more focused on a game that actually counts for something.
I'd go so far as to say the Pro Bowl isn't even football. Today's NFL has already become a much 'safer' game than in the past. The Pro Bowl takes it one step further. You're now more likely to get injured in a pillow fight at a slumber party than by participating in the Pro Bowl.
Okay, maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration. But once you see some of the 'rules' the league has in place for this 'game', you'll understand why I feel the way I do.
The Pro Bowl ... no blitzing, no attempting to block field goals or punts, no more than two wideouts lined up on one side, no offensive shifts or movement on the offensive line prior to a snap, no defensive alignments allowed besides the basic 4-3. No press coverage except inside of the 5-yard line. No more than four defensive backs on the field. A tight end must be on the field on every play. Intentional grounding? Completely legal.
Sounds fun, right?
Now, as a Steelers fan, I may have a biased opinion on this because I love big hits and other game-changing defensive plays. The problem with the Pro Bowl? It doesn't really allow for any of that. If you thought today's NFL regime put a damper on defenses in games that counted, the Pro Bowl goes beyond that - restricting defensive players to the point that they feel as helpless as one might feel if handcuffed to the sinking Titanic.
The Pro Bowl means nothing, and stands for nothing.
Somehow, the NFL has to do something to change that, and sooner rather than later. Change the location. Change the time and timing of the game. But most of all, change the rules.
First, now that the NFL's contract with the Hawaii Tourism Authority is ending after Sunday's game, move the game out of Hawaii and into the continental United States. Hawaii is a great place, no doubt, but it's not an easily accessible location either financially or otherwise.
Second, you have the best football players on the planet meeting up on one field. Let the coaches scheme as they would a regular game. Remove the restraints and let them call some things they wouldn't be able to call without having such superior athletes at their disposal. Turn the game into the sporting entertainment spectacle it should be.
Last and certainly not least, give the game a purpose. Major League Baseball's All-Star game gives the winning side home-field advantage for it's league's representative in the World Series. Why not give the winner, whether it be the AFC or NFC, the rights to call the coin toss?
Sounds good to me.
What do you think?
Be sure to follow Beard And Stache on Twitter @BeardAndStache, and also Adam @Adam_Parker43, Like our Facebook page HERE!