After spending some time in GB's Pro Bowl post, it got my wheels turning on how much I hate the voting process for the Pro Bowl, as well as for all-star games in general. Since they're moving the game out of Hawaii (bad idea) and moving it in front of the Super Bowl (bad idea #2), I figure maybe they can change the selection process as well.

  I understand the idea behind letting the fans vote for all-star games. It promotes interaction and makes fans feel more like they're a part of something. Unfortunately, there's no way of restricting people who are not particularly knowledgeable about the game or are just tools and vote for everyone on their favorite team. Repeatedly. Kinda like Chicago elections. That is a big part of why we end up with so many undeserving players voted in every year. It also gives an advantage to teams in a big market with large fan bases, because they've got more fans to get online and vote (except for in Philly where their own self-loathing and contempt keeps them from voting for the Iggles players.)

   Year after year we see guys get in on name recognition alone, especially linemen. With other positions there are stats to at least point people in the right direction (although they can be misleading as well), but few people really know how to judge line play, especially when all you've got is TV camera angles. So you end up with people voting for whoever Joe Buck declares to be great every Sunday. I'd be willing to bet that if you put Jonathan Ogden on the ballot this year, he would get a sizable chunk of votes, and I'm not kidding when I say that. The last few years of his career were far from All-Pro caliber, but he kept making it anyways. Unfortunately, a lot of players/coaches admit to doing the same thing. They'll vote based on what they've heard or who they're friends with.

   The only thing I can think of is to have a group of scouts and possibly a few media people, but the ones that truly know the game and are not just typical beat writers (I'm thinking of guys like Paul Zimmerman. Like him or not, the guy knows the game inside and out.) The selections can be left up to them, or if you want to maintain some level of fan involvement, have a panel narrow it down to a few players at every position and let the fans vote from that group.

     Anyone out there have any alternatives, or do you think it should be left alone? Also, is anyone else concerned that moving the Pro Bowl back before the Super Bowl may inspire a boneheaded MLB-like attempt to assign  relevance to the game by awarding an advantage to the winning conference? I don't think it will happen, but the possibility definitely increases by the game being moved back.