The 2011-12 Pro Bowl Open Thread
by Steven Schweickert on Jan 29, 2012 6:00 PM CST
in Game Day
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PrintSo I promised you guys a part two of fixing the Pro Bowl. Due to some minor technical difficulties, you can find that below the jump.
But with that, we also have a group of all-star caliber football players on vacation in Hawaii who are going to play in a football game. Some of them played for the Chicago Bears this season. This is your open thread for tonight's Pro Bowl competition. As always, Open Thread Responsibly (TM).
Yesterday I touched on why I think the Pro Bowl doesn't honor the true all-stars of the game the way it should, and we discussed the way the game itself drives the dilution of the "Pro Bowl" honor. Today, let's talk about the game itself.
So we know the game of football is a brutal, violent sport with hard hits, gruesome injuries (at times), and maximum effort given every down of every game (well, unless you're Julius Peppers, allegedly). And it's these injuries that result in extra Pro Bowlers being named that likely shouldn't be. And the NFL's method of celebrating this sport of hard hits and offense/defense strategery by... playing in a game that players opt out of given the chance, a different set of rules (no blitz, must have a tight end, must run 4-3...), and that has final scores twice as high as average regular season games (last year, the NFC won 55-41).
It would be one thing if the game were being played under normal rules, with all the originally designated Pro Bowlers intact, but factoring in the lack of defense, the change of rules, it's watered down football. And can you blame them? The players just got done playing a sixteen game season - some of them now, a couple playoff games - and now they're giving full effort at a meaningless exhibition game?
I don't mind seeing another football game, and as I posted last weekend, Darren Rovell noted the Pro Bowl has outdrawn MLB's All-Star game, so we know that if it's football, people will watch, especially given the offensive explosion the league has taken on.
Let's call it as it is. A gimmick.
This might just be a rant from an old man (disclaimer: said "old man" isn't actually old), but I like a little defense in my NFL football. And for a game that has seen in the last fifteen years five instances of one of the teams scoring 21 points or fewer, not enough defense is shown - whether that be the continued shift in the NFL towards offensive rules, the Pro Bowl-specific rules changes that allow offenses to play against more predictable/softer defensive schemes, or a curve in the best offensive players simply outplaying the best defensive players.
Obviously if it's the players, nothing much can be done about that - can't tell the best players to stay home. And the NFL rules are the NFL rules. But having separate Pro Bowl rules to make the game safer should say something - to take out some of the rules in the name of safety should imply that they aren't necessarily playing the full game of football. I'm all for the game being made safer. But coaching and playing means being able to react to and have an answer for a blitz or different formation, making a tough catch, or any number of variables in an NFL game, some of which the Pro Bowl just doesn't allow.
But I ramble. The point is that even though the game has taken a turn towards the offensive side of the ball, history has shown the Pro Bowl to be anything but a defensive showdown, especially since the defensive players are the ones delivering the hardest hits throughout the season.
So instead of playing the game in its current form, make it a ceremony and a skills competition. Football is unfortunately, by definition, an unsafe game. No sport really is, but football is right there in terms of devastating injuries, and player safety just can't be legislated in. Even with increasing standards in equipment, injuries still happen, and will continue to happen.
But here's the other thing. If the NFL wants to legislate safety into an NFL game, even an exhibition, why not extend the safety legislation into the rest of the NFL? Of course you don't want to risk injury in a meaningless game, but it's okay to risk injury even more in the course of playing a normal game? If player safety is paramount and you're willing to make the concession in the Pro Bowl, you can attempt it in the regular season. I dunno, maybe there's something more I'm missing.
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Well, don't know about player safety
But this shit is suddenly making hammering my head on the wall very appealing…
just watching
to make sure forte doesnt try anything stupid
by bear_down_baby on Jan 29, 2012 6:21 PM CST via mobile reply actions
Ooooh, and something
The NFL is already as offense-friendly as it can. Some years ago (15/20, maybe), the idea of an offensive feast on sunny Hawaii could pass as a tribute for the players, but these days players already pull incredible numbers from their asses during the regular season.
Faux John Madden @FauxJohnMadden
Not only is this the Pro Bowl, this is a sneak peak at what Roger Goodell wants football to look like in 5 years.
PEANUT!!
Can’t wait to see Matt Forte debut as well
Jay Cutler is our QB, and I for one am proud of that
by Erik Christopher Duerrwaechter on Jan 29, 2012 6:49 PM CST reply actions
WTF....
Roid Boy picks off Big Ben…. chucks it to Peanut who runs it back some more, the pitches to Peppers….
Pure Comedy….
Guess Peppers was having a little too much fun on that play
And how about getting Vincent Jackson!?
Jay Cutler is our QB, and I for one am proud of that
by Erik Christopher Duerrwaechter on Jan 29, 2012 6:57 PM CST reply actions
b marsh
would look good in navy and orange
by bear_down_baby on Jan 29, 2012 7:08 PM CST via mobile reply actions
Kam Chancellor sighting ....
Who was it who wanted him badly?
by I Have Bearsititis on Jan 29, 2012 7:09 PM CST reply actions
Wasn’t it NoItAll? Or SuckMyDitka? I can’t tell the two apart, other than one is no longer with us.
When I assume, I'm not "making an ass out of u and me"... I'm actually putting u between me and an ass.
I thought of No It All also....
maybe both..
by David in Maine on Jan 29, 2012 7:15 PM CST up reply actions
shamelessly padding his number of receiver stats.
by whoyouthoughtiwas on Jan 29, 2012 7:17 PM CST via iPhone app up reply actions
He called it
Faux John Madden @FauxJohnMadden
Desperate to get some defense into this game, Gary Kubiak inserts Philip Rivers at quarterback
FauxJohnMadden Faux John Madden
Since players get $50K for winning the Pro Bowl, Matt Forte may get more money today than he did in Chicago.
49 seconds ago Favorite Retweet Reply
by David in Maine on Jan 29, 2012 7:22 PM CST up reply actions
Feels good to see Matt Forte play tonight
Jay Cutler is our QB, and I for one am proud of that
by Erik Christopher Duerrwaechter on Jan 29, 2012 7:23 PM CST reply actions
FauxTrentDilfer Faux Trent Dilfer
Brandon Marshall and Larry Fitzgerald starring early in the F*ck You, Get Me A Real QB Next Year Bowl.
1 minute ago Favorite Retweet Reply
by David in Maine on Jan 29, 2012 7:44 PM CST up reply actions
hahaha
I’m sure that’s what they thought.
by whoyouthoughtiwas on Jan 29, 2012 8:29 PM CST via iPhone app up reply actions
is it just me
Or is cam newton doing his best Hanie impression?
by whoyouthoughtiwas on Jan 29, 2012 9:00 PM CST via iPhone app reply actions
5 catches, 4 TDs
I believe Marshall has more TDs in this game than any Bears receiver had in the whole season.
MVP in Ha-wa-ii
Now I don't feel so stupid for yelling the same thing over and over again when I watch sports
Let's go Hawks! Detroit sucks!
Marlins suck, Heat suck, Dolphins suck
Cacti are prickly.
by crackedcactus on Jan 29, 2012 9:26 PM CST up reply actions
no, that Miller caught a 250-lb marlin
and that Miller sacked Newton, who’s abt 250 himself
though I do agree with your sentiments
I also hate the Green Bay Packers.
For the second to last game before the end of the 2011-2012 season….
Fuck the Green Bay Packers.
Cacti are prickly.
Not that bad considering the way he played in real games for 2011
Cacti are prickly.
by crackedcactus on Jan 29, 2012 9:26 PM CST up reply actions
This is what I was expecting him to be like all year long before the season started
Arizona Cardinals/Chicago Bears fan
Phoenix Suns, Arizona Diamondbacks, Phoenix Coyotes, Arizona Rattlers fan
[I have always lived in Arizona, dad is from Chicago].
Leading the NFL in swagtangibles
Why is it that when they actually start playing defense, the booing comes out.
Apparently the fans at the pro-bowl don’t actually want to see football.
by saterpstra on Jan 29, 2012 9:27 PM CST via mobile reply actions
Officials forget to throw flags...
Why should defense not forget how to play?
Cacti are prickly.
by crackedcactus on Jan 29, 2012 9:28 PM CST up reply actions
Come to think of it
I wonder if actually there’s nothing wrong with the format of the pro-bowl, and the players only want to take their families on a short vacation, hang around with former team mates, play along division and conference rivals and fool around in a scrimmage, and the only thing wrong is that the event is broadcast as a regular game. food for thought.
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