Getting Excited for the Pro Bowl

Now that the conference championship games are out of the way, we can finally focus on the most important game of the year: the NFL Pro Bowl. Ok, ok, that is a bold faced lie. The NFL Pro Bowl is terrible and is the worst of all the sports' All-Star games. I'm not necessarily a fan of those in the MLB, NHL or the NBA, but at least those don't represent a compromise in the sport's integrity. To me it's all about how much effort the guys give in the game and if not high, then at least, how much of a showcase the game is.

In baseball, players can go all out, with only beaning, taking out fielders and prolonged pitching outings against the unwritten riles. With homefield advantage on the line (not to mention the recent domination by the AL), players can go all give maximum effort without hurting themselves. In the NHL and the NBA, the players don't foul and they don't play defense. On the surface that doesn't sound ideal, but what makes them different is the overall creativity that can be displayed. Anyone who has played either sport as a youth can remember trying trick shots on the playground (or frozen lake). It is part of the fabric of the game and as All-Stars - players can put on a showcase of tricks that they would only ever try in practice.

But football? The foundation of the game is violence yet no one wants to get hurt in a mere exhibition game. When you take away the physicality you hurt the game. And it's not like they are going to try trick plays to spice things up (although they should - see below). It just isn't the same.

Now as I write this column, I can honestly say that I have not read any pieces this year on how to change the Pro Bowl. I don't remember reading anything in the past and only remember some elements of Simmons' piece on the NBA All-Star game from a few years ago. I have only discussed this with my boys D-Lib and J-Will over pizza. With that being said, here are a few modest proposals on how to make the Pro Bowl relevant.

1. I call this the Williams Plan as my buddy noted that to make the game better you need to rev up the competitive juices in the players. To do this, he suggested having a rookie team and a veteran team, knowing that the rookies would be happy to be there and just cocky enough to think they could win. On the other hand, the veterans would NOT want to lose to the same bunch that they hazed just a few months ago. You know that Ray Lewis would love to get his hands on Sam Bradford. And you know that there is some unknown rookie who wants to make a name for himself at the expense of a seasoned veteran.
2. I call this the Intramural Plan as instead of having only 2 teams, you make 8 teams of 8 players and hold a 7v7 tournament. You could elect 8 QB's to act as the captains of their teams and select any players they want. You play width-wise across the field and you must always have a two-man line. I think this could definitely work as being the champion of an 8-team tournament is much more exciting than winning a meaningless game with teammates that you don't choose. And if you want to cut down the injuries, you could make it a flag-football game and play 40 minute games with a running clock.
3. I call this the College Plan as we get two of the most innovative college coaches, say Chip Kelly and Chris Peterson, to lead the individual teams. In doing so, they can implement a basic version of the spread or wishbone offense - something most NFL fans will never see. And it can be required that each team attempts 2-4 gadget plays a game, just to spice things up. You're telling me that you wouldn't watch Michael Vick running a spread offense with Adrian Peterson, Roddy White, Calvin Johnson, DeSean Jackson and Larry Fitzgerald on the field at once? It would be dynamite and a welcome step away from the vanilla play calling you will see.
4. I call this the How Has This Not Happened Yet? Plan because it is the easiest one to implement. Instead of just a meaningless game, turn the whole weekend into a spectacle, ala the NBA and NHL All-Star Weekends. When I was younger, I used to love watching the QB Competitions in Hawaii. You might remember the moving targets that they had to hit or the longest throw competition. They were great. Well, bring them back and put them in Pro Bowl Weekend. Then add in some other events like a kicking competition, a fastest man competition and a weight lifting competition. Hell, you could even try a touchdown celebration competition. I know the players would buy into this because they are competitive freaks who want bragging rights. Again, would you not watch a 40-yard sprint between DeSean Jackson and Chris Johnson?
5. Now if the NFL is not willing to go entirely radical, here are a final few minor suggestions they could try. First, they could encourage more offensive creativity by going with CFL rules and only 3 downs. Or they could require teams to go for it on 4th down instead of punting. Or they could split the teams up in a way that allow for more competition - maybe by collegiate conference (SEC + ACC vs Big 12 + Big 10) or simply have two captains pick the teams like what the NHL is trying this year. Or how about giving a lot of bonus money to the winning team? I'm sure the NFLPA would put the kibbosh on that, but it's probably the #1 way to get the guys to try.
   

I would love to hear your ideas - I'm sure there are some obvious one's that I missed. And if you are going to watch the game on Sunday night, I have only one thing to say - dude, get out of the house more.