Ha! Some might say differently but the Pro Bowl is indeed a football game. There's been a lot of talk in recent years about the future of the Pro Bowl. I say that it should stay. It's a fun game. It was never meant to be taken too seriously. The AFC-NFC Pro Bowl has been around since the full merger in 1970 but this game really goes all the way back to the early '50s. I've watched these games since the '70s and I've never had a problem with the effort put forth by the players until last year. That was pathetic. There's more energy in most pregame drills than what was shown in that game. It was embarrassing and NFL players don't really like being embarrassed. I doubt that we'll see a repeat of that ridiculous display. This is still a lighthearted game and should be accepted as such.
I'm watching. If for no other reason but to see Adrian Peterson run again.
The AFC and NFC have each won 21 Pro Bowls.
Three rookie quarterbacks (Robert Griffin III, Andrew Luck and Russell Wilson) made this game. With Peyton Manning, Tom Brady and Drew Brees hitting their mid-30s, and still excelling, it's reassuring that the NFL's passing game is in good hands in the coming years. It's too bad that Griffin is injured for his first Pro Bowl game. He'll be back.
It's kinda cool, maybe a little weird, to see Manning and Luck throwing for the same team.
The future of passing in the NFL doesn't rest solely on the newbies. There's a nice group of quarterbacks led by Aaron Rodgers, Joe Flacco, Eli Manning and Ben Roethlisberger that are still young and skippy. Passing will continue to be the preferred method of moving the football.
The Minnesota Vikings have seven players in this Pro Bowl:
Adrian Peterson
Jerome Felton
Matt Kalil
Kyle Rudolph
Jared Allen
Chad Greenway
Blair Walsh
Felton, Rudolph and rookies Kalil and Walsh are making their first Pro Bowl appearance. The Vikings had a very talented, veteran roster when they just missed the Super Bowl in 2009. Everything fell apart pretty quickly after that NFC Championship game. Too quickly. Not quite as quickly, but just as dramatically, has been the rise in talent and youth on the current roster. The 10-6 record this year and the young players in this game are an indication that the Vikings are heading in the right direction.
There should be 8. Green Bay Packers center Jeff Saturday is retiring after he plays in this Pro Bowl. He should have retired before the game. His spot should have gone to Vikings center John Sullivan. It's ridiculous that a player that was benched during the season, as Saturday was, is voted into an all-star game. Outside of the incredible Adrian Peterson, Sullivan was the most deserving Vikings player to be honored by Pro Bowl recognition.
Actually, Blair Walsh might have been the most deserving Vikings player outside of the incredible Peterson. I sometimes forget about kickers. Some have said that Walsh had the best kicking season ever. At first that surprised me. The more I thought about it the more sense it made. Walsh was fantastic all season. He set an NFL record with 10 field goals of 50+ yards. He destroyed the Vikings team record for touchbacks. He missed only three field goals on the season. One was blocked. The most impressive thing about Walsh's field goals was that nearly every kick was right through the middle. I can't recall ever seeing such season-long accuracy. The Vikings are pretty much in field goal position as soon as they cross midfield.
The Kansas City Chiefs won only two games this season. They have six players in the Pro Bowl.
"There's too much leakage on that play."
-Chiefs head coach Hank Stram during Super Bowl IV
Stram was mic'd during that Super Bowl against the Vikings and he was often hilarious. Many Vikings' fans go ballistic when they hear Stram's whiny voice ridicule the Vikings play that day. Unfortunately, there was a lot to ridicule. That play on the field always bothered me more than a dapper little coach calling it as he saw it.
College football had their biggest all-star game yesterday. The Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama. It's a little strange to think that this past week of practice for the Senior Bowl has become more important to the NFL people than the game itself. The build-up to the Draft begins in Mobile at the practices. Many of the coaches and scouts leave before the game is even played.
I like the broadcast team of Mike Mayock, Charles Davis and Paul Burmeister. Mayock and Davis have long been the backbone of NFL Network's draft team. They're excellent with the draft and their work on games is terrific.
Brian Schwenke was a solid offensive lineman for Cal. If NFL teams weren't aware of him before this week, they are now. He was in at center for one drive. At guard the next. That versatility and his technique will get him an NFL career. I think that Schwenke really surprised a lot of people this week.
As the days go by I'm leaning more towards defense being the best choice for the Vikings first pick in the upcoming draft. Receiver is still one of their biggest needs but the depth at the position makes it possible to get a real nice receiver in the second round. I'm real interested in that tier of receivers and a bunch of them were playing in the Senior Bowl. Kansas St's Chris Harper, Marshall's Aaron Dobson, Louisiana Tech's Quenton Patton and Oregon St's Markus Wheaton among them. Since the quarterbacking in the game left quite a bit to be desired the receivers didn't get to show much. I don't think that Dobson or Patton even caught a pass. Wheaton had the most chances and he made the most of them. I was impressed with Markus Wheaton. Despite the lack of chances in the game, it's been noted by many that Dobson and Patton were terrific all week in practice. As it stands right now, I'd be real happy if the Vikings were to draft Patton, Dobson or Wheaton in the second round after selecting a big nasty defensive tackle in the first. Or a linebacker. Or a corner...
Defensive tackle looks especially strong in this draft. Another good thing as the Vikings could use one of those. North Carolina's Sylvester Williams, Purdue's Kawann Short, Missouri Southern's Brandon Williams, and Penn St's Jordan Hill all played well yesterday. All would be perfectly welcome in Minnesota next year.
Oh, the South won 21-16. Florida St. quarterback E.J. Manual was MVP. A little surprising seeing as defense dominated the game but Manual was behind all three South touchdowns.
Go NFC!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment