To Pro Bowl or Not Pro Bowl
Added on Jan 28, 2013 by Scott in
No Comments
97 points. 97 called pass plays. Less than 35 runs. That was the 2013 Pro Bowl. It was typical of the annual All-Star game in that it mirrored the tempo of an NBA game between teams who have little regard for defense or the shot clock. Whether this makes for exciting football is a personal opinion, but it’s possible that yesterday’s scoring bonanza could be the last of its kind, at least in the current format.
The problem with the Pro Bowl really isn’t an issue of rules. All the major sports favor offense over defense when it comes to All-Star gatherings. The more points, goals or runs scored, the more watchable the showcase event becomes, or so the common thinking goes.
The real problem with the Pro Bowl is that it takes place at the end of a grueling season that consists of violent collisions and fierce impacts. The other three sports use their star-studded exhibition as a welcome mid-season reprieve. This isn’t to say the NFL should take a week off in the middle of November, because participation from the best of the best would be virtually nonexistent.
No head coach, general manager or owner with an ounce of brain capacity is going to allow their franchise quarterback or stud pass rusher to suffer a concussion or blow out a knee for what amounts to a glorified flag football game in the middle of a season. And therein lies the rub.
Regardless of when the game is held or what city it’s played in and how much of the physicality is removed, there is always a risk of injury. Not to mention the game is completely meaningless, sans a free trip to Hawaii. Jeff Saturday snapping the ball to Peyton Manning is a nice tribute and makes for fun headlines, but it also exposes the insignificance of the proceedings.
What Roger Goodell and the powers that be must decide is whether the Pro Bowl will be missed. When taking the declining ratings into account as well as the lengthy list of players who annually skip the game, the answer shouldn’t be that hard to come by.
