Comments on: NFL may have played its last Pro Bowl

By: lionsdetroitcom

lionsdetroitcom — Sat, 05 May 2012 16:10:11 +0000

Nobody watched the Pro Bowl anyway, it was just a bunch of guys on vacation. I didn’t expect them to be out there killing themselve for an exhibition but it sucks to watch.

By: pftusername1

pftusername1 — Wed, 02 May 2012 11:09:30 +0000

instead of a pro bowl lets have the players compete in an american gladiators style competition. we can line up the goofs on pft against the players they crap on throughout the year. i’d definitely watch Bozoforall pummeled to death by mankins and mayo.

By: ofdvls32

ofdvls32 — Tue, 01 May 2012 17:42:16 +0000

Bdickey33 i like those ideas. I remember watching things like that when I was a kid. It was entertaining and fun. I have to admit I like the pro bowl. I know guys dont play but every other sport has a real all star game. They have to put some meaning behind it. Move it to mid season and put emphasis on the super bowl home vs away on it. Do something!!

By: iggles20

iggles20 — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 18:03:31 +0000

They should do a skills competition on Saturday. On Sunday, they should do a 9 man flag football competition.

By: hijackthemic

hijackthemic — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 00:08:49 +0000

Chris Mortensen pulls some idle chatter from an “inside source” out of his butt and it’s supposed to be news? Yeah, they’ll probably cancel the Pro Bowl right after they expand the schedule to 18 games.

By: gfan8611

gfan8611 — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 19:07:16 +0000

Have every franchise send a five man team out to Hawaii for a skills competition. Then have each franchise donate one million dollars to the team that wins the overall skills competition charity of choice. Better than a fake football game. Little to no chance a player gets injured for no good reason and a great P.R. moment for Rodger and the boys when they hand said charity 32 million dollars.

By: MichaelEdits

MichaelEdits — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 03:18:19 +0000

I recommend that the Pro Bowl scrap the football and feature actual bowling.

By: tominma

tominma — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 00:16:58 +0000

Just pick an All-Pro first and 2nd team. That should be enough! For my money, you can cancel the NBA All-Star game too. Those players arent serious either–they think it’s a SHOW. I think it’s still a competition to help show which conference is better.

By: jcarne9014

jcarne9014 — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 23:00:03 +0000

What’s the Pro Bowl?! I have been a fan of the NFL for 40 years and have never seen this “game.”

By: prefontaine35

prefontaine35 — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 21:58:42 +0000

Vote players to the “pro bowl”, skip the game and have a skills competion or whatever. I’d rather see a 100yd dash, long ball throw, RB obstical course, QB accuracy, bench press, high jump, longest field goal…ext. I even wouldn’t mind watching players who are not necessarily “stars” entered in these competions. The pro bowl will always be a meaningless game with too much risk and not enough reward.

By: bubba703

bubba703 — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 19:36:27 +0000

It’s clear the Pro Bowl is a silly idea, as no one plays hard and barely touch each other. It’s a snoozefest. But with the direction that Mr. Gooden is steering the league, with randomly issued big fines for incorrect hits, the pro bowl could be a preview of what the regular season games are soon becoming.

By: sabatimus

sabatimus — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 17:57:11 +0000

Since it still makes the NFL money, no way it gets canceled. No matter how much I want it to be.

By: mornelithe

mornelithe — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 17:53:07 +0000

The Pro Bowl is a useless contest. It’s situated during a time in the schedule where typically the absolute best players are busy (Playoffs), to say nothing of the overall lack of effort on the defensive-side because it’s simply a glorified exhibition game.

Never watched the Pro Bowl, probably never will. Just seems like a total waste of time. If they actually made it relevant to the regular season or playoffs, maybe I would. But, beyond that, I could care less.

By: roadtrip3500

roadtrip3500 — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 17:40:01 +0000

A skills competition would make no sense. Unlike the other three major sports, the NFL’s all-star weekend is at the end of the season, not the middle, so these guys are tired, physically spent, and for those not on playoff teams, haven’t suited up in a month. And w3hat skills could they possibly display besides running (which risks a muscle pull or a knee blowout)? The QBs can throw – the kickers and punters can go for yardage. In other words, the same Punt-Pass-and-Kick the kids do. What “skill” could a defensive end possibly display? Sacking a quarterback tackling dummy?

The players and coaches don’t want to give up the week in Hawaii wither. So the solution is simple… helmets only, no pads, and play a legitimate game of two-hand touch on a grass field. All PATs must be 2-pointers (eliminating the no-rush kick play), and a sack must be a two-arm wrapup. Now, the players can be (more) competitive knowing the chances of getting injured are greatly reduced. Defenders don’t have to worry about pulling up to avoid a hard hit; they just have to catch the ball carrier. Runners and receivers can show off their speed. Even the special-teams cover specialist can show off by getting downfield to stop the returner.

I think a full game of touch will beat a diluted game of tackle.

By: turbo2728

turbo2728 — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 17:32:38 +0000

The pro bowl was a great concept, but nobody could be that bothered playing in it so it took away from the spectacle.

Why not have a game where undrafted rookies and youngish free agents play. Kinda like a college all star game. This would give us a game with high intensity where people are trying to earn a second chance at a job. Would make for a great game and would unearth some potential diamonds in the rough. Have a similar deal as the senior bowl with regards to coaching staff and we’ve got something different, but meaningful.

By: greymatterstats

greymatterstats — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 17:28:45 +0000

Instead of “playing” the game, the NFL should gather all the Pro-Bowlers and have a weekend golf tournament with scrambles and match play, similar to what is occurs in Lake Tahoe each summer.

You could even make it like the NFL’s version of the Ryder Cup, with coaches managing groups of players in various formats.

Wire everyone with a microphone and make it for charity.

My guess is that the level of interest and the ratings would far exceed what we see with the current game format.

By: superjroch

superjroch — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 17:21:17 +0000

if none of you watch it, then why do you care that they get rid of it?

Maybe if the NFL quit trying to suck every last dime out of every single NFL related event, the pro bowl wouldn’t be on the chopping block. If you don’t like the pro bowl, don’t watch it. Why punish the best players of their recognition and free trip to Hawaii just because they don’t try hard enough to YOUR standards?

That would be like me saying, I don’t watch soccer, so all soccer should be eliminated.

By: gisellichek

gisellichek — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 17:02:47 +0000

Shut it down!!! or if the owners won’t give up the money…

Then…

How about they play the lingerie bowl instead… Have all the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit models play a team of (model) all stars from Brazil…

My point … that game has gotten that ridiculous…

By: stv1719

stv1719 — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 17:01:13 +0000

Should go back to the probowl week of the past with the skills competition, the passing scrimmage etc, make it more fun for the fans and the players, and make a cash incentive or charity cause for the conference that wins

By: illwillthemick

illwillthemick — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 16:56:57 +0000

they should do the skill compettion!!! Cause its still fun to see all the best players together thats the real draw! Id like to see skill compettion like the quarterback club challaeges they used to have. Maybe have OL and D guys trying to catch passes or whatever else would be fun

By: j0esixpack

j0esixpack — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 16:52:43 +0000

Take whatever expenses are earmarked for the Pro Bowl and hold indoor events in each and every state where a Pro Bowler will come and spend a day with kids, encouraging them to exercise, eat healthy, and stay in school.

The NFL might even consider doing this on Super Bowl Sunday itself – hosting a Super Bowl party for at-risk kids and kid contest winners.

The Super Bowl is often a day about pigging out and commercialism – it’d be a nice day to showcase the best NFL players giving back to the community and trying to stop the epidemic of obesity

(if anyone from the NFL needs help fleshing this out drop me a line )

By: calvikefan1

calvikefan1 — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 16:44:36 +0000

I havn’t watched the Pro Bowl in years. The players don’t have their heart in it. And why should they . It’s a meaning less game.

By: Commander Buffalo

Commander Buffalo — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 16:32:18 +0000

I watched the last Superbowl. The NFL’s product is already a joke. If money’s being made, why scrap it?

By: ubummer

ubummer — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 16:28:45 +0000

Instead of using the players in the game, get the players’ wives/girlfriends in a two hand touch bikini mud bowl. Of course, Sanchez would have to get a permission note from his girlfriends parents, but still, the game would be a lot more entertaining. Winner gets 100k of cosmetic surgery and a nice gift bag from a shop on Rodeo Drive.

By: andyreidisarrogantandfat

andyreidisarrogantandfat — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 16:14:54 +0000

It is ridiculous anyway. by the time the guys who initially got voted to the pro bowl pull out, there are 4 or 5 pro bowlers at each posititon. half of the league is a pro bowler. that alone is embarassing and should make the league want to shut it down.

By: dikshuttle

dikshuttle — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 16:09:53 +0000

I like the concept of a Pro Bowl. It’s a great idea. On Paper.

But the reality now is that it isn’t necessary. We can already see what a matchup of the past or current greats would be via the latest Game Simulator. Fantasy Football addresses some of the need for this kind of matchup, too.

There is no need to play this game anymore. The players already know this and ‘don’t play’ accordingly.

By: unbreakable02215

unbreakable02215 — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 16:00:54 +0000

Thank God. Finally. Name a pro bowl team and
don’t play the game. That way guys like “Big Bang
Clock” (Pats fans know who he is) won’t be named
to like 3 of them.

By: tomtravis76

tomtravis76 — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 16:00:42 +0000

The Pro Bowl game is meant to be just fun. You can’t watch that game looking for the same competition you saw all season long. Its a runway show.

The NFL had it right when they held the Pro Bowl the week before the Super Bowl in Miami. Those two weeks in South Florida became a celebration of the NFL and the season. They had many events that allowed fans to interact with the players and then it was capped off by the Super Bowl.

By: hit2hurt

hit2hurt — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 15:55:57 +0000

Bring back the skills competitions.. Quarterback Accuracy, Fastest man.. etc etc

By: tformation

tformation — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 15:54:26 +0000

I like the suggestions on making it a 2-hand touch game. No pads. Get some charities in on it too. Something like player X scores, his favorite charity gets a bonus. Team Y wins, their charity gets a bonus. Something to give the useless game a little deeper meaning.

The end result would be a light-hearted, yet still competitive 2-hand touch game with small chance for injuries. Win-win.