The NFL’s All-Star game a Pro-Bore for football fans

Matt Schaeffer

The Probowl is an opportunity for the best players around the NFL to get together and showcase their talents to the world in a friendly exhibition.

Unfortunately over the past decade it has slowly lost its appeal.

Players would go to Hawaii for a nice little vacation, bring their families, attend events like the skills competition where players would run, throw, catch and kick among other

things against each other for bragging rights.

It was a week of fun and excitement for fans to watch and enjoy their favorite players following the season.

Now a large chunk of the players that were selected by the voters don’t even attend.

Some are worried about injuries, which is understandable. Football is a fast, hard hitting and dangerous game. Even with it being just for fun there is a high risk for injury.

One wrong step or hit could tear a tendon or blow out a knee, putting the following season in jeopardy.

Other players don’t attend because of Commissioner Roger Goodell, who moved the game to the week before the Super bowl, they either haven’t recovered from injuries or can’t play because they are preparing for the Super Bowl.

It makes sense that the two team that made it to the championship would have a handful of players voted into the probowl.

Nine players selected for the 2012 game did not play because they are in the Super Bowl and another 15 are out because of injury.

The NFL tries to showcase the best of the best yet has to bring in players that may have been fourth or fifth in voting.

This season Bengals Quarterback Andy Dalton made the roster because Tom Brady, whose quarterback rating was 25 points higher than Dalton’s, had to sit for making the Super bowl.

Dalton made the best of his rookie year taking Cincinnati to a 9-7 record and a playoff appearance but his 20 touchdown passes and 80.4 quarterback rating are just average. Dalton ranked no better than sixth in the AFC in any major passing category.

While these are impressive for a player in his first year they’re not probowl worthy.

Another example is Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski. He set a record for tight end receiving yards while his teammate  WR Wes Welker led the AFC in that category.

So instead we got Jermaine Gresham and Vincent Jackson, who like Dalton had good years but weren’t anywhere near the other two in terms of production.

And what happened to the skills competition? That was in my opinion the best part of it all. I still remember watching Chad Johnson in the receiving competition turn from machine to machine catching every ball but the last one so naturally it was like breathing, or former Redskins cornerback Darrell Green flying down the field in the fastest man competition and then pulling out his signature tootsie roll, which he claimed was the source to his amazing speed, out of his sock.

ProBowl weekend used to be something to look forward too.

The lack of game plans and use of simple base defenses allow for high scoring games like this year’s 59-41 shootout, but it’s not the same. The elite players aren’t showing up and the focus is still on the Super Bowl.

I feel bad for the kids today who don’t get to enjoy the same excitement I did growing up. It’s time for Commissioner Goodell to realize his  mistake. He’s already half way there.

Three years ago when he moved the Probowl to the week before the Super Bowl he also moved it to the same location as the big game. He corrected that error a year later and now just needs to scrap his idea all together, along with some other questionable decisions. But that’s a story for another day.

  • Mesa Legend Staff

    These are archived stories from Mesa Legend editions before Fall 2018. See article for corresponding author.

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