The Pro Bowl Really is Awesome

I didn't watch the Pro Bowl yesterday, as I've got too much going on to watch the Olympics, much less one football game. However, I have watched it in past years and am annoyed that it is so often denigrated in the media as an irrelevant, boring game. I think the people saying this (and I heard it again on a sports radio show this morning) are just parroting a prejudice without even giving the game a chance.

What I like about the Pro Bowl is that with the rules in place, coaching schemes are basically non-existant. We hear so much about Bill Belicheck's defense, Mike Martz's offensive scheme, Dick LeBeau's defense, etc... It's to the point now where quarterbacks may or may not succeed not on the strength of their talent alone, but on what scheme they are in. Heck, as late as the 80s quarterbacks used to actually call their own plays in the huddle. Now they've got an electronic receiver in their helmet where a coach gives them the play.

The problem with all these coaching geniuses today is it takes away from what makes football great on the playground-- the one-on-one battles between linemen, between ball carrier and tackler, between receiver and cover man. With the strict rules in the Pro Bowl, for one day a year we are back to the playground. And the great thing is that the players on this playground are the best in the world.

People criticize yesterday's Pro Bowl for being too mistake-filled. Could it be that this is what happens when defenders are allowed to make plays? They gamble and come up with interceptions. Or, they gamble and are burned. Either way, it makes for an entertaining game. Hopefully next year at least ONE Packer will be in it and I'll have motivation to watch it no matter how busy I am.