Today on ESPN.com, I read an article suggesting different ways to improve the Pro Bowl. I agree that the Pro Bowl is the worst, most meaningless all-star game in all of sports. But that's not entirely the game's fault. There are a lot of outside factors that have conspired to make the Pro Bowl suck even more than it used to. However, I don't agree with all the suggestions that were made (for starters, they absolutely shouldn't move the Pro Bowl out of Hawaii). There are definitely some things that need to change to make the Pro Bowl a better event, though, which is why I have some suggestions of my own.
I used to be one of the 11 people who watched the Pro Bowl. Not anymore. Not since Roger Baddell made his first of many horrible decisions as commissioner and moved the Pro Bowl to the week before the Super Bowl. As a part of that change, another rule was put into place that players from the two Super Bowl teams will automatically be replaced on the Pro Bowl rosters. Doing this makes absolutely no sense! How can you have an "all-star" game without players from the two best teams in the league? Who wants to see Tom Brady when you can see Andy Dalton instead! So, change No. 1: Move the Pro Bowl back to the week after the Super Bowl like it used to be. Like it should be.
Change No. 2: Hawaii is the game's permanent location. I thought this was the case until two years ago, when, as part of his sweeping changes to "improve" the Pro Bowl, Mr. Brilliant Commissioner moved the game to Miami, which was also the site of the Super Bowl that season. This was evidently designed to broaden the appeal of the Pro Bowl, using it as a launching pad for Super Bowl Week. Slight problem with this plan, though. The players liked going to Hawaii. There was nothing special about Miami. The prospect of continuing the trend of having the Pro Bowl and Super Bowl in the same city was even less appealing with Dallas and Indianapolis hosting the last two Super Bowls. Not exactly choice locations in late January/early February. He at least figured this out after one year and moved the game back to Hawaii, which is where it should be. For the players, Hawaii is a nice all-expenses-paid vacation as a reward for their great season. A couple practices are worth it to spend a week in Paradise.
Change No. 3: Expanded rosters. Each team dresses 53 players for every NFL game. In the Pro Bowl, the roster size is 44, then each team adds a long-snapper later on (why don't they just pick the long snapper with everybody else?). Am I the only person who thinks there should be more people on the all-star team, not less? Especially in such a physically taxing sport like football. There are only six defensive linemen per team and, which makes even less sense, only six defensive backs per team. It's tough to play a nickel package with only three corners. My favorite part is that there are only three safeties total on each roster, even though the two safety spots are recognized as different positions. Plus, you need somebody to play special teams. The Pro Bowl rosters should each have at least eight more guys each, maybe more.
Change No. 4: Eliminate some of the ridiculously stupid rules that are completely different than any other football game. The Pro Bowl has some "special" rules that are used just for this one game, none of which are familiar to anybody, let alone the players. A lot of these rules don't make any sense, either. They include: a tight end must be on the field for every play; no motion offense; you can't line up three receivers on the same side; intentional grounding is legal; defenses can only play a 4-3; no more than four defensive backs can be on the field; no blitzing; no rushing on a kick. So, basically, the Pro Bowl is designed to resemble a football game without actually being one. Let these guys play by the same rules they play by all season. Let them play a real football game, not this watered-down crap.
Change No. 5: Find some way to make guys actually show up. You could fill almost an entire roster of just guys who are selected to the Pro Bowl but don't play. The no Super Bowl players thing doesn't help this at all, either. They give a variety of reasons, but, for the most part, not wanting to is usually the primary reason. Not for everybody. Some players are thrilled to get selected to the Pro Bowl, especially young guys who are selected for the first time. They want to go. But the guys who don't want to go, and the NFL letting them stay home, are a problem. Fans don't want to watch the fifth-best quarterback in the AFC. They want to watch Tom Brady or Ben Roethlisberger or Philip Rivers. If a guy is actually injured (to the point where he would miss a regular game), then he's excused from the Pro Bowl. If he just doesn't want to play, he's ineligible for the Pro Bowl (and any roster bonuses that might go with it) the following season.
Change No. 6: Instead of putting the Pro Bowl on the same network as the Super Bowl, just have it on ESPN all the time. The network covering the Super Bowl doesn't want the Pro Bowl. They only show it because the NFL makes them. The Pro Bowl always used to be on ESPN. That made sense. ESPN doesn't have any postseason games, so the Pro Bowl would always be their final game of the season. Most importantly, they'd treat it like THEIR postseason game. The three broadcast networks don't care. They don't send their top broadcasters (who are busy preparing to cover the Super Bowl). They aren't happy about having to preempt their Sunday night programming to show a football game that, unlike every other football game, is going to get killed in the ratings. If ESPN can show 38 meaningless college bowl games, one more involving NFL players wouldn't hurt them. And crappy Pro Bowl ratings will still probably trump the ratings for the Humanitarian Bowl.
I'm not saying the other three All-Star Games are perfect. (Sidebar: Why is there an NBA All-Star Game this year? They lost two months because of the lockout, yet are voluntarily taking four days off in the middle of the season? It doesn't make sense to me.) But the Pro Bowl definitely needs the most work. I'm not saying these changes will make that much of a difference, but they could definitely be worth a shot.
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