Pro Bowl Breakdown and Prediction
The 2011-2012 Pro Bowl gets underway at 7pm tonight on NBC. The game is being played in Honolulu, Hawaii, and the weather conditions for kickoff are: 73 degrees with scattered clouds.
Now you are probably asking why am I spending my time breaking down the Pro Bowl, when it is the biggest joke of all the all-star games in the four major sports? My response is, that seeing Philadelphia Eagles players play in late January gives me that feeling that the Eagles franchise accomplished something this season. So, for a few moments at the beginning of the game, I will forget the 8-8 finish the “dream team” had and I will fantasize about a Super Bowl run and heroic plays made by Mike Vick. These dreams won’t last long as they get abruptly dispelled by the commentators of the Pro Bowl, when they announce the players and say that Cam Newton is on the NFC roster because he is replacing Eli Manning of the Giants as he is preparing to take on the Patriots in the Super Bowl. Once those words travel out of my television’s speakers and into my ear drums, I will get slammed back to reality and realize that the Eagles finished 8-8 by finishing the season with a four game win streak, that they were the favorites coming out of the abbreviated training camps as they made the biggest splashes in the free agency pools, and they didn’t even make the playoffs. Before I start sobbing, lets breakdown the Pro Bowl.
The Eagles have three players participating in this year’s Pro Bowl. All three of them are starting at their respective positions. LeSean McCoy at running back, Jason Peters at offensive tackle, and Jason Babin at defensive end. So, if you are just tuning in to this game to see the performances of the Eagles in the contest, make sure you tune in at the beginning of the game as they will get their time in during the first few series and get relegated to the bench.
By just looking at the rosters for the AFC and the NFC, the teams look pretty evenly matched. The game could come down to coaching staffs and their philosophies and outlooks on the Pro Bowl. The Texans’ coaching staff is in charge of the AFC squad and the Packers’ staff is leading the NFC players. In the last 4 years, the NFC is 3-1 and the AFC is therefore 1-3. In recent memory, the NFC has been the more dominant team.
This game will be high scoring as most of all the Pro Bowls are. In a shootout, like this game is expected to be, the team that typically wins is the team with the most explosive players. The NFC has Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees and Cam Newton at quarterback. Those are 3 of the top 5 most exciting and explosive quarterbacks in the NFL. The NFC also have the aforementioned McCoy and Matt Forte at running back. At receiver, they are boasting the likes of Larry Fitzgerald, Steve Smith, Greg Jennings, Calvin Johnson, and Roddy White.
On the AFC side, they have Ben Roethlisberger and Phillip Rivers at quarterback, Maurice Jones-Drew and Arian Foster at running back, and A.J. Green and Mike Wallace highlight their receiving corps. Going down the list, position by position, it seems that the NFC has the edge on the AFC at almost every single position. The AFC will have to play above their normal skill level if they want to win this game.
Bottom Line: This game is a joke to begin with, as it doesn’t matter at all who wins or loses. There is not excitement like there is at other all-star games in the professional leagues. Roger Goodell is actually encouraging the players to tweet while they are on the sidelines in an effort to spark up some enthuasiasm. I doubt it will have any impact though. As for the game, the NFC will be able to put up a plethora of points. They will give up a good amount too. I feel as though the leadership and play-making ability of all three of the NFC’s quarterbacks will be the difference maker in the fourth quarter, when the players actually start caring a little. I believe the NFC will earn a victory here by a comfortable margin.
NFC: 51
AFC: 42