Ideas to fix the Pro-Bowl.

I just read that Goddell is considering puting a stop to the Pro-Bowl. I have to agree that would be a good idea unless things change. I have a few ideas on how to fix this.

1. Move it back to the week after the Super Bowl. It's not really a Pro-Bowl when a lot of the players are not involved because they are playing in the Super Bowl. The Pro-Bowl is made up of the best players in the NFL from that year and if guys are not playing because they are in the Super Bowl then we are not getting the best players in the NFL.

2. Get ride of fan voting. Most fans in the NFL are voting for a name and not the best players. Every year guys are voted in because of what they have done in years past. The average NFL fan doesn't know who the really good players are, we only know who the guys are that ESPN and other networks talk about all year. Example being Jordy Nelson doesn't get in despite having better numbers then his team mate Greg Jennings, who was put in the Pro-Bowl. He was put in over Nelson because Nelson is not a house hold name and most fans wont know that he had a better season. Jennings got in because of what he did the last few years. Most fans will vote for there teams O-line, FB, Special Teamer, etc because they don't know any of the other guys in the NFL.

3. Make a weekend out of it like the NBA does. Say what you will about the NBA, but a far as the NBA All-Star weekend goes, it is by far the best of any sports All-Star event. Why not put players against other players and test their skills. Maybe a future star game where we get to see the top rookies from the NFC vs the top rookies in the AFC. We all know how hard it is for the "old timers" to walk away, so lets see a game putting ex NFL stars against eachother in a flag football game or heck even let them pad up one more time for a real game. How cool would it be to see Joe Montana throwing to Cris Carter or Dan Moreno handing the ball off to Thurman Thomas?

There are ways to fix the Pro-Bowl. They have to start thinking outside the box and make this a game that people wanna watch. I don't watch the Pro-Bowl unless I have nothing else going on. I would however watch the weekend events and the game if some of the things I thought of were implemented. Most years I watch the NBA All-Star weekend because it's fun to watch. Even the All-Star game itself is fun to watch, but this is not the case with football.  

Nice thread 51, i'm not here to bash your ideas just offer some thoughts of my own.


They will never get rid of fan voting, they want fans to feel like they are part of the game so thats out, what they should do is ignore the fan vote, who'd know? To many players make it in simply because they used to be good.

I like the make a weekend out of it idea, although I think the NBA weekend is boring I like the idea of different skills challenges, I say make it a punt, pass and kick contest, hold it the week after the Super Bowl and forget the game all together, to much money involved now to risk injury to the top players.

I also like the idea of an old timers flag football game during the weekend festivities. Maybe even have something like the used to do with Network of the stars or whatever it was called, but have a bunch of different events current and former players can compete in like tug of war, swimming, weight lifting and a bunch of others I can't think of off the top of my head.

The game itself has never been enjoyable to watch, it's time to get rid of it and give the fans something fun to watch.


Again, cool thread 51.


Peace...

I just say SCRAP IT! That was by far the most painful and pathetic thing to watch. You can't really play the game and I don't want to watch the best players in the NFL going 1/8th speed it's annoying as hell.

This may be a dumb idea, but what if they made it like baseball and make it mean something, Like who ever wins  the NFC or AFC  team gets home field advantage in the Super Bowl the next season. I know it would make things tough on the towns hosting a Super Bowl and rough on ticket buyers wondering where they are going to go to see the Super Bowl at the last min but it can be done. If your think about it that would make things to difficult on alot of different things, but then it would give the players something to play for and put more effort into it knowing that if they win the pro Bowl, they could win the Super Bowl showing for thier home town.

Nice thread.....

Fan voting whether accurate or not will always be a part of this....this is as much about the fans as it is the players.

I say scrap the game all together and go a different route. You can still pit AFC vs NFC but have the players do things that are about team building and not football. Back in the 1970's they used to have players compete against each other in an obsticle course which I found really entertaining as a kid, it wasn't part of the pro bowl but ba separate TV event. Obsticles courses, tug o war, relay races etc would all be alot of fun for evryone involved without the worry of serious injury. You can add a number of events to have player/fan interaction. I do like the idea of it being a weekend thing.

I don't think the home field advantage thing works on many levels. The biggest one being the players playing in the Super Bowl wouldn't be playing in the Pro Bowl so it doesn't really give either side something to play for. If you changed it to wear they did play then you would only have few players on each side trying. The reason why this works in baseball is because it is done mid season where any team can still get hot and make the playoffs.

I also understand that fan voting won't be taken away but either way it is still a hugh joke to let the fans have a vote. 

Get rid of it! They don't play starters in preseason game because of injury factor. They don't play starters when they have certain playoff positions locked in. Same reason. Many players after the Superbowl won't show up anyway. They already have cuises and the like fo seeing the players. To me the real time to get these folks together is the week prior to the Superbowl. They already have the forum for it. Here in Indy there were several players out and about. The problem is the cost of all the crap at the superbowl experience. TOO FORKIN' HIGH! If you wanna pay $1500 a seat by all means go ahead. The cost of a mere can Koozie was $6. What are they made out of, Vietnamese kids tears?

 I agree kokomo its a big waste of time watching flag football.  I havent watched the probowl sense AD won the MVP of it. Everyones playing to not get hurt or hurt the other teams feelings its sad. Most all the players that get voted in dont go anyways and the ones that do they dont care, they just dont wanna get hurt

The game is indeed a mockery of football.  The superstars all play about one series and then let the lesser mortals finish the game by leaning on each other and throwing hail Mary's all over the place.  Do away with the game and just make it a skills competition.  O & D line can do stuff like you see in the worlds strongest man competitions.  WR, DB and RB's can do some obstacle course and 40 YD.  QB's can do the target hitting thing.  Everybody else can just sit around and drink beer and pat each other on the bums.


I like the idea of having it mean something - so, what you do is asign points to all the competions and whichever team wins doesn't have to do a drug test next season.  I bet that would fire up some competitive juices, eh?  

There is an easy way to fix this. $$$. The winners of the game get $100,000 each, the losers get $0. And let them play REAL football. I want to see blitzing, late hits, everything you would see in a real game. Its a joke when the ball is snapped and the d-line just stands there. I want to see the best vs. the best. Winner take all.

I think the players on the losing team already get more then the $100,000 you said. It is a good idea but the money has to be more.

i don't watch it anymore cause it a sorry Joke now ,it used mean something when it was NFL vrs AFL just get rid of it ....the NFC vrs AFC Pro Bowl can it be fixed,maybe its looking pretty hopeless

I think the players on the losing team already get more then the $100,000 you said. It is a good idea but the money has to be more.

the winning team's players each get $50,000 and the losing team's players each get $25,000.

I personally don't have a problem with the Pro-Bowl. The players love it... they (most of the time) earn it. I don't watch the game because it doesn't interest me, but I don't see why it should be looked at as something that is going to draw a crowd of viewers as large as a regular season game.

The only thing I would change about the Pro-Bowl is this. If you get voted in originally... then the Pro-Bowl goes on your resume. You don't have to play in the game if you don't want to and you cannot play if you are playing in the Super Bowl,  but if you don't play, then you don't get any of the money. You get to keep the Pro-Bowl recognition because you were voted in. Anyone then named to the Pro-Bowl to play in it as a replacement does not get recognition as being a Pro-Bowl player that year, but they get a free trip to Hawaii and at least $25,000 with a chance to win $50,000. 

It should be a fun game for the players. It should be a reward for them. Aaron Rodgers complaining because they weren't out there giving it their all every play... really? Who cares?

I know the NFL is a business so they want to enhance the fan's interest so more people watch so they generate a higher revenue, but the players seem to enjoy a free trip to Hawaii... just let them have it. 

I think the point is though, if no one watches it, then the league will begin losing money. If they lose money, or don't make enough to make it worth while, then it will become part of NFL history, bottom line.

If it is a exhibition game, then it is not worth while anyway.

I enjoyed the Celebrity Beach Bowl more than the Pro Bowl...


Maybe fans would realize that being an All Pro is worth more than being a Pro Bowler if they just axed it.

Have the NFL organize another College All Star game to replace the Pro Bowl, using underclassmen as well. That would be watched more than the Pro Bowl. The Senior Bowl is great, but these underclassmen could use some evaluation as well.