Professional American Football is boring beyond compare...and merely a vehicle for 3 minutes of beer and body spray commercials every 90 seconds of actual play.
Yawn.
Posted on 01/26/2014 12:47:19 PM PST by Dave346
In case you didn't notice, the NFL has added a few new wrinkles to the Pro Bowl this year. There's new uniforms, there's no kickoffs and instead of the AFC against the NFC, Sunday night's game will feature two teams that were selected in a scintillating Pro Bowl Draft that was held on Jan. 22.
However, those new wrinkles almost didn't happen because there almost wasn't a game, according to NFLPA president Domonique Foxworth. Foxworth said NFL commissioner Roger Goodell almost canceled the Pro Bowl.
"Roger was very serious about potentially canceling the Pro Bowl because apparently it's very expensive and isn't of a ton of value to them," Foxworth said this week, via USA Today. "To be honest with you, I was completely comfortable with eliminating it until I talked to the players, and they said they loved it and they want to be there."
Goodell talked about the possibility of eliminating the Pro Bowl two years ago after a 2012 game that seemed to have everything except for effort, "We're either going to have to improve the quality of what we're doing in the Pro Bowl or consider other changes or even considering eliminating the game if that's the kind of quality game we're going to provide," Goodell said in February 2012.
Instead of eliminating the game, the NFL decided to make drastic changes. Instead of kickoffs, teams will start at the 25-yard line and there will be a two-minute warning at the end of each quarter to give quarterbacks an opportunity to direct more two-minute drills.
One rule change the players aren't a fan of? The whole drafting thing. It's not specifically the draft they don't like, it's the possibility of having to hit their own teammates. For instance, Colts linebacker Robert Mathis might have to lay a hit on Colts quarterback Andrew Luck because the two players are on opposite teams.
"That's the only legitimate concern, and I completely understand it," Foxworth said. "I was faced with the possibility of canceling the game or trying to make it interesting. If some of these conflicts that we create make it so we can't go forward, then we'll throw the game out."
Basically, if the fans and players don't like the 2014 version of the Pro Bowl, there might not be a 2015 version. The Pro Bowl will air at 7:30 p.m. ET on Sunday on NBC.
Better than sharing revenues equally no matter how much a team sucks, that’s socialism.
No it isn’t, and you know that. Besides, revenues are not shared equally anyway.
Sorry, I don’t have Cable/Satellite TV so I don’t get the reference .....
I hear ya.
I will say that I don’t like the career ending hit, when done by design. As for taking a guy out on a clean hit, I say go for it. I think most of us know the difference. Sometimes a guy will get hurt during a clean hit too, but at least it’s not by intent generally.
The top NFL brass should tell the busy-bodies to go to hell.
Players now want to make the bone-jarring hit that gets them onto ESPN SportsCenter, instead of using proper tackling techniques.
Professional American Football is boring beyond compare...and merely a vehicle for 3 minutes of beer and body spray commercials every 90 seconds of actual play.
Yawn.
Without equipment they would have to play a much more conservative game IMO. It might actually cut down on injuries. Who knows...
My guess is that photo is of a rugby skirmish.
How about a $10,000 bonus to the players on the winning team?
“There’s no difference between the AFC and NFC so there’s no need for conferences.”
Well that would eliminate the Super Bowl and there is no way the league will do that!
Instead of a pro-bowl ‘game’ that nobody really tries at, they could have a pro-bowl ‘exhibition’.
Quarterbacks could compete throwing for accuracy, wide receivers could have sprinting competitions, linemen could compete pushing sleds for distance. The problem with the pro-bowl is they really aren’t going to hit each other full speed. A lot of people don’t like this...but its pure economics. Why risk losing a season due to an injury in an all-star game. So they have to find ways to make it competitive without hitting - and I’d rather they make it a ‘pitch and pass’ type competition, and not pervert the rules of the game.
Get rid of it? It might go away, but I think that would be a mistake.
I was thinking that too. Getting elected to the pro-bowl is just a salary perk and most players put it in their pocket, claim to be injured and give the next guy a chance.
I hope they do away with it.
Maybe they should make it a flag football game...reduce the danger of injuries.
That could still include an ankle sprain or two.
How bout have em play Madden NFL25?
Why the heck not. There already aren’t kickoffs.
Image from a few years ago during an English (Guiness) Premiership Match.
My former roommate has Setanta Sports on DirecTV... I cared nothing for the faggoty soccer he would record/watch... but staying up late and watching 6 Nations Rugby or Aussie Rules Football, live, was AWESOME.
I can not imagine the conditioning required to endure that sort of continuous action. I mean, if someone is hurt... play continues while they attend to the wounded... what amazing athletic prowess these guys have.
I’ve never played Rugby, but it seems to me it would rival what I think is one of the most physical sports there is, amateur wrestling. And because the periods are longer, it most likely surpasses wrestling considerably.
In wrestling, your complete body is engaged in extreme physical activity for the complete period.
arms
hands
legs
ankles
feet
torso
neck
Cancel it, and do away with the stupid and pointless extra week before the Super Bowl at the same time!
LOL the possibility of reducing "hype" production time is very low....
Now at least baseball dresses up their All-Star game with things like home run derbies and dog-catching-frisbee contests. But the game itself is a cure for insomnia.
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