Any point in keeping the Pro Bowl? Yes or No(Poll)

[Prime Time]

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2016/01/26/welcome-to-the-largely-replacement-pro-bowl/

Welcome to the (largely replacement) Pro Bowl
Posted by Darin Gantt on January 26, 2016

AP

Sunday’s Pro Bowl features the best of the NFL’s best.

Unless it doesn’t.

While some degree of attrition is expected, the current rate is kind of ridiculous.

Of the 86 players initially named to the game, we’re already at 33 replacements and counting.

A total of 14 players left because they’re involved in the Super Bowl (10 Panthers and four Broncos), but at the moment, another 19 players have backed out because of injuries or personal reasons.

More are probably coming, as Patriots special teamer Matthew Slater has already fashioned an injury excuse and none of the rest of his six Patriots teammates chosen initially are going.

The game was already a sham, but the diaspora at certain glamour positions make it even more so now. Five of the six quarterbacks originally picked are out, as are five of the six initial picks at outside linebacker. All three free safeties have been replaced as well, along with three cornerbacks and three wide receivers.

So have fun with that, and enjoy this list (which we’ll update with the inevitable future replacements):

2016 Pro Bowlers

QUARTERBACKS (6)
Tom Brady, New England (replaced by Jameis Winston, Tampa Bay)
Cam Newton, Carolina (replaced by Tyrod Taylor, Buffalo)
Carson Palmer, Arizona (replaced by Teddy Bridgewater, Minnesota)
Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay (replaced by Derek Carr, Oakland)
Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh (replaced by Eli Manning, New York Giants)
Russell Wilson, Seattle

RUNNING BACKS (6)
Adrian Peterson, Minnesota
Devonta Freeman, Atlanta
Jonathan Stewart, Carolina (replaced by Latavius Murray, Oakland)
Todd Gurley, St. Louis
Doug Martin, Tampa Bay
LeSean McCoy, Buffalo (replaced by Chris Ivory, New York Jets)

FULLBACKS (2)
Marcel Reece, Oakland
Mike Tolbert, Carolina (replaced by Patrick DiMarco, Atlanta).

TIGHT ENDS (4)
Tyler Eifert, Cincinnati
Rob Gronkowski, New England (replaced by Gary Barnidge, Cleveland)
Travis Kelce, Kansas City
Greg Olsen, Carolina (replaced by Delanie Walker, Tennessee)

WIDE RECEIVERS (8)
Odell Beckham, Jr., New York Giants
Antonio Brown, Pittsburgh
Larry Fitzgerald, Arizona (replaced by T.Y. Hilton, Indianapolis)
A.J. Green, Cincinnati
DeAndre Hopkins, Houston
Calvin Johnson, Detroit (replaced by Allen Robinson, Jacksonville)
Julio Jones, Atlanta
Brandon Marshall, New York Jets (replaced by Amari Cooper, Oakland)

TACKLES (6)
Tyron Smith, Dallas
Joe Staley, San Francisco
Joe Thomas, Cleveland
Andrew Whitworth, Cincinnati
Trent Williams, Washington
Jason Peters, Philadelphia (replaced by Chris Long, Chicago)

GUARDS (6)
David DeCastro, Pittsburgh
Mike Iupati, Arizona (replaced by Richie Incognito, Buffalo)
Josh Sitton, Green Bay
Trai Turner, Carolina (replaced by Logan Mankins, Tampa Bay)
Marshal Yanda, Baltimore
Zack Martin, Dallas

CENTERS (4)
Travis Frederick, Dallas
Ryan Kalil, Carolina (replaced by Eric Wood, Buffalo)
Mike Pouncey, Miami
Alex Mack, Cleveland

DEFENSIVE ENDS (6)
Ezekiel Ansah, Detroit
Michael Bennett, Seattle
Chandler Jones, New England
Khalil Mack, Oakland
J.J. Watt, Houston
Muhammad Wilkerson, New York Jets (replaced by Carlos Dunlap, Cincinnati)

INTERIOR LINEMEN (6)
Geno Atkins, Cincinnati
Calais Campbell, Arizona
Fletcher Cox, Philadelphia
Aaron Donald, St. Louis
Gerald McCoy, Tampa Bay
Kawann Short, Carolina (replaced by Jurrell Casey, Tennessee)

INSIDE/MIDDLE LINEBACKERS (4)
Navorro Bowman, San Francisco
Luke Kuechly, Carolina (replaced by Derrick Johnson, Kansas City)
Clay Matthews, Green Bay
Bobby Wagner, Seattle

OUTSIDE LINEBACKERS (6)
Jamie Collins, New England (replaced by Anthony Barr, Minnesota)
Thomas Davis, Carolina (replaced by Elvis Dumervil, Baltimore)
Tamba Hali, Kansas City
Justin Houston, Kansas City (replaced by Sean Lee, Dallas)
Von Miller, Denver (replaced by Julius Peppers, Green Bay)
DeMarcus Ware, Denver (replaced by Lavonte David, Tampa Bay)

CORNERBACKS (8)
Chris Harris, Jr., Denver (replaced by Vontae Davis, Indianapolis)
Josh Norman, Carolina (replaced by Desmond Trufant, Atlanta)
Marcus Peters, Kansas City
Patrick Peterson, Arizona
Darrelle Revis, New York Jets
Richard Sherman, Seattle
Aqib Talib, Denver (replaced by Brent Grimes, Miami)
Malcolm Butler, New England

FREE SAFETIES (3)
Tyrann Mathieu, Arizona (replaced by Malcolm Jenkins, Philadelphia)
Reggie Nelson, Cincinnati (replaced by Reshad Jones, Miami)
Earl Thomas, Seattle (replaced by Harrison Smith, Minnesota)

STRONG SAFETIES (3)
Eric Berry, Kansas City
Kam Chancellor, Seattle (replaced by Mike Adams, Indianapolis)
Charles Woodson, Oakland

PUNTERS (2)
Sam Koch, Baltimore
Johnny Hekker, St. Louis

RETURN SPECIALISTS (2)
Tyler Lockett, Seattle
Darren Sproles, Philadelphia

PLACEKICKERS (2)
Dan Bailey, Dallas
Stephen Gostkowski, New England (replaced by Josh Brown, New York Giants)

SPECIAL TEAMERS (2)
Justin Bethel, Arizona
Matthew Slater, New England

 

[Rambitious1]

I voted no.
I don't even watch it anymore.
I find myself thinking.....................

 

[Mikey Ram]

I voted no.
I don't even watch it anymore.
I find myself thinking.....................

Likewise , haven't bothered with it in years and have zero desire to ever see one again...

 

[RamFan503]

Yes they should continue it but put it back AFTER the freaking Superbowl and work something out with the NFLPA to force players acknowledged by the fans to participate or sit out the first game of the season or something. Personally, I find the players sitting it out as being the ultimate in disrespect to the fans. They endanger their career more by sitting behind the wheel. The ProBowl isn't about players going out and bashing heads. It's about the fans voting for their favorite players and the players putting on a show for the fans.

People want to point to the owners and say the NFL is all about money and not about the fans? Look at the players. Hell - when I was a kid, the Rams used to do events all over town. I even went to an alumni basketball game at Cleveland High School where the Rams showed up and shot hoops against some of the former Cavalier players. Now the only things done for the fans are BS things like fanfest that don't even involve players.

 

[Selassie I]

I do find myself watching it if there's nothing else to do. It's not mandatory like Ram games.

I did enjoy going to the Pro Bowls back when I was a kid... I went to a bunch of them. I'm glad it's back in Aloha Stadium. It's always been a weird setup game wise though.

 

[markstewart67]

a few years ago I watched the ProBowl and all the players were just clowning around with each other and not trying at all. They were hardly blocking and barely even running. After that game I swore I'm never watching the ProBowl again. I decided that I didn't want to watch a bunch of guys making more in the ProBowl than I do all year joking around with each other. Some will say...."Well they don't wanna risk getting injured over a game that doesn't matter, Well my response would be....Then why play if it doesn't even matter. If it don't matter to them, then it doesn't matter to me. I've seen more action in a flag football or the lingerie game played by all those hot babes!! So my vote would be a big fat NO.

 

[kurtfaulk]

.

i've never watched a probowl game, ever.

.

 

[bluecoconuts]

Congratulations on Chris Long making it! As an offensive tackle no less, what a talent!


On a more serious note, they need to change it up, like the NHL does it... Nobody cares about the NHL allstar game, but the skills competition is more fun... Now they made it a 3 on 3 mini tournament instead of two teams squaring off, so that's somewhat interesting... Better than it was before, that's for sure.

 

[Q729]

I used to like the Pro Bowl as a kid. I always thought it was cool seeing the different helmets on the field. Wasn't it on ABC's Wide World of Sports and on on a nice Saturday afternoon? Now it's all primetimed up, and the uniforms are hideous. Nevermind what was mentioned earlier about players not even showing up. Worthless.

 

[DR RAM]

It's a damn joke now, and has been for years. Give the players that deserve it the acclaim, but it's an insult to play in that game.

 

[-X-]

It's gay. No blitzing, half-assed tackling, players sitting out...

Meh.

And not enough face time for the pro bowl cheerleaders.

 

[Merlin]

You guys are a bunch of party poopers.

The answer is YES! Watch it because Gurley is going to put up over 100 yards in like 2 or 3 carries and Donald doesn't need blitzing to rack up sacks. Support our young superstars!

 

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http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2016/01/26/is-the-pro-bowl-in-danger-of-going-away/

Is the Pro Bowl in danger of going away?
Posted by Mike Florio on January 26, 2016

Several years ago, the NFL considered abandoning its all-star game because the all-stars were largely giving half-assed efforts. Now, the threat to the ongoing existence of the game comes from the fact that the rosters consist not of all-stars but a collection of alternates who didn’t qualify for the game but who became critical to the effort as nearly half of the players bailed, either because they’ll be playing in the Super Bowl, because they’re injured, because they’re “injured,” or because they simply don’t want to go.

It’s prompting speculation among coaches that the game is on “life support,” and that down the road it will go away.

The NFL has rattled the sword from time to time about killing the game, but people still watch it. Which makes it difficult to justify getting rid of it.

If/when it essentially becomes a showcase for the future stars and veteran who never made it, maybe people won’t be watching. And if/when a player tears an ACL or pops an Achilles tendon while playing in a meaningless game, more and more players will refuse to play.

 

[Leuzer]

The past few years, the Pro Bowl has been more entertaining than what it was. I believe Commissioner Goodell said that if the athletes didn't want to take it seriously, then the game would go away. However, it's just a matter of time before the players start slacking and gets un-watchable again.

They should just send them on a vacation give them an award and have a fun little skill competition like what they used to have in the early to mid 2000s.
Examples:

This really should have been a warning sign that Marc isn't who we thought he could be.


Torry Holt shows off why he was one of the best receivers in the NFL.

 

[wmc540]

I'll never vote against more football.

 

[LetsGoRams]

Pretty soon Nick Foles is going to be on the team!

Trumaine Johnson - not even an alternate. Blasphemy!

My only hope is none of the Rams gets hurt. Gurley in this game scares me.