All Pro is what matters. I remember when Ken O'Brien played in the Pro-Bowl because 6 QB's passed. It means nothing.
Without Mo Wilkerson in the pro bowl there's no reason to watch a minute of this two hand touch exhibition game.. That said Congrats to Mangold
Mangold doesn't deserve it. This was his worst year as a Jet. I love the guy but facts are facts. He didn't play at pro-bowl level this season
This is why the Pro Bowl is a total joke. Don't get me wrong, I'd rather see Nick there (actually I won't see anyone there since I never watch it) than someone else, but the whole NFL Pro Bowl thing has jumped the shark.
I hate this. They should retire the Pro Bowl permanently. It's a meaningless game that nobody plays correctly and in which players occasionally suffer serious injuries anyway. All-Pro is a mark of distinction. Pro Bowl is just a chance to go play in a made for TV event that has no competitive standing and is never worth watching anyway. Why doesn't the NFL do something more entertaining on that weekend? They could run a beauty pageant for NFL player's wives and girlfriends to compete in. No contact, no chance for injury and no question at all that they'd get more viewers than the Pro Bowl does.
It's just a big popularity contest. Anytime the "fan" vote counts for something towards who makes it in you know it's a total sham. And now this year they've added this "fantasy draft" element, taken straight from the NHL. That will magically going to make the product on the field better, allegedly.
They should eliminate the Pro-Bowl game. It's a joke. They are trying to make changes this year but they are going about it all wrong. I like the idea of skills competitions. Regardless of how good they really are. I think it would be fun to see which Quarterback can throw it the farthest? Who is the fastest player in the league? Even racing lineman to see who's the quickest lineman in the league. Fun stuff like that in Hawaii and the fans can pick who they want to participate.. and just name a serious all-pro team of the very best players only - not picked by fans.
I just don't think there's any good reason to put NFL athletes on the field for a meaningless game that does not effect the standings in any way nor determine who actually gets to play on the field during the regular season. Skills competitions are going to lead to injuries also. Some QB is going to hurt his arm trying to air the ball out 70 yards in the air. Some lineman is going to pull a hamstring or worse trying to get down the lane in 10.9 seconds. It's just silly to put guys at risk that way. The NFL is not like the other professional sports. The injury factor on the field is dominant instead of being an occasional thing. That's one of the big reasons that the players barely go through the motions during the game.
See this is what I don't get though - I know the NFL and the players would make the same argument you just made against a skills competition, I know it. And sure there's a risk for injury. But: A) There's risk for injury in virtually everything these guys do. They aren't china dolls. They work out all year long, they would be fine doing these non-contact events. Sure there's a chance for a freak injury. But it's just that, a freak, rare injury. and B) They (assuming they would subscribe to your argument and I think they would) and you, have no problems doing these same skills displays to prospective rookies at the Combine.. it's even worse there, where they treat players like a piece of meat.
In case A you have a justification for limiting the amount of activity that NFL players engage in. If the injury factor in everything they do is high then you want to limit their activities to just those things that really matter. In case B you're talking about activity that benefits the player involved significantly since it gives them a chance to display their tools to NFL teams that might choose to draft them off of the display. It's activity that benefits NFL teams because they get to see the players they are considering drafting. Even then players can choose not to engage in any activity that they believe is harmful to them either physically or in terms of weakening their draft stock. The Pro Bowl is just useless. It has no value to either the players or the teams and in fact presents a risk to both parties. The entertainment value that the average fan gets out of the game is low also. Even the off-the-field activities can end careers, as a 1999 beach volleyball game in Hawaii ended Robert Edwards career before it had ever really gotten rolling.
I agree the Pro Bowl shouldn't matter given that whoever gets in is mostly arbitrary, but disagree that it doesn't matter. It's commonly used to attest to a player's greatness, more so than anything else. Nick's somebody building what could be a Hall of Fame career. Having another Pro Bowl on his resume is something that could certainly end up helping his case a lot, especially since there aren't many other great ways to judge an O-lineman's performance. So while we all know he may not have been as dominant as usual this season, this will make his career look more dominant, which is great for Nick.
