What the NFL can learn from the Pro Bowl
I watched the Pro Bowl so you didn't have to, and there are several lessons the NFL should take away from this year's all-star game.
I’m probably more forgiving of the Pro Bowl’s shortcomings than most. I think the players do feel honored to earn the distinction of “Pro Bowler,” and I think they legitimately enjoy each other’s company at the all-star game, but overall, it’s not supposed to be super serious.
That doesn’t mean there aren’t improvements to be made — I totally support Christian’s suggestion of randomizing the positions, especially because of how much that would embrace the NFL’s little-seen silly side.
So when I see criticism about the way the game is played or the lack of effort from the players, I can’t help but roll my eyes. Who cares? It’s the freakin’ Pro Bowl. The entire event should be an exercise in frivolity. If Mac Jones wants to do the Griddy after not scoring a touchdown due to flag football-type tackling, then we should just laugh along with him and everyone else at the stadium rather than gripe and moan in Boomer-ese about how football used to be, back in my day:
(“Let Mac Jones live” is not a take I was expecting to have, but here we are.)
That said, there are a few Pro Bowlisms that I’d like to see carry over into the NFL regular season. In particular, here are five things that happened in this year’s AFC win over the NFC that I’d gladly welcome in 2022.
“Spot and choose” wouldn’t completely fix the NFL’s terrible OT system … but it’d still be an improvement
Last year, the Ravens proposed a rule change that would have revolutionized the league’s overtime policy. It, as Josh Allen knows more than anyone, failed to earn the Competition Committee’s approval. The proposal will likely be on the agenda again this year, and we got a preview of what it would look like in an actual (or sorta) football game Sunday.
The Pro Bowl began with a coin toss, as usual. But in lieu of a kickoff, the winner had two options: It could either pick the spot (which yard line the offense would start on), or let the other team decide on the spot and it could choose to play offense or defense based on where the ball would be placed.
In the first half, the NFC started with the ball at its own 15-yard line:
And things didn’t work out so well for the offense. Six plays later, Darius Leonard picked off Kyler Murray and took it all the way to the house. (Even if that probably gave Murray nightmare flashbacks of his Wild Card Round performance, at least he bounced back to throw a game-high three touchdowns.)
In the second half, the AFC selected the spot (its own 5-yard line) and the NFC elected to play defense. This time, it worked out for the offense … and once again, the NFC failed to take advantage of the situation.
Mac Jones engineered a 13-play, 95-yard drive that took more than seven minutes off the clock (thank you), ending with a touchdown pass to what I can only assume is Jones’ future Patriots teammate Hunter Renfrow.
If the Pro Bowl had gone to overtime (we were spared that specific outcome, at least), “spot and choose” would have been in effect once more. If the Competition Committee ever passes the rule in the regular season, it would only be implemented in overtime. While it would not solve one glaring issue that plagues the current system — both offenses are not guaranteed to touch the ball — there would be more gamesmanship, and less luck, involved in the overtime period.
It’s not a perfect solve, but it’d be better than what we have — and more strategic and fun, as well.
We need more Diggs vs. Diggs showdowns
There are several sets of high-profile brothers in the NFL — the McCourty twins, Jason and Travis Kelce, Joey and Nick Bosa, J.J. and T.J. Watt (and Derek too, though he’s the Kevin Jonas of that trio). However, none can bring the fireworks like Stefon and Trevon Diggs, particularly because they play rivaling positions.
As a welcomed diversion in the Pro Bowl, the two decided to line up at each other’s position — Stefon at CB and Trevon at WR:
Later, Stefon got the ball on a handoff and acted like he was about to pass — he had already completed a 15-yard throw earlier in the game and was technically the only passer to not get picked off Sunday — but then opted to run toward the end zone. In the process, he got the best of Trevon, as Stefon literally pointed out:
After a little brotherly antagonization in the fourth quarter, the Diggses wrapped up the afternoon with their first ever jersey swap. And Stefon came up with the most wholesome tagline for the Pro Bowl and one the NFL should adopt:
Stefon and Trevon have never played against each other in a real NFL game and unless the Cowboys and Bills meet in Super Bowl 57, they won’t next year either. That’s a shame, considering how they were able to lovingly needle each other in a way only siblings can. They were competitive but never took it too far and clearly had a blast going toe to toe — the NFL could use more rivalries like that.
Hopefully one day they’ll be able to meet on the field in a game that counts. Even better: they could eventually end up in the same division and we could see the two square off, at their own positions, twice a year.
And we need more defensive superstar tag teams
There wasn’t a ton of defense being played in the Pro Bowl, other than the seven interceptions recorded. The best of those came when AFC North foes (and Defensive Player of the Year candidates) Myles Garrett and T.J. Watt teamed up like Robert De Niro and Charles Grodin in Midnight Run:
Maybe I’m just a sucker for the trope of enemies uniting for a common purpose, or maybe I just really love seeing two defenders at the peak of their powers working together to make life hell for a quarterback, especially when that quarterback is Kirk Cousins.
The salary cap makes these superstar duos less feasible, but I just wish more teams would follow the Rams’ lead when they paired up Aaron Donald and Von Miller. Offenses can’t have all the fun, even if they should have quite a bit of it. On that note …
Let punters be lazy
I appreciate a good punt like any other respectable Big Ten grad. But it feels right that there were zero punts in the Pro Bowl, which was AFC coach Mike Vrabel’s plan all along according to A.J. Cole:
As holders, Cole and Bryan Anger (spell his name right, ESPN!) still got to take the field, even if they were there mostly as “moral support.” While I don’t advocate for punters to never punt, I wouldn’t mind if we saw more games like this — or a few weeks ago when Bills punter Matt Haack earned an extra $133K for a playoff matchup in which he only had to hold the ball on extra point attempts.
Usually, a punter-free box score for one team means one or two things: 1) that one offense is on fire and can’t be stopped, as was the case with the Bills against the Patriots; and/or 2) that one coach keeps going for it on fourth down, as was the case in the Pro Bowl.
Both are cool, though the performance on Sunday doesn’t exactly support that second claim. The two sides combined to go just 5-of-20 on fourth-down attempts, including an awful 0-for-8 on the fourth-and-15 rule that took the onside kick out of the game. Thankfully, I don’t think that’ll dissuade coaches from continuing to go for it on fourth down like they’ve increasingly done in recent years.
For their effort, or lack thereof, Cole pocketed $80K as the punter of the winning team, and Anger received $40K. Not a bad day’s work at all.
Make the charity incentive program a weekly tradition
I’m very much in favor of this change to the Pro Bowl:
Defensive MVP Maxx Crosby brought in a $20K donation to Stand Up For Pits Foundation. Offensive MVP Justin Herbert earned the same amount for Beyond the Bell. Some of the other winners include Kyler Murray (most passing yards), Mark Andrews (most receiving yards), Nick Chubb (most rushing yards … with 17 lol), and Devin White (most tackles).
That’s awesome for those players and their causes. However, the NFL is worth BILLIONS and I’ve seen the ratings — that value is only increasing. The league should be doing something similar on a weekly basis, whether it’s an incentive for the AFC and NFC players of the week or an entirely new program. It would take the bare minimum effort on the NFL’s part (its favorite kind of action), while raising money for charitable organizations. There are no losers in that scenario.