The 2011 Pro Bowl: The MVP Will Either Be Someone From the AFC or NFC

Joe Posnanski had his usual great column on the topic, “The Pro Bowl Doesn’t Matter (But I’ll Watch)”, where he discusses the old Wide World of Sports and how our society has moved away from just enjoying a stand-alone sporting event just for the sake of sport. I agree that we often get so focused on whether a game means something, that we lose some of that innocence of pure sport. This isn’t going to be the most intense football game you will have ever witnessed, but it will have many stars of the game, they will be wired for sound, and we should hear lots of shots against Jay Cutler first hand rather than having to take the time to read about them later. It should also be entertaining to see who completely avoids a quarterback after having a clean shot, in exchange for pool side drinks later on.

Of course, if the NFL wants us to take this game seriously, maybe they should put a little more effort into their own website. The current reader poll at nfl.com asks “Who will be the MVP of the Pro Bowl?” The choices: “someone from the AFC” or “someone from the NFC”.  Way to mail it in on the poll question there, guys (Someone from the NFC is the current favorite, based on his excellent regular season and exciting brand of play).

Here are some of the things I will be looking forward to seeing as I watch tonight, other than whether someone from the AFC or NFC will win MVP:

Jamaal Charles: he may get more carries tonight, splitting time with Arian Foster and Chris Johnson, than he does playing with Thomas Jones. If defensive players are loafing as he comes through the hole, he may put a few clown suits on guys tonight.

Bill Belichick and Mike Smith: we assume this is going to be just an exhibition. I’m not sure Belichick is capable of coaching an exhibition, though. Both of these guys are among the most aggressive coaches in the game, and in this all-star format, with excellent offensive players, defenses that are limited in blitzing, and their own natural tendencies, we may see teams going for it alot. Keep the punters on the bench, guys.

3/4 Outside Linebackers in coverage: Most of the outside linebackers who get selected do so because they are pass rush specialists out of the 3/4 defense that rarely play in coverage. Then they get to the pro bowl and play in a game where the base defense is a 4/3, and there is no blitzing. Terrell Suggs, Cameron Wake, DeMarcus Ware and Shaun Phillips may want to destroy the game tape of this one.

[photo via Getty]