NFL Odds for 2010 Pro Bowl: NFC -2, Total 57

The last time the Pro Bowl was held in Miami, I was there. That's how old I am. It was January of 1975. That was so long ago that John Madden, who has retired after a long career at the mike, was actually coaching one of the teams. Most people who read this probably don't even realize that the Pro Bowl has actually been held somewhere else other than Hawaii.

I'm not sure this game has ever meant much to anybody, except those guys who are able to get into the game through some kind of back door. For example, in that Pro Bowl game at the Orange Bowl, James Harris won the game's Most Valuable Player award. What did Harris actually do to get into the game? Well, he completed 53.5% of his passes, and tossed eleven TD's in eleven games. He wasn't in the top ten in the league in completions or passing yards, but he did post the third best passer rating in the league.

The next season a quarterback named Mike Boryla actually played in the Pro Bowl. Do you remember him? He is so illustrious that some of the people I talked to who spent over two decades in the NFL had trouble for a minute pulling him up in their memory bank. His father, Vince Boryla, a former basketball player who also coached the New York Knicks, was far more notable.

Boryla got to the All-Star showcase after starting a grand total of five games for the Philadelphia Eagles in the 1975 season, during which time his team had a 2-3 record. Boryla threw six TD passes and 12 interceptions, so I guess he must have been facing some pretty tough coverage schemes. Truth be told, he wasn't even the regular quarterback of his own team. Roman Gabriel, who threw for 1644 yards and 13 touchdowns, had that distinction.

In his entire NFL career Boryla, who threw two TD passes in that Pro Bowl and later became a mortgage banker, started 19 games. Next Sunday Drew Brees and Peyton Manning will each be starting their 19th game of the season.

Boryla's Pro Bowl appearance, as well as countless others, came about as a result of what is perhaps the most enduring tradition of this contest - players begging out of action for one reason or another. Usually it's an injury that offers an excuse. Sometimes it's real, sometimes it takes some creativity. For instance, what brought up the "discrepancy" about Lewis' Pro Bowl appearances is that one season he just stepped aside so that his friend and teammate Bart Scott, an alternate, could go. The whole thing has produced some interesting and embarrassing situations.

I mean, the Atlanta Falcons, who finished 6-8 in 1969 and had to win their last three meaningless games to accomplish even that, sent a total of seven players to the Pro Bowl that season, including rookie tight end Jim Mitchell, who had 22 catches, and kicker Bob Etter, who made half his field goals. Why? Because they were willing to go.

Now you know why they moved the game to Hawaii. But even that didn't cure the "dropout syndrome."


As an added attraction for this year's game, which is held on the same field at LandShark - no check that, Sun Life Stadium - where the Super Bowl is going to be held a week later, fourteen players had to be taken off the rosters because they are playing next week. So there's an excuse for Brees and Manning, while Brett Favre, who got banged up pretty good last week against New Orleans, isn't going to bother, and joins sixteen more players who didn't show up. Tom Brady isn't on hand, nor is Philip Rivers. There were so many quarterbacks who begged out of this game that I thought for a minute they'd be bringing JaMarcus Russell and Tim Tebow in to replace them.
What we've got instead is David Garrard, whose quarterback rating and yards passing were lower than Joe Flacco, and Vince Young, who threw for less yards and less touchdowns than Matthew Stafford. This is actually the second time in three seasons that a flood of QB exits opened the door for Young to get to the Pro Bowl.
How tough is it to get to the Pro Bowl? Well, kicker Nate Kaeding of San Diego just pulled out of the game with an "injury," so for convenience's sake, Dan Carpenter of the Dolphins, who can get to the practice field in about 15 minutes from his home, got the call to replace him.
Still, I really do like the Pro Bowl, and I will probably go on Sunday. I don't mind that the guys who are there are the ones who really want to be there. For someone like Garrard, he is happy to have been voted in for the first time. As for Young, he is ecstatic to even be on the radar screen, which didn't appear to be the case at the start of 2009.
I like to see some of the guys doing thankless jobs get rewarded. If you don't live in Philadelphia or Oakland, you probably don't know who Jon Dorenbos or Joe Condo are, but they are Pro Bowl players -long snappers to be precise - and in case you don't think that kind of skill is needed in a game like this, you obviously haven't tried it. Special teams players are finally getting recognized. Kassim Osgood of the Chargers can't seem to make San Diego's receiver rotation, but he is in his third Pro Bowl, and you can bet HE isn't pulling out. Neither is Minnesota's Heath Farwell, Osgood's college roommate at San Diego State, who is the NFC's special teams player. Guys who cover kicks can get highly-decorated; Steve Tasker, formerly of the Bills, made it seven times. That's a lot of frequent flyer miles to Honolulu and back from Buffalo.
I also like seeing rookies in the game. This season we've got Brian Orakpo of Washington, Clay Matthews of Green Bay and Johnny Knox of Chicago. Jairus Byrd of Buffalo and Brian Cushing of Houston pulled out, but I assume they have a good excuse, or else we've REALLY got a problem.
I've also been scouting a little.
Yes, it's great to sit in front of NFL Network on my TV and watch those Pro Bowl practices, which feature almost no action and no contact.
I'm not sure how you really go about handicapping a Pro Bowl, but I would think that the AFC, with Matt Schaub, who led the league with 4770 yards, Young, who can confound a defense with his running ability, may have an odd edge at quarterback because it can "change speeds," even though none of their signal-callers made the playoffs, while all of the NFC QB's (Aaron Rodgers, Tony Romo, Donovan McNabb) did. I also like the size of the AFC receivers with the liberal passing rules, and the AFC secondary can probably do a better job in man coverage. As the underdog of two points in the BetUS odds, the "junior circuit" may be the way to go.

I guess, when all is said and done, the bottom line is that maybe we need the Pro Bowl primarily because it is a reminder of how good the NBA All-Star Weekend is by comparison.
As they say, don't hate the players, hate the game.

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