So evidently we’re still not sure if the Pro Bowl can stay, or if it has to go. The NFC scored 62 points in a rout. Apparently, that has more to do with the players not trying hard enough than the fact that four defensive players for the worst team in the league suited up for the AFC.
Seriously, though, why does everyone bag on the Pro Bowl? Can an exhibition match featuring players from up to 30 teams for one of the most complicated games with only a week to practice really be expected to look like anything other than a playgrouind pickup match? While no one ever wants to see a player get hurt in a game, could it possibly be any worse than for someone to get hurt at the all-star exhibition?
Okay, if you want to get mad about guys not taking the game very seriously like last year, that’s one thing. But come on. The Pro Bowl is always going to be, always should be a high-scoring, low-hitting affair.
There’s nothing wrong with that.
Last night’s game was perfectly entertaining, except for the parts when the AFC couldn’t hold onto the ball. (And, again, when guys don’t play together regularly, how can you expect things like that not to happen?) The Pro Bowl is not the best football you’re going to see all year. Not even close. But it’s fun, and the players like it. Leave it alone.
From a Bengals’ fan’s perspective the game was a mixed bag. Andrew Whitworth gave up a big sack early in the game, but he also provided a block that allowed Andrew Luck to hit AJ Green on a bomb. Geno Atkins had what amounted to a sack, but he didn’t look like he was trying too hard most of the time. Jermaine Gresham caught one pass and had another broken up in the endzone.
But, oh, AJ Green. Seven scintillating catches for 119 yards and three — Count ’em! Three! — touchdowns. Can someone please explain to me how a guy with two fewer catches and two fewer touchdowns and only one more yard receiving won the MVP instead? Yes, I know Minnesota’s Kyle Rudolph was on the winning team, but he made his biggest catch of the day between two Chiefs (the league’s worst team, remember?), and, without AJ, the final score is 62-14. If a guy from a losing team can’t get it, wouldn’t Victor Cruz’s 10 catches or Russell Wilson’s three TD passes have been more worthy?
But back to AJ, what a fine performance he gave. If Cincinnati can find a consistent second receiving threat, Green is going to become a Jerry Rice type of dominating wide receiver. He’s already proven over the past two years that he’s going to make plays no matter how you scheme for him. But if you have to respect someone else too? Green could go down as the greatest receiver in the game.
AJ Green made the Pro Bowl fun to watch. The Pro Bowl made AJ Green fun to watch. It was a pretty entertaining evening for a Bengals fan.
Who Dey Herald 