Last year, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell all but threatened the future of the Pro Bowl after the players pranced around in an embarrassing display of two-hand touch with shoulder pads.
Obviously, the game is still on for now, but there are definitely a few changes on the horizon.
Ok, work on the actual game later, but just fix the timing of the deadlines.
Seriously, if we can vote on a president for this country in one day, I think we can get the Pro Bowl ironed out in a few days. It doesn't have to be with two or three games left to go in the regular season.
The game isn't played until Jan. 27 and we've seen already that it's not the most important part of the Pro Bowl. The biggest buzz around the game is actually on Wednesday, Dec. 26, when the teams got announced.
That's it. That's all anyone really cares about. Who made it? Who didn't it? And why did they get snubbed?
After that, other than maybe a few alternate announcements, no one really cares about the game, who wins, who does what – other than of course, if anyone got hurt.
I don't see how moving back the deadlines until the end of the regular season could've hurt anything. After the last game, the players come in to do exit interviews and physicals, they can vote for the Pro Bowl then.
Without a doubt, this is all about Dez Bryant getting snubbed. He did, easily. He has better stats than both Victor Cruz and Julio Jones. And if anyone watched the game against the Saints on Sunday, there's no way he wouldn't get a legitimate vote for the Pro Bowl.
Don't give me that mess about off-the-field. Brandon Marshall is in there, too. If you ball-out, it gets overlooked.
Honestly, this isn't just about Dez, but the whole system. On Wednesday, I tweeted something comparing Bryant and Cruz, stating that Bryant has him beat on catches, yards and TDs, but Cruz is up 3-0 on TV commercials. One of the, ironically is with his mother. Hmm, yeah I get it.
But the more I thought about it with Cruz, he's also a product of bad timing. The kid had 1,536 yards last year and nine touchdowns and didn't make it. Like Bryant, he did his damage at the end of the season.
So getting in this year is probably well deserved for him. As for Julio Jones, I just think people figured someone from the Falcons should make it. I can't really argue with that.
But it's just unfortunate for Bryant. He had a Pro Bowl-like season and deserves to get selected. Now, he probably wouldn't even play in the game because he would need surgery on his finger, but once again, it's not about playing in the game.
All that matters is who gets picked. That being said, that's a timing change they could easily make.
