During last night’s Pro Bowl, a decent number of rumors and issues came up, either through the announcers, players, or ESPN analysts. Most of these observations don’t have to do with the outcome of the game itself (the AFC won FYI), shockingly because it was another all offense players clearly aren’t playing hard kind of affair, but with things heard during the game. With that here’s a collection of my rants/interesting info gleaned from the game:
1- Brandon Marshall’s Comments Are Meaningless. While being interviewed after a TD catch during the Pro Bowl, current Broncos wide receiver Brandon Marshall was asked about his benching in the final week of the season by Josh McDaniels. Marshall replied: “I think we’re past that. I love the city of Denver. I started there and I’d like to finish there.” I’m not buying what Marshall is selling. Everything Marshall does is geared toward one thing and one thing only: money. Marshall made similar comments this summer after he apparently asked the Broncos to be traded: that he loved Denver and would continue to try for the team. Fast forward a few weeks and Marshall was caught dogging it in practice and intentionally making a mockery of team drills. Marshall clearly has an agent that tells him to say the right things to boost his tradeability– the problem is that anyone with any sense can see that Marshall is trying to seem mature to boost his value and that the true Brandon Marshall is the guy who will take himself out of a game critical to get his team to the playoffs to ensure that he doesn’t get injured in a way that will harm his paycheck next season. Or the guy that pouts in practice when he’s mad about his paycheck. I’m sure some team will take a chance on Marshall and point out that he has “said the right things” this offseason, but I call shenanigans on Marshall. He wants out of Denver to get away from a coach willing to call him on his B.S., he’s trying to look good, and I’m sure he’ll be shown the door.
2-Julius Peppers Looks to Be Long Gone. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Carolina Panthers and Julius Peppers have had no contact about resigning the talented Peppers. Apparently Carolina also has no intention of slapping the franchise tag on Peppers again, either. That means that even in an uncapped year Peppers will be one of the few unrestricted free agents available. The interesting thing about the uncapped year is that under those rules the 8 teams in the divisional playoffs will not have the ability to sign Peppers unless they lose a free agent of equal value. (For an explanation check out ProFootballTalk for more details on how this works.) That means that a lot of the league won’t even be able to bid on Peppers. Regardless, he apparently wants to play in a 3-4, so we’ll see if there are any takers…but it sounds like he won’t be back with the Panthers.
3-Dwight Freeney’s Ankle Isn’t Helping Out the Colts. Dwight Freeney apparently has a third degree ligament sprain in his ankle. Freeney is a critical part of the Colts’ pass rush– Freeney and fellow DE Robert Mathis will be relied upon to use their speed to get to Drew Brees and disrupt the Saints’ passing game. While the injury is quite painful and Freeney hasn’t been practicing, I bet he’ll play. I mean, it’s the Super Bowl, Freeney has all of next year to heal up his ankle. Freeney also is a tough guy who’s known as a quick healer–I’m sure he’ll come out ready to play. The big question is whether Freeney’s effectiveness will be limited because of the injury, or if he aggravates it further during the game. It’s worrisome that Freeney is a guy who is built on explosive speed, which necessitates pushing off that ankle to get around the corner. Ultimately Freeney will be in the game, but won’t be the same force he normally is in the game. That could spell trouble for the Colts’ D.
4-Apparently the Pro Bowl Was Good Because Lots of “New Guys” Were at the Game. One comment I heard from the ESPN crew covering the game particularly annoyed me. That was when the guys covering the game pointed out an apparent “benefit” of the Pro Bowl’s large number of defections this year: that a bunch of guys got to play in the game that may never experience a Pro Bowl otherwise. I find that comment a ridiculous attempt to sugar coat what was a disastrous turnout by players at the Pro Bowl. If you translate that comment it basically amounts to saying, “Wow, these defections really helped a bunch of guys that aren’t qualified and would never qualify as an All Star in their careers get treated like the NFL’s elite!” There is no upside to having David Garrard in the Pro Bowl: I don’t care that he may never get to go otherwise– the reason he wouldn’t get to go is because he is a mediocre QB, who some are demanding get replaced by Tim Tebow. I get that the Pro Bowl is on your network, but don’t try to spin the Pro Bowl’s failure to pull in the NFL’s stars.
5-Somehow, Ratings Were Good. Apparently the ratings for this year’s Pro Bowl were 39% higher than last year. Despite all the negative publicity around the Pro Bowl the game sold out and more people turned in than usual. That likely means that the NFL will keep the Pro Bowl the week before the Super Bowl. While the game will be in Hawaii for the next two years, since the NFL has already signed a contract to put the game in Hawaii the next two years, the economic success of this year’s game likely means that the NFL will keep the game the week before the Super Bowl. If the game does well without all the stars that are supposed to be in the game the NFL has no incentive to change the game back to its previous slot the week after the Super Bowl. Additionally, I bet that if the game in Hawaii doesn’t sell out next year the NFL won’t renew Hawaii’s contract. The NFL is ultimately about business, regardless of the quality of the product put out on the field. So if revenue from the Pro Bowl increases in the new time slot, I’d say the Pro Bowl before the Super Bowl is here to stay.
but you watched the pro bowl, therefore, you lose