Could this be the final Pro Bowl? Effort will be key
Effort will be key if game is to continue, and some want it to stay.
January 26
Star news services
The Pro Bowl might be coming to an end, but it’s not because of a sense of bewilderment about the 2-14 Chiefs landing six players on the AFC roster.
Effort has emerged as the top theme for this year’s Pro Bowl. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has made clear the game will be canceled if the AFC and NFC all-stars put on a second-rate football exhibition this year.
Houston Texans running back Arian Foster said players are going to step it up this time, but that it’s unrealistic to expect full effort from the NFL’s top athletes when they’re limited in the plays they’re able to run.
“This isn’t basketball — you can’t go play a pickup game of football,” Foster said.
Foster said if league officials are willing to scrap the Pro Bowl if they don’t see max effort, then this likely will be the last game.
“I think it’s an honor and a tradition,” Foster said, “but for you to expect the best athletes in the NFL to come out and play a game 100 percent when you can’t game plan, you can’t blitz, you can’t do all these things, it’s not going to be competitive like everybody wants it to be.”
Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning said losing the Pro Bowl would be a shame. The true value of the game over the years, he said, is for younger players to have interactions with older veterans, like Minnesota running back Adrian Peterson chatting with former Chargers great LaDainian Tomlinson.
“Don’t tell me there’s not great value in that conversation,” Manning said.
The AFC and NFC squads took team photos Friday at a resort on Oahu’s west side before practicing separately on a 50-yard field in front of family, friends and some fans.
AFC defenders played a little more defense than in two prior practices. During seven-on-seven drills, Chiefs safety Eric Berry picked off a Manning pass and Jets cornerback Antonio Cromartie intercepted Houston’s Matt Schaub.
Berry is one of six Chiefs in Hawaii for the game, joining punter Dustin Colquitt, running back Jamaal Charles and linebackers Derrick Johnson, Tamba Hali and Justin Houston.
Former Mizzou players Justin Smith, a 49ers defensive lineman, and William Moore, a Falcons safety, were chosen to the NFC roster. Smith will not play as his team is in the Super Bowl.