2016 Pro Bowl Selections

[masterfins]

This year's selections are out, and two Dolphins made the starting list:  Cam Wake and Ndamukong Suh, congrats to these guys.  Also, I heard on the radio the other day that they are switching back to the traditional AFC vs NFC format.  Game to be played Jan. 29th.

In other news the Dolphins are scheduled to host the Saints in London next year, the exact date not yet decided.

[masterfins]

For the AFC - although Brady is the starter, Derek Carr also made the team.  Does anyone else think Derek Carr is getting a little too much credit for the Raiders success?  Granted his numbers are greatly improved over the past two seasons (especially his Int's down to 6), but I think a lot of his success is based on what the defense is doing.  Like Miami, the Raiders defense have come up with a lot of turnovers (13 int's and 13 fumble recoveries).  Usually if your defense is coming up with turnovers you are in pretty good field position, so that makes it very beneficial for the offense.

[MyGodWearsAHoodie]

Brady gets elected every year, but has skipped every year for the past decade.  I doubt that changes this year.

[BuccaneerBrad]

They need to make changes to it in order to make it better.   Holding it on the east coast was a good move.  Going back to the AFC-NFC format was another good move.  What they need to do now is move it back to the week after the Super Bowl and make it mandatory for the selected players unless they are seriously injured. 

[Spider-Dan]

Let's suppose you overcome the enormous obstacle of the NFLPA and somehow make participation in the Pro Bowl mandatory.

How do you determine when a player is "seriously injured"?  Are you going to force Brady to play 1 down?  1 series?  1 quarter?  Do you think Mike Tomlin is going to tell Brady to get back out there if he takes himself out of the game?  If so, what do you think Bill Belichick is going to do with PIT players when Belichick is the coach of the AFC Pro Bowl team?  I would expect Leveon Bell to set a record for carries in a Pro Bowl.

This is nonsense.  There are plenty of good NFL players who will actually be happy and proud to play in the Pro Bowl.  You don't need to force sour players to participate against their will.

[Baba Booey]

In other news the Dolphins are scheduled to host the Saints in London next year, the exact date not yet decided.

It was announced it will be week 3 or 4. Which means an early season bye week

[MyGodWearsAHoodie]

There ara a few things they could do.....

1. Move it to after the Super Bowl.  Allows SB participants to play and gives dinged up players two more weeks to heal.  Also keep in mind under the current system no player who is still in playoffs is talking to friends and family about pro bowl, his focus is super bowl

2. Change the way pro bowl stats are kept to only acknowledge pro bowls played in, not pro bowls selected for.  Tom Brady is a 12 x pro bowler.  Change that so he is 3x.  That may change the perception among many player that the honor comes from being selected, not playing in it.

3.  Increase the pay for playing in it.  For many players they are getting paid a tiny fraction of what a regular season game pays.

[Spider-Dan]

One of the best moves the NFL ever made was moving the Pro Bowl before the Super Bowl.  I think the extra week off before the Super Bowl is a good idea regardless, and the Pro Bowl fits in nicely as a fluffy appetizer for the main course.

The Super Bowl is a much better and more satisfying end to the yearly NFL campaign than a meaningless exhibition played with wacky rules.

[Phishfan]

The Super Bowl is a much better and more satisfying end to the yearly NFL campaign than a meaningless exhibition played with wacky rules.

I always considered the Super Bowl the end of the NFL campaign anyway. The Pro Bowl is a bastardization of NFL football no matter when it is played.

[Pappy13]

I got a radical idea, how about we just get rid of the game itself. Not the selecting of players mind you, just the game itself. Do we really need to play the game? What purpose does it serve? I used to love the skills challenge that they used to have with the QB's trying to hit moving targets, see how far they could launch a football, etc. Heck even the game of 2 hand touch with the pro's was more fun to watch then the game is today. Bring that back with the players selected to the pro bowl. No more chance of injury, but also no pretend game where people actually think catching 3 TD's in the game is meaningful.

Edit: I just found out they DID bring it back! Sweet. Now just ditch the game and air this on Sunday instead and we are all set.

http://www.silverandblackpride.com/2016/12/12/13928404/nfl-finally-gets-it-right-pro-bowl-to-include-skills-challenge

[Dave Gray]

I liked it in the week before the Super Bowl. 

But I think that it should be more of a skills competition than a game. The game itself is dumb.

[MyGodWearsAHoodie]

If you have an all star game, you need an actual game.  Best thing to happen to the baseball all star game wasn't the home run derby but the World Series home field adv was tied to it.

[Phishfan]

If you have an all star game, you need an actual game.  Best thing to happen to the baseball all star game wasn't the home run derby but the World Series home field adv was tied to it.

That was the absolute dumbest and worst thing ever. You cannot hinge your championship on an exhibition. I'm so glad MLB realized how stupid this was and has done away with it.

As for the Pro Bowl, of course you need a game in order to have a game. The proposal is to not have a game and to have an event instead. I think it is a pretty cool concept myself.

[Spider-Dan]

That was the absolute dumbest and worst thing ever. You cannot hinge your championship on an exhibition.

Seconded.  The All-Star game should be, at most, a tiebreaker; World Series home-field should either be based on comparative records of the two teams involved (like NBA/NHL), or whichever league had the better record over all interleague games that season combined.

[BuccaneerBrad]

I liked it in the week before the Super Bowl. 

But I think that it should be more of a skills competition than a game. The game itself is dumb.

Having it the week before the Super Bowl essentially eliminates the players for four teams.   It served its purpose being held the week after.   It was a "cool down" game where fans could see their favorite stars play one more time before settling in for the long off-season