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NFL Pro Bowl 2010
Sunday, January 31, 2010 7:30 PM
Sun Life Stadium
Miami, Florida
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 The
2010 Pro Bowl was be played one week before
the Super Bowl on Sunday, Jan. 31 and was staged
at newly named Sun Life Stadium.
In its new
role as a warmup to the Super Bowl, the Pro Bowl
became a series of wind sprints.
Long gains
were the rule and hard hitting was the exception
as the AFC beat the NFC 41-34 on Sunday night.
Here's a scary thought: Darrelle Revis and Nnamdi
Asomugha on the same team. The star corners have
talked about making it a reality in the future.
Light showers fell for much of the game, stirring
memories of a rainy Super Bowl in Miami three years
ago. But uniforms remained mostly spotless, with
more pushing and shoving than tackling.
 "It's
different. It was like 7 on 7," NFC linebacker Brian
Orakpo said. "Everybody came out here trying not
to get hurt and give the fans a good show"
Matt Schaub of the Houston Texans threw for
189 yards and two AFC scores, and was chosen the
most valuable player.
"It's a game you watch
growing up as a kid and wonder if you could ever
be in," Schaub said. "To actually be a part of it
is incredible."
Aaron Rodgers also threw
two touchdown passes, and NFC teammate DeSean Jackson
had two scoring catches."We are looking at alternatives
to strengthen the Pro Bowl," said NFL Commissioner
Roger Goodell. "We will continue to work with the
players to make it a great event and will evaluate
this concept after the 2010 Pro Bowl."
 Spectators
included Peyton Manning, Drew Brees and other Pro
Bowl players from the Super Bowl teams. Manning
and the Indianapolis Colts will face Brees and the
New Orleans Saints on the same field next Sunday
in the biggest game of the season.
The NFL
sought to transform the Pro Bowl into a bigger game
by playing it before the Super Bowl for the first
time. In a one-year experiment, the league also
moved the game from Honolulu, its home since 1980.
The stadium was half empty by the third quarter,
perhaps partly because of the rain and temperatures
in the 60s. It was sunny and 82 in Honolulu at game
time.
Did the weather dampen the players'
enthusiasm for Miami?
"It's beautiful. It's
paradise," NFC receiver Steve Smith said. "Too bad
it's not Hawaii."
 Nearly
40 percent of the players originally selected for
the game didn't play. One of the AFC replacements,
David Garrard, threw for 183 yards, including a
48-yard touchdown to Vincent Jackson.
"It's
so awesome," Garrard said. "One of my goals coming
into the game was to just be relevant and show all
the people who said, `What is he doing in there?
The Pro Bowl has dropped off a few pegs,' that I
do belong."
Vincent Jackson made seven catches
for 122 yards. Chad Ochocinco had a 40-yard reception
but didn't do any kicking after practicing placements
and punts for the AFC during the week.
"That's
OK. It was fun anyway," Ochocinco said.
DeSean
Jackson scored on a 7-yard pass from Rodgers and
a 58-yard pass from Donovan McNabb, his regular
quarterback with the Eagles.
 "I'm
just out here having a great time," Jackson said.
"And at the same time I'm trying to put out a little
effort."
There were plenty of other big plays.
Josh Cribbs caught a punt at the goal line and returned
it 65 yards. A penalty negated LaMarr Woodley's
64-interception return for a touchdown.
"I
slowed up to get a little camera time," Woodley
said.
The AFC totaled 517 yards and the NFC
470. Both teams threw for more than 400 yards.
Redskins linebacker London Fletcher, a 12-year
veteran playing in his first Pro Bowl, found the
AFC's offensive approach exhausting.
"They
came out with a bunch of screens and had us running
around," Fletcher said.
But there were no
complaints from Fletcher's teammate on defense,
first-time Pro Bowler Justin Smith of the 49ers.
"The pace is nice," Smith said. "You don't have
to worry about working too hard."
 The
game will return to Honolulu in 2011 and 2012, but
the league hasn't decided whether to hold those
games before or after the Super Bowl. The Pro Bowl
site for 2013 and beyond hasn't been determined.The
site and date of Pro Bowl games after 2010
will be determined at a later date and will include
playing the game on a rotating basis in Honolulu,
the NFL announced.
The current AFC-NFC
Pro Bowl format, which began in 1971, rotated
annually between host sites until 1980 when it moved
to Honolulu. The 2010 game also won't be South Florida's
first Pro Bowl: the 1975 game took place in Miami's
Orange Bowl. The game has been held in Tampa, Seattle,
Dallas, Kansas City, New Orleans and Los Angeles
on three occassions.
It's not a new notion
to have the game moved up to take place between
the conference championship games and the Super
Bowl. The NFL has discussed it multiple times in
recent years, and Goodell told the Associated Press
last month that having the game precede the Super
Bowl would avoid a "somewhat anticlimactic" ending
to the season.
The initiative to experiment
with the Pro Bowl schedule and location was
discussed over the past two years with NFL club
owners, the NFL Players Association, the NFL Player
Advisory Council, and other players, and it received
wide player and club support.
"Moving the
Pro Bowl to the Sunday prior to the Super
Bowl can add even more excitement to Super Bowl
week, one of the most anticipated weeks of the year,"
said Frank Supovitz, the NFL�s senior vice president
of events. "Taking the Pro Bowl to new locations
can showcase our top players to more fans around
the country. We are also in discussions with key
leaders in Hawaii to continue our partnership with
the State of Hawaii, which has embraced the Pro
Bowl for 30 years." |
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