Jan 27, 2013, Honolulu, HI, USA; Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning (18) and New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees (9) shake hands after the 2013 Pro Bowl at Aloha Stadium. The NFC defeated the AFC 62-25. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Roger Goodell is on Reddit responding to questions in the annual promotional blitz leading up to the Super Bowl this weekend in New Orleans. One of the Redditors asked Goodell about his perception of the Pro Bowl and what he thought.

“I watched the game and noticed the improved quality of the game. I appreciate the players commitment in this regard,” Goodell wrote. “We need to continually work to make our game better for the fans. I look forward to getting detailed player comment and input over the next few weeks.”

The NFL has been trying for years to rejuvenate the Pro Bowl. Many fans aren’t interested in the festival that is the Pro Bowl. The lack of competition and arguably effort on the parts of the players have cause the fans to ignore the event. They’ve tried moving it to another city, they’ve tried playing the game before the Super Bowl, all in efforts to up the interest in the game.

Last week Peyton Manning gathered NFC and AFC Pro Bowlers together and implored them to give more effort in the game. Ian Rapoport of NFL.com cites sources that claim the NFL is still undecided in regards to the future of the Pro Bowl. One idea is to host the Pro Bowl in the same city as the Super Bowl, the weekend before in an effort to merge NFL activities and increase exposure. It would also be interesting to have the players in the Super Bowl hoopla leading up to it.

The players though seem to want the Pro Bowl to stay in Hawaii and to be played after the Super Bowl. Players from the teams playing in the Super Bowl currently don’t get an opportunity to play in the Pro Bowl.

Jan 5, 2013; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Texans running back Arian Foster (23) celebrates after scoring on a 1-yard touchdown run against the Cincinnati Bengals in an AFC wild card playoff game at Reliant Stadium. The Texans defeated the Bengals 19-13. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-USA TODAY Sports

Roger Goodell has been toying with the idea of getting rid of the Pro Bowl all together. Fans don’t like it, they players don’t try and it just is more of a Hawaiian vacation than a game. Goodell has previously tried all sorts of things to encourage interest in the game.

He’s tried moving it to another city, he tried moving it to the week before the Super Bowl, he moved it back to Hawaii.

Peyton Manning famously gave a speech yesterday encouraging players to try their hardest to win. But the players are hesitant, in a meaningless game, to give their usual effort in large part due to the risk of injury. An injury could effect their career and essentially a players wallet.

Houston Texans running back Arian Foster recently spoke out (on the NFL Network, via Pro Football Talk) about his feelings towards Goodell and the Pro Bowl.

“I see both sides of the coin, I really do,” Foster said. “But in all honesty, with all due respect, Mr. Goodell? He’s not out here taking these hits.”

“The fans want a competitive game, but here you have players that have had 16-plus games, an entire season. Our bodies have worn down. This isn’t basketball. You can’t go play pickup football,” Foster said. “It’s a tough situation for both sides. I think it’s a good revenue attraction for the state of Hawaii. It brings a lot of revenue, brings a lot of tourism here, so you don’t want to see it go. And it’s a tradition for the NFL. So hopefully we get it figured out.”

Personally I think the NFL needs to stop making the Pro Bowl something more than it is, an actually competitive football game. It’s a celebration of sorts and should be. Make skills games the highlights of the Pro Bowl weekend. We’ve seen the “tricks” players do in the NFL’s “Pick Me” Fantasy Football commercial campaign. They could continue something along those lines?

Or just make it a flag football game? Heck, divide the players into more than 2 teams and make it a flag football tournament?

Just don’t put lipstick on a pig here and tell the fans this is a serious football game.

What would you like to see them do with the NFL Pro Bowl? Let us know in the comments below!

Jan 6, 2013; Landover, MD, USA; Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson (3) is interviewed by NFL Network reporter Stacy Dales (l) after the Seahawks game against the Washington Redskins in the NFC Wild Card playoff game at FedEx Field. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

Russell Wilson has managed to get to the 2013 Pro Bowl in Hawaii this Sunday. The Seattle Seahawk’s rookie quarterback is going to represent the NFC in replace of the Atlanta Falcons’s Matt Ryan. A shoulder sprain in Sunday’s NFC Championship game has sidelined Matt Ryan from the Pro Bowl.

Redskins rookie sensation quarterback, who plays a similar style of football as Russell Wilson was named to the Pro Bowl, but due to an injury he suffered, he is also out and not playing in the Pro Bowl. Griffin suffered a serious knee injury in a Wild Card round loss to the Seahawks and Wilson.

That’s not to say that Wilson doesn’t deserve it, he had an incredible season. He was originally voted as a third alternate for the NFC squad. This season he completed 64.1% of his passes for 3,118 yards, 26 touchdowns and only 1o interceptions. He added another 4 touchdowns on the ground behind, 489 yards rushing on 94 attempts.

Wilson’s biggest game came on arguably his largest stage. He beat RG3 in the first round and gave an incredible comeback performance against the Atlanta Falcons in the divisional round that almost had Seattle headed to Candlestick Park for the NFC Championship game against divisional foes San Francisco 49ers. Wilson threw for 385 yards and 2 touchdowns to nearly upset. He also ran in for a score.

They came up short behind a late drive by Matt Ryan, the man he is replacing.

Griffin and Wilson’s numbers are incredibly similar and many think those two, along with Andrew Luck, are the leading candidates for the Rookie of the Year award.

Do you think Russell Wilson will win Rookie of the Year?

Jan 20, 2011; Florham Park, NJ, USA; New York Jets linebacker Bart Scott (57) during practice at the Jets training facility in preparation for the 2011 AFC championship game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Mandatory Credit: John Munson/THE STAR-LEDGER via US PRESSWIRE

The never shy Bart Scott has spoke out about the NFL and Roger Goodell considering canceling the Pro Bowl. Goodell and many others, fan and media like, have questioned players’ efforts in the game. However Bart Scott isn’t going to let Goodell keep him from going to Hawaii and says the game is part of the “fabric of football.”

“The Pro Bowl was before his reign, it’ll be after his reign,” said Scott. “It’s not up to him, I believe, to cancel the Pro Bowl. It’s tradition.”

Scott did agree with Goodell about the players efforts in the game, but thinks the solution is to tweak the system not eliminate it.

“Who wants to get hurt the last game of the season?” Scott said “I’m not going to blow a receiver up coming across the middle. It’s the offseason, why? It’s an exhibition game. It’s not preseason, no jobs are on the line. You’re having fun, you don’t want to hurt anyone.”

Scott, speaking from Jets’ OTAs said that he thinks the perceived lack of effort isn’t any different from any other professional sport.

“Have you ever seen an All-Star game that was competitive, or played for real?” Scott said. “I mean, NBA All-Star Game, really? They get serious at the fourth quarter? Nobody’s trying to dunk, everybody gets a clear path. I mean, you think all the All-Star games are like that. It’s an All-Star game; it’s not really about the game, it’s about the festivities. … The game is just the cherry on top.”

Scott eludes to a misconception of the NFL game. He eludes to the fact that the Pro Bowl is a celebration, a reward for the players for a successful season and a chance for fans and players to interact.

“It’s a part of the fabric of football,” Scott said. “It’s a day of celebration, for everybody to enjoy, for them to get their families out. They earned the right to be an All-Star.”

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September 18, 2011; New Orleans, LA, USA; Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler (6) waits for an offensive series to start on the sidelines against the New Orleans Saints during the second half at the Louisiana Superdome. The Saints defeated the Bears 30-13. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-US PRESSWIRE

This is You Heard It Here First – where thinking outside the box and predicting the future is a social pastime.

We’ve all heard it before that Jay Cutler could be a great player if only he could put it all together. We all remember that one great year in Denver when he set the NFL on fire and became considered a “franchise quarterback in waiting”. Fast-track to 2012 and no-one is really saying that anymore. When people talk about Jay Cutler now, they talk about either his unwillingness to play through injury, his lack of leadership skills or his inability to make plays when it counts.

In recent times, the Chicago Bears have begun to look like a playoff team again. In particular, their defense has been keeping them going and have been given much of the credit for the Bears success. Many have accredited the failure for Chicago to capitalise on these good times to Cutler. I want to suggest to all of you that Cutler was not the culprit. Instead, I am pointing the finger right at his former offensive coordinator Mike Martz.

When Mike Martz became the Bears offensive coordinator back in 2010, everyone believed this was going to be the move that helps Cutler get to the top. We all looked back at The Greatest Show On Turf and thought that the way Martz elevated Kurt Warner from grocery store stockman to NFL superstar would do wonders for Cutler.

The hope of Chicago Bears fans died pretty quickly as the offense struggled to adapt to Martz’s complicated offensive gameplan. The Martz system was known for it’s complex nature and a lot of the blame for it’s failure has been placed on Jay Cutler for being unable to run the scheme effectively. I’d like to suggest that the reason that the Bears offense couldn’t function properly with Martz’s playbook was twofold – firstly because their personnel wasn’t really suited to it but secondly because Martz refused to allow any flexibility to the way he did things to the point where Cutler reported said ”Tell him I said fuck him!” in a game against the Minnesota Vikings in 2011.

There’s another NFL coach known for stubbornly sticking to his offensive system – Washington Redskins head coach Mike Shanahan. When the Redskins drafted Robert Griffin III this year, many pundits proclaimed that Washington wouldn’t improve very quickly because of Shanahan’s unwillingness to change his scheme. Shanahan has since responded by saying he will be making changes because he recognises that RG3 is a franchise quarterback and “when you’ve got one of them you have to adapt the way you do things to suit their skills”. Had Martz done this with Cutler then we may well have seen better success from the Chicago offense.

This year, Mike Martz is out and the combination of Mike Tice and Jeremy Bates is in. Tice may be the offensive coordinator but his expertise is with the offensive line and from recent comments made by Cutler it sounds like it is Bates coming up with the offensive plays. Cutler had some very complimentary things to say about the change:

“I think Jeremy has a really good feel for what I like to do and what I don’t like to do. There were plays out here today (where) I told them, ‘I don’t like them. Let’s think about getting rid of them.’ (Bates is) fine with that and Tice is fine with that. So it’s a give and take, and that’s a breath of fresh air around here (since Martz left); being able to give ideas.”

I have a great deal of confidence that Jay Cutler has what it takes to became the franchise quarterback the Bears traded for in 2009. It’s obvious he’s now a lot more relaxed than he was under Martz and his history with Jeremy Bates helps matters a lot – Bates was on the Broncos coaching staff and calling offensive plays when Cutler had his Pro Bowl year in 2008. There’s also the point that Cutler has now been reunited with former teammate wide receiver Brandon Marshall especially given that Bates was not only a quarterbacks coach in Denver but also coached wide receivers including Marshall. The Cutler-Marshall combo was deadly in 2008 and I firmly believe that chemistry can be reignited this season.

There may be a lot of competition for Pro Bowl spots at QB in the NFC but there’s hope for Chicago fans. When Jay Cutler makes the Pro Bowl I won’t be surprised and now neither will you because You Heard It Here First.

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Nike Football USA

It is no secret that Nike Football will be the official uniform supplier of the NFL starting in the 2012 season — but there is no need to wait any longer. The official Nike invasion will begin this Sunday at the 2012 Pro Bowl. Players on the field will be testing out the Nike Vapor Jet gloves that you may have seen on college fields already.

The Nike Vapor Jet gloves are unbelievable and look amazing. They bring some extra POP to the NFL uniforms and are sure to catch the attention and praise of fans everywhere. Nike released the images of their uniforms on their official Facebook page today. If you want to see your team’s design for the new glove, continue after the jump. Trust me, you will not be disappointed — unless you are a Browns fan.

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For instance, this season the NFL is allowing players to use Twitter before, during and after the game. It will add another outlet for fans to feel closer to the action.

As for the visual stimulation, the uniforms always pop and the players use their team helmets. There is also some individuality on display. This year, two players will have some special cleats, courtesy of Under Armour that are sure to grab your attention. The players? Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis and Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton.

Photos of the special Under Armour cleats are available after the jump.

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Matt Forte went down in a December meeting against the Chiefs with a sprained MCL. The Bears announced that Forte has passed his physical, and he has been cleared to play in the Pro Bowl.

Forte will become a free-agent at the start of the offseason. If he wants to play for another team besides the Chicago Bears, I think he should definitely play in the annual Pro Bowl. Although the game itself is meaningless, Forte has a chance to prove himself. Coming off a knee injury, he needs to show every other team that he can bounce back and be the same guy we all witnessed prior to the injury.

On the other hand, if he wants to stay in the Bears’ uniform, I think he should sit out. Chicago wants him back, and he has nothing to prove to them except that he deserves more money. Risking aggravating his knee again is a huge decision.

I recommend he does not play, but as a fan, I would like to see him play in the Pro Bowl along with every other elite player in the NFL. If I was Forte, I would have a set number of plays to be in on, and let the Green Bay Packers’ coaching staff know. He doesn’t want to reinjure his knee, nor should he come back and take too many snaps too early. Forte just needs to show he is fine, and then enjoy the camaraderie with the other NFC players.

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DeAngleo Hall was named Pro Bowl MVP.

The NFC squad defeated the AFC by a score of 55-41 in the 2010 (or maybe 2011?) NFL Pro Bowl. The NFC jumped out to a 42-7 lead in the first half before coasting the rest of the way.

With six tackles, an interception, and a forced fumble he returned for a touchdown, the Washington Redskins’ corner DeAngelo Hall was named the game’s MVP.

And that’s it. Other than that, no one cares. Frankly, I’m not sure anyone cares about that much. I had the game on in the background while I played on the computer and some NBA 2k11 on the Playstation 3. It was baffling to me that an NFL game was on and I could hardly pay attention, but that’s the point I think most are at with the Pro Bowl.

I’m sure it’s great for the players who get to mess around in Hawaii for a week and the fans who go to the game. I’m sure the atmosphere is wonderful. But for the fan watching on TV, it’s a bunch of the league’s best players playing in a pick-up game with some  ugly uniforms.

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