If you have watched any moment of the Pro Bowl the last few years you have probably noticed one thing specifically: This football looks very different than what football should look like. It has been known for many years that this yearly affair needs an overhaul, and I am going to give this game its overhaul. Let's dive in.
One of the major concerns of the Pro Bowl is the potential for injury for the high profile players of the National Football League. What is the best way to eliminate this from this one game? I suggest change the game from the traditional tackle football format to either touch football or flag football. This does stray from the traditional football format that the NFL has used for its entire history, but this is a move that I think would be very beneficial to the league. This eliminates the vast majority of potential injuries that may happen throughout the course of a game of football. Granted, there will still be injuries, but that can happen anywhere, even walking in your own home. This will eliminate the majority of injuries, you cannot eliminate them all, of which I am aware. This game needs to be safer so that it is more enticing for the best players to come and play in this game. This is what the NFL wants.
Now, I know what you're thinking already: "What do you do with the offensive line without tackle football?" Now, you can just have them play they usually do, but just in the tackle or flag game, and that is a possibility. It can be done; the offensive line would still have an impact, but in a touch game, their impact would be lessened as a touch from an opposing player could bring down the running back or quarterback, it places the entirety offensive line in a huge disadvantage to the defensive front seven. This is not a feasible option in my mind. What I had in mind was a couple of options. The first option that I want to discuss is the one that I like the least, the offensive lineman are not in the game at all. This is not really fair as they have earned the status of being a Pro Bowler, and should be given that status. The second option is to include them in the skills competitions and not anything else. This gets them involved and includes them somewhat, but it isn't the same, as many others are playing in the game and not including the lineman belittles them. The two options I prefer best are either including one lineman per team, per side of the ball and have them snap the ball and play like a skill player, or have a special game with just offensive lineman. The first one would include lineman in a more traditional aspect and gives the game a special flair that you wouldn't see in normal games and makes the game interesting. The second is incredibly exciting and instantly intrigues many to see what the big men can do. The second has the highest potential and can be the most fun.
There are two other big changes that I would make, and they go relatively hand in hand. The first is to change the game from an eleven versus eleven format to a seven on seven format, or six on six format. This would open up the field and give the skill players more space to show off their skill and produce more highlight-reel plays. The point of the Pro Bowl is to show the skill of the players from the NFL. The Pro Bowl in its current form is not doing that. This game is not competitive and cannot be in this format. Now, I know what your next thought is: "Those are small teams, there's not going to be enough Pro Bowlers!" You are correct. Those teams would be too small, unless you change the number of teams. I would recommend that the Pro Bowl switch from a conference against conference format to a three-round tournament in which each division has a team and they play each other with the aim of winning the Pro Bowl trophy. This would bring rivals together, but these are natural dividers in the league that would be easy to replicate. What more teams would do would also bring about the ability to have some back yard feel injected into the Pro Bowl if you add captaincy and have the captains select their team. I recommend this be done on a rotational basis by positions. For example, have the quarterbacks select the teams one year, running backs the next, safeties after that, and so on. This would make the game interesting and see players play together that you wouldn't normally through the NFL season. The NFL tried this already, but that was under the old game format of the NFL and it wasn't interesting. I would argue that having a game that players are wanting to play would encourage more competition naturally.
This game needs to be changed, will the NFL find the fun in football and bring it back? Only time will tell.
La Cheeserie, Littles
Fight On, Sleepers
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