The Fifth Down: N.F.L.’s Pro Bowl Is Postseason Party Few Want to Attend

The Fifth Down: N.F.L.’s Pro Bowl Is Postseason Party Few Want to Attend  A Packers fan at the Pro Bowl seemed to show more enthusiasm than was displayed on the field. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers said afterward that some Pro Bowlers “embarrassed themselves.”

The Pro Bowl is the pimple on an otherwise unblemished cheek of the homecoming queen known as the N.F.L. schedule. It is a minor blotch, yet it is impossible to overlook because of how it stands out from the beauty surrounding it.

The latest news, notes and analysis of the N.F.L. playoffs.

Brandon Marshall, below with Corey Graham, scored a record four times in the A.F.C.'s 59-41 victory.

This year’s edition of the game was particularly painful to watch, with defenders hitting so gently that the game made youth flag football look like Antietam. Aaron Rodgers said after the game that some players “embarrassed themselves” by not putting any effort into the game. The remarks made Rodgers sound very passionate and incredibly naïve: putting effort into the Pro Bowl is like performing extra research to accurately fill out a customer satisfaction survey. The only reason to go to the Pro Bowl is to go through the motions.

The Pro Bowl used to be held after the Super Bowl, but the league moved it to the Sunday before the Super Bowl, the scheduling equivalent of covering it in Clearasil and standing it in a shadowy corner of the banquet hall. In some respects, the schedule change was wise: Who wants to sit down to another football game right now? Particularly one that features five Seattle Seahawks?

On the other hand, the rescheduling backfired: the Pro Bowl got jammed into the same weekend as the N.H.L. and N.B.A. All-Star Games — though not this year, since the N.B.A. lockout moved the league’s All-Star Game to Feb. 26 — casting a spotlight on its staggering irrelevance when compared with those events. The N.H.L. and N.B.A. stage parties no one wants to leave; the N.F.L. stages one where everyone checks his watch and begs off that second cocktail. Even college football’s Senior Bowl is held in higher esteem by hard-core fans, who would rather watch prospects battle for their futures than Darrelle Revis’s jogging behind Larry Fitzgerald with the speed and intensity of two guys taking their dogs on a morning constitutional.

If the N.F.L. cribbed some ideas from the other leagues, it could spruce up the Pro Bowl and make it something more than the last mile marker before the exit for the Super Bowl.

The fantasy draft format used by the N.H.L. is brilliant, and the N.F.L. should adopt it. Braylon Edwards and Brandon Jacobs could be the captains, and a battle between Team Edwards and Team Jacobs might confuse millions of teenage girls and middle-aged women into giving the Pro Bowl a look. The game could be scored using fantasy football rules, so Matt Forte earns a point for his team if he gains 20 rushing yards and Philip Rivers costs his team 2 points when he throws an interception. Use point-per-reception scoring, and Drew Brees might attempt to engineer a comeback by throwing an endless series of 1-yard passes to running backs, which is similar to what the Saints tried to do in the playoffs, anyway.

While the fantasy draft is a good idea, skills competitions are not. Watching hockey players audition for their postretirement careers in “Phineas and Ferb on Ice” by pirouetting and Salchowing their way through penalty shots makes for some fascinating television, but there is no football equivalent. Making quarterbacks throw at moving targets is like making fighter pilots demonstrate maneuvers on riding mowers, and obstacle courses are better left to the “Superstars” program of the 1970s. Basketball players can slam dunk over cars; the only interesting thing most football players can do with a football is play football with it. Short of putting Roger Goodell in a dunk tank and letting long snappers aim for the bull’s-eye — not a bad idea, really — the only skills anyone wants N.F.L. players to exhibit are the ones they always exhibit.

Similarly, celebrity pickup games are a no-no. The N.B.A. gets a lot of mileage out of putting one of their All-Stars on the court with a W.N.B.A. star and a rapper or television chef and having them play three-on-three or Horse. Anyone with an urge to watch Ray Lewis, Aziz Ansari and Jill Scott (the soccer star) play flag football against Andy Dalton, Shaun White and Jill Scott (the soul singer) should seek medical attention, not their television listings.

The Fifth Down: Jacobs Wants to Stay With Giants, but First, a Little Wrestling

The Fifth Down: Jacobs Wants to Stay With Giants, but First, a Little Wrestling Kathy Willens/Associated PressBrandon Jacobs celebrating at a parade for the Giants last week.

Giants running back Brandon Jacobs made it very clear Monday that he hopes to help defend the team’s Super Bowl title next season. But Jacobs also said that he has no plans to retire if the Giants choose not to keep him and would not rule out considering the Jets if he ends up on the open market.

It was an interesting stance for Jacobs to take, though perhaps fitting since it came during an interview to promote Jacobs’ coming appearance on a professional wrestling show. Jacobs will be part of the “TNA Impact!” show on the Spike channel both this Thursday and next Thursday, where he is expected to be in the ring with wrestling star Kurt Angle.

Jacobs, who grew up a wrestling fan, said he is excited about the appearance although his tense post-game interaction with Jets Coach Rex Ryan in December was ostensibly less contrived. Still, Jacobs said Monday that he doesn’t hold a grudge.

“I want to be a Giant,” said Jacobs, who is due a $500,000 bonus in March that may force a decision from the Giants. Jacobs added: “It was a situation. We were rivals then. There’s no apology needed.”

He concluded: “I like the way Rex handles his business. The guys on that team I know, know how I feel.”

Last off-season Jacobs restructured his contact with the Giants to help the team retain Ahmad Bradshaw, and Jacobs said he is hopeful a similar agreement can be worked out this spring. Despite the Giants’ success in the passing game this season, Jacobs said he believes that he and Bradshaw can thrive with the Giants.

“It wasn’t drawn out on a paper and scripted not to give me carries,” Jacobs said. “It’s just the way things went. No one is against me. No one wanted that to happen. We were getting beat most of the time. We had to go to the air. Ahmad didn’t get that many carries either.”

For now, Jacobs can do little but wait and see how his contract situation plays out. His appearance on the wrestling card was a last-minute development – teammate Jason Pierre-Paul was originally scheduled but backed out – and Jacobs said he is embracing the opportunity to “show another side of myself.”

Growing up, Jacobs watched wrestling all the time, he said, and was a fan of Shawn Michaels, the Hart brothers, Razor Ramon and Andre the Giant, among others. While boxing is his true passion outside of football, Jacobs said he plans on enjoying himself during Monday’s tapings.

“Don’t worry about me getting injured or anything,” he said. “The other guys are the ones who are going to have to worry about avoiding injuries. This is going to be fun for me.”

Extra Points: The Giants officially announced the departure of the quarterbacks coach Mike Sullivan, who has will join the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as the offensive coordinator under Coach Greg Schiano. The Giants also announced the signings of three players to reserve/future contracts: defensive end Craig Marshall, tight end Ryan Purvis and offensive lineman Chris White.

The Fifth Down: Take Our Pro Bowl, Please

The Fifth Down: Take Our Pro Bowl, Please

Commissioner Roger Goodell said last week that the Pro Bowl had to be improved or could die. Some would call it a mercy killing.

Mike Tanier wrote in The Times:

This year’s edition of the game was particularly painful to watch, with defenders hitting so gently that the game made youth flag football look like Antietam.

The N.F.L.  is so good at making money that The Onion imagined Goodell’s next step.

The league is open to hearing exactly how much money viewers are willing to offer to make a Pro Bowl cancellation happen. “The fans have said this is becoming embarrassing for the sport, and we want them to know we’re listening. So there’s a seat at the bargaining table waiting for them,” said Goodell, gesturing to his team of accountants and lawyers.

Sources inside the league said they were not expecting an unusually large deal with the fans, as the NFL already takes in more than 95% of Americans’ discretionary income.

Bill Barnwell of Grantland.com has suggestions for saving the Pro Bowl. And some of your suggestions here.

Three other  links for your consideration:

1) Jack Del Rio was asked if it was difficult to go from a head coach (at Jacksonville) to a defensive coordinator (at Denver). His response seemed to confirm what some players might have suspected all along, that coaches don’t have human feelings. SportsRadioInterviews.com:

“I don’t really think about it much. I’m just plugging and doing my job. I enjoy working. I enjoy being around the guys. I enjoy the competition. I enjoy the evaluation part, so I’m really just digging in and getting to work. I haven’t really thought about how that feels. As coaches we really don’t think about how we feel much. That’s how we are able to work long hours.”

2) Joe Starkey of The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review says Pittsburgh’s hiring of Todd Haley as offensive coordinator was about putting Ben Roethlisberger on notice, setting up a power struggle: “It’s either going to work to spectacular results or blow up in their faces.”

3) The Associated Press analyzed a previously unreported tape recording by President Nixon,  who pushed hard for TV blackouts to end for playoff games but was rebuffed by Pete Rozelle.  The recording can be heard here. 

The president was a serious fan and in the early 1970s, he shared the anger of Washington residents who couldn’t watch Redskins games on TV, former aides recalled.

Nixon was right. History has shown that it was a short-sighted strategy by the league. Rozelle feared that pro football would become a “studio show” — which it has largely become, to great success. Two years ago, a Fifth Down reader shared his story of traveling from Brooklyn to Kingston, N.Y., with college friends to be able to watch a telecast of the Jets in the A.F.L. title game.

The Fifth Down: Randy Moss and a Possible Return to the Patriots

The Fifth Down: Randy Moss and a Possible Return to the Patriots

The possibility that Randy Moss will behave means that at least some team will take a chance on him.

But now that he has announced his return, don’t assume that the Patriots, the seemingly logical choice, will be that team.

Mike Reiss, ESPN Boston:

My feeling is that the team has moved on.

Part of the reason the Patriots moved on from Moss in the first place was a halftime blowup with play-caller Bill O’Brien in Moss’ final game with the team in Week 4 of 2010. It highlighted a shift in which Moss had transitioned from a team-first player in 2007 to someone more interested in his own production.

It is also my belief that quarterback Tom Brady became increasingly drained with keeping Moss on board, to the point that it became a concern of the coaching staff.

Tedy Bruschi disagrees.

What about the Jets?

From The Jets Blog: “I think I speak for a majority of Jets fans, when I say PLEASE NO. Randy Moss is everything the Jets don’t need at the WR position.”

Three links for your consideration:

1) Gary Shelton of The Tampa Bay Times on Freddie Solomon, the former 49ers and Dolphins receiver, who became known for his community service. Solomon died on Monday of cancer at 59:

Do not remember Freddie Solomon for the catches he made. Remember him for the lives he changed.

2) Mike Sullivan, who is leaving his post as Giants quarterbacks coach to become Greg Schiano’s offensive coordinator at Tampa Bay, leaves this thought about Eli Manning, via Giants.com:

“Working with Eli, it was wonderful to see the hard work, the commitment, and the focus on all the little details. He’s such a true professional. I think there was a definite determination and attitude he brought to the table this year to focus on being the best he could possibly be, whether it was small mechanical things, or footwork, or different things in practice. Or taking it a step further into greater detail in terms of game plan preparation, the dialogue, the communication, cracking the code for various opponents.”

3) ProFootballFocus.com rates the top 50 free agents, with Mario Williams at No. 1. The only Jet or Giant to make the list is Jets defensive tackle Sione Pouha at No. 18.

Also from ProFootballFocus.com: Nnamdi Asomugha is an unusually poor tackler.

Extra point Whether the Patriots will want him or not, Moss seems to have strong feelings for the Patriots. As The Boston Globe pointed out: “He showed up to owner Robert Kraft’s house as he sat shiva following the death of Myra Kraft” and “was in Kevin Faulk’s driveway a week ago when the running back returned from Indianapolis.”

The Fifth Down: Long Live Football. Football Is Dead?

The Fifth Down: Long Live Football. Football Is Dead?

During the Super Bowl, the N.F.L. used a minute of commercial time to pat itself on the back for its history of progress and safety innovations. The commercial ended with these words: “Here’s to making the next century safer and more exciting. Forever forward. Forever football.”

A week after the game, ESPN’s Grantland.com posted an article by the economists Tyler Cowen and Kevin Grier that had a slightly different interpretation of “forever.”

The NFL is done for the year, but it is not pure fantasy to suggest that it may be done for good in the not-too-distant future. How might such a doomsday scenario play out and what would be the economic and social consequences?

The most plausible route to the death of football starts with liability suits.

So the battle is joined.

On the one hand, the N.F.L. commercial described the adoption of the hard plastic helmet as an improvement. On the other, the transition from a leather helmet to a hard one soon made players feel so protected that they started using it as a weapon.

A Wall Street Journal article in 2009 included a comparison with Australian Rules Football, a festival of sport and violence, but one without helmets:

When comparing AFL research studies and official NFL injury reports, AFL players appear to get hurt more often on the whole with things like shoulder injuries and tweaked knees. But when it comes to head injuries, the helmeted NFL players are about 25% more likely to sustain one.

After huge TV ratings for the Giants-Patriots Super Bowl, football appears to be at a peak. Tim Layden of Sports Illustrated wrote, “Endless keystrokes and bandwidth will be spent repeatedly quantifying the obvious conclusion that the NFL is the most popular sport in America.”

Right, but then there’s this: Tony Dorsett squealing like a pig. The video below is a counterpoint to the N.F.L. advertisement at the top. Dorsett, one of the most breathtaking players of the 1970s, and one of many N.F.L. alumni struggling with memory problems, is joining hundreds of former players in a lawsuit against the N.F.L. At one point in the video, Dorsett imitates the sounds he emitted — “squealing almost like a pig,” he said — while trying to play through a particularly painful injury.

Dorsett was a running back. The N.F.L. has been expanding its definition of defenseless players, but there are situations in which it is legal to hit a vulnerable running back in the head with maximum ferocity. How seriously can the N.F.L.’s horn tooting about safety be taken if that’s still true?

Extra point Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com took issue with the ESPN article, but regardless of who’s right about the long-term health of the sport, parents need to be armed with knowledge about how safe, or unsafe, it is for their children to play youth football. And the N.F.L. sets the example for all levels of play.

What changes would you like to see the N.F.L. make in the off-season, if any, to improve player safety?