Christmas may be over, but for all the diehard football fans, we still have a few more weeks of enjoyment left of the season. We’re closely watching the playoff potentials- and for some of us calculating every possible scenario for our team to get in as a wildcard. For those teams that don’t make the playoffs, there’s still the joy of football (and rooting for your biggest nemesis to get spanked in the first round) and of course the 2014 Pro Bowl in Hawaii on Sunday Jan. 26^th.

 

This year’s Pro Bowl is a little different. While many of us are used to the traditional AFC vs. NFC matchup, this year, players will be voted in by coaches, players, and fans and assigned to teams by a draft. NFL.com’s fantasy football league gets in on the action too. The two FF champions not only attend the Pro Bowl, but partake in the draft process… with a little help from Jerry Rice and Deion Sanders who will serve as alumni team captains. The Pro Bowl player draft is scheduled to air on NFL network Wednesday Jan. 22^nd and teams will start practicing Thursday Jan 23^rd.  So what’s with all the changes? The NFL seems to want to put the Pro Bowl in more of the fans’ hands… give them different match ups and unexpected teams. No wonder they’re calling it the Pro Bowl: Unconferenced.

Some other notable rule changes to the Pro Bowl this year include:

• Defense: The defense will be permitted to play cover two and press coverage, rather than only man coverage (except for goal line situations).
• Two Minute Warning: A two minute warning will be added to the first and third quarters, which means there will be a change of possession after every quarter.
• Game Timing: The game clock will start after an incomplete pass on the signal of the referee, except inside the last two minutes of the first half and the last five minutes of the second half.
• Kickoffs Eliminated: The coin toss will determine which team is awarded possession first. After a change of possession (whether from the end of a quarter or after a scoring play) the ball will be placed on the team’s 25 yard line.
• Play Clock: A 35-second/25-second play clock will be used instead of the typical 40-second/25-second clock.
• Roster Changes: With the elimination of kickoffs, the kick return specialist is no longer on the roster and will be replaced by an additional defensive back.
• Sacks: The game clock will not stop on quarterback sacks outside of the final two minutes of the game.
• Stopping of the Game Clock: Beginning at the two-minute mark of every quarter, the clock will stop (as if it were an incomplete pass) if the offense does not gain at least 1 yard.

2014 Pro Bowl Roster

Offense

Quarterback
Tom Brady- New England Patriots
Drew Brees- New Orleans Saints
Peyton Manning- Denver Broncos
Cam Newton- Carolina Panthers
Philip Rivers- San Diego Chargers
Russell Wilson- Seattle Seahawks

Wide receiver
Antonio Brown- Pittsburgh Steelers
Dez Bryant- Dallas Cowboys
Josh Gordon- Cleveland Browns
AJ Green- Cincinnati Bengals
Andre Johnson- Houston Texans
Calvin Johnson- Detroit Lions
Brandon Marshall- Chicago Bears
Demaryius Thomas- Denver Broncos

Tackle
Branden Albert- Kansas City Chiefs
Jason Peters- Philadelphia Eagles
Tyron Smith- Dallas Cowboys
Joe Staley- San Francisco 49ers
Joe Thomas- Cleveland Browns
Trent Williams- Washington Redskins

Guard
Jahri Evans- New Orleans Saints
Ben Grubbs- New Orleans Saints
Mike Iupati- San Francisco 49ers
Logan Mankins- New England Patriots
Louis Vasquez- Denver Broncos
Marshal Yanda- Baltimore Ravens

Center
Ryan Kalil- Carolina Panthers
Alex Mack- Cleveland Browns
Mike Pouncey- Miami Dolphins
Max Unger- Seattle Seahawks

Tight end
Jordan Cameron- Cleveland Browns
Vernon Davis- San Francisco 49ers
Jimmy Graham- New Orleans Saints
Julius Thomas- Denver Broncos

Running back
Jamaal Charles- Kansas City Chiefs
Matt Forte- Chicago Bears
Frank Gore- San Francisco 49ers
Marshawn Lynch- Seattle Seahawks
LeSean McCoy- Philadelphia Eagles
Adrian Peterson- Minnesota Vikings

Fullback
Marcel Reece- Oakland Raiders
Mike Tolbert- Carolina Panthers

 

Defense

Defensive end
Greg Hardy – Carolina Panthers
Cameron Jordan- New Orleans Saints
Robert Quinn- St Louis Rams
Cameron Wake- Miami Dolphins
JJ Watt- Houston Texans
Mario Williams- Buffalo Bills

Interior lineman
Gerald McCoy- Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Haloti Ngata- Baltimore Ravens
Dontari Poe- Kansas City Chiefs
Justin Smith- San Francisco 49ers
Ndamukong Suh- Detroit Lions
Kyle Williams- Buffalo Bills

Outside linebacker
John Abraham- Arizona Cardinals
Ahmad Brooks- San Francisco 49ers
Tamba Hali- Kansas City Chiefs
Justin Houston- Kansas City Chiefs
Robert Mathis- Indianapolis Colts
Terrell Suggs- Baltimore Ravens

Inside/middle linebacker
NaVorro Bowman- San Francisco 49ers
Vontaze Burfict- Cincinnati Bengals
Luke Kuechly- Carolina Panthers
Patrick Willis- San Francisco 49ers

Cornerback
Brandon Flowers- Kansas City Chiefs
Brent Grimes- Miami Dolphins
Joe Haden- Cleveland Browns
Patrick Peterson- Arizona Cardinals
Darrelle Revis- Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Richard Sherman- Seattle Seahawks
Aqib Talib- New England Patriots
Alterraun Verner- Tennessee Titans

Free safety
Jairus Byrd- Buffalo Bills
Earl Thomas- Seattle Seahawks
Eric Weddle- San Diego Chargers

Strong safety
Eric Berry- Kansas City Chiefs
Kam Chancellor- Seattle Seahawks
Troy Polamalu- Pittsburgh Steelers

Special Teams

Punter
Brandon Fields- Miami Dolphins
Johnny Hekker- St Louis Rams

Placekicker
Matt Prater- Denver Broncos
Justin Tucker- Baltimore Ravens

Punt returner
Antonio Brown- Pittsburgh Steeler
Dexter McCluster- Kansas City Chiefs

Special teamer
Justin Bethel- Arizona Cardinals
Matthew Slater- New England Patriots

 

As with every year, the Pro Bowl’s roster also created various talks and lists of those players that were undeservingly not included. On the Quarterback snub front Ben Roethlisberger is at the top of my list (and not just because he’s a Pittsburgh Steeler). His 93.7 passer rating is higher than Brady & Newton and he’s thrown for 27 touchdowns, which is more than Brady, Newton, AND Wilson. Another mentionable QB snub of course Nick Foles- with over 2,600 passing yards, 25 touchdowns- and only 2 interceptions.. and helping to position the Eagles to win the NFC East. Perhaps the fact that he’s only started 9 games makes him unworthy, but his numbers clearly speak for themselves.

 

Other honorable snub mentions include Jordy Nelson, Pierre Garcon, Antrel Rolle, Alshon Jeffrey, Kiko Alonso, and Muhammed Wilkerson to name a few. Hey, I get it not EVERYONE can be included. Unfortunately, I think some of the popularity contest is still pretty evident in the roster.

 

So who is on the top of your snub list and what do you think about the new Pro Bowl rules? 

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