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The AFC and NFC teams had their first practices today for Sunday’s annual Pro Bowl. This is the 30th straight time the game will be played in Honolulu, but the Pro Bowl will not return to Hawaii in 2010. Next year the game moves to the weekend before the Super Bowl in Miami. Here’s what NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell had to say about it at his Super Bowl XLIII presser last week:

“The entire premise of shifting the Pro Bowl was to make our event bigger and better than it is right now. We’ve had a great experience in Hawaii. We expect to continue to be in Hawaii. We expect it will be in the rotation. What we thought, though, would be a very interesting alternative would be to play the game as part of the lead up to the Super Bowl. So we’ll be playing it on Sunday night in Miami in advance of the Super Bowl. That will bring more interest, clearly. It will bring more exposure for our great players, and we think be a positive. In addition, we think that while we’ll miss the Super Bowl guys, it really puts an emphasis on team accomplishment. Make it to the Super Bowl: that’s the crowning achievement. But if you get the opportunity to play in the Pro Bowl, it’s a great opportunity and it’s something that you deserve as an individual player, those accolades, and we’d like to put you on the biggest stage, and we believe the biggest stage is prior to the Super Bowl. But we do continue and hope to be in Hawaii.”

I think this is a great decision. As much as I love Hawaii (OK, I’ve never been there but I’ve heard really good things), this game after the Super Bowl is anti-climatic. Kicking off Super Bowl week with the AFC-NFC Pro Bowl game seems like a no-brainer. If it’s successful (and why wouldn’t it be?), I don’t see the Pro Bowl returning to Hawaii anytime in the near future.

Source: NFL Media, Photo: Newscom

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AFC-NFC Pro Bowl Practices Begin

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Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson has never lacked confidence. And more than two months before his team’s 2008 training camp starts, he’s already talking about a goal of 2,000+ yards this coming season. A bold statement considering only five other players in NFL history have done it. I say “Why not?” With the (hopeful) maturation of QB Tarvaris Jackson and a revamped passing attack, AD will face fewer eight-man fronts, the kind that stifled him late last season against San Francisco, Chicago, Washington and Denver. The additional experience and weaponry will make the Vikings a real problem for Dallas, Green Bay and the rest of the NFC.

Source: Star Tribune, Photo: Newscom

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Adrian Peterson Has Sights Set High

It was like icing on the cake for Minnesota Vikings RB Adrian Peterson’s incredible rookie season. AD walked away with Pro Bowl MVP honors today after ripping through the AFC defense for 129 yards and two TDs in the NFC’s 42-30 win. It was the first 100-yard rushing effort since Marshall Faulk (180 yards) and Chris Warren (127 yards) reached the mark in 1995. This award was on the heels of AD’s being named the NFL’s Rookie of the Year last month. And I learned that he brought every Minnesota Vikings offensive lineman with him (although G Steve Hutchinson and C Matt Birk were there courtesy of the NFL as Pro Bowl players) as a “thank you” for their help in his 1,341 yard season. I can’t wait to see what Adrian has in-store for next season. As long as he can stay injury free, there’s no limit to how good this guy can be.

As for the Pro Bowl game, it was pretty much as expected — a lot of offense. In fact, the teams combined for 48 points in the first half, tying a Pro Bowl record. The defense is at a real disadvantage in this game with not being able to play up on the receivers (outside of the five-yard-line). And they aren’t allowed to blitz. Obviously that rule is in effect to cut down on the risk of injury in a totally meaningless game, but it really puts the D in a bad position.

There were a lot of good individual efforts besides Adrian Peterson. Terrell Owens had eight catches for 101 yards and two TDs. T.J. Houshmandzadeh caught two TDs as well. Antonio Cromartie had two picks. And Antoine Bethea was in on nine tackles.

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Adrian Peterson Wins Pro Bowl MVP Award, Offenses Shine as NFC Beats AFC 42-30

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Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre received 1,140,863 votes to lead all NFL All-Stars in balloting for the 2008 NFL Pro Bowl. There was a record 83.7 million votes cast on NFL.com and on wireless phones with Sprint service using more than 2,262,000 ballots. There were nearly 14 million more votes cast this year than last year. That is insane! Obviously the promotion of and ease of access for the voting process was a factor, but +14 million votes? Sheesh. Just when I thought the NFL couldn’t get any more popular. The AFC and NFC Pro Bowl teams will be announced Tuesday.

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Brett Favre Leads Record Pro Bowl Voting