Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints / Image: Zuma Press

Balloting for the 2010 Pro Bowl will conclude on Monday, December 21 following the conclusion of Monday Night Football (New York Giants at Washington Redskins, ESPN, 8:30 PM ET). The teams will be announced at 4 PM (ET) Tuesday, December 29 on a special NFL Total Access 2010 Pro Bowl Selection Show on NFL Network. The 2010 Pro Bowl will be played on Sunday, January 31, 2010 and televised live on ESPN at 7:20 PM ET from Dolphin Stadium in South Florida, also the site of Super Bowl XLIV a week later on Sunday, February 7. Fans can buy tickets to the 2010 Pro Bowl at NFL.com/probowl and TICKETMASTER.com or by calling 800-745-3000.

Listed below are the top 10 overall All-Star vote-getters:

1. Drew Brees, Saints (1,120,535)
2. Brett Favre, Vikings (1,120,174)
3. Peyton Manning, Colts (1,113,934)
4. Adrian Peterson, Vikings (1,079,993)
5. Larry Fitzgerald, Cardinals (684,698)
6. Tom Brady, Patriots (622,916)
7. Dallas Clark, Colts (603,492)
8. Cedric Benson, Bengals (565,763)
9. Chris Johnson, Titans (560,479)
10. Andre Johnson, Texans (546,693)

Source: NFL Media

Post from: Every Morning Quarterback

NFL Pro Bowl Top Ten, One Week Left to Vote

In a very intriguing turn of events today, the National Football League announced that the Pro Bowl following the 2009 season will be played on Sunday, January 31, 2010 and televised live on ESPN at 8 p.m. ET from Dolphin Stadium in South Florida, also the site of Super Bowl XLIV a week later on Sunday, February 7. The 2010 Pro Bowl will be the first played prior to the Super Bowl and only the second Pro Bowl played in the same city as the Super Bowl. The Los Angeles Coliseum hosted the first Super Bowl on January 15, 1967 and the Pro Bowl the following week. The site and date of Pro Bowl games after 2010 will be determined at a later date and will include playing the game on a rotating basis in Honolulu, Hawaii, host of the NFL’s All-Star game since 1980.

The initiative to experiment with the Pro Bowl schedule and location was discussed over the past two years with NFL club owners, the NFL Players Association, the NFL Player Advisory Council, and other players, and it received wide player and club support. NFL senior VP of events Frank Supovitz explained the reasoning:

“Moving the Pro Bowl to the Sunday prior to the Super Bowl can add even more excitement to Super Bowl week, one of the most anticipated weeks of the year. Taking the Pro Bowl to new locations can showcase our top players to more fans around the country. We are also in discussions with key leaders in Hawaii to continue our partnership with the State of Hawaii, which has embraced the Pro Bowl for 30 years.”

I haven’t given this a lot of thought over the years, but it does make sense. The Pro Bowl will have been a Hawaii staple for the past 30 years after this season’s game and it’s always been something of an afterthought as far as I’m concerned. As much as I love Hawaii (OK, I’ve never been there but I’ve heard good things), the game has little or no interest among even the most hardcore NFL fans. The season is over. It’s enough already. Our thoughts have already turned to the Scouting Combine and Draft. So, adding the game to Super Bowl week should generate a lot more interest in this All-Star contest, even if the teams involved in SBXLIV can’t participate.

Source: NFL Media

Post from: Every Morning Quarterback

2010 Pro Bowl to be Played in Miami

Jacksonville Jags RB Fred Taylor has been added to the 2008 Pro Bowl roster for the first time, replacing Willie Parker of the Pittsburgh Steelers. It will mark Fred’s first Pro Bowl appearance in his 10-year career. He is the first Jags offensive player to make the Pro Bowl since Jimmy Smith was named a starter in 2001. Fred is the club’s career, single-season and single-game rushing leader. He ranked fifth in the AFC in rushing in 2007 with 1,202 yards on 223 carries and led the AFC with a 5.4 average per rush. He tied for first in the NFL with four rushes of 50-plus yards and finished with two of the four longest rushes in the NFL this season.

Fred rushed for 100-plus yards in five consecutive games to close out the regular season, the only NFL player to record five straight 100-plus rushing games. He rushed for a season-high 147 yards on 25 carries at Pittsburgh on 12/16, his most since he had 165 on 10/30/05 at St. Louis.

Fred had several highlights in 2007 including:

• Became the 21st player in NFL history to reach 10,000 career rushing yards as he accomplished the feat on 11/11 at Tennessee.
• Surpassed the 1,000-yard mark for the season at Pittsburgh on 12/16, his seventh career season with 1,000 rushing yards. The seven are tied for the ninth-most in NFL history.
• Broke free for a team-record 80-yard touchdown run against Carolina on 12/9 in the fourth quarter. Had a 76-yard run against Houston on 10/14.
• Tied Jimmy Smith for the most touchdowns in team history with 69.
• Set franchise record for yards from scrimmage against San Diego on 11/18, surpassing Jimmy Smith (12,285), and surpassed him for the most all-purpose yards in team history on 12/23 vs. Oakland.
• Rushed for 1,202 yards in 2007, the sixth-most by a player at age 31 or older since 2000.
• Rushed for 147 yards against Pittsburgh, the most rushing yards by an opposing back in Heinz Field history. Fred also owns the Three Rivers Stadium record with 234 rushing yards on 11/19/00.

And if that wasn’t enough convincing, Fred ranks among the best in NFL history in a bunch of categories, including:

• 17th with 10,715 rushing yards
• 8th in rushing yards per game (84.4)
• 10th in yards from scrimmage per game (102.2) and 36th in NFL history with a team-record 12,978 yards from scrimmage
• 5th with 311 rushes of 10-plus yards
• 4th with 13 rushes of 50-plus yards
• Tied with the third-best yards per carry average (4.7) among the top 25 rushers in NFL history
• One of only 28 players with 2,000-plus carries

Finally. Fred Taylor is headed to Hawaii. This should’ve happened a long time ago. Fred deserves better than alternate status, but at least it’s something. And as they say, better late than never.

Post from: Every Morning Quarterback

Justice is Served: Jacksonville Jaguars RB Fred Taylor Makes AFC Pro Bowl Roster