NFC win battle for pride in the 2011 Pro Bowl

Every year, the best players from around the league travel to sunny Hawaii to catch some rays and chill on the beach. Oh yeah. And play against their conference rivals in the Pro Bowl at Aloha Stadium!

This is always a game of pride and the winner takes all. But as well as that, it is a lot of fun and it’s great to see players who would otherwise be opponents within their division playing for the same team and enjoying themselves.

A quick 3 and out with San Diego’s star quarterback Phillip Rivers at the helm saw the AFC off to a shaky start. This was then made worse when the NFC began to put points on the board after Rivers was intercepted by London Fletcher and Deangelo Hall, who would emerge as MVP with some incredible statistics on the game.

With Michael Vick and Matt Ryan steering the NFC to a 42 point total before the first half was over, it looked like the second half would bring more of the same.

It appeared to be all over as Brees took to the field early in the third quarter, but a couple of good stops by the AFC defence meant that the course of the game began to change. They put up four quick touchdowns thanks to sloppy Special Teams play and excellent running by the Kansas City star running back, Jamaal Charles.

Kansas City helmets could be seen all over the offence for the AFC. Cassel had the option to hand off to Charles, or send it flying over the top to Dwayne Bowe. Both had been great for the Chiefs throughout the season and proved to be legitimate options as they attempted to stage a comeback.

Unfortunately for the AFC, the 42 point deficit going into the half was simply too much. Maybe if Ray Lewis and the AFC defence were allowed to blitz, the game could have gone differently! The game finished 55-41 in favour of the NFC, who were indeed the better team.

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As for the Pro Bowl selections, why on earth wasn’t Aaron Rogers in? It is somewhat of a moot point given that he would have been unable to play, but in my opinion he has had as good a year as any of the quarterbacks selected and should have been considered for the trip.

Having said that, the sheer quality of quarterbacks in the league has left me wondering who he would have replaced? Drew Brees? I’m just kidding. You can’t replace the king. But In all fairness, I think Rogers did have a better year than Brees, even if I do bleed Black and Gold.

In a couple of days, I’ll be doing a pre-game analysis of The Superbowl so make sure you stay tuned for that!

All the best from the UK!

By Tom Greenhalgh
Pro Football Fans Staff Writer