Antonio Brown, Ben Roethlisberger, Ryan Clark, James Harrison, Mike Wallace at the 2011 Pro Bowl

The NFL Pro Bowl is on life support.

According to ESPN’s Chris Mortenson, Commissioner Roger Goodell is unhappy with the quality of the event and is considering putting it on ice for this season – and possibly forever.

All-Star games are an interesting problem for professional sports leagues.  Even Major League Baseball, the sport that has what is considered the best all-around product in the genre – “The Mid-Summer Classic” – has had its share of issues over the years.  The NBA treats their All-Star Game as a festival-type event, with skills competitions and celebrity games filling up a full weekend of basketball goodness.  The NHL has tinkered with several different formats, including the USA vs. The World game, and also utilizes skills competitions to enhance their show.  All three of those games are played mid-season, and supply a much needed break over the course of their long regular seasons.  The NFL runs a tight ship in regards to their schedule, and in a 17-week season it would be nearly impossible to schedule the Pro Bowl for a mid-season game.

Player commitment to the game is another issue.  The players scheduled to play in the Super Bowl will never play in an exhibition game the week before, nor should they even be asked to do so.  Players with even minor injuries bow out, making the voting process a sham.  Numerous players voted in to start sit out the game, allowing the alternates to take their place.  The game becomes nothing more than a poorly played scrimmage game, and playing it in Hawaii provides nothing but a nice vacation for players who can afford to take whatever vacation they want.  Real football fans are who gets the shaft with the Pro Bowl.  Hawaii is expensive, and a Pro Bowl trip for the average fan is out of the question.  Therefore, you have an exhibition game being played in a tropical setting 2,000 miles away from the nearest NFL city, with players who are only there because it is in their contract and they have incentives built in for their attendance.

How does the NFL save the Pro Bowl?  Here are five easy steps the league can take to preserve their All Star game, while creating an event that real football fans can attend.

1.  Play the game Two Weeks AFTER the Super Bowl – playing the Pro Bowl two weeks after the Super Bowl will give the league a chance to involve all players from all teams, making the Pro Bowl a season finale that caps off the league year.  Players already have economic reasons to play in the game, built into their contracts as incentives.  We will get into player selection shortly.

2.  Rotate the Pro Bowl through different NFL cities – Since 1979, the Pro Bowl has been played in Honolulu, with the exception of 2009 when the game was played in Miami – the host city for the Super Bowl that season.  Prior to 1979, the game was played all over – from Texas Stadium to The Kingdome to Tampa Stadium to the Superdome – even Arrowhead Stadium got a game in 1973, drawing 66,918 fans on January 20.  The NFL should look into a rotation that would be similar to the MLB All-Star Game, with cities vying for a chance to host the game.  The Pro Bowl could become a Fan fest-type weekend in that city, drawing fans from around the country and injecting solid revenue into the region that hosts it.  Hall of Fame displays, autograph signings, and fan-friendly events that would entice families to attend could be added.  The NFL could market it as a “give back” to their loyal supporters and market it as an end-of-season “thank you” to NFL Nation.

The NFL currently has ten domed stadiums available for hosting the game – Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, The Metrodome in Minneapolis, Ford Field in Detroit, Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis, CenturyLink Field in Seattle, Reliant Stadium in Houston, Georgia Dome in Atlanta, The Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, and Cowboys Stadium in Dallas.  The league also could consider hosting the game at Rogers Centre in Toronto, keeping their eye on the prize that is the Canadian fan base with potential for a franchise in Toronto within the next decade.  Other stadiums that could host the Pro Bowl based off of weather conditions are Sun Life Stadium in Miami, Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, Candlestick Park in San Fransisco, LP Field in Nashville, EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, and Oakland Coliseum in Oakland.  All of those stadiums would provide sufficient weather conditions for an outdoor Pro Bowl in February.  If the league wanted a truly diverse game, they could even consider hosting it in cold-weather cities with traditional fan bases such as Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Sports Authority Field at Mile High in Denver, Lambeau Field in Green Bay, M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, Lincoln Financial Field in Philly, Gillette Stadium in New England, and Soldier Field in Chicago.  Those stadiums would obviously provide cold weather for the Pro Bowl, but in a sport lauded for its roots in bad weather – why not give a cold weather Pro Bowl a shot?  The league could incorporate the host city into the uniforms for the teams, maybe adding a bit of local symbolism to the uniforms and fan gear for the event.  They could create a new logo for each game that utilizes a local monument, in the shade of what MLB does for each All Star Game.

Similar to the Olympics, MLB All-Star Game, and even Wrestlemania, cities would place bids on hosting the game five years out, giving each city a chance to win the bid and have time to adjust scheduling conflicts and arrange for the influx of fans to fill hotels and spend their money at local establishments.  It could be a vital event for smaller NFL cities that would “spread the wealth” around in a league that is built on the ideology to do so.  Moving the game around would create a “big game” atmosphere that the Pro Bowl is missing and allow the NFL to showcase the cities that may never be in line for a Super Bowl bid.

3.  Create an incentive for the teams to compete to win the game – MLB instituted a rule a few years back that the winner of the game would get home field advantage in the World Series for their league.  The rule has created a buzz for the game and has turned what was always a competitive exhibition game into a meaningful battle.  It has also affected the World Series, with home field advantage allowing teams to host an extra home game in the Fall Classic – a certified advantage over the competition.  Since the NFL does not use a “home field” for the Super Bowl, another incentive could be considered.  What if the winner of the Pro Bowl was given the opportunity for their league representative to choose home or away in the Super Bowl?  This is traditionally rotated, but if used as an incentive for the Pro Bowl it would basically allow the winning conference the chance to have their representative Super Bowl team declare themselves the home team in order to wear the uniform of their choosing, or declare themselves the away team and control the opening coin toss.  It is the best possible scenario to add incentive to the game, without delving into some type of preferred scheduling for the following season.  Another possibility could that each squad chooses a charity of their choice and the winner of the game is allowed to present a $1.0 million check form the AFC or NFC to their charity at games end, another gesture of gratitude and an easy way to gain instant credibility for the contest.

Incentive would be the first step to turning the game into more than a walk-through scrimmage.  If played two weeks after the Super Bowl, teams and coaching staffs would have two full weeks of game planning and perhaps be able to treat the game more like a regular season game.  This would amp up the caliber of play, and in turn create a better on-field product.

2.  End the voting and turn the Pro Bowl into a Fantasy Football Draft, televised the week prior to the Super Bowl – Each conference would employ a team of five former Pro Bowl MVP players for their conference.  Those players would go on TV and draft their teams in a televised event that would create a buzz in the ever-growing fantasy football community.  Imagine a team of AFC Captains (say, Bruce Smith, Jim Kelly, Marshall Faulk, Warren Moon, and Rich Gannon) picking their team against an NFC Team (how about Michael Irvin, Jerry Rice, Phil Simms, Joe Theismann, and Derrick Brooks) in a one-hour televised fantasy draft?  Fans would tune in in droves to see what players would be representing their teams and conference, and it would create rivalry between the conferences in a sport where the lines between the AFC and NFC have been blurred over the years.  Rivalry is good, it creates a buzz.  Players would take to social media to pull for their teammates, as would the millions of fans for each team.  The Pro Bowl would become the biggest fantasy football game of the year.

1.  Put the game on in Prime Time as the final Monday Night Football game of the season – Taking the game out of Hawaii gives the NFL the chance to take the Pro Bowl to prime time on a major network.  Advertisers would line up to be a part of the newly crafted game and overall, the Pro Bowl would become another major event on an NFL calender that has a large break in the action post-Super Bowl and pre-NFL Draft.

It is a long shot that the Pro Bowl even exists after this season, but if the league would consider some of these ideas they could have a potential major event to end their calender year.  Giving the Pro Bowl its own personality and getting away from the generic uniforms and generic play calling would make it a real NFL game.

So, fellow NPC readers….what do you think?  Can we save the Pro Bowl?

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Be sure to get the best Steelers coverage year-round here at Nice Pick, Cowher.

Don’t forget to check out NPC all week long as we delve into the 2012 NFL Draft from the Black and Gold colored glasses all weekend long!

Montana CB Trumaine Johnson

If you listened to our special live NPC Radio broadcast tonight, you may have heard me bring up a name that you were unfamiliar with, CB Trumaine Johnson of the Montana Grizzlies.

I am a firm believer in the Steelers need for a cornerback who has a size advantage over most of the #2 wide receivers in the AFC, and Johnson fits that bill.  At 6 foot 2, 204 lbs. of shredded granite, Johnson is an incredible athlete who would be a top 10 pick in the 2012 Draft had he played at Alabama or LSU.  Of course, he played at Montana – a member of the Division 1 Football Championship Subdivision – formerly known as Division I-AA.  Playing in the Big Sky Conference against such powerhouse teams as Eastern Washington, Idaho State, and Northern Arizona isn’t an easy way to get noticed by NFL scouts.  Johnson, a two-time FCS All American (2010,2011), will probably be picked sometime on Friday during the second round of the draft.  The Steelers, in their quest to find the next great Steelers cornerback, should be looking for a way to nab Johnson in the second round if he is available when they pick at #56 overall.  Mock Drafts on ESPN.com and NFL.com have him going early in the second round, but with the uncertainty that is hovering around where the top-five CB prospects will land, it is possible that Johnson could be available when the Steelers pick at #56.

The numbers don’t lie.  Johnson has a 33 1/4 inch reach, a 35.5 inch vertical leap, quickly put up 19 reps of 225 lbs. and ran a 4.61 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine.  Now, that last number could be deceiving, since most teams like their cornerbacks to run in the 4.4-4.5 range – but most cornerbacks do not have the sheer size that Trumaine Johnson has.  A 4.61 40-yard dash is adequate for his size and strength, and once he is in pads laying hits on AFC North receivers, nobody will remember what he ran in the 40-yard dash.

From what we have read in mock drafts posted within the past 48 hours, Johnson will be gone to either Carolina, New England, or even Cincinnati before the Steelers have a chance to take him.  His value is not such that a team would take him higher than the second round, simply because there will be more polished, big school players available at that point.  If he does fall past Carolina at #40, I believe the Steelers should make a play to trade up a few slots and add this future star to their team.

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Follow Jeff Snedden on Twitter @jeffsnedden

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Be sure to get the best Steelers coverage year-round here at Nice Pick, Cowher.

Don’t forget to check out NPC all week long as we delve into the 2012 NFL Draft from the Black and Gold colored glasses starting tomorrow.

First, let me apologize for my erratic posting schedule the past week or so.  I’ve been waylaid by the Avian Flu so haven’t felt much like posting as you may well imagine.  I’m starting to feel a bit better so I should get back to my Pittsburgh Steelers Report Cards and other stuff in short order.

Anyway, in between trips to the bathroom, I saw on Friday that the Steelers placed the Franchise tag on LaMarr Woodley.  This is interesting for a few reasons.  Not the least of which is the salary cap implications.  Last season, Mister Woodley made $550,000.  Next year, he’ll make a cool $10 million.

The use of the Franchise tag on Woodley as well as Michael Vick and Peyton Manning seems to indicate the owners think it’ll be part of the next CBA.  Maybe, maybe not.  It’s well known the players hate it and if they walked in to the meeting room and said “Get rid of the tag and you can have your 18 games” it would likely be gone before the owners could start smiling like a butcher’s dog.  Thanks Mike Lange.

Also expected to be part of the next CBA is a salary cap.  This is where Woodley’s new salary presents an interesting situation.  The last cap (in 2009) was approximately $127 million.  The Steelers’ payroll back then was about $120 million.  Since then, the only significant salary which has come off the books has been Fast Willie Parker.

Everybody else has gone up.  James Harrison went from $1.4 million to an estimated $7 million+ next season.  Ben Roethlisberger‘s contract extension signed three years ago is also going to increase his cap hit by about $2 million.  Factor in Woodley’s salary going up almost 10x and that leaves the Steelers with precious little cap room assuming the new cap is determined the same way as the old one (as a percentage of revenues).

Therein lies the problem.  The owners are trying to roll back player salaries by changing the method revenue is shared much like they do in hockey.  In simpler terms, they want the players to accept a smaller share of the pie.  Since the size of the pie determines how big the cap is, a smaller slice by extension would equal a smaller cap. Good for lousy teams like Detroit or Carolina who only have a few highly paid players on the roster.  Bad for the Steelers who have already committed big money to their stars.

Since we have no idea when the CBA will be ironed out and what it will say, this is all speculation.  But it does open up a pretty big potential can of worms for this team.  Do they use whatever scant space left under the cap to bring back Ike Taylor and basically go into next year with the exact same team?  Or do they lose Ike because they can’t pay him enough?  If they lose Face Me Ike, are you prepared for B-Mac and Willie Gay to be your starting corners?  The thought of that gives me the chills.  Or perhaps that’s the bird flu.  Either way, I’m pleased Woodley will continue to be part of the best defense in the NFL but I’d be lying if I said I’m not worried about the cost.

With the season over, I find myself with a frightening lack of structure.  It was nice knowing every Monday I could recap the previous afternoon’s game and every Friday I could roll out Know Thy Enemy.  So in that vein, I’m starting a recurring feature whereby I look at every area of the Pittsburgh Steelers, evaluate their 2010 performance, and assess their outlook for 2011.  I’ll still post relevant Steelers news and talk a little about the ongoing labor strife but this will give us a little something to talk about from now until the draft.

We’ll start by getting the most insignificant part of the team out of the way.  I know some people don’t like it when I say kickers aren’t real football players so allow me to explain.  The average guy off the street would get killed trying to play linebacker.  They would have no chance at wide receiver.  But my schlub of a brother, whose greatest athletic accomplishment is two years of J.V. soccer, has successfully booted a 40 yard field goal to win a free meal at Benihana.

In fact, my favorite non-Steelers moment of the season was when Ndamukong Suh attempted an extra point.  The Big Fella had nice form and was only about a foot and a half away from an exact copy of Shaun Suisham‘s hideous conversion in the Super Bowl.

Speaking of which, did anybody else catch the Punt, Pass, And Kick girl whose dream is to be an NFL kicker?  Frankly, I wouldn’t be shocked if it happened.  My cool physics professor at CMU once broke down the mechanics of kicking and “leg strength” is actually a misnomer.  Acceleration of your leg through the kicking motion and the angle which you strike the ball are just as important.  And we all know women, at least the ones who make the best girlfriends, are much more flexible than men.  So I fully expect to see the NFL’s version of Gina Carano take the field before the end of the decade.

Anyway, back to Suisham.  He did a pretty good job for the team after replacing drunk malcontent Skippy Reed midway through the season, converting fourteen of fifteen field goal attempts including eight of nine from 40-49 yards.  His kickoffs were more than satisfactory as well.  The only question with him is how he responds to pressure.  Suisham is infamous in Washington for missing an easy kick against the Saints and shanking two easy ones in the playoffs for Dallas.  He kicked the game winning 41 yarder in OT against the Bills so I’m willing to chalk his previous failures up to playing for cursed franchises.  Yeah, he had a shaky Super Bowl but a 52 yarder isn’t automatic for any kicker so I fully expect him to be back next year.

The punting situation is a little more interesting.  Daniel Sepulveda, who suffered his second season-ending injury in three years, is a free agent.  His replacement, Jeremy Kapinos, was adequate at best.  Then you have to factor in that the Steelers used a 4th round draft pick on Sepulveda.  Kevin Colbert may re-sign him just to prove he didn’t waste that pick.  Obviously I don’t have access to Sepulveda’s medical reports but if he’s healthy, I would imagine he’ll be back.  Otherwise, the job is likely wide open to whomever the Steelers bring into camp this fall.

I cannot finish this post without talking about actual football players so let’s talk returners.  The three-headed monster of Manny Sanders, Antonio Brown, and Antwaan Randle-El shared duties at various points throughout the year.  We’ll eliminate ARE from this discussion because he’s basically the football version of a DH.  Or, in his case, Designated Fair Catcher.

Which leaves us with the youngsters.  Sanders began the year as a return man and handled the duties fairly well.  Then Brown was given a shot and responded with an 89 kickoff return for a touchdown.  By the end of the season, Brown had “won” the job and I expect that to continue going forward.  He narrowly missed breaking a few after that and his 27 yard return in the AFC Championship Game was crucial in sealing the victory.

Oh, one final point about special teams.  Mike Tomlin has learned from previous years where he refused to have “special teams specialists” and would cut guys who excelled as gunners because they couldn’t play during the game.  A big part of our improved coverage this year was because of guys like Anthony Madison and Arnaz Battle.  Although one guy who better not be here next year is Keyaron Fox.  Fox’s dumbass antics in the Super Bowl severely hampered Big Ben’s chance to perform the superhuman heroics only he can perform.  It was not his first offense as his dumbass penalty in the Ravens game was what pushed the team back inside their 5 where a few plays later Ben was sacked and fumbled.  If your only job is to be a special teams ace and you suck at it, pack your bags for Kansas City because that crap don’t fly in the ‘Burgh.

FINAL GRADE FOR 2010:  B

Breaks down as follows:  Kickers: C+ (Skippy gets an F, Suisham gets a B+), Punters: C  Returners: B+ and Coverage: B+

Don’t judge.

I’ve finally managed to pull myself together enough to write about the Pittsburgh Steelers without having to blink back salty yet manly tears.  It’s time to lock memories of Super Bowl XLV in the same box as Super Bowl XXX and never speak of either again.  Rather let us turn our attention to next season.  Provided the greedy dickhead owners and high-living meathead jocks ever agree on a new collective bargaining agreement so we have a season.

Let’s start with the coaching staff.  Pittsburgh West Arizona wasted no time trying to poach yet more assistants from our staff.   Unfortunately for Ken Whisenhunt, the Steelers denied him permission to speak to LB coach Keith Butler.  Butler was given a new deal last season and word around town is he has been promised the defensive coordinator job when Dick LeBeau retires.   And if the Rooneys promise you something, take it to the bank and open an account.

So the Cards will have to settle for secondary coach Ray Horton, who is also interviewing with the Cowboys.   Maybe he can teach Whiz’s corners his fabulous technique of backpedaling at the snap so every receiver gets a nice comfy five yard cushion.  I sure hope this Butler guy is worth the hype when he eventually ascends to the top job.  Although that won’t be in the immediate future as LeBeau has told his men he is definitely returning for next season.

Which leaves us with Bruce Arians.  B.A.’s contract has also expired and he’s really done precious little to earn a new one.  People seem to have forgotten the stretch in the middle of the season where we scored two offensive touchdowns over three entire games.  In an ideal world, B.A. would be gone although the labor issues may prevent any changes.  If there is a lock out, it would be stupid to bring in a new offensive coordinator since they would have very little time to work with the players over the off-season.  Then again, the Steelers could promote from within since the plays aren’t really the problem but rather the Einey, Meany, Miney, Moe Method he uses to call them.

Roster-wise, Hines Ward (34), James Farrior (36), and Aaron Smith (34) are all reaching retirement age.   All three have said they plan on returning for one more go-round, with Ward scheduled to have multiple surgeries this week.  Hines and Farrior are not as effective as they used to be but aren’t at the stage where they embarrass themselves out there.  Smith is the question mark.  He’s due to make about $6 million this year which is way too much for a guy who gets hurt all the time.  Smith is a good man but the emergence of Ziggy Hood makes him kind of expendable.  I can see the Steelers asking him to renegotiate to a much smaller cap hit and, if he refuses, releasing him ala Joey Porter.

The Steelers have a list of free agents which I will get into when/if the free agency period ever begins.  Suffice it to say, the list is headed by LaMarr Woodley and Ike Taylor, both of whom we absolutely need to keep.   Woodley is a young stud linebacker who’ll be a fixture on the outside for years to come.  Taylor, whether you like him or not, is by far the Steelers best corner.  They’ve already started talking with Face Me Ike so I can see them signing one and Franchising the other.

Unless talks completely break down and Taylor leaves via free agency, I wouldn’t expect the Steelers to do anything except dumpster diving for free agents.  Paying high-priced mercs is just not their way.  So anybody dreaming of Nnamdi Asomugha in Black and Gold should just put those thoughts out of their head.  If he pulled a Bettis and told the team he’d play for a winner for a meager contract, maybe, but he’s not going to do that and the Steelers don’t have the cap room to pay him what he’s worth.

Would you let Woodley and Taylor go in exchange for Asomugha?   The Steelers wouldn’t but that is the choice you have if you’re in the Sign Nnamdi! camp.  For the sake of argument, let’s say you make that trade.  Then you still have B-Mac on the other side and instead of him getting targeted 15 times a game, he gets thrown at 20.  And you lose Mister Woodley in the process.  I love Asomugha as both a player and a character guy but it makes no sense.

If the salary cap returns (as expected) and the Steelers keep Woodley/Ike (as expected), that gives them very little wiggle room.  They may sign a few unloved veterans to either fortify the offensive line or play nickel but I wouldn’t expect any major roster additions to come through free agency.  Picking at the ass end of the draft, they’ll likely go Best Player Available which means I can see them taking anything from a corner to a young safety to groom behind Clark/Troy to another young defensive linemen (remember, Ziggy was our pick after our last Super Bowl).  We’ll examine both free agency and the draft in more depth in the days to come but suffice it to say, I don’t expect major help to come from either.

It’ll be more of the same from the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2011.  Can they rebound from arguably the most devastating loss in this core group’s history?  Can they stay healthy?  Can Big Ben stay away from drunk sluts?   They’ll be plenty of questions heading into the off-season but remember this group was good enough to still be playing when 30 other teams were sitting at home.  And that’s good enough for me.