The rules in place for the NFL Pro Bowl are designed to create a game where the chance of injuries is less, but they also serve to create a game that is heavy on offense, and this year was no exception. Both the AFC and the NFC put up such potent offenses that a punter wasn’t called into service after a turnover on downs until the third quarter. The passing-heavy offensive game also served to mirror the direction the NFL in general seems to be heading in. It’s been said that defense wins championships, and while the New York Giants did put on an amazing defensive display in Super Bowl XLII last week to give themselves the win, the New England Patriots were the best team over this past NFL season, and they were the best team primarily because of their aggressive offense. Granted, the Patriots did stumble by the time they got to the big game, but that doesn’t mean they weren’t the best team over the course of the season. Look for the trend to continue, as the NFL is currently enchanted with a pass-heavy game that relies less on the run than ever before, and even the Pittsburgh Steelers, a team with a long tradition of ‘smash-mouth football’, passed the ball more than they ever did last season.

Speaking of the Pittsburgh Steelers and passing, Ben Roethlisberger looked good but not great in his first ever Pro Bowl appearance, throwing five for nine for a total of forty-two yards, although he played the least amount of time of the three AFC quarterbacks. It certainly was an odd sight to see Cleveland Browns quarterback Derek Anderson calling the plays in to Big Ben’s headset from the sidelines. One stat from the game that truly surprised me is that Big Ben led the AFC in rushing yards. Might have been different if ‘Fast’ Willie Parker had been able to make it out this year. . .

Pro Bowl television ratings have been in dire straits for the past several years, and the NFL is currently attempting to brainstorm a solution to this problem. I personally love watching the Pro Bowl, as I enjoy seeing the greatest players playing together and seeming to have a lot more fun that they usually do in the regular season, not to mention the cool matchups on the field, like when Big Ben was looking to throw to Cincinnati Bengals on purpose. It’s also cool that the television broadcast allows you to hear the playcalls from the coaches to the quarterbacks, something that by necessity could never happen in the regular season. The less competitive nature of the game makes it seem like the greatest pick-up football game in the world.

But the ratings are what they are, and I believe some changes could drastically increase ratings. The first thing you have to do to make the fans take the game more seriously is to have the broadcast crew take the game more seriously. The broadcast crew exchanged anecdotes and extended interviews over the actual game far too many times to allow the viewer to believe that they were interested in the game itself. Save the interviews for before and after the game, and just call the game and comment on the game. The Pro Bowl is presented as a game, not a former player interview show. During the game the broadcast crew actually discussed the same anecdote involving one of them having to borrow Brett Farve’s helmet following an equipment theft during a prior Pro Bowl twice! It was an interesting story the first time around, but twice? If they can’t pay attention, why should the viewers feel like they should?

The other change that I think is absolutely necessary is changing the date of the Pro Bowl. The entire country gets hyped up for the Super Bowl and then largely forgets the NFL exists until the first official game of the next season. Why not play the Pro Bowl during the otherwise football game-free week between the conference championship games and the Super Bowl? Turning the Pro Bowl into essentially Super Bowl hype, rather than a coda on the season would be like eating a little snack when you’re really hungry to tide you over until Thanksgiving dinner, rather than going to McDonald’s an hour after Thanksgiving dinner, which is essentially what it is now. You’ve got to give it to the public when they’re still hungry for football, not after they’ve been stuffed. I believe that changing the date will have an immediate impact, but I would prefer to see the game remain in Hawaii, as I think if anything a change in the longstanding location coupled with a date change would be too much. The Hawaiian setting adds to the vacation atmosphere surrounding the game, and has become an essential part of the game over the years. Granted, if the game was the week before the Super Bowl, no Super-Bowl bound players would bother to go, but I don’t believe that would be that big a loss, since those players would be showcased in a bigger game the following week.

The last thing I’d like to see is the NFL making available for purchase those snazzy Hawaiian shirts the coaches wear. Given the almost limitless amount of products the NFL has licensed, it boggles the mind that the Hawaiian shirts aren’t available.

Don’t worry Pittsburgh Steelers fans, the choke by the New England Patriots against the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLII last night ensures that the Steelers still are the greatest Super Bowl dynasty team of all, and there’s no need to start a debate.

On the other hand, Big Ben Roethlisberger’s comments about wanting a tall wide receiver started a debate with Hines Ward that played its way across the national media. However, Ward’s anguish about Big Ben’s desire for a taller receiver is absolutely misguided. If Pittsburgh gets a tall wide receiver, Ward won’t be the one to lose a job. Furthermore, this year Tom Brady three a lot of passes to Wes Welker, because Randy Moss was drawing double coverage down the field, leaving Welker open. The same thing will happen to Ward if Ben gets a receiver who is a deep threat, and Ward will probably actually get more catches total. But Ward seems like an insecure, me-first player, who can’t see the big picture. With the year Ben had on the field, the Steelers could have been Super Bowl contenders if Ben had more options to throw to. Hines Ward is a solid possession receiver at this point in his career, but that is it. Any team where he is the number one receiver will not be contending for a Super Bowl. Ben knows he needs more weapons, and Hines Ward needs to accept it if he ever wants another ring.

The tension between Ben Roethlisberger and his teammates this year does seem to go deeper than a couple stray comments in the media. You’ve got to ask; with the career year he had, statistically the best year any Steelers quarterback has ever had, why didn’t Roethlisberger’s teammates vote him MVP? Why didn’t they vote him team captain at the beginning of the year? Roethlisberger gives all credit to his teammates and takes all the blame in press conferences. He’s said everything right all year long. On the sidelines during the games, he couldn’t be a better cheerleader, and he seems to be getting along great with his teammates, laughing and joking. Are they still angry about his poor play following the motorcycle accident and appendectomy last year? Do they resent the big paycheck he’ll be getting soon when he signs his new contract and the Rooney’s drive a truck full of money to his house? Is Big Ben a jerk in private? I don’t think he is, but it does seem like his teammates don’t like him. I’ve heard rumors about a schism between him and the team, but I haven’t been able to get any concrete details, and I don’t think anyone involved is too eager to talk on that particular subject.

Contrast the situation in the Pittsburgh locker room with the situation in the New York Giants’ locker room. Tiki Barber has long been critical of Eli Manning, and Barber retired last year. Jeremy Shockey and Michael Strahan, both extremely talented but loud and demanding players who are probably concerned more with their own personal glory than the good of the team, took themselves out of the giant’s lineup due to injury for much of the season. And the Giants got better by subtraction. With the loudmouths gone, Eli Manning was able to play without distractions coming from inside his own locker room, and the results were undeniable. Manning finally and convincingly beat his probably undeserved rep as an underperformer.

Makes you wonder if there’s a lesson for the Steelers there.

 

In case you haven’t heard by now, the local television station in Green Bay, Wisconsin pulled Saturday’s syndicated episode of “Seinfeld” because it’s New York Giants’ quarterback Eli Manning’s favorite show. Apparently they hoped to throw off Manning’s game (and didn’t realize that the show is actually available on DVD now). But what they should have worried about is the very real possibility that Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Farve might also be a “Seinfeld” fan, because he was definitely off during the NFC Championship game last night. Farve seemed bothered by the sub-zero temperatures and played sloppily all night, culminating in an overtime interception that ended up giving the win to the Giants. Despite Farve’s lackluster play, the national media seems to have largely given him a pass on that, probably because they spent most of the season building him up. And the build-up wasn’t undeserved, but don’t be mistaken, Farve played badly last night and was as responsible as anyone on the Packers for their loss.

I would expect that Pittsburgh Steelers fans should be able to get excited about a football team with a young quarterback who throws to a wide receiver named Plaxico Burress that had to win three road games to advance to Super Bowl XLII, where they’ll have to face this decade’s version of evil incarnate, the New England Patriots. I know I’m excited.

And speaking of Seinfeld, the idea that Jessica Simpson distracted Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo and was somehow responsible for the Cowboy’s early playoff exit is a lot of talk about nothing. Romo’s coach suggested the vacation, and teammate Terrell Owens paid for it, so quit trying to blame the blonde. I’m reasonably sure that if Romo hadn’t spent his week off cavorting in Mexico with a famous blonde, he would have spent it with a non-famous one anyway.

Ben Roethlisberger is entering into off-season contract negotiations and with his spectacular play this season, he’ll pretty much be able to name his price, although I wouldn’t be surprised if the Rooneys would prefer to have an average quarterback instead who wouldn’t effectively force them into writing a check for thirty-plus million dollars. But Big Ben will get his big payday, and as much as any quarterback in the NFL does, he deserves it. I don’t think that any quarterback has done more with less this year; he does have to throw to Cedrick Wilson, after all. What Ben won’t get, however, is a contract extension for Alan Faneca or the tall wide receiver he wants. The Steelers simply don’t do things that way, and this year won’t be any different. Even though signing Ben without giving him people to protect him and people to throw to is a bit like buying a new Ferrari and not getting insurance, the Rooney way has never involved spending any more than you need to in the off-season. The New England Patriots are also a team that never spent a lot in the off-season before this year. The results of their spending are both undeniable and spectacular, and although I would hope Pittsburgh notices, I would be very surprised by any change at all in the way things are done. If anything, the big contract that Ben will surely be signed to may serve to reduce off-season spending.

If you needed any proof that the Pittsburgh mainstream media wears black and gold colored glasses when covering the Steelers look no further that the coverage of Cedrick Wilson’s girlfriend flipping out and shooting at a wall in Wilson’s house. All the local coverage droned on about the situation ending peacefully and how something dire was averted, but the fact remained that she fired shots, they called in the SWAT team, and they evacuated over seventy neighbors. If I started shooting at the wall in my house and they called the SWAT team in, I’m reasonably sure the media coverage would not use the word ‘peaceful’ at all.

Tragically, Ernie “Fats” Holmes, defensive lineman, member of the Steel Curtain, and two-time Super Bowl champion died in a car crash this week. Shortly after he died, I spoke to someone who knew him during his time in with the Steelers. He said that Holmes was ‘a crazy animal’, and told me several entertaining stories, none of which are probably appropriate to print here. And Holmes certainly didn’t live a trouble-free life. But he was a complex individual, and seemed to inspire great loyalty in the other members of the Steel Curtain. After football, he became an ordained minister and seemed to settle down. Dwight White may have said it best when he said, “You know, it’s all about where you end up, and Ernie blossomed into an individual that I respected, admired and will miss.”