Category: Pro Bowl

Cardinals players react to death of NBA star Kobe Bryant

The players were shocked about the tragedy that took the life of one of the NBA’s greatest players ever.

Just before the Pro Bowl began on Sunday came tragic news in the sports world. Former Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant died in a helicopter crash along with one of his daughters in Calabasas, California.

Although he played in the NBA, he was a star for many NFL players and the impact was felt among players across the league. Many Arizona Cardinals players reacted to the news.

Our hearts go out to the friends and family of Kobe. This is awful news.

Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Stitcher Radio.

Ep. 256

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Ep. 255

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Budda Baker snags end zone interception to keep AFC from scoring in 1st drive

He keeps the AFC from scoring in their first drive of the game.

Arizona Cardinals safety Budda Baker has one notable stat missing in his career. He has not yet had an interception in the regular season.

He had one on Sunday.

Playing in the Pro Bowl for the second time, the first time for his play at safety, he made the first big defensive play of the game.

Led by quarterback Lamar Jackson, the AFC drove down the field on their first possession and were in the red zone. Jackson attempted a pass on 3rd-and-10 from the 10-yard line to Cleveland Browns receiver Jarvis Landry and Baker picked it off.

He caught it five yards deep in the end zone and returned it 15 yards to the 10-yard line.

The NFC scored a touchdown on the ensuing possession, giving them a 7-0 lead.

Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Stitcher Radio.

Ep. 256

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Ep. 255

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Cordarrelle Patterson has no doubt Devin Hester is a Hall of Famer

There is no doubt that Bears’ kick returner Devin Hester was the NFL has ever seen. The eye test shows it, and the stats prove it.

There is no doubt that Devin Hester was the greatest kick returner the NFL has ever seen. The eye test shows it, and the stats prove it.

Many believe that makes Hester a sure-fire Hall of Famer, including Bears kick returner specialist Cordarrelle Patterson.

“Without a doubt,” Patterson said at the Pro Bowl. “That’s a no-brainer. You just turn on the tape, you see Devin Hester. There’s nothing else to be said.”

Hester holds the NFL record with 19 kick-return touchdowns, 14 punt-return touchdowns and 20 return touchdowns, which includes punts, kickoffs, missed field goals, interceptions and fumbles.

The odds aren’t in Hester’s favor when it comes to Hall of Fame induction. But if elected, Hester would become the first kick returner inducted. There are only three specialists enshrined: Punter Ray Guy and kickers Morten Andersen and Jan Stenerud.

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Hester changed the return game as we know it. Teams were urged to kick the ball out of bounds rather than kick to Hester, who was always a threat to take it all the way for a game-changing score.

“Do I think Devin Hester is a Hall of Famer? Without question,” said Patriots’ special-teams ace Matthew Slater. “He changed the game. We have never seen a player in this league do the things that he did, and to me that’s what it means to be a Hall of Famer. When you think about return men, the first name that comes to mind is Devin Hester. If there was ever a guy as a returner to be in the Hall of Fame, it’s him without question.”

Slater said there are two players, involved in the kicking game, that he believes belong in the Hall of Fame, and Hester is certainly one of them.

“Guys like Devin Hester are the reason I have a job because you’ve got to hire guys to try to stop that guy,” he said. “I hope he gets a chance to get in there. I’m a huge fan. He’s a Hall of Famer, no question.”

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How to watch the 2020 Pro Bowl

The info you need to watch the last game before the Super Bowl.

The Pro Bowl is the last football game before the Super Bowl next week. The AFC and NFC all-stars will compete in a friendly game of football that is all fun. Two Arizona Cardinals will be there as starters — safety Budda Baker and outside linebacker Chandler Jones.

There is money at stake for the players, so things will get competitive in the fourth quarter if the game is even. The players on the winning team get $74,000 and the losing team’s players get only $38,000.

The AFC has won the last three Pro Bowls and has a slight 24-22 lead all-time.

If you are planning on watching it, here is the info you need.

What, when, where

2020 Pro Bowl

Sunday January 26, 3 p.m. Eastern time (1 p.m. Arizona time)

Camping World Stadium (Orlando, Florida)

TV

The game will air on ABC, ESPN and Disney XD.

Odds

The AFC is favored by 1.5 points.

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Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Stitcher Radio.

Ep. 256

[protected-iframe id=”5dba5baeefa8b7e9bfd11c4333d4b344-112738498-106269283″ info=”https://api.spreaker.com/v2/episodes/21947850/download.mp3″ ]

Ep. 255

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Kirk Cousins on Jay Gruden: ‘I owe him him a great deal for my progression and development’

One of the last two NFL games of the 2019 season will be played this Sunday as the AFC and NFC will duke it out for the 2020 Pro Bowl. One player who fans will get to see take the field in the process is Kirk Cousins, a former quarterback of new …

One of the last two NFL games of the 2019 season will be played this Sunday as the AFC and NFC will duke it out for the 2020 Pro Bowl. One player who fans will get to see take the field in the process is Kirk Cousins, a former quarterback of new Jags offensive coordinator Jay Gruden.

Earlier this week during practice, Jaguars reporter Ashlyn Sullivan was able to talk to Cousins about Gruden, who had nothing but praise for his old head coach from his time with the Washington Redskins.

“It was a great hire. I don’t think they could’ve done any better than coach Gruden,” Cousins said on Thursday. “So experienced, he’s had so much production in calling plays with a variety of different players in a variety of different places. So he will do a great job with that team, with that system, and I think everybody is in a good place hiring him.”

Cousins words definitely should mean something to Jags fans because, after all, he is playing in the Pro Bowl and has had postseason success, too. This postseason, the Minnesota Vikings and Cousins pulled off a huge upset against the New Orleans Saints to open up the postseason. Simply put, wouldn’t have been possible without Cousins’ experience while with Gruden and the Redskins.

“When he came in I was a nobody in this league. I couldn’t even spell Pro Bowl,” Cousins added. “And so I look at his development with me and the work he did through 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017. I was with him for four years. I owe him him a great deal for my progression and my development as a player, and he knows that. I expect him to do the same with a lot of those young players in Jacksonville.”

Now, Gruden will be tasked with coaching up another young quarterback in Gardner Minshew II (and a veteran in Nick Foles), who flashed as a rookie by winning six games but is far from a finished product. With Gruden’s west coast scheme allowing Minshew to make quick decisions, it could be move that helps the team tremendously as the Jags need a spark offensively after finishing 26th in points and 20th in yards.

Pete Carroll voted coach players most want to play for

A survey of 32 Pro Bowlers revealed that Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll is the coach players most want to play for.

It’s no secret the culture built by Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll is one that many players strive to be a part of.

Players who sign with Seattle or get traded often revel in the team’s competitiveness in every aspect of training, but also the fun-loving, good-naturedness of it all.

That is why it shouldn’t be a surprise that a poll of 32 Pro Bowl players, asking them which coach they’d most prefer to play for, resulted in Carroll in a tie with Andy Reid of the Chiefs for the most responses, at four each.

Carroll has coached 14 NFL seasons, the last 10 with the Seahawks, and has gone 133-90-1 with 10 playoff appearances, two Super Bowl showings and one victory with Seattle in 2014.

Seattle also showed up with four votes for the best NFL city to travel to, tying with Miami for second place behind Los Angeles.

The combination of love for coach Carroll and the city of Seattle is enticing, considering the quality of player at the Pro Bowl and the team’s expected free agent binge this offseason.

The Seahawks have plenty of holes to fill on the offense and defense heading into the 2020 season – perhaps they’ll be able to woo a Pro Bowl player to the Emerald City.

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Eddie Jackson: ‘Everyone’s motivated’ to rebound from disappointing 2019 season

Since Matt Nagy took over, expectations are higher, and nothing short of a return to the postseason will constitute success in 2020.

Looking back at this time last year, expectations for the Bears’ 2019 season were sky-high. Coming off a 12-4 record and a division championship — and maintaining core pieces on the roster — there was every reason to believe that they’d make a repeat playoff appearance.

But the Bears didn’t come close. Even when they were still in playoff contention in the waning weeks of the regular season, the Bears never showed that they were deserving of a return to the postseason, aside from their defense that allowed the fourth-fewest points in the NFL.

The high expectations made the Bears’ 8-8 finish all the more disheartening. But safety Eddie Jackson says that “everyone’s motivated” to rebound from that disappointing season and put together something special in 2020.

“From my first day walking in there as a rookie until now, you see the change,” Jackson said. “You see the big difference in the type of players we have.”

There was a time during the John Fox era when finishing .500 would’ve been considered a success. But since Matt Nagy took over, expectations are higher, and nothing short of a return to the postseason will constitute success in 2020.

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Cordarrelle Patterson talks Bears kick-returner legacy at Pro Bowl

The Bears have a rich legacy of kick returners in their 100-year history, and Cordarrelle Patterson is the latest.

For a franchise known for its linebackers and running backs, the Chicago Bears have a rich legacy of kick returners in their 100-year history. From George McAfee to Gale Sayers to Walter Payton to Jerry Azumah to Danieal Manning to Devin Hester, there is no NFL team with a richer history of kick returners.

Cordarrelle Patterson is the latest in a long line of successful kick returners in Chicago. But Patterson doesn’t consider himself up there with two of the greatest returners of all-time: Hester or Sayers.

“It’s a blessing, but I’m just trying to do my job,” Patterson said. “I would never be as great as Devin Hester or Gale Sayers. I just try to do my job each and every day, and it’s just an honor to play on the same field those guys played on.”

Hester and Sayers are two of the best returners in NFL history — and Hester is the greatest ever. But still, Patterson’s career as a kick returner isn’t something to turn your head at.

Patterson, who has earned three Pro Bowl nods, ranks second all-time with a 29.9-yard kickoff return average. He has seven career kick return touchdowns, which is the third most in NFL history, just one behind co-leaders Leon Washington and Josh Cribbs.

Patterson was one of the few bright spots in the Bears’ disappointing 2019 season. In his first year in Chicago, Patterson finished second in the NFL with a 29.5-yard average on 28 kickoff returns, one of which was a 102-yard touchdown against the Saints. He also led the league with 825 kick-return yards.

“There aren’t many guys who are 6-2, 6-3, 220 [pounds], run 4.3 and can cut on a dime,” Patriots special-teams standout Matthew Slater said. “God didn’t make too many of those guys.

“I think you couple that with the fact that he’s so aggressive when he gets out of there with the ball in his hands. He wants to make plays. He loves the game. He’s there for his teammates. I can’t say enough good things about him. His skillset and who he is as a person I think has led him to being arguably one of the best returners in the 100-year history of the game. I sure wish he was still with us and not with [the Bears].”

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Pete Carroll brings competition Wednesday to Pro Bowl

Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll hosted a basketball competition among Pro Bowl players, continuing the competition Wednesday tradition.

Always compete. It has been the mantra of the Pete Carroll-led Seattle Seahawks for just over a decade now, and love him or hate him, it has helped lead this team to two Super Bowl victories and, to date, the team’s only win.

It has also spurned a culture of constant competition, which can sometimes get very heated but often leads to fun camaraderie.

Carroll decided to take some fun aspects of his competitive culture with him to the Pro Bowl, which he and the rest of the Seahawks staff are coaching this upcoming weekend.

In a video posted by the Seahawks twitter account, Carroll can be seen leading a group of NFC Pro Bowlers – Michael Thomas and Jared Cook of the Saints, Chandler Jones of the Cardinals and Darius Slay of the Lions, in a basketball shooting competition in the team meeting room.

Carroll’s fun, but competitive, culture has often been a favorite among players, which could help this team recruit high profile free agents to the Emerald City.

For now, Carroll will focus on having fun and interacting with the best of the best this week, leading up to the actual Pro Bowl game which will kick off at 12:00 p.m. PT on Sunday, January 26.

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2020 Pro Bowl: Eddie Jackson would rather be playing in Super Bowl

Who has it better than Eddie Jackson? Jackson was voted to his second Pro Bowl, although, there’s one place he would rather be.

Who has it better than Eddie Jackson right now?

The Bears’ safety just signed a massive four-year extension worth $58.4 million, and he was voted to his second career Pro Bowl in just three seasons.

While making the Pro Bowl is an honor, there’s one place Jackson would rather be.

“I’d rather be playing in [the Super Bowl] than here any day,” he said following Wednesday’s practice in Orlando. “We’ve got next year coming and I’m excited about it. We’ve got a while to go before football starts back up. But we’re just ready to get back to it for real.”

The Bears are coming off a disappointing 2019 season, where they went 8-8 and missed the playoffs. When you factor in the high expectations for this season — where some considered the Bears Super Bowl contenders at one point before the season — it makes 8-8 feel more like 3-13.

Chicago is aiming to right the ship for 2020, which will focus primarily on getting the offense on track. Questions linger at quarterback, tight end, offensive line and especially the run game.

But the defense is in much better shape, with their only concern is the decline in takeaways from a season ago. Luckily for the Bears, they locked up a core player in their defensive backfield in Jackson for the long term.

Jackson is appearing in his second Pro Bowl, where he’s one of three players representing the Bears in Orlando this week. Kick returner Cordarrelle Patterson and cornerback Kyle Fuller are also in attendance, while Khalil Mack bowed out with an injury.

“It’s always a blessing when you get picked to come out here,” Jackson said. “It’s fun just to be around the guys and see different type of personalities off the field.”

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