Tag: 2023 NFL Pro Bowl

Raiders RB Josh Jacobs keeps it real with Pro Bowl skills competitions

Raiders RB Josh Jacobs keeps it real with Pro Bowl skills competitions

Today the NFL will hold it’s Pro Bowl game. This year it’s a bit different. It’s flag football. I say “a bit” different because previous years when it was supposedly tackle, it was still basically a glorified version of flag football.

In the days leading up to the actual *game*, there were several other games they played including Dodgeball, Gridiron Gauntlet, longest drive (golf), and Move the Chains in which players must move a weighted wall. You know FOOTBALL!

Raiders running back Josh Jacobs was asked about his thoughts on the Pro Bowl format. Never one to pull punches, Jacobs gave his honest assessment.

He ain’t wrong. There are a couple of the skills competitions that are interesting and *actually* involve something resembling football. Such as the Precision Passing and Best Catch. But for the most part, these games are pretty ridiculous and rather pointless.

Not to mention that because they still feel the need to play an actual football game, and the top five QBs either opted out or were injured, they had to call up Tyler Huntley and Derek Carr despite Huntley only starting five games and Carr playing so poorly he was benched for the final two games while they look to trade him.

The NFL switched to the new format because the game had become a running joke. But it seems the new format is just more watered down product. Good for Jacobs for calling it what it was instead of pretending it was anything more.

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If Derek Carr is injured in Pro Bowl Raiders could be on the hook for full 2023 salary

Raiders thought by benching Derek Carr they eliminated the risk of injury guaranteeing over $40 mil in salary. His Pro Bowl nod changes that.

Here’s a situation the Raiders undoubtedly did NOT see coming when they benched Derek Carr with two games left in the season.

So, this morning Carr was named to the Pro Bowl. The AFC had gone through seven quarterbacks before they got to Carr, but here we are.

The Raiders cut him to avoid the possibility of him getting injured and thus guaranteeing his $35 million salary for next season plus $7.5 million of his 2024 salary. Now they are faced with Carr taking the field again anyway, even if it is a flag football game. And that appears to be enough.

This puts the Raiders in a precarious position. They had hoped to have until February 15 to try and work out a trade. But now they may not be able to wait that long.

The Pro Bowl is this weekend. Could the Raiders eliminate the risk of Carr injuring himself in the Pro Bowl and cut him before then? Or do they take the chance and hope he comes through unscathed so they can still find a trade partner to avoid Carr being cut loose no compensation.

Risky proposition. We’ll soon see.

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Raiders QB Derek Carr added to Pro Bowl roster as AFC digs deep into alternates

Derek Carr will represent the Raiders one more time as AFC nabs him as Pro Bowl alternate

Well, this could be a little awkward. A month ago it appeared Derek Carr had represented the Raiders for the last time. And we’re two weeks from the deadline for the team to cut him or find a trade partner. And now he’s been named to the Pro Bowl in Las Vegas.

How did this happen?

Well, despite playing his worst season after not making the Pro Bowl since 2017 and being benched with two games left in the season, the AFC basically needed a warm body to fill out the roster.

If you think that’s being unfair, consider that along with Carr being named an alternate, so too was Tyler Huntley who started a grand total of five games this season as an injury replacement and finished with a 77.2 passer rating.

How did we get here?

Well, Patrick Mahomes is headed to the Super Bowl, so he can’t go. Josh Allen and Joe Burrow both opted out. Justin Herbert and Tua Tagovailoa are both dealing with injuries. So, the QB trio at the Pro Bowl will be Trevor Lawrence, Carr, and Huntley.

Raiders P AJ Cole named to 2023 NFL Pro Bowl

AJ Cole is headed to the Pro Bowl

Next man up. That’s what Raiders punter AJ Cole is to the 2023 Pro Bowl team. And he just heard his number called.

Sunday the Chiefs beat the Bengals in the AFC Championship team, thus punching their ticket to the Super Bowl in Arizona. That means all the players on their team who were named to the Pro Bowl will be replaced by alternates.

Chiefs punter Tommy Townsend is among those who made the Pro Bowl who will now be replaced. The first alternate is Raiders punter AJ Cole.

That means while Townsend is headed to Arizona, Cole will be representing his team’s home city in Las Vegas at this year’s Pro Bowl.

It’s Cole’s second consecutive Pro Bowl. He was an All Pro and Pro Bowler in his third NFL season after leading the league averaging 50 yards per punt. He was just a shade under that this year and is deserving of this honor.

Cole joins fellow Raiders RB Josh Jacobs, WR Davante Adams, and DE Maxx Crosby on the Pro Bowl squads in Las Vegas next weekend.

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After Eagles win, Danielle Hunter could be headed to Pro Bowl

Hunter is the first alternate for the Pro Bowl and could be on his way back

On Sunday, the Philadelphia Eagles beat the San Francisco 49ers 31-7 in the NFC Championship game to advance to the Super Bowl. When teams advance to the Super Bowl, the players on that roster typically don’t participate in the Pro Bowl, meaning that alternates get selected in their place.

For Minnesota Vikings outside linebacker Danielle Hunter, this means he’ll get the opportunity to replace Eagles outside linebacker Haason Reddick.

It’s not a certainty that Hunter wants to go to the Pro Bowl, but if he chooses to go to the Pro Bowl in Reddick’s absence it would be Hunter’s third pro bowl in his career.

Hunter put together a solid season for the Vikings this year after missing the 2020 season with a neck injury and most of the 2021 season with a torn pectoral muscle, which placed him on injured reserve. He was able to play in all 18 games this season, and he accumulated 70 pressures and 12 sacks. His sack total was tied for 14th in the NFL this season.

Dalvin Cook added to the NFC Pro Bowl Games roster

Cook was added due to the injury of Tony Pollard

When the initial NFL Pro Bowl rosters came out, Minnesota Vikings running back Dalvin Cook was named the first alternate running back. With the injury suffered by Dallas Cowboys running back Tony Pollard on Sunday afternoon, Cook was added to the NFC roster as a replacement per The Star Tribune’s Ben Goessling.

The Pro Bowl nod for Cook marks the fourth-consecutive season that he has make the Pro Bowl roster. He had his second-highest total yards rushing this season at 1,173 yards and eight touchdowns while also registering his lowest yards per carry with 4.4.

As a receiver, Cook took steps in that department catching 39 passes for 295 yards and two touchdowns. He will join fellow teammates Kirk Cousins, Justin Jefferson, T.J. Hockenson, Kene Nwangwu, Andrew DePaola and Za’Darius Smith in Las Vegas for the even on Sunday, February 5th.

Ranking the 9 games — including dodgeball, longest drive and ‘Kick Tac Toe’ — from the NFL’s new Pro Bowl lineup

The NFL’s quest to reform the Pro Bowl means 2023’s version is filled with mini-games. Let’s rank them all.

The NFL has fixed the Pro Bowl.

Well, no, that’s not quite right. The NFL is *trying* to fix the Pro Bowl.

The league understands it’s the home to the lamest all-star game among the major sports after years of apathy as players run half speed into two-hand touch tackles weeks after their season, for most, has come to an end. Pro Bowl highlights have been hard to come by since Sean Taylor (may he rest in peace) lit up punter Brian Moorman. So instead of hoping players will suddenly take a game that doesn’t matter and treat it with at least the vigor of a preseason date, the NFL decided to shake things up.

The Pro Bowl is no more. In its place? The Pro Bowl Games.

The Pro Bowl Games is sort of what Mario Party was to the original Super Mario Bros. games. It’s a smattering of mini-games derived from a longstanding franchise. Whichever side wins the most mini-games wins the title, which is nice but ultimately meaningless. Either way, it’s a significant departure from the utterly non-essential exhibitions of years passed.

What will these games consist of? Well, it’s kind of a lot to get through.

In short, it’s

  • Epic Pro Bowl Dodgeball: A multi-round tournament of classic dodgeball.
  • Lightning Round: A three-part elimination challenge that will leave one player left at the end to earn three points for his conference.
  • Longest Drive: Four players from each conference will compete in a challenge to drive a golf ball the furthest distance off a tee.
  • Precision Passing presented by EA SPORTS Madden NFL 23 Mobile: Each of the conference’s three quarterbacks will battle it out in a one-minute accuracy competition, as they attempt to accumulate points by hitting as many targets as possible.
  • Best Catch presented by Uber Eats: Two players from each conference will compete in a best catch competition, showing off their creativity, inventiveness and talent.
  • Gridiron Gauntlet: A side-by-side relay race showcasing strength, speed and agility, six players from each conference will compete to see who finishes first.
  • Kick Tac Toe: Each team’s kicker, punter and long snapper compete in a giant Tic-Tac-Toe competition to showcase their respective skills.
  • Move The Chains: Four teams (two from each conference) compete side by side in a weighted wall pull that will showcase their strength, speed and ingenuity.

The Pro Bowl Games skills competitions will have cumulative scoring leading up to the flag football games on Sunday. Each event is worth three points. There will be at least two flag football games, with a third to be played if necessary, where the winner gets six points per victory. The side that finishes with the most points takes home a trophy Jason Witten once broke in front of a television audience of hundreds.

Which events are worth tuning in for? Good question. Let’s rank them.

Texans LT Laremy Tunsil selected for third career Pro Bowl

Houston Texans left tackle Laremy Tunsil was named to his third career Pro Bowl.

Houston Texans left tackle Laremy Tunsil was selected to the Pro Bowl for the third time in his career Wednesday.

Tunsil has been an anchor for the Texans’ offensive line, starting in all 14 games to date at left tackle.

Tunsil has a 91.3 pass blocking grade, according to Pro Football Focus, which is the first among offensive linemen.

Pro Football Focus also credits Tunsil with just one sack in 2022. According to such rankings, Tunsil is one of four tackles in the league who has allowed fewer than two sacks. The other tackles are the Texans’ Tytus Howard, the Philadelphia Eagles’ Lane Johnson, and the Dallas Cowboys’ Terence Steele.

Another byproduct of Tunsil’s exemplary play in 2022 was running back Dameon Pierce, who had 939 rushing yards before leaving Week 14 with an ankle injury that summarily ended his season. Pierce was first among rookies in rushing yards, third among rookies in Texans history, and had the 13th-most rushing yards in Texans’ single-season history.

Tunsil breaks a tie with center Chris Myers (2011-12) as the only Texans offensive lineman with the most career Pro Bowl selections with three. The other Texans offensive lineman to be named to the Pro Bowl in his career was tackle Duane Brown (2012).

Raiders with 3 to Pro Bowl 2023 selections

3 Raiders headed to 2023 Pro Bowl

Of all the players on the Raiders roster this season, there were three no-brainer Pro Bowl players. Today, those three were officially selected to the 2023 Pro Bowl.

Running back Josh Jacobs, wide receiver Davante Adams, and edge rusher Maxx Crosby are headed to the 2023 Pro Bowl games.

The three of them have been at or among the best at their respective positions all season.

Jacobs leads the NFL in rushing (1495) and first down runs (83), Maxx Crosby leads the NFL in tackles for loss (19) and is sixth in sacks (11.5), and Davante Adams leads the league in touchdown catches (12) and is fourth in receiving yards (1275).

There will be no game this year as traditionally played. But rather it will be a version of the skills competition, which is the most interesting part of the Pro Bowl weekend anyway.