Pro Bowl is fine before the Super Bowl

You won’t see Peyton Manning, Tom Brady or Philip Rivers playing for the AFC “all stars” in this Sunday’s Pro Bowl at Miami.

Ditto for Drew Brees and Brett Favre for the NFC.

The Pro Bowl – being played for the first time before the Super Bowl – seems like a good idea for some and a bad idea for others.

It’s a bad idea in that you won’t see any Super Bowl players from the New Orleans Saints or Indianapolis Colts. But some like me believe it’s a good idea since football season should end with the Super Bowl.

No matter when you play it, the Pro Bowl is anticlimactic.

The argument against this week’s game certainly is based on Super Bowl participants being excluded. But when you think about it, a high percentage of Super Bowl players in the past decided to skip the game for various reasons. (Why play in a meaningless game after being involved in the ultimate championship game?)

Even this year, players are skipping the Pro Bowl. Ones such as Brady and Favre are healing from injuries; Rivers’ wife is due to have their fifth child near game time.

So the AFC is left with the likes of Matt Schaub, Vince Young and David Garrard at QB. The NFC will go with a more formidable group of Aaron Rodgers, Donovan McNabb and Tony Romo.

It may seem too bad that you won’t see any 2010 Super Bowl players in this game. But would you really have wanted to watch them anyhow if the Pro Bowl was played after the Super Bowl?

Prediction:
NFC 31, AFC 27

Will Jaguars take bite out of Chargers?

OK, so this much we know about the Chargers:

Norv Turner is a horrible head coach.

Philip Rivers can’t pass – or hold onto the football – any more.

LaDainian Tomlinson has forgotten how to run.

But there are the positives:

Antonio Cromartie is a big-time playmaker.

Darren Sproles has suddenly remembered how to run back kicks.

The Chargers were good enough to beat the Indianapolis Colts’ junior varsity when they were missing seven injured starters.

Now come the Jacksonville Jaguars.

They may be a non-descript team, but all they do is win.

With a 6-3 record, the Jaguars should be even more potent this week when quarterback David Garrard returns from three weeks on the injury list with a high-ankle sprain.

Prediction:

Jaguars 23, Chargers 20