Its time for the 2015 NFL Pro Bowl and we will see Team Irvin take on Team Carter at University of Phoenix Stadiumin Glendale, Arizona. The game has a start time of 8:00 pm (Eastern) and will be televised on ESPN. Current Vegas betting odds have Team Carter listed as 2.5 point favorites, while the total is set at 68. Some info gathered from NFL.Com
A big change in the format f the pro Bowl came last year when the league decided to forgo the traditional AFC vs NFC format. Instead, the league now picks two honorary captains, who then choose their teams and fill out the rosters via a fantasy draft. This year's captains are two Hall of Famers, Michael Irvin and Cris Carter.
Now lets look at some of the rules implemented for the Pro Bowl.
Via NFL.com
Game within the Game -- A two-minute warning will be added to the first and third quarters and the ball will change hands after each quarter. This will increase the opportunities for quarterbacks to direct "two-minute drills," which are especially exciting for fans.
No Kickoffs -- The coin toss will determine which team is awarded possession first. The ball will be placed on the 25-yard line at the start of each quarter and after scoring plays.
Cover Two and Press Coverage -- The defense will be permitted to play "cover two" and "press" coverage. In previous years, only "man" coverage was permitted, except for goal line situations.
Stopping of the Game Clock -- Beginning at the two-minute mark of every quarter, if the offense does not gain at least one yard, the clock will stop as if the play were an incomplete pass. This rule will make the team with the ball attempt to gain yardage toward the end of each quarter.
Game Timing -- The game clock will start after an incomplete pass on the signal of the referee, except inside the last two minutes of the first half and the last five minutes of the second half.
Play Clock -- A 35-second/25-second play clock will be adopted instead of the typical 40-second/25-second clock.
Sacks -- The game clock will not stop on quarterback sacks outside of the final two minutes of the game. Currently, the game clock stops in these situations outside of two- minutes of the second and fourth quarters.
Goal Posts--- We also note that the goal posts for this game have been reduced from 18 feet wide to 14 feet wide. This is experiment as the league is looking for ways to make the kick a bit harder, due to sky high kicking percentages.
13 of the last 15 Pro Bowls have seen the winning team score at least 30 points in the game... The most points scored in a game is 107, when the NFC won 55-52 back in 2004... Last year saw the game decided by just 1 point, but prior to that there had not been a game decided by 7 or less since 2007... The 2015 The '15 Pro Bowl is the first to be played in Arizona and will be just the third time the game is being held in the same venue as the Super Bowl...
Team Carter
Offense
QB Andrew Luck, QB Drew Brees, QB Andy Dalton, RB Jamaal Charles, RB Justin Forsett, RB Alfred Morris, FB John Kuhn, WR Antonio Brown, WR AJ Green, WR TY Hilton, WR Jordy Nelson, TE Martellus Bennett, TE Greg Olsen, OT Joe Staley, OT Duane Brown, OT Ryan Clady, OG Josh Sitton, OG Evan Mathis, OG Mike Pouncey, OC Maurkice Pouncey, OC Jason Kelce,
Defense
DE J.J. Watt, DE Mario Williams, DE Calais Campbell, DT Marcell Dareus, DT Dontari Poe, DT Kyle Williams, OLB Justin Houston
OLB Connor Barwin, OLB Tamba Hali, ILB C.J. Mosley, ILB Lawrence Timmons, CB Patrick Peterson, CB Antonio Cromartie, CB Aqib Talib, CB Sam Shields, S Donte Whitner, S Glover Quin, S Antoine Bethea,
Special Teams
K Cody Parkey, P Pat McAfee, PR Devin Hester, ST Justin Bethel, LS Jon Dorenbos
Team Irvin
Coach
Jason Garrett
Offense
QB Tony Romo, QB Matthew Stafford, QB Matt Ryan, RB DeMarco Murray, RB Mark Ingram, RB C.J. Anderson, FB Marcel Reece, WR Odell Beckham Jr., WR Randall Cobb, WR Emmanuel Sanders, WR Golden Tate, TE Jimmy Graham, TE Jason Witten, OT Tyron Smith
OT Joe Thomas, OT Trent Williams, OG Zach Martin, OG Marshal Yanda, OG Kyle Long, OC Travis Frederick, OC Nick Mangold
Defense
DE Cameron Wake, DE Robert Quinn, DE DeMarcus Ware, DT Aaron Donald, DT Geno Atkins, DT Sheldon Richardson, OLB Von Miller
OLB Clay Matthews, OLB Elvis Dumervil, ILB Luke Kuechley, ILB D'Qwell Jackson, CB Joe Haden, CB Vontae Davis, CB Brent Grimes, CB Chris Harris, S T.J. Ward, S Eric Weddle, S Mike Adams
Special teams
K Adam Vinatieri, P Kevin Huber, PR Darren Sproles, ST Darrell Stuckey, LS L.P. Ladouceur
Pick: The New format has made the pro bowl a bit more relevant and a bit more evenly matched. Last year was the first year under the new format and it produced a competitive game with just 43 points being scored. I see more of the same in this one. Michael Irvin went and drafter many player from the cowboys, including Romo, Murray and three 5ths of the OL and with Garrett Coaching this team you should se more of a ball control approach, just like he did during the regular season. Both teams have drafted well on offense, but these teams also have some of he best defensive players in the league and with some of the rules looking like it may hinder scoring, especially with the goal posts being moved closer together, I will look for this one to stay Under the total.
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