Pro Bowl receives massive overhaul

It's about time some news I can actually get behind came out of the National Football League this year. The NFL is overhauling the Pro Bowl, eliminating the AFC vs. NFC format in favor of captains picking 43 players per team regardless of conference.

In addition, kickoffs will be eliminated from the game as a safety measure. A coin toss will determine which squad gets the game's first possession.

The ball will be placed at the 25-yard line at the start of the game and after scoring plays. Since there will be no kickoffs, the kick-return specialist Pro Bowl roster spot will be replaced with an additional defensive back spot.

Voting for the game also will be changed, as conference affiliation no longer will be considered in determining the All-Star selections. The two leading vote-getters will be named captains and will be assisted by Hall of Famers Jerry Rice and Deion Sanders and two NFL.com fantasy football champions in picking the two teams.

Among other changes:

* A 2-minute warning will be added to the first and third quarters in addition to the traditional rule in the second and fourth quarters. Possession also will change hands after each quarter.

* Defenses will be allowed to play Cover 2 and press coverage. In the past, only man coverage had been allowed, except for goal-line situations.

* Changes will be made to the game clock during the 2-minute warning, with the clock stopping if the offense doesn't gain at least 1 yard, in order to encourage offenses to try to gain yardage at the end of each quarter.

* In addition, the clock will start after an incomplete pass on the signal of the game referee except during the 2-minute warnings and the final 5 minutes of the game.

* The game will use a 35-second/25-second play clock instead of the traditional 40-second/25-second clock.

* Also, the game clock will not stop on sacks of the quarterback, outside of the game's final 2 minutes.

The changes were proposed by NFL Players' Association president Domonique Foxworth and were jointly announced Wednesday by the NFL and the union.

"As players, we wanted to keep the Pro Bowl to honor excellence in individual performance and connect with the fans in a different environment," Foxworth said in a statement. "To do that, I worked with a group of players to map out new ideas."

Commissioner Roger Goodell said the league was "very receptive to the ideas that Domonique and the players put forth."

"From there, our office worked closely with him in developing the concept," Goodell said in a statement. "The players made it clear that they wanted to continue the Pro Bowl and were committed to making it better than ever. We think these changes will enhance the game for both fans and players."

As a fan of the NFL, I'm totally OK with some of these changes. Others, not so much.

For example, I've always thought Pro Bowl coaches should be able to employ any defensive strategy they want, so I like the fact that Cover 2 and press coverage schemes will now be allowed.

I also like the fact that that the game clock won't stop on a sack. It doesn't happen in a regular game, so that should never happen in the Pro Bowl, if you ask me.

But that's exactly why I'm not OK with some of the other changes that appear to be pretty well set in stone. I've always been a strong believer that if something isn't part of a regular game, it shouldn't be part of the Pro Bowl.

The thing that bugs me probably more than anything else is the fact that the AFC vs. NFC format won't be a part of the game anymore. I don't know of any major sports league that doesn't feature a conference vs. conference type format for its all-star game and there's a reason for that.

Not only does the AFC vs. NFC format add to the competitive nature of the game by serving as a means of proving which conference has more talent, but it gives the game purpose. If the two teams are just divided by captain's picks and could come from both conferences, I think it kind of takes away the whole point of the game.

It seems to me, the point of the NFL's All-Star event is more than just a generic top talent showcase. If that's not the case, then they should just stop playing a game entirely.

If you just want to show off the top talent from both conferences, make it a skills competition with position-specific events like the combine. That would accomplish the same goal and would do it in a far less disappointingly pointless way.

I guess we'll just have to wait and see how it all shakes out, but I'm just not sure about it all. There are a number of changes on that list that have serious potential to be a disaster for the game, but I don't think it's time to count the whole endeavor as a complete failure just yet.

The Pro Bowl draft will be held on Jan. 22, next year, and the game will be played four days later, on Jan. 26, at Aloha Stadium, in Honolulu.