Have you noticed? The NFL has been tweaking the Pro Bowl every year, it seems. 

Once upon a time, it was held after the Super Bowl, and in those days, the Super Bowl contenders were able to play. No one watched it. We were done with football by then.

Even before that, they played the Pro Bowl somewhere besides Hawaii. No one cared where it was. We weren't watching it.

In 1980 (and with some exceptions), the Pro Bowl was moved to Hawaii so fans could see beautiful tropical scenery in the dead of winter. The NFL might have claimed a different reason, but ratings were the true culprit.

And they put it smack dab between the Conference Championships and the Super Bowl in 2009, hoping we fans would still be deeply entrenched in "football mode." But as is happened, we weren't. Not enough, anyway. We still weren't watching.

This year, the NFL has done it again. A new tweak. They've "un-conferenced" the Pro Bowl. They even had a draft. In the excitement of fantasy football, who doesn't love a draft?

Apparently, we don't. We still aren't watching.

It's the same with the all star games in other sports. When I was in high school, I was such a big baseball fan, that I tried to watch the all-star game. I put it on TV and went about my business, coming into the room when Dykstra or Ozzie Smith were up to bat. But to sit down and watch the game? Well...

There's a reason for that. Rarely do you find a true fan of "the game." Because once a sport finds our heart, we need to pick someone to cheer for. There's no point in watching unless you are watching someone do something amazing, something you can't do. You see one or two people perform spectacular feats, and you are hooked. Those athletes are really something. Let's watch them beat everyone else. 

You say you love the sport, but really, you love winning. If you watch a game, you have to pick someone to win. It's not exciting if you don't. The more that team wins, the more exciting it gets, because you can keep watching them in the post-season. We're hooked on the winning adrenaline. 

That's why pre-season games aren't that exciting if it's not your team you're watching. It's too early to tell who's going to be important later in the season when it really counts. But that's a different rant. Let's get back to the point.

Once the Pro Bowl is over... yea. OK, what now? There's nowhere to go after you win the Pro Bowl.

Or, there's the other reason you're hooked on a team. It's the home team. That's all everyone at work talks about on Monday morning, and you want to know what they're talking about. (This explains how the Browns, Bucs, and Jags have fans.) You watch the home team, you get to know them, and suddenly you're part of the team. You're the 12th man.

So, if you rip our team apart, if you take our favorite players and mix them in with players we hate the other 364 days of the year, we don't really know what to do. We don't go in to work the next day and say, "How 'bout that AFC?" So why bother?

So here we go:
Dear NFL, 
You can move the Pro Bowl to the most beautiful place on earth (you did that), you can interrupt our cheering season (you did that too), and you can even give us a draft (sorry, I missed it, but I know there was one.) But we're just not going to watch the Pro Bowl.

Signed, 
An Eagles fan

Everything else aside, here's what I see. What wins games? The following:

1. To be a contender, you cannot make mistakes. I don't have the stats here that I would like to have, but in years past, as I have followed the Eagles, I noticed that the team that wins an evenly-matched game is almost ALWAYS the team that is called on the least number of penalties. Other than some well-played forced offsides you see a lot fewer penalties in the post season than you do in the regular season.

As another example, going back to my friends, the Eagles, and good buddy Desean Jackson, we have possibly lost many a game - or at least contention - because of that wonderful 15- yarder known as the "personal foul."

2. A BETTER team will capitalize on the mistakes of their opponent. 
When a team is doing badly, it is not the time to sit on your hunches and coast through the game. This is where you need to have good coaching. A good coach will see the whole picture and know that any team can rebound after a few bad plays. You never know when or if that will happen, but a good coach is always keeping his team at the highest level.

3. The BEST team FORCES mistakes from their opponent. 
Give this one to the Bears so far this year, who have an amazing 11 forced fumbles and 6 INTs. Although the Bills only have 1 FF, they do lead the league in INTs with 9, and also have 13 sack on the year. (Chiefs win for sacks with 18).

Let's note that Denver has a decent number of INTs so far this year, with 6.

Also, when a team is pushed back 10 yards on an offsides, the best defense shows their stuff and keeps them back there. (Also providing a great chance for better field position, should the downs not convert.) 

4. It isn't always a team that has an elite QB that wins. (Case in point from most recent games: Joe Flacco, Eli Manning.) But all other matters being equal, it sure helps.

When you have a QB who has stats like these, how can you worry?
*As I write this, Peyton Manning has 16 TD passes for the year. The next closest is Drew Brees with 10. And 10 is record-worthy. The season record is 50 in 2007 by Tom Brady (who is on pace for 30 this year). Peyton is on pace to hit 65 this year.

* 0 interceptions, 1 sack. So far for the whole season. (See above about "mistakes.") Brady, Brees, and Rodgers have 8 interceptions between them all. (And just because I really don't like the other Manning brother, I will point out that Eli has 9 already this year.)

* Yardage: (Because yardage converts to TDs.) Drew Brees has all kinds of passing records. But right now, he is behind both Rodgers and Manning. Manning is on pace to finish the regular season with 5,880. 

Wait, you're thinking... and yes, you are correct. The record is 5,084 yards by Dan Marino in 1984. What's that crashing noise you hear? Records crumbling.

If you've ever watched Peyton at the line, you have an idea of the machine he has created of his offense. I have never seen a QB organize every single person on his line like he does. His audibles are his own language. The Trekkies have Klingon; the jocks have Peytonese.

Side Note:
Here is my listing of how I see QBs ranking in status (this year):
  Elite: Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees
  Very Good: Russell Wilson, RGIII
  Good: Joe Flacco, Colin Kaepernick, Michael Vick, Andrew Luck, Cam Newton, Alex Smith, Jay Cutler
  Forgettable: Tony Romo, Eli Manning, Matt Ryan, Matt Schaub, Ben Rothlesberger (would have been ranked higher before this year). Everyone else. I'm not going to waste your time by listing, because, hey, they're forgettable.

5. Your offensive weapons obtain yardage which give you touchdowns. 
Last year, the Broncos had Knowshon Moreno. Fantastic player who was consistent throughout the year. This year, so far, he's only carried 42 times for 200 and change. But that's because Peyton is a passer. And Knowshon's carries have been split with Montee Ball and Ronnie Hillman.
 
Brees has also been very accurate with his passes, but that is all the Saints have - a passing game. The Broncos also have an incredible running game. They don't use it as much, but when they do, it works.

So, as far as those passes, we have Decker with 340 yards (29 rec), Wes Welker (26 rec), and let's not forget our buddy Damaryius Thomas, who has nearly 400 yards with his 29 receptions. These men have put Denver in the #1 spot in total offense and passing yardage. (And just because I'm an Eagles fan, let's point out that the Eagles are #1 in rushing thanks to Shady McCoy.)

6. Your offensive line allows you to win.
The fact that Peyton has only been sacked one time and has made the number of completions speaks for his offensive line. I bet Big Ben would agree.

7. Defense does what?
The saying goes, "Offense gets the fans, defense gets the wins." Or something like that. Boloney. You don't score, you don't win. That being said, in order to win, you must score MORE than your opponent. So defense needs to beat up the other teams offense enough to keep them out of the red zone.

The Broncos are only # 1 in one aspect of defense - Least amount of yards allowed per game. And remember? You need yards to reach the end zone. Denver's defense is doing all they need to. (See #5)

8. Special Teams - 
Holliday. Do I need to expound?

9. Fear Factor - 
No one isn't worried about facing Peyton Manning. I don't even have to be in a single locker room to know that. Fear leads to mistakes. Mistakes lead to turn overs, turn overs lead to the Dark Side... wait, sorry. Wrong movie.

10. I read a status from either NFL or ESPN that said, "One day, we'll tell our grandchildren that we watched Peyton Manning play football." Are we going to say that he only won one Super Bowl? I don't think so.

Bonus: Drive. History shows Peyton Manning to remain consistent. He is on the move and clearly wants nothing more than everything he can get. Everything I read shows that the man is football in human form. I'm not sure why he does Buick commercials or owns a Papa John's. His pizza can't be as good his passes.

I'm welcome to rebuttal. Let's discuss!

Chance Warmack.

If Andy Reid takes him first, I may just hop a plane to K.C. and slap him. He had all those years in Philly to build a successful offensive line, and instead just counted on a quick QB. He failed, the our QB's have the wounds to show it.  So, if he goes to K.C. and does what he should have been doing in Philly all along, I am going to feel quite used, as a fan.

If however, Andy takes Matt Barkley, I am heading to the VF outlet to buy my Chiefs shirt, and becoming a fan.  I DO like Alex Smith, and I want to see good things from him.  But I see Barkley as the next Peyton Manning, and therefore want a good seat on the bandwagon. Barkley fits so well with Reid's pass-aholic offense, he's going to be hard to pass up.

However, Andy would go with Geno Smith first, I believe, because he misses Donovan McNabb so much.

However, they HAVE Alex Smith, so a QB is not their first priority. Andy Reid has been known to buck the system, and I don't think he feels any pressure to take a QB with the first pick.  This means Geno won't be around for him later.  The question is then, will Andy pick up what he really needs?  Does he know what they really need?  His head is not often wrapped up in anything defense/protective.

Back to Chip Kelly.  Rumor has it, he is willing to move away from college type football.  He WILL need a QB, as I predict Vick will be out for the season by Game 5. But, let's build up that O-line, first, shall we? Is Jason Peters coming back? And who does he have to help him? Step one is to get the best we can get up front. All our talent lies in run, with McCoy and the new Bryce Brown, so, we need coverage to get them through as well. A great new center would be exactly what we need, but let's start with power.

Last year, despite only winning 4 games all season, the Eagles did manage to keep most opponents usually to 3 or less TD's in the first 3 quarters of the game (until they totally gave up and threw away the 4th quarters). Defense isn't too old or hurt at this point, so I personally think we are safe there maybe the first two rounds. 

What do you think? Who's getting picked up where?