The Pro Bowl is nothing more than a collection of talent vacationing to Hawaii to kick off the start of their offseason. For fans, it’s something to watch. For players, it’s a trip to a sunny paradise to hang out with some players they don’t normally get to spend time with. Nobody actually cares about the game itself, right? Wrong. Aaron Rodgers felt as though some of the players on the losing NFC side should be ashamed of the way they played.
“I’ll be honest with you,” he said in an interview with ESPN 540 in Milwaukee. “I was a little bit disappointed. I felt like some of the guys on the NFC side embarrassed themselves. I was just surprised that some of the guys either didn’t want to play or when they were in there didn’t put any effort into it.”
Surprised? Rodgers is only a two-time Pro Bowl selection, so he is still new to the whole experience. If he wasn’t, I doubt a lack of effort would surprise him. Players don’t want to risk injury while playing in the Pro Bowl. Defensive linemen just stand up after the whistle since they can’t hit the quarterback anyway. Nobody wants to be hit with any type of force or be the one that delivers that type of hit.
“I’ve always found that when you’re going that tempo, that’s when the injuries are going to happen, not if you’re going full speed,” Rodgers reasoned. “You’re more likely to get an injury standing around a pile or just going through it half-speed.”
That may be true, but if a lack of effort in Honolulu frustrates Rodgers he should probably allow another quarterback to take his spot from now on. That’s the Pro Bowl culture, and if anything it has gotten worse as the years pass. It’s a vacation — not a football game.
