Though reincarnated in 2014, the Pro Bowl remains on life support.
USA TODAY Sports reported Saturday that the game, which will take place Sunday in Honolulu, will be monitored closely after undergoing a number of changes to keep it a viable game as part of the NFL season.
Outgoing NFL Players Association president Domonique Foxworth was a central figure in keeping the game afloat after last season when Commissioner Roger Goodell threatened to cancel what had become a lackluster game.
"Roger was very serious about potentially canceling the Pro Bowl because apparently it's very expensive and isn't of a ton of value to them," Foxworth told USA TODAY Sports in an interview earlier this week.
"To be honest with you, I was completely comfortable with eliminating it until I talked to the players, and they said they loved it and they want to be there."
That sentiment seems to be at odds with the number of players annually who cite "injury" to get out of the game. The quality of play also has been subject to increasing criticism the last few years, and fan support has dwindled.
To save the Pro Bowl, Foxworth came up with a series of changes to refresh that game, of which a variation first began in 1938 and the first actual Pro Bowl took place in 1951.
USA TODAY Sports said the changes included the player draft by two Pro Football Hall of Fame captains (Deion Sanders and Jerry Rice this year), two-minute drills to end each quarter and the legalization of zone coverage.
A potential drawback of the changes in the game could be that the new selection process could put players from the same NFL team on opposite sides during the Pro Bowl. A defender likely would be hesitant to lay a big hit on a teammate who happened to be playing for the other side in the Pro Bowl.
The problem with the NFL's all-star game is that injury is more prevalent than in either the NBA or Major League Baseball all-star game. NFL players cannot show off specialized individual skills like NBA players.
The NFL.com is reporting, however, that the selection process involving two retired entities as coaches might be used as a motivational tool. Any players picked last or late could be more motivated to give an all-out effort during the Pro Bowl.
But if the game still doesn't have a greater audience after the latest changes, then it will be put right back on the endangered species list.
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