The NFL All-Star Game returns to Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii and will be the signature event to start the week leading up to Super Bowl XLV between the Green Bay Packers and Pittsburgh Steelers in North Texas (Sunday, February 6, FOX).
“It’s always an honor to be elected to the Pro Bowl,” says New Orleans Saints linebacker JONATHAN VILMA.
For the second consecutive year, the Pro Bowl will be played the week before the Super Bowl. The 2010 Pro Bowl on ESPN was watched by an average of 12.3 million viewers, the most for a Pro Bowl since 2000 (13.2 million viewers) and a 40 percent increase from the 2009 game (8.8 million viewers). The 12.3 million viewers also marked the largest viewership for an All-Star game in any sport on cable television.
Last year, the AFC defeated the NFC 41-34 at Sun Life Stadium in South Florida. Houston Texans quarterback MATT SCHAUB threw two touchdown passes and was named the game’s MVP. The 2011 game is the 41st between the AFC and NFC All-Stars with the all-time series tied 20-20.
The 43-man teams are comprised of 21 offensive and 17 defensive players plus five specialists, including a long snapper. The AFC All-Star team will be led by BILL BELICHICK and the coaches from the New England Patriots while MIKE SMITH and the Atlanta Falcons’ coaching staff will guide the NFC Pro Bowl squad.
The Falcons lead the NFL with nine players selected to the 2011 Pro Bowl – defensive end JOHN ABRAHAM, tackle TYSON CLABO, tight end TONY GONZALEZ, cornerback BRENT GRIMES, fullback OVIE MUGHELLI, quarterback MATT RYAN, running back MICHAEL TURNER, special teamer ERIC WEEMS and wide receiver RODDY WHITE.
The NFL is the only professional sports league that combines voting by fans, coaches and players in determining its All-Star teams. The consensus vote of each group counts one-third towards the total. Each team submits two ballots – those of the coach and the players with no one permitted to vote for a player on his own team. This year, nearly 100 million fan votes were cast on NFL.com, on wireless phones and on Facebook.
Under terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, each player on the winning Pro Bowl team receives $45,000, while each player on the losing squad earns $22,500.
The Pro Bowl’s return to Hawaii, where it had been held consecutively from 1980 to 2009, is part of a two-year agreement between the NFL and the state of Hawaii to play the 2011 and 2012 games there.
2011 AMERICAN FOOTBALL CONFERENCE ALL-STARS
(Starters listed in Bold)
(Non-participating players listed in Italics)
(* Replacing non-participating player)
(+ Need player selected by head coach)
OFFENSE
WIDE RECEIVERS | TIGHT ENDS | |||
Dwayne Bowe, Kansas City | Antonio Gates, San Diego | |||
Andre Johnson, Houston | Marcedes Lewis, Jacksonville | |||
Brandon Lloyd, Denver | * | Zach Miller, Oakland | ||
Reggie Wayne, Indianapolis | ||||
* | Wes Welker, Indianapolis | QUARTERBACKS | ||
Tom Brady, New England | ||||
TACKLES | * | Matt Cassel, Kansas City | ||
D’Brickashaw Ferguson, New York Jets | Peyton Manning, Indianapolis | |||
* | Matt Light, New England | Philip Rivers, San Diego | ||
Jake Long, Miami | ||||
Joe Thomas, Cleveland | RUNNING BACKS | |||
Jamaal Charles, Kansas City | ||||
GUARDS | Arian Foster, Houston | |||
Kris Dielman, San Diego | * | Chris Johnson, Tennessee | ||
Logan Mankins, New England | Maurice Jones-Drew, Jacksonville | |||
Brian Waters, Kansas City | ||||
FULLBACK | ||||
CENTERS | Vonta Leach, Houston | |||
* | Alex Mack, Cleveland | |||
Nick Mangold, New York Jets | ||||
Maurkice Pouncey, Pittsburgh | ||||
* | Jeff Saturday, Indianapolis |
DEFENSE
DEFENSIVE ENDS | INSIDE/MIDDLE LINEBACKERS | |||
Jason Babin, Tennessee | Ray Lewis, Baltimore | |||
Dwight Freeney, Indianapolis | Jerod Mayo, New England | |||
* | Brett Keisel, Pittsburgh | |||
Robert Mathis, Indianapolis | CORNERBACKS | |||
* | Randy Starks, Miami | Nnamdi Asomugha, Oakland | ||
Devin McCourty, New England | ||||
INTERIOR LINEMAN | Darrelle Revis, New York Jets | |||
Haloti Ngata, Baltimore | ||||
Richard Seymour, Oakland | STRONG SAFETY | |||
Vince Wilfork, New England | * | Eric Berry, Kansas City | ||
* | Kyle Williams, Buffalo | Troy Polamalu, Pittsburgh | ||
OUTSIDE LINEBACKERS | FREE SAFTIES | |||
James Harrison, Pittsburgh | * | Michael Griffin, Tennessee | ||
* | Shaun Phillips, San Diego | Brandon Meriweather, New England | ||
Terrell Suggs, Baltimore | Ed Reed, Baltimore | |||
Cameron Wake, Miami |
SPECIALISTS
PUNTER | KICK RETURN SPECIALIST | |||
Shane Lechler, Oakland | Marc Mariani, Tennessee | |||
PLACEKICKER | SPECIAL TEAMER | |||
Billy Cundiff, Baltimore | Montell Owens, Jacksonville | |||
LONG SNAPPER | ||||
+ | John Denney, Miami |
2011 NATIONAL FOOTBALL CONFERENCE ALL-STARS
(Starters listed in Bold)
(Non-participating players listed in Italics)
(* Replacing non-participating player)
(+ Need player selected by head coach)
OFFENSE
WIDE RECEIVERS | CENTERS | |||
* | Larry Fitzgerald, Arizona | Andre Gurode, Dallas | ||
DeSean Jackson, Philadelphia | * | Ryan Kalil, Carolina | ||
Greg Jennings, Green Bay | Shaun O’Hara, New York Giants | |||
Calvin Johnson, Detroit | ||||
Roddy White, Atlanta | TIGHT ENDS | |||
Tony Gonzalez, Atlanta | ||||
TACKLES | Jason Witten, Dallas | |||
* | Tyson Clabo, Atlanta | |||
Chad Clifton, Green Bay | QUARTERBACKS | |||
Jordan Gross, Carolina | Drew Brees, New Orleans | |||
* | Donald Penn, Tampa Bay | Matt Ryan, Atlanta | ||
Jason Peters, Philadelphia | Michael Vick, Philadelphia | |||
GUARDS | RUNNING BACKS | |||
Jahri Evans, New Orleans | Steven Jackson, St. Louis | |||
Carl Nicks, New Orleans | Adrian Peterson, Minnesota | |||
Chris Snee, New York Giants | Michael Turner, Atlanta | |||
FULLBACK | ||||
Ovie Mughelli, Atlanta |
DEFENSE
DEFENSIVE ENDS | INSIDE/MIDDLE LINEBACKERS | |||
John Abraham, Atlanta | * | London Fletcher, Washington | ||
Julius Peppers, Chicago | Brian Urlacher, Chicago | |||
Justin Tuck, New York Giants | * | Jonathan Vilma, New Orleans | ||
Patrick Willis, San Francisco | ||||
INTERIOR LINEMEN | ||||
* | Darnell Dockett, Arizona | CORNERBACKS | ||
Jay Ratliff, Dallas | * | Brent Grimes, Atlanta | ||
Justin Smith, San Francisco | DeAngelo Hall, Washington | |||
Ndamukong Suh, Detroit | Asante Samuel, Philadelphia | |||
* | Tramon Williams, Green Bay | |||
OUTSIDE LINEBACKERS | * | Antoine Winfield, Minnesota | ||
* | Jon Beason, Carolina | Charles Woodson, Green Bay | ||
Lance Briggs, Chicago | ||||
Clay Matthews, Green Bay | STRONG SAFETY | |||
* | Brian Orakpo, Washington | * | Roman Harper, New Orleans | |
DeMarcus Ware, Dallas | Adrian Wilson, Arizona | |||
FREE SAFTIES | ||||
Nick Collins, Green Bay | ||||
Antrel Rolle, New York Giants |
SPECIALISTS
PUNTER | KICK RETURN SPECIALIST | |||
Mat McBriar, Dallas | Devin Hester, Chicago | |||
PLACEKICKER | SPECIAL TEAMER | |||
David Akers, Philadelphia | Eric Weems, Atlanta | |||
LONG SNAPPER | ||||
+ | Zak DeOssie, New York Giants |
