Mittwoch, Januar 26, 2011

NFL’S STARS TAKE CENTER STAGE AS 2011 PRO BOWL KICKS OFF SUPER BOWL WEEK

The NFL’s best will be in the spotlight on Sunday, January 30 (7:00 PM ET, FOX) as the 2011 Pro Bowl kicks off Super Bowl Week.

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