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