The Cincinnati Enquirer's Joe Reedy summed up the Pro Bowl in a single tweet. He said, "There was just more action and intensity in that WWE pyrotechnics display than there was in the Pro Bowl."
He couldn't have been more right. We just got to watch an entire game of NFL players jogging around a field and hugging each other instead of tackling. And the NFL wonders why the Pro Bowl doesn't get high ratings.
There were, however, four Bengals playing in the Pro Bowl this year which made the most unbearable football game of the year somewhat watchable. A.J. Green, Andy Dalton, Jermaine Gresham and Geno Atkins suited up for the AFC team that won the game by scoring a record amount of points. All four Bengals made a contribution to the conference's 59-41 win.
A.J. Green was the only Bengals player to be voted into the Pro Bowl as a starter. He made his mark early in the game by scoring the AFC's first touchdown. He caught a 31-yard pass from the Steelers' Ben Roethlisberger in the first quarter to bring the AFC back within a touchdown of the NFC, who jumped out to a 14-0 lead. Green finished the game with two catches for 44 yards.
Jermaine Gresham, who made it to the Pro Bowl thanks to the Patriots' tight ends playing in the Super Bowl and Owen Daniels' injury, only caught one pass, which was thrown by Dalton, on the last play of the third quarter for 14 yards.
Dalton had a good game in Hawaii. He completed seven of his nine passes for 100 yards and two touchdowns. Both touchdown passes were thrown to Miami Dolphins wide receiver Brandon Marshall, who was named the Pro Bowl MVP, and Dalton's 152.5 passer rating was the highest of all six quarterbacks in the game.
Unfortunately, the play of the offensive and defensive line is completely different in the Pro Bowl as they play about half speed throughout the game, so Geno Atkins doesn't have outstanding stats, but he did make one tackle tonight.
Overall the Bengals, especially Dalton and Green, made an impact and helped the AFC win their second Pro Bowl in the last three years. It wasn't the most exciting game (it wasn't even close to anything resembling an exciting game) but football is football and I'll take it.
What were your thoughts on the 2012 Pro Bowl?