Pro Bowl 2013: It doesn't need fixing, but why not suggest fixes?

Admit it. You are going to watch the Pro Bowl. You can't help it. It's football, and it is with a whole bunch of great players. The numbers say as much. Millions have tuned in since it was moved to the week before the Super Bowl and freed from its cable TV prison.

At the same time, you will probably complain the whole time about how terrible the football is, how the linemen and pass rushers don't even try, how the defensive backs sit in loose coverage. You don't think they are taking the game seriously.

But let's be honest. The Pro Bowl shouldn't be a serious game. It's an exhibition. It's an All-Star game. You get to see big plays and lots of scoring, just like in the NBA's All-Star game.

Once the fourth quarter rolls around, then you get a game, because that is when the money is on the line.

So why does it need fixing?

It doesn't. It is what it is and we should appreciate it. In fact, considering how many people tune it, it really isn't that big a thing. It is just the most passionate of us who believe football should always be intense.

Think about it. We are going to see Drew Brees throw to Larry Fitzgerald! This sort of thing only happens on Madden if you draft your team right or make the right trade.

So, enjoy the game. It is fun! That's all it should be because it's a brutal sport.

Nonetheless, since the en vogue thing is to offer up suggestions to "make the game better," here are some possibilities.

Make it arcade style

For an interesting and fun twist, recognize punters and kickers giving them a Pro Bowl berth, but don't allow teams to punt, kick field goals or kick extra points. It would be kickoffs or free kicks only. That would add a layer of fun because you get short fields and you get to see two-point attempts.

Make the winners' and losers' payout more disparate

Right now, there is a $25,000 difference between what the winners and the losers get. Players turn up the intensity a notch in the fourth quarter as a result. But what if the payouts were, let's say, $50,000 apart? You would think that the players would make it more interesting from the start.

Make it a flag football game

The players almost act like it is non-contact anyway, so why not make it that way? That actually would be fun, but weird, since the linemen are all but negated because speed and agility take over in a flag football game.

Have a skills competition

Who wouldn't want to see a footrace between the fastest players in the game, or trick kicks, or deep throw competitions? We have those in the NBA. there could be competitions for strength, speed, agility, almost like the NFL Combine again.

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Any thoughts of your own?

Again, I really believe that the game is great the way it is. Back in my Tecmo Super Bowl days, I never skipped the Pro Bowl. It was the one game I could go from running the ball with Bo Jackson to throwing it to Jerry Rice.

Do you think the game needs to be fixed? How would you do it if it were up to you?

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