Is there anything more exciting than the Pro Bowl?

I don't think any game could possibly follow up all that build and speculation; the days and days of arguing over who's going come out ahead and why. Good thing the NFL season is over after the Pro Bowl. And most importantly, there is no better way to scout a player than on his performance in the big game, right Paul Domowitch?

Eagles fans got a preview of things to come early in last night's Pro Bowl when AFC coach Norv Turner opened the game with consecutive screens to running back Chris Johnson, both of which went to cornerback Asante Samuel's side.
As he proved on numerous occasions this season, including the Eagles' ugly, back-to-back January losses to the Cowboys, Samuel isn't a big fan of the art of tackling.

Is he more of a sculpture fan?

Hates tackling the way little kids hate spinach.

I just had this image of Samuel's coach telling him that he can either tackle or go to his room. So Samuel responds with his arms crossed, stomps his feet and yells out "No!" in the defiant way a 4-year-old would.

If he couldn't be convinced to tackle in games that mattered, you can only imagine the attitude he brought to this meaningless all-star game.

The same attitude every other player had? That it was a meaningless game and no reason to risk injury? I mean heck, at least he showed, didn't something like a quarter of the players ditch out?

Johnson picked up 13 yards on the first screen and 12 on the second, and on both plays, the PA announcer wound up closer to the Titans running back than Samuel. The Eagle looked like George Costanza in that "Seinfeld" episode where he was knocking over little kids at a birthday party in his rush to get out the door when a fire broke out.

O.K. I remember that episode, but that makes no sense to me in this context. I thought Samuel was supposedly playing lazily? The George thing took a lot of effort.

A couple of plays later, Samuel bit on a pump fake by AFC quarterback Matt Schaub and got beat for a 33-yard touchdown pass to Schaub's Houston Texans teammate, Andre Johnson.

That has nothing to do with tackling. And isn't Andre Johnson kinda good? I'm sure Samuel isn't the only corner who bit on a move Johnson made.

Samuel would get a measure of revenge later in the game when he short-circuited a would-be AFC scoring drive with an interception of Vince Young early in the fourth quarter.

Wow, looks like he put effort into this completely meaningless game anyway.

In Samuel's defense, he wasn't the only player uninterested in getting physical.

Yeah, it's the Pro Bowl.

Whether they play this game in Hawaii the week after the Super Bowl or here in South Florida the week before, the NFL's annual all-star game features less hitting than a fight between two of the Jonas Brothers. There was more contact in a second-quarter end-zone skirmish among the dozen or so NFL mascots in attendance than there was in the actual game.

Yeah dude, it's the frickin' PRO BOWL! Also minus 11 points for the Jonas Brother reference. (And if you're wondering what those points are off of, you're taking this too seriously, like Paul Domowitch at a Pro Bowl game.)

The "battles" between the offensive and defensive linemen looked like something out of "Dancing With The Stars" for much of the game. Eagles left tackle Jason Peters practically had to lay down and get in the fetal position for the AFC's Mario Williams to collect the first of the game's five sacks.

Paul, are you seriously disappointed that you didn't get to see a titanic battle at the Pro Bowl? You just had 20 weeks of football to enjoy linemen fighting it out in the trenches, plus the upcoming Super Bowl. Aren't quaterbacks off limits in the Pro Bowl anyway? Personally I would prefer just a skills competition, I used to like watching Marino and Elway showing off their arms without worrying about a pass rush.

"This is a fun evening," Colts quarterback Peyton Manning said. "We flew down here after our practice today in Indianapolis. Getting to see all these guys, these great players, guys I've gotten to know over the years playing in [other] Pro Bowls, I've formed some special friendships with these guys. It's fun to be here."

At least someone has the right attitude about the game.

Case Closed!