The Tuesday Stew: Hard Knocks, Matt Forte’s Knees and the NFL Pro Bowl 

Seems as though NFL stories are coming around a bit slower with all these postseason sports going on. I’m not complaining, but stories are coming out a bit less often, which is fine. This is the final stretch before we can really get some NFL regular season stories flowing.

Main Story of the Week: To Pro Bowl or Not to Pro Bowl

Should there be a Pro Bowl? I don’t think so. Look, the Pro Bowl is garbage and we all know that, so if it was either keep it how it is now, or do away with it completely, I think most people would just get rid of it. Now, when you start thinking of other possibilities or changes regarding the Pro Bowl, you get in hot water.

In reality, the only way to make the Pro Bowl watchable for any fan over the age of 11, is to add a “stake” to it. Similar to what the MLB does, giving the winning league home-field advantage for the World Series. But, you can’t really do that with the Super Bowl. Also, players would protest til the cows came home if there was a “stake” like that. Because players don’t want to get injured in games that don’t really count.

I see the Pro Bowl’s chances of survival pretty low at this point. The NFL already showed it’s displeasure with how things are going with the Pro Bowl now, and I doubt they can find a way to make it interesting (that the players would agree upon).

I will say this: I want the voting to stay. I mean, if the game is taken out, there should still be an “All-Star team”, just to keep some excitement among players being elected to the Pro Bowl, even if there is no game to be played.

Question of the Week: Why Does Nobody Want to do HBO’s Hard Knocks?

I think everyone is asking this question, and everyone is trying to come up with an answer, yet no cigar. It’s simple really. We are all looking at this from a fan’s point of view, when we should be looking at this from a coach or General Manager point of view.

Why in the world would you want cameras capturing every little thing your team does? Sure there are rumors that HBO allows teams to veto anything from going on the air, but you can never be to sure with those kinds of things. If something big is heard, or caught on camera, it will probably eventually get out.

A reason why teams should do Hard Knocks is to maybe attract more attention to their team. Other then that, I really can’t think of many other perks. However, it would be absolutely terrible if HBO doesn’t find a team, so good luck to them, and let’s pray they find someone good.

NFL Wrap-Up:

1) Bears doubting Matt Forte’s knees. Reports have indicated that part of the reason the Bears have been reluctant to offer Forte I new deal, is because they wonder how long Forte’s knees will hold up. He has had significant injuries to his knees in 2009 and 2011, not to mention he has over 1,200 touches in the NFL, and had nearly 1,000 touches in his college career at Tulane University. Forte is only 26 years old, but teams are getting more and more reluctant to resign running backs to long-term deals, especially with cases such as Forte’s.

2) Hakeem Nicks contradicting injury reports. The Giants’ star receiver, Hakeem Nicks, has a broken foot, that’s confirmed, but how long he will be out for, that’s a different story. There have been reports of this being a 12-week injury, a four-week injury, a six-week injury, an eight-week injury, and everything in between. This will be an interesting story to keep a tab on.

3) Cam Newton v. Alex Smith. Read the full story and comments here. Now, after reading those comments, you probably asked yourself if stats are important at all for a quarterback, or if just wins matter. Well, its probably stats, and here’s why. If you were to ask the city of San Francisco whom they would rather have at quarterback, Alex Smith or Cam Newton, it would be unanimous for Newton. The thing is, Smith hasn’t damaged the 49ers by any stretch, but certainly if he would have more productive numbers, the 49ers would be a much better team.

4) Jaguars to resize Everbank Field? According to Daniel Kaplan of SportsBusiness Journal, new team president Mark Lamping said removing the tarps at the Jaguars’ stadium would result in 80,000 new seats. This would rank the stadium as one of the highest capacity in the league. However, I’m not sure if it’s necessary. While it would result in a lot more money for the Jaguars, it’s not like they are selling out games on a regular basis that they would need more seats. And it’s not like the stadium is to small that they were only making a small a profit.

5) Bart Scott doesn’t want his son to play football. Bart Scott is just a gateway into what I’m about to say, I’m not actually going to talk about Scott. I will make this short and to the point: Players should just keep quite and play the game they love until some more intriguing scientific evidence is presented that would show football is a terrible idea for any child.

6) Ryan Mathews to have a bigger role in San Diego. Mike Tolbert is gone, and that leaves Mathews as the main man in the Chargers’ backfield. Coach Norv Turner already said he thinks Mathews is ready for that next step, and it seems as though the 1,091 yard rusher with six touchdowns and 50 catches out of the backfield in just 16 games with Tolbert taking away a lot of carries, might be ready for a huge 2012 season.

7) I like Brandon Graham. The 13^th overall selection in the 2010 NFL Draft, has admitted that he’s a “bust”. Even though he looked like he could be a productive edge pass rusher, his injuries have severely limited him from being very productive. I think Graham is taking the right first step in getting his name unassociated with the word bust, admitting you’re a bust. Bravo to you Graham, and let’s hope you can turn your career around this season.

8) Giants’ confidence in Rueben Randle is growing. According to ESPN’s Chris Mortensen, the Giants are loving them some Rueben Randle. “They thought he was the most NFL-ready receiver in the draft,” Mort reported on ESPN 32. “What they’ve seen so far has justified that.” Good news from New York, and I’m having trouble thinking the Giants are just saying this. I definitely think they believe in Randle, and that trust should help Randle in his rookie season.

9) Brian Urlacher to test free agency in 2013? It’s scary, but the Brian Urlacher said “we’ll see what happens” if he gets to free agency. He acknowledged he wants to finish his career in Chicago, but that “let’s see what happens” is scaring me a little bit. However, I still think Urlacher will stay in Chicago when he realizes there isn’t a huge market for 35-year-old linebackers.

10) There is no Tebow-Sanchez competition. People need to stop pushing this story that Tim Tebow has a legitimate chance to win the starting quarterback job for the New York Jets before the season starts. It’s just not going to happen. Tebow is a backup quarterback, and will play other positions. He will play many snaps a game, but will still be the backup, or at least until some weeks into the season. So people, stop it.

Non-Related NFL Wrap-Up:

a) The Brian Banks story just hurts my heart. Read the full story here, but this is just absolutely terrible. I have never, in my entire writing career, bashed someone on Twitter or in an article, but the women that did this to Banks has got to be one of the worst people I’ve ever heard of. Putting someone in jail for so many years, and taking so much money, when you knew neither were deserved … wow, just wow.

b) Vanderbilt’s triple steal is insane. Watch the video here, I love the part where the commentator says, “I’ve seen it all.” Yes, I think we have all seen it all after that video.

c) “Beast” rugby player. Checkout this insane play by a rugby player nicknamed “beast”.

d) MLB has no instant replay (well besides homeruns), and it frustrates the hell out of me. Seeing all these postgame press conferences where the coaches or players say the umpire made a terrible call, just makes me cringe. You rarely ever see that in the NFL. And it’s terrible, because replays would make already dreadfully long games longer, and nobody wants that. So, there is really no way to fix this problem, which makes me sad.

e) Please take the Top 100 Players show with a grain of salt. It’s voted on only by NFL players, and there is sure to be controversy. The players see the game differently then fans do, so try to understand why players feel the way they do in the interview segment.

Recommendations of the Week:

i) Watch America’s Got Talent, it’s a great show. Not to mention, most shows are, or have had, their season finale already.

ii) Checkout MLB.com’s statistical category. It’s fun seeing who leads in average, or strikeouts, or wins, because you normally don’t expect that player to be there.

iii) Say thanks to those who have served our country and made us able to be free. I know Memorial Day was yesterday (even though Metta World Peace thought it was Labor Day), but there is no reason to thank the veterans that have served all week.