The NFL's best will be in the spotlight on Sunday, January 29 (7:00 PM ET, NBC) as the 2012 Pro Bowl kicks off Super Bowl Week.
The NFL All-Star Game will take place once again at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii and will be the signature event to start the week leading up to Super Bowl XLVI between the New England Patriots and New York Giants in Indianapolis (Sunday, February 5, NBC).
"Being selected to represent the NFC team in the Pro Bowl is a tremendous honor," says New Orleans Saints tight end JIMMY GRAHAM. "I think any guy who gets named to the Pro Bowl realizes that it's a heck of a compliment and I am grateful and humbled by it."
For the third consecutive year, the Pro Bowl will be played the week before the Super Bowl. The 2011 Pro Bowl on FOX was watched by an average of 13.4 million viewers, the most for a Pro Bowl since 1997 (13.5 million viewers), making it the most-watched All-Star game of any sport since 2009.
Last year, the NFC tied a single-game Pro Bowl scoring record by defeating the AFC 55-41 (the NFC also scored 55 points in 2004). Washington Redskins cornerback DE ANGELO HALL was named the MVP of the 2011 Pro Bowl, notching an interception, returning a fumble 34 yards for a touchdown and posting six solo tackles. The 2012 game is the 42nd between the AFC and NFC All-Stars with the NFC holding a slight edge in the all-time series, 21-20.
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 GARY KUBIAK and the coaches from the Houston Texans while MIKE MC CARTHY and the Green Bay Packers' coaching staff will guide the NFC Pro Bowl squad.
The San Francisco 49ers lead the NFL with nine players selected to the 2012 Pro Bowl – kicker DAVID AKERS, safety DASHON GOLDSON, running back FRANK GORE, punter ANDY LEE, long snapper BRIAN JENNINGS, cornerback CARLOS ROGERS, defensive end JUSTIN SMITH, tackle JOE STALEY and linebacker PATRICK WILLIS.
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, over 100 million fan votes were cast on NFL.com and mobile devices.
Under terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, each player on the winning Pro Bowl team receives $50,000, while each player on the losing squad earns $25,000.
The Pro Bowl was held consecutively from 1980 to 2009 at Honolulu's Aloha Stadium, moved to Sun Life Stadium in South Florida in 2010 and then returned to Hawaii in 2011.
Fans can purchase tickets to the 2012 Pro Bowl at www.NFL.com/probowl or www.ticketmaster.com.
2012 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 | |||
|
A.J. Green, Cincinnati |
|
Antonio Gates, San Diego | ||
|
* |
Vincent Jackson, San Diego |
* |
Jermaine Gresham, Cincinnati | |
|
|
Brandon Marshall, Miami |
Rob Gronkowski, New England | ||
|
Mike Wallace, Pittsburgh | ||||
|
Wes Welker, New England |
QUARTERBACKS | |||
|
|
Tom Brady, New England | |||
|
TACKLES |
* |
Andy Dalton, Cincinnati | ||
|
* |
Ryan Clady, Denver |
Philip Rivers, San Diego | ||
|
|
D'Brickashaw Ferguson, New York Jets |
Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh | ||
|
|
Jake Long, Miami | |||
|
Joe Thomas, Cleveland |
RUNNING BACKS | |||
|
Arian Foster, Houston | ||||
|
GUARDS |
Maurice Jones-Drew, Jacksonville | |||
|
* |
Ben Grubbs, Baltimore |
* |
Ryan Mathews, San Diego | |
|
Logan Mankins, New England |
* |
Willis McGahee, Denver | ||
|
* |
Brandon Moore, New York Jets |
Ray Rice, Baltimore | ||
|
|
Brian Waters, New England | |||
|
Marshal Yanda, Baltimore |
FULLBACK | |||
|
|
Vonta Leach, Baltimore | |||
|
CENTERS | ||||
|
Nick Mangold, New York Jets | ||||
|
* |
Chris Myers, Houston | |||
|
Maurkice Pouncey, Pittsburgh |
DEFENSE
|
ENDS |
INSIDE/MIDDLE LINEBACKERS | |||
|
Andre Carter, New England |
Ray Lewis, Baltimore | |||
|
Elvis Dumervil, Denver |
Derrick Johnson, Kansas City | |||
|
|
Dwight Freeney, Indianapolis | |||
|
* |
Antonio Smith, Houston |
CORNERBACKS | ||
|
Champ Bailey, Denver | ||||
|
INTERIOR LINEMAN |
Johnathan Joseph, Houston | |||
|
* |
Geno Atkins, Cincinnati |
Darrelle Revis, New York Jets | ||
|
|
Haloti Ngata, Baltimore |
| ||
|
Richard Seymour, Oakland |
STRONG SAFETY | |||
|
|
Vince Wilfork, New England |
* |
Brian Dawkins, Denver | |
|
Troy Polamalu, Pittsburgh | ||||
|
OUTSIDE LINEBACKERS |
|
| ||
|
Tamba Hali, Kansas City |
FREE SAFTIES | |||
|
James Harrison, Pittsburgh |
Ed Reed, Baltimore | |||
|
|
Von Miller, Denver |
Eric Weddle, San Diego | ||
|
Terrell Suggs, Baltimore |
SPECIALISTS
|
|
PUNTER |
KICK RETURN SPECIALIST | ||
|
Shane Lechler, Oakland |
Antonio Brown, Pittsburgh | |||
|
|
PLACEKICKER |
SPECIAL TEAMER | ||
|
Sebastian Janikowski, Oakland |
* |
Montell Owens, Jacksonville | ||
|
Matthew Slater, New England | ||||
|
|
LONG SNAPPER |
| ||
|
|
Jon Condo, Oakland |
2012 NATIONAL 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 | |
|
Larry Fitzgerald, Arizona |
|
Tony Gonzalez, Atlanta | ||
|
Greg Jennings, Green Bay |
Jimmy Graham, New Orleans | |||
|
Calvin Johnson, Detroit | ||||
|
|
Steve Smith, Carolina |
|
QUARTERBACKS | |
|
|
Roddy White, Atlanta |
|
Drew Brees, New Orleans | |
|
Eli Manning, New York Giants | ||||
|
|
TACKLES |
* |
Cam Newton, Carolina | |
|
Jermon Bushrod, New Orleans |
Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay | |||
|
|
Jason Peters, Philadelphia | |||
|
Joe Staley, San Francisco |
|
RUNNING BACKS | ||
|
Matt Forté, Chicago | ||||
|
|
GUARDS |
Frank Gore, San Francisco | ||
|
Jahri Evans, New Orleans |
LeSean McCoy, Philadelphia | |||
|
Davin Joseph, Tampa Bay | ||||
|
Carl Nicks, New Orleans |
|
FULLBACK | ||
|
John Kuhn, Green Bay | ||||
|
|
CENTERS |
* |
Michael Robinson, Seattle | |
|
|
Ryan Kalil, Carolina | |||
|
Scott Wells, Green Bay |
DEFENSE
|
|
DEFENSIVE ENDS |
|
INSIDE/MIDDLE LINEBACKERS | |
|
Jared Allen, Minnesota |
* |
London Fletcher, Washington | ||
|
Jason Babin, Philadelphia |
|
Brian Urlacher, Chicago | ||
|
Jason Pierre-Paul, New York Giants |
Patrick Willis, San Francisco | |||
|
* |
Julius Peppers, Chicago | |||
|
|
CORNERBACKS | |||
|
|
INTERIOR LINEMEN |
* |
Brandon Browner, Seattle | |
|
B.J. Raji, Green Bay |
Carlos Rogers, San Francisco | |||
|
Jay Ratliff, Dallas |
Charles Tillman, Chicago | |||
|
Justin Smith, San Francisco |
|
Charles Woodson, Green Bay | ||
|
|
OUTSIDE LINEBACKERS |
|
STRONG SAFETY | |
|
Lance Briggs, Chicago |
|
Adrian Wilson, Arizona | ||
|
* |
Chad Greenway, Minnesota | |||
|
Clay Matthews, Green Bay |
|
FREE SAFTIES | ||
|
DeMarcus Ware, Dallas |
* |
Kam Chancellor, Seattle | ||
|
|
Dashon Goldson, San Francisco | |||
|
|
Earl Thomas, Seattle |
SPECIALISTS
|
|
PUNTER |
|
KICK RETURN SPECIALIST | |
|
Andy Lee, San Francisco |
Patrick Peterson, Arizona | |||
|
|
PLACEKICKER |
|
SPECIAL TEAMER | |
|
David Akers, San Francisco |
Corey Graham, Chicago | |||
|
LONG SNAPPER | ||||
|
|
Brian Jennings, San Francisco |
