While acknowledging that the Pro Bowl Games this season were an upgrade over last year’s edition, Pittsburgh Steelers defensive lineman Cameron Heyward has a whole lot of ideas to change the games. Some are more outlandish than others, but clearly Heyward feels strongly about improving the Pro Bowl experience. He listed some of his ideas out on the most recent episode of his Not Just Football podcast.
Heyward’s ideas include:
- QBs playing other positions and linemen getting more involved
- Keg stand competition between O-linemen and D-linemen (to keep it family friendly, Heyward suggested they can drink orange juice)
- Bring back Sport Science and take player measurables such as hardest hitter
- Capture the flag game
- Madden mini-game style drills
- Celebrity flag football game
Heyward had a number of other ideas, including 1v1s receivers and cornerbacks and drills to show how fast players could get off the line of scrimmage. While some of them, like a keg race, would never be implemented, Heyward actually has a number of good ideas. Major League Baseball has a celebrity softball game ahead of its All-Star game, and a celebrity flag football game could kick off the Pro Bowl week. Heyward named Snoop Dogg and Taylor Swift as potential participants, and while Swift might not hit the field, Snoop Dogg and a number of other celebrities would love to get out there and play, and it would draw some eyes.
As for the game itself, it’s just kind of boring. I understand why they went to 7-on-7 flag football, but Heyward is right that having quarterbacks lined up elsewhere and getting linemen involved at skill positions would make things more fun. Heyward said you could have Jason Kelce lined up under center or Penei Sewell running routes, while quarterbacks can move around and play some defense or receiver. It would spice the game up a little bit more and make it less boring, and it’s definitely not a bad idea.
Sport Science was ahead of its time, breaking down player metrics and measurables before it became all the rage. While John Brenkus, the host of the show, has more or less disappeared from the public eye, the NFL could incorporate Zebra Technologies or some other company that specializes in player tracking to measure and see who the most athletic or strongest guys are in the league, or at least at the event.
As for the Madden-style games, Heyward specifically mentioned something akin to rushing attack, where a running back has to try and beat two defenders with just one lead blocker, but he also came up with a new game he called Element Ball. You would have a quarterback throw a ball covered in rain or mud to show how the different elements affect the game and what quarterbacks are most effective when it comes to throwing in poor weather.
It’s clear Heyward’s put a lot of time into thinking about ways to improve the Pro Bowl, and it’s an event that the NFL is now always seemingly tweaking or adapting. It wouldn’t be a surprise if changes came to make the week and the game itself more interesting to the casual fan, and maybe one or two of Heyward’s suggestions could actually be implemented. There’s no doubt that some of them would actually be pretty tangible improvements to the week, which the NFL wants to make a bigger deal to help bridge the gap between the conference championship games and the Super Bowl.
