Pro Bowl Was A Chance For The Chiefs To Get Noticed

I spent the morning writing an article about how the Pro Bowl doesn’t matter and now I am going to spend the afternoon writing an article about how the Kansas City Chiefs players, especially Jamaal Charles, may have gotten some important recognition by playing well in the game that didn’t matter.

While what was done on the field in the Pro Bowl is largely irrelevant, it can be a good opportunity for players to get their name out in the public eye so that they can win more Pro Bowl births and awards in the future. This is especially key for guys who play on a team like the Chiefs who have not had a lot of success in recent years. When a team is losing, especially if that team is not in a large market, they often are left out of the NFL’s nationally televised games. This makes it difficult for good players on bad teams to become household names.

The Chiefs had only one nationally televised game last season and it was in Week 1 on Monday Night Football. The game was more of  a gift from the NFL than an indication of the league’s high expectations for the KC’s 2010 season. The NFL regularly rewards clubs with new stadiums or major renovations a national game to show off their new digs. Be assured that without the New Arrowhead, there would have been no Monday Night Football for the Chiefs.

The lack of nationally televised games goes a long way toward explaining the Pro Bowl snubs of players like Derrick Johnson, Tamba Hali and Ryan Lilja.

Last nights Pro Bowl, coupled with a nationally televised playoff appearance, could help some Chiefs players get on the map. In particular, Jamaal Charles showed in both the Pro Bowl and the playoff loss to the Ravens, just how special he is by ripping off big runs.

Matt Cassel played at the QB position and got plenty of face time. He was responsible for 4 TD’s in the game. Two he threw to the AFC receivers and 2 others he threw to the NFC DB’s. (One was a pick six and the other lead to a TD)

Dwayne Bowe had a decent showing as well catching 4 balls for 54 yards and Brian Waters stood on the offensive line and pretended to block for Philip Rivers. Oh and Eric Berry got a special teams tackle and got ran over by Steven Jackson. =)

Going into the 2011 season as the defending AFC West champs will likely help the Chiefs get a few nationally televised games next season. They are also playing a number of perennial winners and teams in big markets. Yes, the Chiefs will almost certainly find themselves on national TV more than once next season.

If KC can perform well next season they may find it much easier to send their players to Hawaii for the Pro Bowl.

“Paddy’s Pot of Gold” is looking for reader submitted artwork for the column. Perhaps a cauldron full of Arrowheads or a sexy female leprechaun cheerleader? Send submissions to patrick.arrowheadaddict@gmail.com