It was a rumor that it seemed as if only the NFL wouldn’t confirm, but it became official this week. The annual Pro Bowl will be played in Orlando, Fla. in 2017 at Camping World Stadium.
As in the past few seasons the game will be played in the week between the NFC and AFC Championships and the Super Bowl. While it seemed the Pro Bowl might move around year-to-year, the NFL’s announcement makes it sound like Orlando will host the Pro Bowl’s for at least a while. Specifically, that’s what NFL senior vice president of events Peter O’Reilly said.
“For us, Orlando is the new home of the Pro Bowl,” he said.
The new Pro Bowl will be very much like older Pro Bowls. The teams will once again be the AFC All-Stars vs the NFC All-Stars. No more will we have to deal with the sideline antics of Michael Irvin or Deion Sanders as they pretend to care about the Pro Bowl team they “drafted.”
The NFL has announced the Pro Bowl will be played in Orlando and will return to AFC vs NFC format.
— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) June 1, 2016
Hopefully they’ll burn all those hideous uniforms too. It’ll be nice to get back to the red, white and blue patriotic look of the old Pro Bowl uniforms, even if the game is abysmal.
The NFL is adding a few more bells and whistles to the event. The practices will coincide with some youth events at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex. They’re going to invite each Pro Bowlers youth or high school coaches and have an annual USA Football Conference.
AFC vs. NFC.
The 2017 #ProBowl. In Orlando: https://t.co/4ZZpZaX2S2 pic.twitter.com/aUceIqXbhX
— NFL (@NFL) June 1, 2016
The Pro Bowl has been been played in Hawaii since 1980, missing only two seasons in the nation’s 50th state. With ESPN broadcasting the game and being part of a Disney company, that probably had a lot to do with the Orlando location choice.
NFL releases preseason schedule
The NFL will unleash 65 preseason games upon us this season and for football junkies, especially fans looking for potential late-round and undrafted free agent stars on their favorite team, not a down of the games will be missed.
The preseason begins with the Hall of Fame game on Aug. 7 in Canton, Ohio. The Green Bay Packers back ups will play the Indianapolis Colts’ reserves at 8 p.m. and will be the worst football game of the season of which I will not miss a single down. I’ll be live blogging most, if not all, the nationally televised games.
Dates and kickoff times announced for 2016 Preseason Games: https://t.co/Eo3VwZIMjW pic.twitter.com/PZy8JGbn5k
— NFL (@NFL) June 2, 2016
Week one officially begins on Aug. 11 and lasts through Aug. 14. Here’s a look at it. All times are eastern.
Thursday, Aug. 11
Washington Redskins at Atlanta Falcons, 7 p.m.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Philadelphia Eagles, 7 p.m.
Carson Wentz should make his debut in this game and with the team likely keeping Sam Bradford out. Wentz will probably play all the second half.
Carolina Panthers at Baltimore Ravens, 7:30 p.m.
New Orleans Saints at New England Patriots, 7:30 p.m.
The Jimmy Garoppolo era will get a preview unless the Pats hold him out. They shouldn’t. He’ll need all the reps he can get.
Jacksonville Jaguars at New York Jets, 7:30 p.m.
Regardless of whether or not Fitzpatrick is on the team, this will be a good chance to see what Bryce Petty and Christian Hackenberg look like in the Jets’ offense.
Denver Broncos at Chicago Bears, 8 p.m.
The Broncos have talked up Trevor Siemien for some reason, so we should see plenty of him and Paxton Lynch in this game.
Friday, Aug. 12
Miami Dolphins at New York Giants, 7 p.m.
Detroit Lions at Pittsburgh Steelers, 7 p.m.
Minnesota Vikings at Cincinnati Bengals, 7:30 p.m.
Cleveland Browns at Green Bay Packers, 8 p.m.
Hue Jackson is holding off on naming a starter so we should see Robert Griffin III and Cody Kessler get a lot of reps in this game.
Oakland Raiders at Arizona Cardinals, 10 p.m.
Saturday, Aug. 13
Seattle at Kansas City, 4:30 p.m.
Indianapolis Colts at Buffalo Bills, 7 p.m.
Dallas Cowboys at Los Angeles Rams, 8 p.m.
All eyes will be on this game as the Jared Goff era begins. My guess is he’ll play the second and third quarters of this one, with Case Keenum getting the start and Sean Mannion getting the fourth.
San Diego Chargers at Tennessee Titans, 8 p.m.
Sunday, Aug. 14
Houston Texans at San Francisco 49ers, 7 p.m.
The final game of week one should be a fun one. We’ll see whatever crazy scheme Chip Kelly will unleash with Blaine Gabbert as his quarterback and Brock Osweiler will make his Texans debut.
