Two years ago when the NFL made the decision to play the Pro Bowl the weekend before the Super Bowl, the league was making a conscious decision to try to fill the void left by the preparations for its greatest weekend. The Pro Bowl has never really meant much historically, and its new date has given the players set to compete for a championship license to skip the glorified exhibition matchup.
This year, that likely could be of some benefit to Chicago Bears fans. Eight New England Patriots and two New York Giants selections will forego a vacation in Hawaii for now, including Giants defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul, which makes Bears defensive end Julius Peppers the likely alternate. Presuming Peppers is chosen, the Bears would be able to claim six Pro Bowl picks, giving them the fifth-most selections in the league. It's a bitter consolation to an 8-8 season that once had so much promise.
Joining Peppers on the roster would be Matt Forte, Brian Urlacher, Lance Briggs, Charles Tillman, and special-teamer Corey Graham. Forte will be playing despite a knee injury that sidelined him for the last four weeks of the season, while Urlacher has elected not to play in light of MCL and PCL injuries suffered against Minnesota in Week 17.
Return man Devin Hester also remains as a possible selection after being spurned from the initial roster in favor of rookie return man Patrick Peterson. Hester has been selected to three prior Pro Bowls but doesn't figure to be selected to a fourth with Peterson in seemingly good health.
Meanwhile, Peppers would be making his seventh trip should he earn and accept a nomination. Urlacher's selection is his eighth and Briggs his seventh, while the remaining three will all be making their first trips.
For Tillman it's been a long time coming. Often identified by his peers as one of the most underrated cornerbacks in the league, Charles' first Pro Bowl nod has come after a nine-year career that has seen Tillman force 27 fumbles and intercept 30 passes.
While being well-represented in the Pro Bowl doesn't make up for a lack of representation in the postseason, such a strong Chicago presence in Hawaii gives Bears fans a reason to watch as football season quietly winds to a close.
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