2008 Pro Bowl

The 2008 Pro Bowl was the National Football League's all-star game for the 2007 season. It was played at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii on February 10, 2008. The game was televised in the United States by Fox and began shortly after 11:40am local time (4:40pm EST) following Pole Qualifying for 2008 Daytona 500. The NFC won, 42–30, despite a 17-point first half AFC lead. NFC running back Adrian Peterson rushed 16 times for 129 yards and was named the game's MVP, winning a Cadillac CTS in recognition of his efforts.

2008 NFL Pro Bowl
AFC NFC
30 42
Head coach:
Norv Turner
(San Diego Chargers)		 Head coach:
Mike McCarthy
(Green Bay Packers)
1234 Total
AFC 171030 30
NFC 714714 42
DateFebruary 10, 2008
StadiumAloha Stadium, Honolulu, Hawaii
MVPAdrian Peterson (Minnesota Vikings)
RefereeBill Carollo
Attendance50,044[1]
Ceremonies
National anthemKelly Rowland
Coin tossWill Shields and United States Navy Admiral Timothy J. Keating
TV in the United States
NetworkFox
AnnouncersKenny Albert, Daryl Johnston, Tony Siragusa, and Brian Baldinger[2]

The starting rosters for the game were released on December 18, 2007, with New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady starting for the AFC and the Green Bay Packers' Brett Favre for the NFC. However, Brett Favre withdrew due to an ankle injury. Notable Pro Bowl selections included the late Sean Taylor. The Dallas Cowboys had a record thirteen players named to the Pro Bowl roster, while five teams, including all four members of the NFC South, had no players initially named (Jeff Garcia of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers was later chosen as a replacement quarterback for Brett Favre.) This was the first occasion since their 1–15 1980 season that the New Orleans Saints had no player make the Pro Bowl.[3] The AFC was coached by Norv Turner of the San Diego Chargers staff, while Mike McCarthy and the staff of the Green Bay Packers coached the NFC. Three Washington Redskins players (Chris Cooley, Chris Samuels and Ethan Albright) wore #21 in memory of Taylor, their deceased teammate.[4] The game featured 41 players appearing in their first Pro Bowl (out of 86 total players), the most in eight years.[5] In addition, the NFC played their first defensive play with only ten players on the field, lacking a free safety, in Taylor's honor.

On February 4, 2008, Brady, Patriots receiver Randy Moss, Chargers tight end Antonio Gates, and Chargers defensive lineman Jamal Williams decided to pull out of the 2008 Pro Bowl. Brady was replaced by Cleveland Browns quarterback Derek Anderson, Moss was replaced by Cincinnati Bengals receiver Chad Johnson, Gates was replaced by Browns tight end Kellen Winslow, and Williams was replaced by Pittsburgh Steelers defensive lineman Casey Hampton.[6]

The game was the most watched Pro Bowl since 2000, pulling in a Nielsen rating of 6.3 and a 12 share.[7] It also marked the first ever Pro Bowl to be televised by Fox. The 2008 Pro Bowl also marked the fewest players represented by a Super Bowl winning team, with Osi Umenyiora being the lone representative of the New York Giants, winners of Super Bowl XLII.

Scoring summary
Pre-game coin toss

AFC roster

Offense
Position Starter(s) Reserve(s) Alternate(s)
Quarterback 12 Tom Brady, New England[b] 18 Peyton Manning, Indianapolis[c]
  7 Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh		   3 Derek Anderson, Cleveland[a]
Running back 21 LaDainian Tomlinson, San Diego[b] 29 Joseph Addai, Indianapolis[c]
39 Willie Parker, Pittsburgh[b]		 28 Fred Taylor, Jacksonville[a]
23 Willis McGahee, Baltimore[a]
Fullback 41 Lorenzo Neal, San Diego
Wide receiver 81 Randy Moss, New England[b]
87 Reggie Wayne, Indianapolis		 17 Braylon Edwards, Cleveland[c]
84 T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Cincinnati		 85 Chad Johnson, Cincinnati[a]
Tight end 85 Antonio Gates, San Diego[b] 88 Tony Gonzalez, Kansas City[c] 80 Kellen Winslow II, Cleveland[a]
Offensive tackle 72 Matt Light, New England
71 Jason Peters, Buffalo [b]
 75 Jonathan Ogden, Baltimore [b] 73 Joe Thomas, Cleveland [a][c]
73 Marcus McNeill, San Diego [a]
Offensive guard 66 Alan Faneca, Pittsburgh
70 Logan Mankins, New England		 68 Kris Dielman, San Diego
Center 63 Jeff Saturday, Indianapolis 67 Dan Koppen, New England

Defense
Position Starter(s) Reserve(s) Alternate(s)
Defensive end 69 Jared Allen, Kansas City
93 Kyle Vanden Bosch, Tennessee		 99 Jason Taylor, Miami[b] 94 Aaron Schobel, Buffalo[a]
Defensive tackle 92 Albert Haynesworth, Tennessee
75 Vince Wilfork, New England		 76 Jamal Williams, San Diego[b] 98 Casey Hampton, Pittsburgh[a]
Outside linebacker 92 James Harrison, Pittsburgh
50 Mike Vrabel, New England		 56 Shawne Merriman, San Diego
Inside linebacker 59 DeMeco Ryans, Houston 52 Ray Lewis, Baltimore
Cornerback 24 Champ Bailey, Denver
22 Asante Samuel, New England		 31 Antonio Cromartie, San Diego
Free safety 20 Ed Reed, Baltimore
Strong safety 21 Bob Sanders, Indianapolis[b] 43 Troy Polamalu, Pittsburgh[b] 47 John Lynch, Denver[a][c]
41 Antoine Bethea, Indianapolis[a]

Special teams
Position: Player:
Punter   9 Shane Lechler, Oakland
Placekicker   2 Rob Bironas, Tennessee
Kick returner 16 Joshua Cribbs, Cleveland
Special teamer 81 Kassim Osgood, San Diego
Long snapper 64 Ryan Pontbriand, Cleveland[d]

NFC roster

Offense
Position Starter(s) Reserve(s) Alternate(s)
Quarterback   4 Brett Favre, Green Bay[b]   9 Tony Romo, Dallas[c]
  8 Matt Hasselbeck, Seattle		   7 Jeff Garcia, Tampa Bay[a]
Running back 28 Adrian Peterson, Minnesota 24 Marion Barber III, Dallas
36 Brian Westbrook, Philadelphia
Fullback 49 Tony Richardson, Minnesota
Wide receiver 11 Larry Fitzgerald, Arizona
81 Terrell Owens, Dallas		 80 Donald Driver, Green Bay
81 Torry Holt, St. Louis
Tight end 82 Jason Witten, Dallas 47 Chris Cooley, Washington[f]
Offensive tackle 76 Flozell Adams, Dallas
71 Walter Jones, Seattle[b]		 60 Chris Samuels, Washington[c][f] 76 Chad Clifton, Green Bay[a]
Offensive guard 70 Leonard Davis, Dallas
76 Steve Hutchinson, Minnesota		 73 Shawn Andrews, Philadelphia
Center 65 Andre Gurode, Dallas 78 Matt Birk, Minnesota

Defense
Position Starter(s) Reserve(s) Alternate(s)
Defensive end 74 Aaron Kampman, Green Bay
97 Patrick Kerney, Seattle[b]		 72 Osi Umenyiora, N.Y. Giants[c] 58 Trent Cole, Philadelphia[a]
Defensive tackle 93 Kevin Williams, Minnesota
94 Pat Williams, Minnesota		 91 Tommie Harris, Chicago[b] 90 Darnell Dockett, Arizona[a]
Outside linebacker 59 Julian Peterson, Seattle
94 DeMarcus Ware, Dallas		 55 Lance Briggs, Chicago[b] 98 Greg Ellis, Dallas[a]
Inside linebacker 51 Lofa Tatupu, Seattle 52 Patrick Willis, San Francisco
Cornerback 31 Al Harris, Green Bay
23 Marcus Trufant, Seattle		 41 Terence Newman, Dallas
Free safety 21 Sean Taylor, Washington[e] 26 Ken Hamlin, Dallas[c]
Strong safety 42 Darren Sharper, Minnesota 31 Roy Williams, Dallas[g]

Special teams
Position: Player:
Punter   4 Andy Lee, San Francisco
Placekicker   6 Nick Folk, Dallas
Kick returner 23 Devin Hester, Chicago
Special teamer 94 Brendon Ayanbadejo, Chicago
Long snapper 67 Ethan Albright, Washington[d][f]

Notes:

a Replacement selection due to injury or vacancy
b Injured player; selected but did not play
c Replacement starter; selected as reserve
d "Need player"; named by coach
e Posthumous selection
f Wore 21 in honor of Sean Taylor
g Replacement for posthumous selection Sean Taylor

Number of selections per team
AFC TeamSelectionsNFC TeamSelections
San Diego Chargers9Dallas Cowboys13
New England Patriots8Minnesota Vikings7
Cleveland Browns6Seattle Seahawks6
Indianapolis Colts6Green Bay Packers5
Pittsburgh Steelers6Chicago Bears4
Baltimore Ravens4Washington Redskins4
Tennessee Titans3Philadelphia Eagles3
Buffalo Bills2Arizona Cardinals2
Cincinnati Bengals2San Francisco 49ers2
Denver Broncos2New York Giants1
Kansas City Chiefs2St. Louis Rams1
Houston Texans1Tampa Bay Buccaneers1
Jacksonville Jaguars1Atlanta Falcons0
Miami Dolphins1Carolina Panthers0
Oakland Raiders1Detroit Lions0
New York Jets0New Orleans Saints0

Halftime

The halftime show featured a performance by the band Lifehouse, who played their songs "Hanging by a Moment" and "First Time".

Foreign transmissions

References
  1. NFL.com. "2008 Pro Bowl Gamebook" (PDF). Retrieved 2008-02-10.
  2. Maffei, John (2008-02-08). "Davis focuses on job with ESPN". North County Times. Retrieved 2008-02-10.
  3. "New Orleans Saints All-Pros and Pro Bowlers". Pro Football Reference.
  4. Sakamoto, Kyle (2008-02-08). "Redskins to honor fallen teammate". The Honolulu Advertiser website. Archived from the original on 14 February 2008. Retrieved 2008-02-09.
  5. Jaymes Song (2008-02-09). "Fred Taylor among 41 Pro Bowl 'rookies'". Associated Press. Retrieved 2008-02-09.
  6. "Judge: Vick can keep bonus". Associated Press. 2008-02-05. Archived from the original on February 10, 2008. Retrieved 2008-02-09.
  7. "Pro Bowl draws highest ratings since 2000". Associated Press. 2008-02-12. Retrieved 2008-02-13.
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