Tuning in to watch the Pro Bowl is a little like getting up early to watch a group of planets align in the sky. You do it because you never know if it will be the last time you have a chance to see it happen.
It's kind of surprising the game is still being played at all. Sure there's no blitzing and very little in the way of tackling, but this is a sport where guys tear their ACLs celebrating sacks and sustain non-contact knee and Achilles injuries every week. How they can talk anyone into playing another football game for a few bucks with the offseason looming (and for some of these guys, free agency) is remarkable. I don't blame any of the guys that decline the invite. One year, maybe this one, some star is going to suffer a terrible injury and that will be it for the Pro Bowl.
The result, of course, is that two of the NFC's three Pro Bowl quarterbacks are Jameis Winston and Teddy Bridgewater. Last year Nick Foles was a Pro Bowl quarterback. On the plus side, having lesser quarterbacks serves to counter balance the fact that nobody plays any defense. But since nobody wants to run the ball and risk getting their knee hit, you'll see these guys throw the ball 30-40 times. Apiece.
Those of us in dynasty leagues (or NFL fans) watch the game with something akin to pants-wetting fear. Nothing can wreck a franchise like Devonta Freeman or Todd Gurley blowing out their knees in Hawaii.
But enough about that. Who's going to win, and who should you be starting in Daily leagues. (I see they've got contests where you can start players from the Pro Bowl and the Super Bowl. My advice is to use quarterbacks and wide receivers from the Pro Bowl, and running backs from the Super Bowl. Although maybe Cam Newton slips into the conversation because he'll at least be out there the full game.)
I like the way Michael Irvin built his team. Definitely a PPR-league type of roster, where he's loaded up on wide receivers. Julio Jones, A.J. Green, DeAndre Hopkins and Allen Robinson. Those guys won't be covered by anyone with any interest in the proceedings and they probably couldn't be handled by a secondary even if it was trying. The quarterbacks throwing to them will be Russell Wilson, Jameis Winston and Teddy Bridgewater. I'm guessing Wilson plays about a quarter, and Winston and Bridgewater split the rest of it. Collectively they should throw for about 600 yards and 6 TDs. Too high? I don't know, probably not.
Tight ends also seem to do well in this game. I remember Kyle Rudolph going off a couple of years ago, with the kind of performance that made me think I should draft him in every fantasy league the following season. That didn't work out so well. But Irvin's got Tyler Eifert and Delanie Walker at the position, and those guys should also get little to no defensive coverage, and they'll probably be easier for Winston and Bridgewater to connect with on a regular basis.
One savvy move by Jerry Rice is to pair up Eli Manning and Odell Beckham Jr. Those guys should play pitch and catch all day, or for about a quarter anyway, which is as long as anyone should reasonably expect Manning to actually be out there. He's got to get off the field and onto the sideline to answer questions about his brother. (Another aside: Did anyone else find it odd that Peyton Manning saying to Bill Belichick "This might be my last rodeo" was a big story last week? Was there anyone on the planet unaware that 39-year-old Peyton Manning "might" not play next season? The shocking part of the story is that Manning apparently has some delusion that playing in 2016 is an option.)
Once Eli and Beckham are gone, Derek Carr and Amari Cooper will step in. Those are the key fantasy options on Team Rice, since Carr will probably play most of the game and Cooper is just a rookie probably unaware he doesn't need to waste his time trying in this game. T.Y. Hilton and Jarvis Landry are also out there, and while Hilton is certainly a candidate to catch a long touchdown or two, Cooper seems likely to have the better rapport.
The other interesting player on Team Rice -- and it definitely isn't Doug Martin, who in no way, shape or form should even consider touching the ball or risk being tackled in this game -- is Gary Barnidge. Barnidge not only already has a new contract, unlike Martin, but I'd say he's the one player in this game who had absolutely no idea or rational hope back in July that he'd one day be going to Hawaii on anything other than a family vacation. If Barnidge doesn't catch a bunch of passes and probably a touchdown in this game, I'll be stunned. He's playing behind Travis Kelce (who also just got a new contract), but I expect he'll play a lot more.
In short -- and probably any article about the Pro Bowl should be a whole lot shorter -- I'm looking at the second-string quarterbacks and the main pass catchers for the most fantasy value. And I expect that Team Irvin will win the game over Team Rice something like, oh, 88 to 80. (See what I did there?) Or 51-45.
--Andy Richardson