Elite defenders save Pro Bowl from its usual flag football feel

Quarterback Philip Rivers said his fifth Pro Bowl Sunday "felt a lot different" from the first four.

"This is the first time I got touched," Rivers admitted, smiling.

Not only touched, but really pressured and, get this, even sacked.

In Team (Jerry) Rice’s 22-21 victory over Team (Deion) Sanders, quarterbacks were sacked a total of nine times, which is more than they were hauled down in the previous three NFL all-star games combined.

Welcome to the Pro Bowl, where defense was not only re-discovered but liberally applied.

Two years after the infamous patty-cake Pro Bowl that nearly led to the event’s dissolution, tackling and, on occasion, black-and-blue hitting was back in vogue in the lowest scoring game since 2006.

So much so that when Team Rice fullback Mike Tolbert got the ball on third-and-1 in the second quarter, he bowled over Carolina Panthers teammate Luke Kuechly, a linebacker for Team Sanders, for 7 yards.

"He told me, ‘Man, I didn’t know you were gonna do me like that,’ " Tolbert said. "But I had to."

In that, Team Rice quarterback Drew Brees said, "I think they (the NFL) got what they wanted."

The whole idea behind the inaugural "unconferenced" approach in which teams were "drafted" regardless of conference or team affiliation was to give the game the competitive spark that it had come to lack despite the $53,000 (winner) vs. $26,000 (loser) spread payout.

And, for good measure, it was turned over to Hall of Famers Rice and Sanders to pump up the volume and energy. Throw in the first-time defensive MVP Award and the Cadillac that went with it and the defense was primed.

"I think it was a better quality game than what we’ve had for some time," said NFL vice president Ray Anderson. "I’d say we’re pleased."

So, too, it seemed were the fans who endured several rainstorms. What there were of them (47,270), anyway, in the smallest gathering in the event’s 34-year stay here.

"It was certainly a different atmosphere out there," said Brees, a veteran of eight Pro Bowls.

It was an observation no doubt formed early in this, as Brees was sacked once and heavily pressured twice in the game’s first minute and 14 seconds.

Suddenly, the tone was set, and while no quarterbacks were slammed to the ground, the message was clear: The defense was not here to be a silent partner.

"I knew they’d be amped up early on and we’d feel like sooner or later," Brees said.

"When you have guys like J.J. Watt, Mario Williams, Ndamukong Suh … that’s what you can get. Especially when they want to prove themselves with this draft format."

Brees massaged his reddened left shouder and said, "but that is what football is about. Good football."

And, when was the last time you heard somebody say that about the Pro Bowl?

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Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@staradvertiser.com or 529-4820.