Take out tackling, officially, and Pro Bowl could be fixed

So, the Pro Bowl gets a reprieve. And it’s still here in Hawaii, for at least one more year.

But a key question remains unanswered: How do you get more effort from the players without undue risk of injury?

That’s a tough one, because logic dictates the two goals as diametrically opposed. Toss in the fact that no one wants to get hurt, especially in an exhibition game, and it’s even more complicated.

That’s why possible solutions bring to mind "The Shining," and Jack Nicholson’s case of writer’s block: "Lots of ideas. No good ones."

But there’s one that makes sense the more I think about it. It’s something many of us have said jokingly, and just laughed off without really considering that it might actually work. It used to be a punch line, like the one about putting the quarterbacks in dresses since you can’t hit them like everyone else.

It’s time to pledge allegiance to the flags.

YEAH, I KNOW. Succumbing to flag football or some other form that doesn’t include tackling deletes every bit of machismo and warrior ethos that is the heart of the NFL. It is downright sacrilege.

But you know what? In this case, that’s good. Most of the players act like it’s two-hand touch, so just take off the pads already. Why pretend? Hey, everyone will be faster and jump higher, too. Let’s see the literal game faces, sans helmets.

No one watches the Pro Bowl for the tackling, anyway. The best action has always been the exhibition of ball skills by the finest quarterbacks, receivers and defensive backs in the world.

Or some of them, anyway. And that brings us to this point: If the Pro Bowl is not tackle football, more of the stars with wear-and-tear issues after a long season will take the trip to Hawaii and play instead of opting out.

That removes some of the sting from losing all the stars in the Super Bowl. (The league is dead-set on keeping the Pro Bowl before the Super Bowl.)

Some rule adjustments will have to be made regarding blocking; maybe the linemen wear shoulder pads. You might lose a few players the first year or two who won’t feel comfortable playing without full gear.

But eventually only the most psychotic of sadists will bypass the vacation, the camaraderie, the money and, most of all, the decreased chance of injury.

Yes, I know, the worst Pro Bowl-related injury happened in a flag football game a couple of days prior to the main event in 1999. Patriots rookie running back Robert Edwards tore up his knee so badly doctors considered amputation. He worked hard to rehab and played again briefly, but his promising career was ruined.

No form of football will ever be completely free of injury risk, but this one was obviously a fluke.

Roger Goodell has put the onus on the players to improve the quality of play in the Pro Bowl or he will cancel it. Jets linebacker Bart Scott says it’s not the commissioner’s call, and invited him to suit up for the game … in sardonic jest, I’m quite sure.

But take the tackling out of it, and who knows? Maybe he’d do it — or let some lucky fans in for a few plays.

The circus has been coming to town every year for a long time now, so you might as well go all the way with it.

Reach Dave Reardon at dreardon@staradvertiser.com or 529-4783 or on Twitter as @dave_reardon.