Deion Sanders’ showmanship accentuated his considerable skills back in his day.
The Hall of Fame cornerback promised that his team would follow his lead in Sunday’s Pro Bowl.
"We’ll be dancing, high-stepping, celebrating after every play we make," Sanders said during Wednesday’s Pro Bowl draft at Ko Olina.
Sanders, along with player captains Jamaal Charles and J.J. Watt, assembled a roster stocked with playmakers who have the ability and swagger to make good on the alumni captain’s vow.
Sanders loaded up on passers with his first two picks in the real-life fantasy draft, then equipped them with a corps of dynamic receivers.
Heck, even one of Team Sanders’ centers has a Pro Bowl touchdown to his credit.
"Hopefully we’ll be winning and we don’t need to do some oddball lateral things that gives me a touchdown," said Cleveland’s Alex Mack, who took a lateral and lumbered to the end zone on the bizarre final play of the 2012 game.
Team Sanders’ trio of quarterbacks should have ample alternatives come Sunday.
Faced with a choice of Indianapolis quarterback Andrew Luck or Carolina’s Cam Newton on Wednesday, Sanders opted for …both.
He teased that he might go with Newton before selecting Luck with his first pick. When the second pick came around, he added Newton to the roster.
"If we are going to throw it a bunch it’ll be fun to do that," said Luck, who threw for two touchdowns in his Pro Bowl debut last year, "and if we’re handing it off we’ve got phenomenal running backs in this game."
In Team Sanders’ case, those would be Charles, the league’s third-leading rusher (1,287 yards) during the regular season, and Green Bay rookie Eddie Lacy.
Luck also will have the added comfort of working with his full-time coaching staff from the Indianapolis Colts, while Newton will be across the field from the Carolina Panthers staff.
Sanders picked Philadelphia’s Nick Foles, who led the league with a 119.2 passer rating, with his final selection. Draft rules mandated the last two players chosen be quarterbacks.
Although the Colts didn’t send any receivers to the Pro Bowl, Luck’s performance last year gave him familiarity with at least one of the guys he’ll be throwing to this time around.
"We had a good chemistry and I hope we can turn it over to this year," said Cincinnati’s A.J. Green, who caught Luck’s two scoring passes and has four career scores entering his third Pro Bowl appearance.
Team Sanders’ trio of quarterbacks also will have Dallas’ Dez Bryant, Pittsburgh’s Antonio Brown and Philadelphia’s DeSean Jackson as downfield targets.
"I’m very excited because (Luck and Newton) are great competitors and I view myself as a great competitor as well," Bryant said shortly after his selection.
That said, Sanders didn’t stray too far from his roots, using his third pick to take Arizona cornerback Patrick Peterson and later pairing him with Tampa Bay’s Darrelle Revis.
"Me and Deion go way back. I’ve known him since the combine days and he’s a great guy," said Revis, back for his fifth Pro Bowl and first as a Buccaneer.
Watt, Houston’s All-Pro defensive end, had a pass come his way when he made a cameo as a receiver last year. He couldn’t snag the throw from Peyton Manning and was already lobbying for a second chance during Tuesday’s press conference.
"One thing I know about Prime is he knows a little bit about playing both sides of the ball," Watt said. "So maybe I’ll get another shot."
TEAM SANDERS
21 Patrick Peterson |
CB |
6-1 |
219 |
9 Justin Tucker |
PK |
6-0 |
180 |
55 Terrell Suggs |
OLB |
6-3 |
260 |
73 Marshal Yanda |
G |
6-3 |
305 |
94 Mario Williams |
DE |
6-6 |
292 |
1 Cam Newton |
QB |
6-5 |
245 |
44 J.J. Jansen |
LS |
6-2 |
245 |
59 Luke Kuechly |
ILB |
6-3 |
235 |
76 Greg Hardy |
DE |
6-4 |
290 |
26 Tim Jennings |
CB |
5-8 |
185 |
75 Kyle Long |
G |
6-6 |
313 |
18 A.J. Green |
WR |
6-4 |
207 |
43 T.J. Ward |
SS |
5-10 |
200 |
55 Alex Mack |
C |
6-4 |
311 |
84 Jordan Cameron |
TE |
6-5 |
245 |
82 Jason Witten |
TE |
6-6 |
261 |
88 Dez Bryant |
WR |
6-2 |
222 |
90 Ndamukong Suh |
DT |
6-4 |
307 |
27 Eddie Lacy |
RB |
5-11 |
230 |
76 Duane Brown |
OT |
6-4 |
303 |
99 J.J. Watt |
DE |
6-5 |
289 |
12 Andrew Luck |
QB |
6-4 |
240 |
51 Paul Posluszny |
ILB |
6-2 |
242 |
25 Jamaal Charles |
RB |
5-11 |
199 |
29 Eric Berry |
SS |
6-0 |
211 |
76 Branden Albert |
OT |
6-5 |
316 |
91 Tamba Hali |
OLB |
6-3 |
275 |
92 Dontari Poe |
DT |
6-3 |
346 |
2 Brandon Fields |
P |
6-5 |
249 |
21 Brent Grimes |
CB |
5-10 |
190 |
61 Mike Pouncey |
C |
6-5 |
305 |
84 Cordarrelle Patterson |
PR |
6-2 |
220 |
18 Matthew Slater |
ST |
6-0 |
210 |
70 Logan Mankins |
G |
6-4 |
308 |
45 Marcel Reece |
FB |
6-1 |
255 |
9 Nick Foles |
QB |
6-6 |
243 |
10 DeSean Jackson |
WR |
5-10 |
175 |
84 Antonio Brown |
WR |
5-10 |
186 |
32 Eric Weddle |
FS |
5-11 |
200 |
24 Darrelle Revis |
CB |
5-11 |
198 |
93 Gerald McCoy |
DT |
6-4 |
300 |
46 Alfred Morris |
RB |
5-10 |
218 |
98 Brian Orakpo |
OLB |
6-4 |
257 |
71 Trent Williams |
OT |
6-5 |
325 |