What’s Hot and What’s Knott in Football – Pro Bowl Week

By Rhys Knott

Some may say the Pro Bowl isn’t serious football and they’d be right. But who need serious football when the Lakers pulled off one of the most outrageous trades in the history of the NFL? 

If we did learn one thing from the Pro Bowl it’s that Eli is going to be an offensive coordinator before Peyton is. The NFC won their third consecutive Pro Bowl games matchup under the guidance of the former Giant, it might be time for the AFC to look for a new coach. Maybe Peyton just wants to avoid the Gatorade bath?

What’s Hot in Football – Pro Bowl Week

We actually learned a lot this week, like Chip Kelly is Pete Carroll’s new offensive coordinator in Las Vegas. The Raiders aren’t falling for that young offensive coordinator who used to make Sean McVay’s coffee nonsense, Kelly might be 12 years younger than Pete Carroll, but he’s 61! Liam Coen was five when Chip started coaching in 1990! 

The Bears hired Eric Bienemy as their running backs coach after they had hired Press Taylor as their offensive coordinator. Just think about that for a while. 

But on the field, we learned that Malik Nabers is so good at catching passes that he doesn’t even need to use his hands.  

Nabers can also play cornerback. He’s definitely Malik of the Week again.

Do you know who else can play CB? Jahmyr Gibbs.

We also learned that foam pits are hot. The NFL should place them at the end of every field so players can celebrate interceptions properly. 

The fan reactions to the players who revel in the more relaxed atmosphere of the Pro Bowl are absolutely hot too. Justin Jefferson must have signed his name more times than Donald Trump did at the weekend.

Away from the Pro Bowl madness there was some slightly more serious football in Mobile Alabama at the Senior Bowl. Former Chiefs quarterbacks coach, and current Giants offensive coordinator Mike Kafka took charge of the National team. Browns special teams coordinator Bubba Ventrone lined opposite him as he coached the American team. 

TCU receiver Jack Bech won the MVP award. But the Senior Bowl is more of a chance for NFL teams to watch players headed to the draft for an entire week than it is about the result.

Having said that there were some trick plays that worked well. And who doesn’t love a good trick play? Kafka’s National team scored on this wide receiver pass, if only Ben Johnson’s Lions offense did it like this.

Then the American team copied them, hey if it works it works! 

Choreographed touchdown celebrations can be Knott, but this is just kids having fun so it just about lands on the hot list.

What’s Knott in Football – Pro Bowl Week

Well, anyone who watched the 2024 Jaguars can tell you that hiring Press Taylor as an offensive coordinator is Knott. But Jaxon Smith-Njigba playing quarterback is even more Knott. You’ve gotta look the safety off Jaxon! Everyone knows that.

Jared Goff is definitely an actual quarterback. But his winning the QB skills challenge at the Pro Bowl games must have given Lions fans traumatic flashbacks. Throwing passes is easy when Jared Verse isn’t trying to flatten you. If only Ben Johnson had clocked that two weeks ago and moved the pocket.

Former athletes having their own chat show is very much Knott too. Nobody wants James Corden coaching the Eagles offensive line, so why does anyone want Jason Kelce trying to entertain them? Just to make the situation even worse someone at the heart of this unholy mess decided to stitch up Jason’s long-suffering wife Kylie.

We briefly touched on the hot mess that in Jacksonville known as the Jaguars, but they’re back again and this time it seems even worse than before! The Jags defensive plan for 2025 seems absolutely Knott.

Possibly the only thing, even more Knott than an athlete with a chat show is proposing to your significant other at a sporting event. Stop that immediately people! Kudos to Riley Leonard for playing along though.

And somehow Ja’Marr Chase with a t-shirt gun seems like an accident waiting to happen. So very Knott!

RHYS KNOTT

NFL/FANTASY FOOTBALL ANALYST

Rhys has been watching the NFL for 30 something years and still hasn’t managed to pick a team to support. When he’s not fixatED on pass rushers you can find him blithering on about most sports on Twitter @wrhys_writes

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