nfl pro bowl appearances

HONOLULU (AP) — For several AFC stars, the most interesting part of Pro Bowl week was the opportunity to investigate Bill Belichick.Sure, the New England coach is widely respected after leading his club to three Super Bowl victories. But his competitive nature and sometimes ruthless personnel decisions left some players wondering what he would be like in such a relaxed setting.
"I never really met Belichick before, and you always hear about how he's a mean guy," Baltimore linebacker Adalius Thomas said. "But it's real interesting to see how he reacts with different players, how he gets comfortable over here. He's actually a really nice guy. I was surprised."
Belichick got the job running the AFC squad after the Patriots lost to the Colts in the conference championship game. He kept his practices comfortable and quick in Hawaii, clearly enjoying himself — though he repeatedly said he would rather have been coaching last week in the Super Bowl.
"For Bill, this is his peace on the football field," league MVP LaDainian Tomlinson said. "He's definitely happier out here. This is where he loves to be. Out here, I get to talk to him and understand the man."
Peyton takes place on sideline: Peyton Manning led the Indianapolis Colts to a championship last week, and he already holds most of the Pro Bowl's career passing records from his first six trips to Honolulu.
He had earned the right to play two series and then watch the rest of Saturday's game from the sidelines.
Manning went 5-of-12 for 67 yards before watching MVP Carson Palmer and rookie Vince Young finish up the AFC's 31-28 victory. Manning was thrilled to take a backseat before heading back to real life, including an upcoming series of talk-show appearances.
"It is good to get back to a little bit of normalcy," Manning said. "It was an exciting past two weeks, and it was fun to share it with some guys over here, but also with (fellow Pro Bowlers) Marvin and Reggie (Wayne) and Tarik (Glenn) and Jeff (Saturday). That really makes it special."
Wayne caught six passes for 137 yards in his first Pro Bowl, including a 72-yard TD throw from Palmer — but he had a sly dig for the Bengals star.
"He is always one of the top guys in the league," Wayne said. "It was great to catch a pass from someone other than Peyton Manning. I guess that you can say that he is the second-best QB in the league."
Told of Wayne's words, Palmer laughed.
"Well, he's the second-best receiver," Palmer said while looking pointedly at teammate Chad Johnson's locker.
Goodell's summer: Commissioner Roger Goodell has plenty of offseason projects to keep him busy before the draft in April.
In the wake of Denver cornerback Darrent Williams' murder on New Year's Eve, Goodell said he plans to meet with a panel of players to "address the pressures they're facing, and how we can make sure our players are better prepared to avoid those circumstances."
Goodell also spoke with San Diego linebacker Shawne Merriman, who missed four games in the regular season for violating the NFL's steroids policy — a violation the All-Pro has consistently blamed on mistakenly taking a supplement with illegal ingredients.
The suspension was derided by the international doping community as being too lenient, and the league now is considering banning players with positive tests from the Pro Bowl.
"I think he's a very straight-up guy," Goodell said of Merriman. "He recognizes the issue, and he's supportive of what we're going to do. I think he wants to be very active in making sure other people don't make the same mistakes. I was very impressed with him."
Goodell was quiet on any possible changes to the Pro Bowl, but he said the NFL isn't likely to combine its all-star game with the annual draft combine coming up Feb. 21 in Indianapolis. Such a combination would put a bigger media spotlight on the Pro Bowl — but the league is content with the current arrangement.
"It's two different events," Goodell said. "The combine is an important aspect of the football preparation, because you have to do physicals, the workouts. It's really important to make sure you have the right facilities to be able to do that."
Extra points: Baltimore linebacker Adalius Thomas' 70-yard TD fumble return in the second quarter was the second-longest in Pro Bowl history, while Ravens teammate Ed Reed's two interceptions tied the Pro Bowl record held by six other players. ... Poe, the Ravens' mascot, hurt his oversized right foot in a pregame collision with a car. He was back in action by game time. ... San Francisco's Larry Allen, an 11-time Pro Bowl pick and one of the most dominant left guards in NFL history, played right guard for the NFC. ... Yet another escapade unique to Hawaii occurred late in the quarter, when AFC coach Bill Belichick threw his red challenge flag to review a possible catch by Chad Johnson— only to be told replay review isn't available at the Pro Bowl. ... Johnson, the Bengals' eccentric "Ocho Cinco," caught a 42-yard TD pass and did one celebratory dance step — before stopping and throwing up his hands, apparently disinclined to waste his best moves on an exhibition.