Pro Bowl 2017: Date, Start Time, Format, Players and Preview

From Honolulu, Hawaii, to Orlando, Florida, the 2017 Pro Bowl is imminent.

The Pro Bowl doesn't have the same type of magic as it does when it's being played at Aloha Stadium on Oahu. Sure, the 50,000-seat stadium isn't as grand as some other venues the NFL has to offer, but you can't bet the weather and culture of the islands. 

But the Pro Bowl is about more than a nice vacation spot for the NFL's elite players, who were voted into the league's version of an all-star game by fans, coaches and peers.

Last year's Pro Bowl saw a whopping 133 players voted in or subbed in as alternates, mostly due to a record number of players declining the invitation to participate in the game, and while it may not be the most competitive of fixtures, the Pro Bowl is a chance for fans to see the NFL's best players (who aren't playing in the Super Bowl) in the most star-studded football game in the world. 

Without further ado, here's a quick rundown of what fans can expect from this season's Pro Bowl.

         
Date, start time and additional information

The 2017 Pro Bowl will take place one week before the Super Bowl and serve as the kickoff to Super Bowl week on Sunday, Jan. 29 at 8 p.m. ET at the Orlando Citrus Bowl. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN.

Ticket information is available at ScoreBig.com. 

While the Pro Bowl rosters won't be announced until 8 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Dec. 20 on NFL Network, there is plenty for fans to digest until they find out if their favorite player made the cut. The league is trying to revitalize its all-star game this year and is going back to the old AFC vs. NFC format, forgoing the Pro Bowl draft seen in recent years.

Not only is the NFL going back to its old game format, but it's also bringing back the Skills Challenge, a fan-favorite activity during Pro Bowl week, including a new event: dodgeball. And yes, it's as exciting as it sounds.

Even Bleacher Report's Mike Tanier got excited about the prospect of NFL players playing dodgeball: 

Format, players and preview

As mentioned above, the NFL decided to return its original format of conference vs. conference after last year's game saw Team Irvin dominate Team Rice. The change hopes to improve the competition of the game, which has been lacking for the past few years. 

Here's NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell's take on the format change from last year's Super Bowl, per NFL.com's Conor Orr: 

"

I think our biggest standard has to be what we expect from the NFL and what our fans expect from the NFL. If it's not quality, it's not a real competition that we can be proud of, we have to do something different. That's my number one priority right now. I'm open to new ideas, I'm open to how we do it, but it's not the kind of game that I think we want to continue to have in its current format, based on what we saw last week.

"

The team captains have also changed this season. Moving on from Jerry Rice and Michael Irvin leading the charge last season, new faces such as Jerome Bettis, Tony Gonzalez, Ray Lewis and Charles Woodson will take over as the AFC and NFC coaches.

Cindy Ord/Getty Images

As for the players who will be participating in the Pro Bowl, we will have to wait and see. The obvious picks at this point are the usual suspects, with players like Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady, Antonio Brown, DeMarco Murray and Odell Beckham Jr. faring well in the voting.

But players that have flown under the radar, such as Tennessee Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota, may not be endearing to his fans in terms of Pro Bowl votes despite an impressive season, as ESPN.com's Paul Kuharsky noted:

Quarterbacks are easy to predict in terms of who will be voted into the Pro Bowl, but some positions are more difficult to foresee than others. If the Oakland Raiders don't make the Super Bowl and signal-caller Derek Carr feels healthy and wants to play, he would likely be the starting quarterback for the AFC.

But as simple as that scenario might play out, other scenarios involving positions such as defensive end or linebacker could come into question. How do fans decide which defenders to vote into the Pro Bowl? New England Patriots defensive end Chris Long doesn't know the answer, but he certainly isn't campaigning for his spot in the all-star game:

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Voting for me for the pro bowl is like writing in Harambre for the presidential election.

— Chris Long (@JOEL9ONE) December 14, 2016"

(Note: Chris Long meant to spell "Harambe" in his tweet, not "Harambre.")

There are sure to be some first-year players voted into the Pro Bowl this year, as Dallas Cowboys rookies Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott are likely to be featured in the game this year—they led all positions in total votes as of last week, which they brushed off with a laugh, per the Fort Worth Star-Telegram's Charean Williams. 

Whoever plays in the Pro Bowl at the end of the season will get a taste of the old school with the old format and skills challenge. The NFL wants its all-star game to be great again, and we'll soon find out if that's the case.