Pro Bowl Roster 2012: Cam Newton and First-Timers Who Will Dominate

Watching all-star events should be more exciting than what they actually are. If you are pondering whether or not you should watch the 2012 Pro Bowl, consider this: The NFL has a great collection of first-time Pro Bowl players in this year’s edition. Here are a few that will dominate on Sunday and for several years ahead.

Cam Newton

Cam Newton and an all-star competition seem to go hand-in-hand. He’s a pure athlete from a position that generally stands in the pocket. His swagger and confidence are worthy enough to give the Pro Bowl a watch.

Newton has exploded on the NFL scene by being able to do what most thought he couldn’t, and that’s pass the ball. He threw for 4,051 yards and 21 touchdowns this season.

We already knew that he was an athletic guy who could carry the ball, and we didn’t see Newton get away from that attribute this season. He rushed for 706 yards and 14 touchdowns (NFL high for QB).

Newton set records all season long, which gives no indication of why he can’t do it again.

LeSean McCoy

"Shady" McCoy was one of the best running backs in the NFL this year. He rushed for 1,309 yards and 17 touchdowns on 273 carries.

He is a dark-horse candidate to win the MVP honors because he can run and catch the ball out of the backfield with great effectiveness.

We will be seeing McCoy several more times at the Pro Bowl in his NFL career, but he’ll make us remember why he deserves to be there after his performance on Sunday.

A.J. Green

Cincinnati Bengals rookie A.J. Green had a magnificent rookie campaign, posting 65 receptions, 1,057 yards and seven touchdowns. His chemistry with fellow rookie Andy Dalton is great, which should suggest that we see some passes thrown the rookie’s way on Sunday.

Dalton has said that he will be looking for his guys when he’s in the game, according to Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com.

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“Everybody out here is just jogging through it all,” Dalton said. “A good thing is it’s a lot of the terminology we use, so I’ll know what’s going on. I would think if (Green and Jermaine Gresham) are out there with me, they can expect to get the ball.”

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Sounds like Green will have every opportunity to dominate on Sunday.