Pro Bowl 2015 Rosters, Jerseys, Odds and Predictions for NFL All-Star Game

Lost in the shuffle of all the talk of deflated footballs is the fact that Super Bowl week officially kicks off on Sunday with the 2015 Pro Bowl. Taking place at University of Phoenix Stadium in Arizona, site of the Big Game, this year's All-Star showcase has all the makings of a classic. 

Even though the game lost some of its shine with stars like Peyton Manning and Aaron Rodgers opting not to play, the talent on display is still going to make football fans happy. In fact, let's look at the two squads that make up Team Irvin and Team Carter to see how they stack up against each other. 

2015 Pro Bowl Rosters

Position	Team Carter	Team Irvin
QB	Andrew Luck, IND	Tony Romo, DAL
	Drew Brees, NO	Matt Ryan, ATL
	Andy Dalton, CIN	Matthew Stafford, DET
RB	Jamaal Charles, KC	DeMarco Murray, DAL
	Justin Forsett, BAL	C.J. Anderson, DEN
	Alfred Morris, WAS	Mark Ingram, NO
FB	John Kuhn, GB	Marcel Reece, OAK
WR	Antonio Brown, PIT	Odell Beckham JR., NYG
	Jordy Nelson, GB	Emmanuel Sanders, DEN
	T.Y. Hilton, IND	Randall Cobb, GB
	A.J. Green, CIN	Golden Tate, DET
TE	Greg Olsen, CAR	Jimmy Graham, NO
	Martellus Bennett, CHI	Jason Witten, DAL
OT	Joe Staley, SF	Joe Thomas, CLE
	Duane Brown, HOU	Tyron Smith, DAL
	Ryan Clady, DEN	Trent Williams, WAS
C	Maurkice Pouncey, PIT	Travis Frederick, DAL
	Jason Kelce, PHI	Nick Mangold, NYJ
OG	Josh Sitton, GB	Zack Martin, DAL
	Evan Mathis, PHI	Marshal Yanda, BAL
	Mike Pouncey, MIA	Kyle Long, CHI
DE	J.J. Watt, HOU	Demarcus Ware, DEN
	Mario Williams, BUF	Cameron Wake, MIA
	Calais Campbell, ARI	Robert Quinn, STL
DT	Marcell Dareus, BUF	Aaron Donald, STL
	Dontari Poe, KC	Geno Atkins, CIN
	Kyle Williams, BUF	Sheldon Richardson, NYJ
OLB	Justin Houston, KC	Von Miller, DEN
	Connor Barwin, PHI	Clay Matthews, GB
	Tamba Hali, KC	Elvis Dumervil, BAL
ILB	C.J. Mosley, BAL	Luke Kuechly, CAR
	Lawrence Timmons, PIT	D'Qwell Jackson, IND
CB	Aqib Talib, DEN	Joe Haden, CB
	Patrick Peterson, ARI	Brent Grimes, MIA
	Sam Shields, GB	Vontae Davis, IND
	Antonio Cromartie, ARI	Chris Harris, DEN
S	Donte Whitner, CLE	T.J. Ward, DEN
	Glover Quin, DET	Eric Weddle, SD
	Antoine Bethea, SF	Mike Adams, IND
K	Cody Parkey, PHI	Adam Vinatieri, IND
P	Pat McAfee, IND	Kevin Huber, CIN
PR	Devin Hester, ATL	Darren Sproles, PHI
ST	Justin Bethel, ARI	Darrell Stuckey, SD
LS	Jon Dorenbos, PHI	L.P. Ladouceur, DAL

Per NFL.com

Odds

Ross D. Franklin/Associated Press

Taking those rosters into account, the final people at OddsShark.com note that Cris Carter's team is a two-point favorite and the over/under has been set at 68. 

The first thought that jumps to mind is: How is the over/under only 68? Last year's game was on the low-scoring side, with Jerry Rice's team defeating Deion Sanders' team 22-21, but the previous three years saw the two teams combine to average 97.7 points per game. 

Granted, that was when it was still AFC vs. NFC and no one seemed to care about defense, but with prolific quarterbacks like Andrew Luck, Drew Brees, Tony Romo and Matt Ryan throwing the ball, the 2015 version looks like it should feature a lot of scoring. 

Jerseys

Mark Humphrey/Associated Press

Also on display Sunday will be the 2015 Pro Bowl jerseys. This year's swag, despite being played in Arizona, bears more of a resemblance to what the Tampa Bay Buccaneers wear, via the NFL's official Twitter:

The good news is that there will be a lot more talent in these jerseys than what the Buccaneers had in 2014, which will hopefully make for more compelling football than the Bucs played. 

Game Predictions

While the result of the Pro Bowl ultimately means nothing, this is a stage where fans want to see the spectacular plays that never happen in an actual game. That means more tricks and chances deep down the field, hoping to strike gold. 

If you are looking for the spectacular, what better place to start than Odell Beckham? The New York Giants superstar rookie was a late addition to this game after Calvin Johnson opted to sit out. It would have been nice to see Beckham and Megatron share the spotlight, but "settling" for the shiny new star isn't a bad consolation. 

During practice, Beckham has been up to his usual tricks making difficult catches seem routine, as this Vine from ESPN's NFL Twitter shows:

The quarterbacks have taken to throwing Beckham's way already, as Detroit's Matthew Stafford raved about him to Dan Salomone of Giants.com:

"

He’s really impressive. He’s a bigger guy than I thought he would be just because when you watch him run on tape, you think he’s a small, shifty guy. He’s bigger than he looks on tape and he’s made all sorts of great catches already this week just goofing around in practice. Obviously [everyone] knows the one [against] Dallas where he caught that ball over his head. He’s showing flashes of that each and every day.

"

It may not be a bold prediction to say that Beckham will do something spectacular, since that's what everyone has come to expect of him, keep an eye on the Giants wide receiver when he's on the field. 

Looking at the game, the separation between the two teams looks more significant than the odds suggest. Team Carter doesn't have the most trustworthy group of quarterbacks. Luck and Brees combined to throw 33 interceptions, while Andy Dalton isn't anyone's idea of what a Pro Bowl quarterback looks like. 

Carter's team does have a strong receiving corps with Antonio Brown, Jordy Nelson, T.Y. Hilton and A.J. Green, but that's not better than Beckham, Emmanuel Sanders, Randall Cobb and Golden Tate. 

Irvin's defense has DeMarcus Ware, Cameron Wake, Robert Quinn and Aaron Donald. Those four alone combined for 41 sacks in 2014. Carter does have the league's best defensive player in J.J. Watt, but Irvin has more versatility on the defensive line. 

Donald, in particular, figures to become a household name very soon. The St. Louis Rams rookie would have gotten more attention if the team was a playoff contender, but he looked like a star right out of the gate. 

Ben Stockwell of ProFootballFocus.com had this to say about Donald after he was named the site's Defensive Rookie of the Year:

"

In fact, his form as a run defender really came well before his late surge as a pass rusher (20 of his 44 pressures came in the last five weeks). That balance sets Donald’s inaugural season aside as a special one not just in this year but in any. He wasn’t just an impact player racking up the big plays but flawed in other areas, right away Donald brought out his A-game and was among the league’s very best defensive tackles based solely on their play in 2014. 

"

Donald will need that run-stopping ability going against a team that has Jamaal Charles and Justin Forsett at running back. He may not show all of the things that made him so special as a rookie, but yards up the middle will be difficult to come by. 

Despite the presence of so much defensive talent, Team Irvin will win because it's deeper on offense and can outscore the opposition. 

Team Irvin 41, Team Carter 34

Stats via ProFootballReference.com