An August Pro Bowl in New York? Why Not?

The NFL might as well just get it over with and hold the Pro Bowl in New York City before the season starts.

Why not?

Apparently a player's performance during the season makes no difference in deciding who goes, so why don't we just hold the Pro Bowl as a post-preseason game in the city that controls the voting?

It would be a chance for the preseason best to fine-tune a bit more, and everyone else to rest up for the season, not to mention the anticipation it would build for the regular season.

New York, of course, would get to see the players it hand-selected play in its own backyard.

Anything is better than the current state of the Pro Bowl, an anticlimactic showdown between players with the biggest names or from the biggest markets a week after the biggest sporting event of the year.

Everything about the Pro Bowl is a mess, and this year's roster does nothing but drive the point home.

Case in point, Brett Favre. Brett Favre has made the Pro Bowl. Not Chad Pennington, not Phillip Rivers.

Brett Favre.

Why? Because he's Brett Favre. No other reason.

Why not Pennington? Why not Rivers?

Pennington's Miami Dolphins have the same record as the Jets, coming off an equally abysmal 2007 campaign. He has not thrown as many touchdowns or interceptions, but he has passed for more yards, and his passer rating is almost 10 points higher.

Rivers' Chargers are not going to the playoffs, but his passer rating is currently the highest in football at 101.4. He has thrown 28 touchdowns compared to Favre's 21, and 11 interceptions compared to Favre's 17.

The NFC's quarterback situation is a similar mess, although two of them are right in MVP candidates Drew Brees and Kurt Warner.

Eli Manning, however, got into the Pro Bowl due to pure, unadulterated cronyism.

Eli Manning has a great team around him. He has one of the best offensive lines in football, a trio of capable running backs, and a great receiving corps, even without Plaxico Burress.

Even with all that, he is ranked 19th in the league in completion percentage, 16th in passer rating, 10th in touchdown passes, and 15th in passing yardage. These are not the numbers of a Pro Bowler, these are the stats of a solid passer on a playoff team with a bye week.

Under similar logic, if Eli Manning is a Pro Bowl quarterback, so is Kerry Collins.

Donovan McNabb and Aaron Rodgers, however, both of whom eclipse Manning in each and every one of the above categories, are not going to the Pro Bowl.

In August, both Favre and Manning entered the season with huge expectations.

Favre was the biggest story of the offseason, with Green Bay split into halves about what to do with him, as Favre himself was mired in yet another “should I stay or should I go?” decision.

After he joined the Jets, they became AFC East favorites in many minds, and in many ways he has lived up to expectations. The Jets are indeed in position to win the division.

They could also miss the playoffs entirely.

In the other conference, Manning had created a mass of expectations after leading a game-winning touchdown drive against an undefeated team in the Super Bowl.

His team is in line to return to the Super Bowl, as winning this week against the Panthers will secure them home-field advantage.

How much of that is Manning's doing? Is he a game-changing quarterback? If surrounded by little or no talent, would he single-handedly make his team better?

No, but he has the Manning name, he plays at a slightly better-than-average level, and he plays for the Giants, who have a great record. That's worth a free trip to Hawaii.

So should we be surprised at the fact that the Giants and Jets lead all teams in Pro Bowl?

No, we should expect it. Embrace it, even.

Better yet, let's just take it where it's going.

The last preseason game every year will be Giants versus Jets at the Meadowlands, and we'll call that the new Pro Bowl. We can even have Tom Coughlin and Eric Mangini wear luau shirts.

It may not be right, or even enjoyable, but at least it cuts through the false intrigue.

Call this a referendum on fan voting for the Pro Bowl or call it New York bias, just don't you dare call it fair.