Pro Bowl looks for balance between fun and competition

— Like most of the players at the Pro Bowl, Richie Incognito hears the criticism.

The game lacks intensity. There’s not enough drama. It’s not real NFL football.

But Incognito, a Buffalo Bills guard, is like the vast majority of the 88 players invited to tonight’s all-star gathering. He sees the Pro Bowl more as a celebration of achievement and as a way to thank the fans. He wouldn’t change a thing. “In my mind it’s as good as it should be,” Incognito said. “You really can’t ask guys to come out here and fly around at full speed when we’ve been off for the last two or three weeks. And some guys are just coming down here after conference championship games. Maybe make it more fan interactive, get the fans involved more, do more of the skills competition.”

The NFL has seemed open to ways to energize its end-of-the-year showcase that is now sandwiched between conference championship and Super Bowl weeks. In hopes of giving the game a lift, the NFL has moved the Pro Bowl from Hawaii to Orlando, where it has become more of a weeklong event, complete with a re-imagined Skill Showdown. The AFC-NFC matchup has also returned after three years of non-conference games.

Still, it remains to be seen if the NFL can continue selling a game that bears little resemblance to the product it puts on the field during the season. The players come to the Pro Bowl to have fun, not get hurt and maybe win.

“This Pro Bowl for me in a sense is special because you are coming here to celebrate what you’ve accomplished,” said New York Giants receiver Odell Beckham, Jr. “It’s a lot of fun.”