Pro Bowl 2012: 49ers, Raiders Look To Cash In On All Star Game

The 2012 Pro Bowl took place on Sunday at Aloha Stadium in Hawaii. The game was a strange mix of lackluster play and nonstop passing fireworks. Although three Bay Area players provided some entertaining moments, it was the AFC team that came out on top, 59-41.

San Francisco 49ers All-Star kicker David Akers had a pair of successful onside kickss and also kicked five successful PATs. Niners punter Andy Lee also contributed a classic Pro Bowl moment (at least for Bay Area fans) when he completed his first career complete pass on a fake punt to convert an NFC first down. He also punted four times for 204 yards, with an average punt of 51 yards.

On the winning team, Oakland Raiders kicker Sebastian Janikowski kicked a 37-yard field goal in the third quarter to put the AFC up by a score of 31-28 at the time. It was the only field goal attempt in the game. The teams in no way played small ball. All three quarterbacks on both teams threw at least one touchdown pass and one player from each team had three touchdowns or more. On the NFC team, Larry Fitzgerald grabbed three touchdowns, two from Aaron Rodgers and one from Cam Newton. For the AFC, Brandon Marshall caught touchdown passes from Ben Roethlisberger, Philip Rivers and Andy Dalton.

For all news and information regarding the San Francisco 49ers, please visit Niners Nation. For updates and perspective on the Oakland Raiders, head on over to Silver and Black Pride.

Hey! All of you who aren't watching the Pro Bowl! You're missing out on some great action that could really make you yearn for the days of powderpuff flag football, because that's approximately how hard everyone is hitting each other in this one.

The San Francisco 49ers are helping out the NFC with some great plays from the unit that was generally the most consistent for them all season--their special teams. There's been some great punts by Andy Lee.

David Akers has been the story for 49ers fans in this one, with two big onside kicks to give San Francisco some big plays. You've already seen the first. Here's the second!

Even better for the 49ers, it was Brian Jennings (the 49ers long-snapper) who managed the recover. It's been a nice night for the 49ers special teams, who probably have been experiencing quite the rough week.

To discuss Akers and the 49ers, head on over to Niners Nation.

The Packers coaching staff is taking full advantage of their 49ers special teams players in taking a 28-21 lead in the 2012 Pro Bowl. In the first quarter, David Akers successfully executed an onside kick that led to a Larry Fitzgerald touchdown reception. They followed that up in the second quarter with a fake punt from Andy Lee.

On 4th and 3, the NFC was lining up for the first punt of the burgeoning shootout. Patrick Peterson lined up as the up-back and flared out to his right where Andy Lee lined up a perfect pass. Peterson scampered past the first down marker and out of bounds. The NFC eventually followed that up with a Greg Jennings touchdown. Given the nature of this game, every possession counts. And with $50,000 riding on winning the game, it is not surprising the NFC is pulling out all the stops. Considering the talent they have on special teams, why not?

In a game that few care about, the NFC unveiled some early trickeration to take a 14-0 lead. The NFC took an early 7-0 lead on a short Aaron Rodgers-Larry Fitzgerald connection. On the ensuing kickoff, 49ers kicker David Akers lined up for a normal kick, but pulled off the trick kick. After one player missed on the pick-up, Charles Tillman grabbed the ball for the NFC. On the next play, Aaron Rodgers again connected with Larry Fitzgerald, this time for a 44-yard touchdown reception.

The AFC has since run off a pair of touchdown passes to A.J. Green and Brandon Marshall and the game is now tied at 14. This could turn into quite the shootout given how passively the defenses seem to be playing. Of course, Lesean McCoy might not have gotten that memo as he took his time on a running play, resulting in boos from the Honolulu crowd.

Here is some video of Akers pulling off the perfectly executed onside kick. The 49ers could have used this last week, but such is life.

The 2012 Pro Bowl from Honolulu, HI is upon once again, and the Oakland Raiders will be well represented this year.

The Oakland Raiders had four placeyers invited to this year’s Pro Bowl, including long snapper Jon Condo, punter extraordinaire Shane Lechler, uber-kicker Sebastian Janikowski, and defensive tackle Richard Seymour. Along with the San Francisco 49ers across the Bay, Oakland will have their trio of specialists on hand with the LS, P and K all making the grade.

Amazingly this is Janikowski’s first ever Pro-Bowl, while only the second for Jon Condo in his career. The Silver and Black have two of the most seasoned Pro-Bowlers in attendance, as it will be Lechler’s and Seymour’s seventh time respectfully.

With the new regime being put into place in Oakland, having a core of guys like this, making the Pro-Bowl year after year, is always a plus when having coaching turnover. Hopefully they’ll be able to make the trip to Honolulu this time again next year as well.

For more in depth discussion and analysis of everything Oakland Raiders this offseason, make sure that you check out Silver and Black Pride, the absolute best place on the interweb for Raiders fans.