WEST OAHU, HAWAII — The first rookie quarterback in NFL history to start all 16 games would be wielding the clipboard as the third quarterback in his last game of the year if there were a clipboard in the Pro Bowl (7 p.m.-Cincinnati’s Channel 5) on Sunday.
And the Bengals Andy Dalton won’t mind a bit.
Pittsburgh’s Ben Roethlisberger gets the start with his two Super Bowl rings and San Diego’s Philip Rivers is next with his perennial all-star nods.
“I’m going to sit back and watch the first half,” Dalton said. “I haven’t done that in awhile.”
He won’t appear until somewhere in the second half. And that’s the way AFC coach Gary Kubiak lined up Wednesday morning’s padless, helmetless snoozer that set just the right tempo for Pro Bowl week.
On the intensity level it registered slightly below a car wash and a hair above brunch.
“It’s not as intense as you would think,” admitted Dalton after the workout, but he still plans intently on picking the brains of the guys playing ahead of him. “Just to see how they do things.”
SLANTS AND SCREENS
» The NFC went a little longer and harder Wednesday when Packers coach Mike McCarthy put them in helmets and shorts. No sweat for 49ers defensive tackle Justin Smith. The former Bengals workout fiend said he got a run in before the 8:30 a.m. bus to practice.
Then a couple of hours later he admitted, "Just kidding."
» The two most popular receivers in the AFC’s leisurely 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 drills were tight ends
» Rivers hit Gresham on an out, Roethlisberger hit him on a deep cross over the middle, and Dalton nearly hit him deep down the seam but barely overthrew him.
» Gresham figured Bengals equipment managers Jeff Brickner and Adam Knollman had no shot of getting his stuff to him in time for Wednesday’s practice since he didn’t find out until Sunday he had made the team. But as he came on the field Wednesday he flashed a thumbs up.
» Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald is delighted Bengals wide receiver
“I’m going back to Minnesota this offseason,” Fitzgerald said.
