The Redskins Blog

Chris Cooley Interviews AFC Pro Bowlers

Chris Cooley didn’t make good on his threat to kneecap Tony Gonzalez or Jason Witten, but he managed to find work at the Pro Bowl anyhow. Serving as a player correspondent for NFL Network, Cooley covered the AFC squad. He attended practice (which I’ll get to in a bit) and also interviewed a whole slew of AFC players before kickoff. So if you ever wanted to know if Wes Welker modeled his entire career on Tweeder from Varsity Blues, if Jamaal Charles was feeling overworked by Bill Belichick in Pro Bowl practices, or what strategy Terrell Suggs employed for the game itself … well, Chris Cooley will GET YOU THOSE ANSWERS.

The best part, I think, is at the end, when Cooley looks at Tennessee Titans rookie Pro Bowl returner Marc Mariani and asks, “Has it been tough all week with all the people asking you what it’s like to be Peyton Manning’s son?”

“You know, I get that a lot, Chris,” Mariani says, just as you realize that he does look like Peyton Manning. “I mean, it’s a tough thing, two good-lookin’ dudes …. It’s just one of those things — y’know, we have the same football skills as well.”