Pro Bowl 2012: Roster And Preview

With the Super Bowl still one week away, the NFL Pro Bowl momentarily takes the spotlight on Sunday evening as the best players from the NFC and AFC -- excluding those on the New England Patriots and New York Giants -- clash in Hawaii.

The Minnesota Vikings have two players on the roster and will be represented by Jared Allen, who is tabbed to start at defensive end for the NFC, as well as by Chad Greenway, who is in at outside linebacker after being named as an injury replacement for Lance Briggs of the Chicago Bears.

Allen will join fellow defensive end Justin Babin of the Philadelphia Eagles along with interior lineman Jay Ratliff of the Dallas Cowboys and Justin Smith of the San Francisco 49ers on the starting defensive line.

Typically, the Pro Bowl produces high-scoring games, so Allen will try to put some early pressure on Ben Roethlisberger of the Pittsburgh Steelers, who has been bumped into the starting role because Tom Brady and the New England Patriots are gearing up for the Super Bowl.

This marks the third straight year that the Pro Bowl will be held prior to the Super Bowl. The NFC holds the all-time edge 21-20 after a 55-41 win last year in Honolulu.

For the first time ever, the NFL will allow players to tweet during a game, as tweet stations will be set up on sidelines for players to use, so viewers will be wise to follow along on television and online.

The game is scheduled to start at 7:00 p.m. eastern at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu and will be televised live on NBC, with Dan Hicks providing play-by-play and Mike Mayock and Doug Flutie handling color commentary.

Make sure to keep up with all things Vikings at Daily Norseman, and for more NFL and Pro Bowl coverage, check out SBNation.com/NFL.