>>49ers' Fangio To Become Bears Defensive Coordinator
(Lake Forest, IL) -- It appears new Chicago Bears head coach John Fox has found his defensive coordinator. CBSSports.com reports San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator Vic Fangio has agreed to take the same role in the Windy City. The 56-year-old has run the 49ers' defense the last four seasons, ranking in the top-five in total defense each year. Fangio has most recently run a 3-4 defense, but Fox said on Monday that he hasn't yet decided if the Bears will use a 3-4 or 4-3 defense. Fox was formally introduced as head coach on Monday, replacing the fired Marc Trestman.
>>Ravens Name Trestman OC
(Owings Mills, MD) -- Marc Trestman is the new offensive coordinator of the Ravens. The former Bears head coach replaces Gary Kubiak [[ KOO-bee-ack ]], who left after one season to become head coach of the Broncos. The 59-year-old was fired as head coach by Chicago after a 5-and-11 season, the Bears' worst record in 10 years.
>>Report: Patriots Deflated Football For AFC Title Game
(Undated) -- ESPN reports nearly all of the New England Patriots' footballs for last Sunday's AFC Championship Game were under-inflated. According to the network, 11 of New England's 12 allotted game balls were under-inflated by two pounds of air. Game balls are required to be inflated between 12-and-a-half and 13-and-a-half pounds per square inch, and most also weigh between 14 and 15 ounces. It's unclear what punishment could be handed to the Pats, who pounded the Colts 45-7 on Sunday to advance to Super Bowl 49.
>>NFL Pro Bowl Fantasy Draft Tonight
(Glendale, AZ) -- The NFL will hold its Pro Bowl Fantasy Draft tonight. It will air on NFL Network beginning at 8 p.m. Eastern. Hall of Fame wide receivers Cris Carter and Michael Irvin will serve as alumni captains that help select teams regardless of conference affiliation. Irvin won a coin toss on Tuesday and elected to take the player-captain combination of Cowboys running back DeMarco Murray and Browns cornerback Joe Haden for Team Irvin. Team Carter gets the player-captain combination of Texans defensive end J.J. Watt and Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown. Carter will instead get the first pick in the draft itself. This is just the second season of the unconferenced format. Before that, the Pro Bowl had pitted the NFC against the AFC since 1971. The 2015 Pro Bowl will be played this Sunday at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.
>>Smaller Goal Posts, Longer Extra Points For Pro Bowl
(Phoenix, AZ) -- The NFL will narrow the goal posts for Sunday's Pro Bowl in Arizona. Executive vice president of football operations Troy Vincent said at Tuesday's Pro Bowl press conference in Phoenix that the goal posts will be reduced from 18.6-feet apart to 14-feet apart. Extra point tries will also be pushed back to the 15-yard line as they were for the first two preseason games of 2014. Vincent says the moves will allow the league to examine just how skilled the kicker position has become. Nearly 84-percent of field goal attempts this season were made, while the extra-point conversion rate was more than 99-percent.
>>Dalton Replacing Rodgers In Pro Bowl
(Glendale, AZ) -- Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers is withdrawing from this weekend's Pro Bowl due to an injury. The calf injury that has bothered Rodgers the past couple weeks is likely the ailment that is keeping him out of the year end All-Star Game. Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton will replace Rodgers. Dalton threw for nearly 34-hundred yards with 19 touchdowns and 17 interceptions while leading the Bengals to an AFC Wild Card playoff berth.
