First off, check out the NFL Network's rankings of the 100 best NFL players in today’s game. It’s not a list of most valuable players; otherwise the first ten guys would be quarterbacks, so keep that in mind. Of course, I have to dissect this list and tell you what I think, where I agree, and where I am absolutely outraged. Actually, I’m not outraged about anything, it’s just a list with names on it, but I do have some thoughts, and here they are.
- I have no problem with Brady as the number one overall player. He’ still great, won the MVP last year, and doesn’t show signs of slowing down. Though not my pick for the top spot, I cannot vehemently dispute Tom Terrific as #1.
- Ray Lewis is way too high. He’s still a very good player, and I love the guy, but there is no way he’s the 4th-best player in the league at the age of 36. Ditto for teammate Ed Reed at #5, simply too high for an injury-prone, aging veteran.
- I think Julius Peppers has the talent to be the tenth best player in the league, but his production isn’t worthy of that spot. He was disruptive and worth the money Chicago spent on him, but he had only 8 sacks last year, doesn’t always give top effort, and is 31 years old.
- Aaron Rodgers at number 11? Are you kidding? The fans have it much closer, ranking him second in the league.
- Let Mike Vick have at least another good year and stay healthy before we rank him as the game's 20th-best player. Similarly, Arian Foster had a great year last year, but it was just one season; he can’t be the 25th-best player in the game.
- Devin Hester returns kicks and does nothing else. How can he be the 32nd-best player in the NFL? He shouldn’t even be in the top-100.
- Two rings and three Super Bowl appearances is only good enough for 41st on the list for Ben Roethlisberger? I’m not sure there are 15-20 better players in the game.
- For a position that everyone says is one of the most important (left tackle), Joe Thomas is far too low at forty-third.
- After his first year, Ndamukong Suh is fifty-first on this list, which is fine, but who wants to bet against him being in the top-25 next year?
- Marques Colston, Asante Samuel, Matt Ryan and Carl Nicks are all better than Ray Rice? Couldn’t disagree more. Rice is a dominant back that effects the passing and rushing attacks like few others can.
- Andre Gurode and Brandon Lloyd back-to-back at 57 and 58? No way. Lloyd has had one good season in his entire career, and he produced on a really bad team last year. Take him off the list completely. Gurode is a good run blocker but is getting older and slower by the second.
- Brandon Marshall may be a jerk, but he’s much better than the 61st-best player in the game. How many receivers are harder to gameplan for? Andre Johnson, Larry Fitzgerald, DeSean Jackson, Calvin Johnson. That’s it, and I’m not sure that Marshall isn’t a tougher matchup than anyone but Johnson on this list.
- Sorry Vonta Leach, but you’re a fullback. Get off the list.
- Brian Waters, Antrel Rolle, and Jon Abraham are better than Mario Williams? News to me.
- Greg Jennings is the 74th-rated player and the 15th-rated receiver despite finishing fourth in receiving yards last year, second in touchdowns, and winning a Super Bowl. This list is making me mad.
- Jared Allen was considered the best defensive end in the league a year or two ago. Now he’s the 80th-best player in the game? That makes no sense.
- Odds that BJ Raji is a top-50 player next year? I’ll take any bet out there.
- Do you think there are 87 players better than Vernon Davis? Me neither.
Biggest Gripe
Putting it nicely, Greg Jennings' placement at seventy-fourth and as the 15th-best wideout is criminal. Being conservative, he’s a top-50 player in this league and among the top 5-7 wide receivers. Devin Hester even being on this list, let alone thirty-second, also seems insane to me.
Savviest Pick on the List
Halogti Ngata at number 17 was a great pick who could be higher. Fans put him forty-fifth because he plays a position with zero sex appeal, but he is as impactful a defender as there is in football.
My Quickfire Top-10
- Aaron Rodgers
- Tom Brady
- Peyton Manning
- Patrick Willis
- Troy Polamalu
- Darelle Revis
- Adrian Peterson
- Andre Johnson
- Clay Matthews
- Haloti Ngata
One of your criteria for your NFL All-Time Top-10 was being dominant at one's position. Paraprashing, "The best safety is better than the 8th-best QB." Assuming this isn't a different issue altogether, what's your problem with Vonta Leach? It's an easy to argue that he's the best fullback there is.
ReplyDeleteFor many, Joe Thomas vs. Jake Long is a coin flip. Since you have problems with Thomas at 43, what do you think about Long at 28?
1. I have no way of knowing just how dominant Leach is at his position because I don't get a lot of Texans games on my TV, so in this case I will defer to positions that make more of an impact. There just isn't enough statistical data for me to look at when judging fullbacks against one another to determine which one is great, which one is good, and which one is average. Yes Arian Foster won the rushing title this past year, but attributing that solely to Leach's brilliance would be a generalization and assumption. So for me he doesn't belong on the list because I don't have a way of determining with any real accuracy how good he is at his job.
ReplyDelete2. If you think Jake Long is the best left tackle in the game, I'm fine with him at 28th if not higher. I tend to think Thomas is better, and so is Ryan Clady when healthy so I would place them above Long, but everyone always says how important the left tackle position is- and I agree with that assessment, so I think Long and Thomas both could have been higher.