When “the boss” is upset, I usually get a call.
And the NFL Network’s top 100 players ranking Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers No. 11, leaving him out of the top 10, drew the ire of “the boss” as if it were a rainy weekend down the shore.
So my assignment was to come up with the real top 10 players in the NFL today, realizing it’s 2011 and not 1995.
The 10 players left on the network show, which will be announced next week, will include in whatever order Baltimore’s Ray Lewis and Ed Reed, Chicago’s Julius Peppers, Pittsburgh’s Troy Polamalu, Houston’s Andre Johnson, Minnesota’s Adrian Peterson, New England’s Tom Brady, New Orleans’ Drew Brees (over Rodgers? Seriously?), Indy’s Peyton Manning and the Jets’ Darrelle Revis.
“The boss” and I agreed on less than half of that top 10.
Lewis and Reed are two bona fide Hall of Famers, two of the best to ever play their positions, but their time has passed. Are they still in the top 100? Sure. Top 50?
Probably, maybe even top 25 — just not top 10.
Same goes for Polamalu. Those who voted for him over Clay Matthews as the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year were wrong.
Then again, if you watched the Super Bowl, you saw why. Matthews made the play of the game when he hit the Steelers’ conspiracy theorist Rashard Mendenhall, causing a fumble that turned the game back in Green Bay’s favor, while Polamalu was exposed and abused in coverage all night by the Packers and Rodgers.
Peppers? A very good player but not among the 10 best in the game. The same for Johnson and Brees, who are probably good “fantasy” players, but we’re talking about real football here, right?
So here goes with a top 10 of today’s NFL players based somewhat on if there was a draft of all players in the league who you would select No. 1 and so on down the line.
• 10. Adrian Peterson, RB, Minnesota — I had to get special dispensation from “the boss” to put a Viking on the list. But he was on board with the game’s best, young running back (he’s only 26) since as he said “the Vikings aren’t going anywhere, except Los Angeles.”
• 9. Joe Thomas, T, Cleveland — In 2011, left tackle has become the second most important position in the game, and Thomas, the Browns’ 26-year-old star, is the best left tackle in the game.
• 8. Larry Fitzgerald, WR, Arizona — If you can have any wide receiver in the game, this is the one you want.
• 7. Peyton Manning, QB, Indianapolis — He’s getting older, and he needs surgery on his neck, but he’s still Peyton.
• 6. Nnamdi Asomugha, CB, Oakland — Once free agency starts, you’ll see how much teams value him. He’s the league’s best shutdown corner since Deion Sanders.
• 5. Tom Brady, QB, New England — Some may put him No. 1, and you can make that argument. But, like “the boss” says, he hasn’t won a playoff game since the 2007 AFC Championship.
• 4. Clay Matthews, LB, Green Bay — In just two years, he has become the kind of terror on defense that causes insomnia for offensive coordinators. If the Packers find an above average complement on the other side, look out.
• 3. Darrelle Revis, CB, Jets — He’s almost five years younger than Asomugha and makes more plays.
• 2. DeMarcus Ware, LB, Dallas — In time, Matthews will push him for this, but right now, Ware is still the best overall defensive player in the game, and he won’t turn 29 until next month.
• 1. Aaron Rodgers, QB, Green Bay — This isn’t just about what he’s done (although last year’s Super Bowl run was very impressive), but what he’s going to do.
Contact Mark Eckel at meckel@njtimes.com.
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