Buh-bye 2011

As a Minnesota Vikings fan its nice to close out 2011. From the ridiculous lockout to the Donovan McNabb disaster to a three, maybe four, win season to Adrian Peterson's shredded knee. It hasn't been a complete disaster as theVikings may have found their quarterback of the present and future in Christian Ponder. It may not have been a complete disaster but it was pretty bad.

2011 saw the passing of many football greats. The game does no favors to the bodies of the participants so no age is safe. Here's a few that will always be remembered:

Al Davis
Andy Robustelli
John Mackey
Joe Perry
Ollie Matson
John Henry Johnson
Lee Roy Selmon
Pete Pihos

Back to the lighter side. Before we bang in 2012 let's take a look at what we have in the NFL today. There are so many great players in the league. Some of the best we've ever seen. Some are kind of winding down like Vikings guard Steve Hutchinson and New York Jets runningback LaDanian Tomlinson. Others are just getting starting what look like fantastic careers in New Orleans tight end Jimmy Graham and Denver Broncos linebacker Von Miller. The number of great quarterbacks right now is stunning. Hopefully, Peyton Manning will make his return to that group next year.

Here are some of the best to ever play and we're lucky enough to have them now:

Quarterbacks: Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, Aaron Rodgers

Runningbacks: Adrian Peterson, LaDanian Tomlinson

Receivers: Larry Fitzgerald, Andre Johnson, Calvin Johnson

Tight Ends: Tony Gonzalez, Antonio Gates, Jason Witten, Dallas Clark

Offensive Linemen: Steve Hutchinson, Joe Thomas

Defensive Linemen: Jared Allen, Dwight Freeney, Julius Peppers, Richard Seymour, Haloti Ngata, Kevin Williams, Vince Wifork

Linebackers: Ray Lewis, DeMarcus Ware, Patrick Willis

Cornerbacks: Darrelle Revis, Nnambi Asomugha

Safeties: Ed Reed, Troy Polamalu

There are so many young players like Arian Foster, Jimmy Graham, Rob Gronkowski, Jonathan Joseph, Eric Berry, Aldon Smith, Von Miller, Maurkice Pouncey that may soon join those players. If they haven't already. The NFL is just stacked with talent. 2011 had some terrific stuff outside of Minnesota. 2012 will be even better especially in Minnesota.