I enjoy this annual effort by NFL Network to entertain the masses during the few slow days of the offseason. The cool thing about this top 100 is that it's voted on by the players. It's how the players see the best of their elite group. Some may question how serious the players take this but that's a fundamental flaw in any voting process. My guess is that the players take this seriously enough for it to be an accurate judge of the best of the best. I would take this list over those made by any media hack. I would even take it over a list made by me.
This is either the third or fourth year that the NFL Network has aired this Top 100. It premieres the night that the NFL Draft ends. A smooth transition from exciting event into another. Counting down from 100, a group of ten is unveiled each week for eleven weeks. I think that the top ten players are revealed in groups of five over two weeks in order to spend more time on each top player. The ranking is supposed to be based on the performances of the past season. The overall career of a player can't help but filter into the decision process. The best part of the show is hearing players around the league talking about each of the honored players. It's probably the best part for the players as well.
The 2013 edition of the "NFL's Top 100 Players" is currently up to Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger at #61. I was a little surprised that a quarterback still at the top of his game with two Super Bowl rings was at #61, but there it is. It seems like the Draft just ended so it's difficult to believe that they've already revealed forty players. I was most pleased to see Minnesota Vikings linebacker Chad Greenway finally appear on the list at #70. He's one of the most underrated players in the league. He's gone to Hawaii for the last two Pro Bowls but he was an injury replacement each year. With the always growing number of terrific pass-rushing, 3-4 outside linebackers, more traditional 4-3 outside linebackers like Greenway are often ignored. Sacks get the votes, so it's great to see Greenway finally getting some much deserved recognition.
NFL Network, of course, has to have an hour-long discussion show following each unveiling. It's tough to criticize an opinion but it's human nature to do so. The player's presence in the first forty spots that surprises me the most is Baltimore Ravens receiver/kick returner Jacoby Jones at #88. He's been an excellent kick returner for years but his receiving career has been up and down at best. His huge plays in the most recent playoffs may have catapulted him into the top 100. I was still surprised to see him on the list and especially two spots ahead of the much more productive Percy Harvin. Actually, the presence of Harvin on this list bothers me the most. He may have made it as a member of the Vikings but he's now with the Seattle Seahawks. It just hurts, man! Like the incredible draft class of 1983, the draft class of 2012 will go down as one of the best mostly because of the quarterbacks. Both draft classes have so much more than throwers. This top 100 shows that. Already, three rookies have made an appearance and none is Andrew Luck, Robert Griffin III, or Russell Wilson. Running backs Trent Richardson of the Cleveland Browns and Alfred Morris of the Washington Redskins have made it. Terrific Carolina Panthers linebacker Luke Keuchly also made it. I expect Luck, Griffin, and Wilson to be somewhere in the top 60. I also expect to see Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back in there. That's seven rookies. Nice group.
As far as Vikings in the coming weeks, I hope to see more but I'm pretty sure that we'll only see running back Adrian Peterson and defensive end Jared Allen. Center John Sullivan should have made it. If he's not in the bottom forty, I don't expect to see him in the top sixty.
Peterson should be #1!
60-51 is Thursday. Woohoo!
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