Odd question?
Isn’t it obvious just looking at stats? Can’t I just look at top player lists on other websites?
In the age of Fantasy Football and simple stat tracking, I think a lot is lost when evaluating what a great NFL player is.
This is my opinion. Pure and simple and nothing else. I am a middle aged man who has been entranced by the National Football League. I never played football. I was never big enough and the weight lifting/gaining weight was completely counteractive to the sport of wrestling that I pursued. I should have played football, but how many should have could have does everyone else have? I don’t view myself an expert. My entire website is based on the fact that I simply do not care about your opinion. This is more for documentation for me than anything else.
A lot of Running Backs put up phenomenal stats and are great Fantasy players, but are they “great players”?
Probably not actually.
I make no secret about the fact that I am a Washington Redskins fan.
I am also not very proud of my selected team to say that I have not personally watched a great QB for the Washington Redskins.
Sure, I can watch highlights of Joe Theisman, Sonny Jorgenson or Slinging Sammy Baugh, but I didn’t watch any of them at an age I could truly appreciate football.
WHAT ABOUT MARK RYPIEN?!!!
Sorry, nope.
Art Monk and that absolutely amazing Offensive Line…yep.
A lot is lost to the general public and ignorant on football simply being a team sport.
If I think a player is great, he is top 25 in the last 10 years at his position. That, in itself, is a monumental achievement. I don’t want to discount good players that contribute every week, nor do I want to give credit to a player that is just a massive over-hyped piece of crap that the media or the player himself make out to be something. This isn’t a measure of athletic talent. It is definitely a factor, but some players have tremendous talent and simply have no heart.
So who exactly do I deem “Great Players” on current NFL teams and who is just a benefactor of an efficient system?
Here you go:
GREAT PLAYERS
49ers
– Frank Gore, Vernon Davis…that’s it. Those two players are personally responsible for every single win the 49ers earn. Gore is quite possibly one of the best RB in the league right now. He is simply on a poor team. He puts the team on his back and carries them personally every single game. Davis was a head case but simply has amazing superhuman athletic abilities. If Mike Singletary gets fired for one unfortunate season, I think it would be a big mistake. *2011 Season-Carlos Rodgers never did a God damned thing for the Redskins other than drop a ton of interceptions. He is a catalyst for their superb season in a craptastic division. Patrick Willis likely deserves to be on here. Just another good season still and I am probably retarded impartial to London Fletcher.
Bears
– Lance Briggs. Sorry that’s it. I am not buying the Brian Urlacher hype and I think the only thing he is truly good at is jumping into a pile when someone is already tackled. Devin Hester is a candidate since he a great Special Team member, but his absolute failure to move to a WR hurts him. Lance Briggs is a constant on that defense and truly the main defensive strength of that team. *2011 Season. Still maintaining the same. Matt Forte has a lot of promise…but its pretty hard to break as a good RB. There are a ton of good RB their first few years. Forte is still pretty young and unproven and there is a good reason he wasnt signed by the Bears yet. Their Offensive Line is pretty great (not legendary player great) and its hard to give credit to a RB getting great blocks cough…cough…Emmitt Smith.
Bengals
–Terrell Owens. He is an absolute bastard. I never draft him on my fantasy team. He is a terrible person and more than likely I would have to leave if I was within 10 feet of him. He is also one of the greatest wide receivers to ever play the game. He is well past his prime, but to generate the hatred he has is simply because he has elite talent and once motivated is unstoppable.*2011 season Damn good draft for this team. Still hard to name rookies as elite players by AJ Green certainly looks the part. The defense is a solid group. Sad that Terrell Owens was just too old to continue.
Bills
–Steve Johnson, Jarius Byrd. Yeah…I know. Just pick the young guys that stand out and take the easy route. I will tell you that I promise I am not taking that route. I watch entirely too much football. I have a major problem. I am not even going to deny it. My wife has already informed me that this will probably be noted on my divorce papers if/when they appear. Steve Johnson is absolutely everything you want in a WR. He is the complete package and the only reason it has taken 3 years is that Trent Edwards is quite possibly one of the worst decisions ever made by this organization. Jarius Byrd, teams simply avoid. He is a hard hitting blanket in the secondary. Its hard to stand out on an 0-7 team (even though this team does not play at all like an 0-7 team), but he definitely does it. *2011 Season Still maintaining the same. Team is making good progress with the draft but Fitzpatrick isnt anything but an average QB. Steve Johnson needs to stay off Twitter and keep his head out of the clouds.
Broncos
–Champ Bailey. Sorry. This team is simply a collection of average players that are absolutely nothing special. Champ Bailey was a shutdown corner in DC and he is a shutdown corner well into his twilight. There is no real elite talent on this team other than him. Poor drafting and a young coach will do that to a team (cough…Tim Tebow 1st round…cough). *2011 update Von Miller is pretty damn good. If he continues his pace he will easily make the cut. Team has a great defense. Tebow is a below average QB with a great defense. I am nauseated by the hype.
Browns
–Joe Thomas. Absolutely superb offensive tackle and part of a win for recent drafting of the Browns. This team has been terrible since its newfound expansion team name. There has been some big mistakes (Brady Quinn) but some big wins on draft day which anyone who is not completely retarded will tell you is how teams win Superbowls. Joe Haden and Colt McCoy both have potential to make this list but there just isn’t enough data there for me to make a true evaluation left. It does look like the Redskins (yeah I am bringing my favorite team into this) made a major mistake passing up McCoy and taking McNabb essentially with than 2nd rounder. *2011 season Sadly still the same. McCoy is looking not to have the arm strength to make it in the NFL. Sad because he certainly has the smarts and mechanics. If he had ANYONE to pass to this might be a different story.
Buccaneers
–Aqib Talib, Donald Penn This team is young, young, young. There is a ton of potential great players. Talib is a standout though. Continually shuts down WR and is generally in the right position on every play. They have a ton of potential and are likely headed towards a Superbowl victory if the GM continues to make smart drafting decisions. Please remember that these are Great players. A couple of other players on this team have to potential to make Great players but they simply are not there due to lack of playing time. *2011 season Still the same. Talib has some head problems. I don’t know what else to say about this team. Still a lot of growth left for them.
Cardinals
–Larry Fitzgerald Unfortunately this team decided to trade or release every last bit of talent on their team. Poor Larry Fitzgerald. Playmaker at this position, but simply has a collection of horrible QBs on his team and now they took away Anquan Boldin from his other side. Sad. Really sad management of personnel. *2011 season Yep. Still the same.
Chargers
–Philip Rivers, Antonio Gates, Kris Dielman Norv Turner is the only explanation for how such a potent offense and an acceptable defense never make it far into the playoffs and have never seen the SB. Gates plays out of his mind and is far and away the best TE in the past 10 years if not the past 25. Philip Rivers (despite his incredibly odd throwing motion) is an amazing playmaker. Vincent Jackson can hold out and complain as much as he wants, Philip Rivers makes WRs. Dielman makes it all possible by shutting down pass rushers. *2011 season GM is terrible. How in the hell they let go of Darren Sproles is beyond me. I stick to the same players as great.
Chiefs
–Brandon Flowers This is a very young team with a ton of young talent that can easily achieve greatness. I like what I see out of Flowers and he doesnt get the “Revis Island” media treatment, but you cant deny him of his skills. I am only ranking 1 rookie in this entire list and I cant rate the extreme amount of young players on this team yet who have been drafted smartly by the GM here. Team has a ton of promise and a bright future. *2011 Season. Same player. This team is borderline terrible. Matt Cassel isn’t the answer and the rest of the team is mediocre at best.
Colts
–Jeff Saturday, Peyton Manning, Gary Brackett Had to know that Peyton and his number 1 center were going to make this list. Peyton is top 10 of all time easy, not just 10 years. Despite him pimping himself absolutely everywhere, he is undoubtedly one of the best QBs ever and easily the best playing currently. Gary Brackett is a run stopping machine. There is a ton of talent on this team (obviously) and the GM brings in fresh talent evaluated superbly. *2011 Season. What a difference a loss of QB makes. Now everyone sees why I didn’t rate their defense that high. Obviously their GM didn’t account for one simple thing….back up QB.
Cowboys
–Leonard Davis, Demarcus Ware, Jason Witten Witten=beast. I think Chris Cooley and Jason Witten were made in a secret government facility for superhuman TEs. Demarcus Ware shows signs of being uninspired during a bad loss, but he is still an elite player who can be a true QB killer. The carousel of RBs and a QB who gets entirely too much credit owe a lot to Leonard Davis and crew. *2011 Season. Yep. Pretty much the same. Romo, sorry to say, is just not the answer at QB. Elite talent brought in continually and Romo kills this team repeatedly.
Dolphins
–Jake Long, Karlos Dansby, Brandon Marshall Just draft a QB already. Everything else on this team is coming along perfectly. The defense is better than average and Dansby is a run blocking machine. Brandon Marshall is an elite WR who should have a QB with time to throw thanks to Jake Long and crew giving him time. The QBs here have just been completely unacceptable. *2011 Season. Wow….same old story. Same people and same exact story.
Eagles
–Jason Peters, Trent Cole, Leonard Weaver, Desean Jackson Unfortunately for the Redskins, this is a team with a smart personnel squad who are experts at evaluating young talent. Jason Peters makes the myriad of successful RBs possible right along with Leonard Weaver. DeSean Jackson (who way too many teams passed on in the draft including the Redskins) is quite possibly the fastest player since Darrell Green who can catch. Trent Cole has a bowl of QB shaped cereal for breakfast every single day. This team would have probably won a Superbowl a long time ago if not for a fat tub of lard coach and a raving idiot biased broadcaster for Monday Night Football. Ok…so maybe Ron Jaworski has nothing to do with it, but I couldn’t resist.
*2011 season. Yep. Same story but move Nnamdi Asomugha from Oakland to here. Desean may have a bit of a “youth” problem. Whole damn team is a mess though. Vick isnt the answer despite what the media would have you believe. Defense is SOLID, but obviously still has some run blocking problems.
Falcons
–Roddy White, John Abraham, Matt Ryan Look. Yet another team that illustrates the importance of the draft and how free agency is beneficial only if you do not go overboard. Roddy White is easily top 10 of the past 10 years and probably makes the list for 25 years. John Abraham is an absolute rock on the defense. Any team would be lucky to have him. Matt Ryan is probably the surprise for most people. This kid can play. He is and will be one of the elite QBs in the NFL. More than likely will win a Superbowl within 5 years if they keep being superb talent evaluators. *2011 Season. Probably would go ahead and take Matt Ryan off the list and add Julius Jones. Sorry dude. If you have Tony Gonzalez, Roddy White, Julius Jones and
Giants
–Chris Snee, Justin Tuck, Osi Uminyiora Whoever is the GM (I am too lazy to look) of this team should win the best GM of all time. Consistently talent is selected with lower round picks that are elite contributors to the team. The pass rush on the Giants is just plain scary thanks to Tuck and Uminyiora. They are not overhyped and there reputation is well earned. Eli almost made this list. He probably will if I made it in a couple of years. The talent that surrounds him and the protection Chris Snee and crew provide just make it unfair to clump him in with the best of the last 10 years. The WRs on this team have been historically incredibly fast and athletic talent. I would probably add a few here, but it seems that there is never a consistent one and it is just superb WR after superb WR.
Jaguars
–Maurice Jones-Drew Just not a collection of elite players here. MJD is definitely a superb talent and the reason the team wins any games at all. The QB is mediocre, the WRs could be Jerry Rice but they actually have to see the ball. I just think this team is mismanaged and not a good team. I wish I had anything else to say about this team, but I am never inspired to watch them (and neither is anyone else apparently).
Jets
–Nick Mangold, Darrelle Revis, LaDanian Tomlinson Great move there Chargers. Dump one of the best RBs ever and replace him with an injury prone completely untested rookie. LT is elite and always has been. Revis probably gets a little more credit than he really deserves, but he is a true shutdown corner. Mangold and his crew are superb and the only reason dirty Sanchez is even mentioned.
Lions
Packers
Panthers
Patriots
Raiders
Rams
Ravens
Redskins
Saints
Seahawks
Steelers
Texans
Titans
Vikings