NFL Network's "Top 100 Of 2010" Officially A Farce
by Christopher Gates on May 12, 2011 7:59 PM CDT
in Minnesota Vikings
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The man they call "rovibe" pointed this out in the comments, and though he meant it as a dig at Ray Edwards, in another way it highlights what a complete farce the NFL Network's "Top 100 of 2010" list has already turned into. Of course, anyone who watched the first installment knew it was a farce when the guy that was ranked #100 was announced. For those of you who haven't heard yet, it was Redskins' quarterback Donovan McNabb.
You remember Donovan McNabb, right? The guy who was benched by his coach because he thought Rex freaking Grossman was better in the two-minute offense? The guy who had a quarterback rating of 77.1 and threw more interceptions (15) than touchdown passes (14)? The guy that could have led the Redskins past the Vikings at FedEx Field in Leslie Frazier's first game as coach if he hadn't underthrown a wide-open receiver by fifteen yards? Oh, and if I didn't mention it earlier, he got benched for Rex freaking Grossman.
Yeah. . .apparently only 99 of the 16-1700 players in the National Football League in 2010 were better than that guy, so you know they set the bar pretty high right from the start.
Access Vikings reported (in rovibe's link above) that only two Vikings made this list of the NFL's 100 best players in 2010. . .Adrian Peterson is the obvious one, and Jared Allen made it as well. That means there was at least one very, very notable Vikings' omission from the list.
(Here's a hint. . .big freaking picture of him at the top of the post.)
Yes, apparently there were at least 100 NFL players. . .including Donovan McNabb. . .that were better in 2010 than Minnesota Vikings' cornerback Antoine Winfield. According to this list, anyway. . .a list which, if I haven't already pointed it out, is a complete freaking joke.
We highlighted how great Winfield's 2010 season was here once already. According to Football Outsiders, the average pass thrown in Winfield's direction in 2010 netted 3.8 yards, a full yard less than the next best figure on that list. He was also tied for the highest "Success Rate" in the NFL for cornerbacks with some guy named Darrelle Revis, who I've heard is a decent cover guy as well.
Another "alternate stats" site, Pro Football Focus, did their top 100 of 2010, too. . .you can read all five parts here, if you'd like. . .and theirs, unlike the NFL Network's list, actually makes sense. Their top 100 has Winfield as the 32nd best player in the NFL in 2010, and the third-highest rated cornerback on the list. Surprisingly, the two guys in front of him were not named "Revis" and "Asomugha," but rather Kansas City's Brandon Flowers (#22) and Denver's Champ Bailey (#19). So, by PFF's measure, Antoine Winfield. . .not Tramon Williams, not Charles Woodson, not Asante Samuel, not Brent Grimes, not Charles Tillman, not Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, and not anybody else. . .was the best cornerback in the National Football Conference in 2010. (For the record, Nnamdi Asomugha was #36, and that Revis fellow didn't appear on PFF's list at all.)
In addition, Pro Football Focus points out that Winfield a) didn't allow a touchdown all year, and b) didn't allow a reception of longer than 27 yards all year. At last check, that's pretty impressive, too.
But Antoine Winfield isn't one of the NFL's 100 best players. Certainly not. That's just foolish talk. I mean, he's damn sure no Donovan McNabb, I can tell you that much. Yes, I get that the "players" voted on this, and apparently asking NFL players to vote in an NFL players' poll is a lot like asking college football coaches to vote in a college football poll.
I wonder if Michael Vick got to cast a ballot for this thing. . .if he did, you can damn sure bet that he put Antoine Winfield's name on there, considering that you could make a pretty compelling case that #26 single-handedly cost the Philadelphia Eagles a first-round bye in the 2010 NFC playoffs because he spent a Tuesday night in Philly making Vick soil himself.
By the by. . .while the NFL Network's list only has two members of the Minnesota Vikings on it, the list at Pro Football Focus has six. . .Percy Harvin, Chad Greenway, E.J. Henderson, Kevin Williams, Antoine Winfield, and Adrian Peterson all made it. But what do those guys know? I mean, they only watch every single game and all that.
Honestly, I don't care if Peterson ends up at #1 on the NFL Network's list. Don't get me wrong, he won't. . .the guy could rush for 2,000 yards and cure cancer in the same year, and because he's a Viking he'd still be lucky to crack the top 20. . .but the absence of a player of Antoine Winfield's caliber completely invalidates their entire list.
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How is Kevin Williams not on this list?
I can think of maybe 3 DT’s that I would put in the same class as Williams. This list just proves that the players are only slightly better informed than the fans who vote for the Pro Bowl. I’d like to see what a coach’s list looks like though.
by Cobra312004 on May 12, 2011 8:15 PM CDT reply actions 1 recs
That is unbelievable to me.
I am a Lions fan and I hope that Suh proves to be as successful as Kevin Williams has been for the Vikes.
"Filling a need doesn’t necessarily mean you’re getting a good player," said Schwartz. "It doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re getting a player that best fits; it doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re getting a player that’s better than what you have already."
this is fine with me
these guys don’t play the game because they want meaningless recognition from football “experts”, no they play because that’s what they enjoy doing. They let their talent speak for themselves.
This
Hating the (New York) Yankees is as American as pizza pie, unwed mothers, and cheating on your income tax. ~ Mike Royco
by Percy Harvin My Fav! on May 12, 2011 8:27 PM CDT up reply actions
Oh, I understand that
I just think it’s kind of funny that the league’s “official network” is so utterly clueless.
SBNation Minnesota - For the greatest sports fans in the world.
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by Christopher Gates on May 12, 2011 8:29 PM CDT up reply actions
Well, it's the players
Not the network. NFL Network always has excellent lists when they do the Top 10. And The Vikings are typically featured a lot in those. So I’d put more stock in this being the players not respecting the Vikings more than the Network being utterly clueless, but that’s just me.
Hating the (New York) Yankees is as American as pizza pie, unwed mothers, and cheating on your income tax. ~ Mike Royco
by Percy Harvin My Fav! on May 12, 2011 8:31 PM CDT up reply actions
I could care less about these
stupid lists. They’re all opinion based and everyone has a different opinion so I put no stock into them. All I care about is this team getting back on the fast track to the playoffs with the players we have, whether they’re top 100 or not. I’d rather win the super bowl with 2 of the top 100 then miss the playoffs with 53 of the top 100.
Is it September yet?
Hating the (New York) Yankees is as American as pizza pie, unwed mothers, and cheating on your income tax. ~ Mike Royco
by Percy Harvin My Fav! on May 12, 2011 8:29 PM CDT reply actions
Hey were has Revenge4Favre
been, ik he’d have a fit for Favre not making the list lol.
☠★☪My dream, is to see the Minnesota Vi♛s win a superbowl. USA- the land were dreams come true. ☀ ツ This is our ۩۩house۩
by UnBannedVikingholic on May 12, 2011 8:36 PM CDT reply actions
lmao.
He got banned from all of SBNation awhile ago
Hating the (New York) Yankees is as American as pizza pie, unwed mothers, and cheating on your income tax. ~ Mike Royco
by Percy Harvin My Fav! on May 12, 2011 8:37 PM CDT up reply actions
Yep.
Thought so too, but according to Chris he was being a nuisance to every SBN site and I’d believe it.
Hating the (New York) Yankees is as American as pizza pie, unwed mothers, and cheating on your income tax. ~ Mike Royco
by Percy Harvin My Fav! on May 12, 2011 8:40 PM CDT up reply actions
He was
Sorry. . .my original comment contained a little more info than it needed to. My bad.
SBNation Minnesota - For the greatest sports fans in the world.
The Daily Norseman - The greatest Vikings' site on the Internet!
by Christopher Gates on May 12, 2011 8:53 PM CDT up reply actions
Youre fine Chris
It’s probably better that a lot of people ddidn’t see that.
Hating the (New York) Yankees is as American as pizza pie, unwed mothers, and cheating on your income tax. ~ Mike Royco
by Percy Harvin My Fav! on May 12, 2011 10:02 PM CDT via mobile up reply actions
ONE MORE YEAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
JK :-) Seriously, this list is a farce and lets not put to much stock into it. I sure as hell don’t.
by SeanInEauClaireWi on May 12, 2011 8:54 PM CDT reply actions
No surprise
My first thought when I heard about this list was that Winfield should be on it, but won’t be. Shocker. Regardless, I’m glad he’s on our side and not somewhere else. I love that guy almost as much as Kleinsasser.
I wouldn't get too bent over this list
After all, 53 players on an active roster x 32 teams = a billion players.
OK, more like 1696 players.
Each team could only average about 3 players on the list of Top 100.
For a 6-10 team to still have 2 players isn’t bad. It’s a big league.
Anyone who calls the Williams Wall the 'Williams Sisters' cannot possibly be a real Vikings fan. Check back with me when Ray Edwards has gone to a Pro Bowl or is being talked about as a future Hall of Famer.
Peterson = #1 RB
Or this list isn’t just flawed, it’s a lie. No one in this league relishes the opportunity to take him on 1-on-1. He managed to make Ed Reed and Troy Polamalu look bad in consecutive games 2 seasons ago.
by Cobra312004 on May 12, 2011 11:01 PM CDT up reply actions
I disagree
From a players standpoint, I’d rather take on Johnson than Peterson. If anyone says differently, they’re lying or they’ve never played against Peterson.
TBH
I’m not surprised we only have two players due ot the reasons you stated but also because of just how everything unfolded last season.
Peterson deserves to be on the list, without a question. Harvin, should’ve probably made the list more so than Allen. Allen was absent for what seemed like the first 8 or 9 games almost, perhaps it was because I was so focused on our terrible O or watching our safeties get smoked play after play, that I wasn’t paying much attention to the DEs but I don’t really remember Allen playing particularly well until almost half way through the season.
Allen made it the same reason McNabb did
Track record played a factor in this list.
But Allen has been one of the top 2 sack producers for the last 4 years (55.5) so I think he absolutely deserves to be on this list, even if he “only” had 11 sacks last year.
Is it just me
Or does this picture make everyone ancy for thus year?
Hating the (New York) Yankees is as American as pizza pie, unwed mothers, and cheating on your income tax. ~ Mike Royco
by Percy Harvin My Fav! on May 12, 2011 10:04 PM CDT via mobile reply actions
Two things
I’m stunned that Winfield isn’t on this list. To be 34 and playing at a high level for a CB is rare.
I’m more stunned that McNabb is ON the list. At times, he looked as bad as Favre did last year.
"Lord I pray for the eyes of an eagle, the heart of a lion and the balls of a combat helicopter pilot."
Actions Speak Louder Than Votes
The way I see it, a player could take it one of three ways;
1) Who cares?
2) Wow, my peers don’t respect me, I must suck!
3) Looks like I need to bust up a few more knuckleheads so they pay better attention.
I’m thinking #3 is the way to go. Hopefully, the Vikings will take this as a challenge and step up their game even higher for the next season they play (whenever that will be).
Ah, ah,
We come from the land of the ice and snow,
From the midnight sun where the hot springs blow.
The hammer of the gods will drive our ships to new lands,
To fight the horde, singing and crying: Valhalla, I am coming!
SKOL!
You forgot one
If your name is Ray Edwards you say, “I didn’t make the ‘Top 100 Players’ List? I should get a big fat RAISE!”
Anyone who calls the Williams Wall the 'Williams Sisters' cannot possibly be a real Vikings fan. Check back with me when Ray Edwards has gone to a Pro Bowl or is being talked about as a future Hall of Famer.
Their top 100 all time was a joke too
Leaving CC off and then put Moss at 64 and Raymond Berry was in the top 20 I think.
After that i knew better than to watch this show.
"We can't get pushed around," Haley said. "What commentators say about us, that's their job. My job is to try and limit as many people who want to take liberties with our guys as possible."
by BobbyNystromOwnsYou on May 13, 2011 1:35 PM CDT reply actions
They left CC off the top 100 all time?
Was that a player’s list or what? There are a few top 100 all time lists done by the NFL Network and CC is number one on one of them (over Jerry Rice because of his sweet sweet hands and tip-toe catches).
I don't know
I do know that the personalities from the NFL network like Mooch and Rich Eisen voted. Of course Moss (I got mad love for coach for Belliicheat) was a PAT when they made the list. I’m sure that helped.
Moss was surely more talented than CC, but nowhere near the WR he was.
"We can't get pushed around," Haley said. "What commentators say about us, that's their job. My job is to try and limit as many people who want to take liberties with our guys as possible."
by BobbyNystromOwnsYou on May 13, 2011 2:12 PM CDT reply actions
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