Category: Top 101 of 2011
PFF Top 101 of 2011: The Top 10
Dissatisfied with the NFL Network’s Top 100 as voted on by the players? Pro Football Focus made our own list, compiled after watching every player on every snap in every game of the 2011 season. Earlier we brought you 20-11 and you can catch up on all of the previous installments here: 101-91 | 90-81 | 80-71 | 70-61 | 60-51 | 50-41 | 30-21. For the full [...]
PFF Mailbag: The PFF 101 Edition
PFF’s Top 101 of 2011 was a hot topic with our readers and, as is to be expected with that sort of undertaking, there were plenty of questions surrounding particular rankings and omissions. Our analysts shared their thoughts on some players they would have liked to see make the list (Neil, Ben, Sam, Khaled), but [...]
No. 1: Aaron Rodgers, QB, Green Bay Packers
We all know the story of Aaron Rodgers and the top of the 2005 NFL Draft. That year was seen as something of a sub-par season for quarterback prospects largely due to the vintage year that preceded it. The San Francisco 49ers with the No. 1 overall choice had to decide between Alex Smith and [...]
No. 2: Justin Smith, DE, San Francisco 49ers
The Cincinnati Bengals once allowed Justin Smith to seek his fortune elsewhere in free agency. Maybe he was miscast in their 4-3 defense, or maybe he never realized his potential for the Bengals. Since that point in time he has been one of the best players in football for the 49ers. He’s not playing a [...]
No. 3: Drew Brees, QB, New Orleans Saints
Hard as it is to believe, there was once a time when Drew Brees wasn’t one of the best quarterbacks in the league. In fact, there was once a point where the San Diego Chargers were so disappointed with his development that they drafted his replacement, Philip Rivers, in the first round. From that point [...]
No. 4: Calvin Johnson, WR, Detroit Lions
There isn’t a more athletically gifted receiver in the game than Calvin Johnson. At 6-foot-5 and 235lbs, Johnson is bigger, stronger, and in most cases faster player than those trying to cover him. That’s the holy trinity of unfair advantage and it all resulted in him beating up on coverage units seemingly at will last [...]
No. 5: Darrelle Revis, CB, New York Jets
Darrelle Revis is the unquestioned best cornerback in football. It wasn’t long ago the term “shutdown corner” was thought to be an anachronism, an extinct species no longer applicable to the modern game, but Revis changed that. Revis isn’t just capable of shutting down one side of the field, but in the Jets defensive system, [...]
No. 6: Rob Gronkowski, TE, New England Patriots
In a year in which records tumbled, Rob Gronkowski may have set the bar higher than anybody else. First he broke the all-time single-season touchdown record for tight ends, finishing the year with 17, and then he broke a 31-year-old record for receiving yards in a single season by a tight end. The 1,327 yards [...]
No. 7: Terrell Suggs, DE/OLB, Baltimore Ravens
There are some players that just set the tone for an entire defense and Terrell Suggs is one of those guys, and he does so on one of the league’s best units. Announcing himself as being from “Ball-So-Hard University” on the TV broadcasts, that’s a perfect description of the kind of game Suggs brings each [...]
No. 8: Eli Manning, QB, New York Giants
Any time a season ends with a Super Bowl ring, it will always be remembered fondly, but Eli Manning had a truly remarkable season that deserves looking at in more detail. The raw numbers are impressive in themselves: 4,933 yards, 29 touchdowns, 61% completion percentage, and a QB rating of 92.9 over the regular season, [...]
