Pro Football Focus Top 101 Of 2011

[Yatagarasu]

As we all wait for NFL.com to unveil the top 100 for the 2012 season, I believe the already established Pro Football Focus Top 101 of 2011 gives a lot of clues of how the board might look or not. Also, the stats don't lie, which is why these guys have earned their reputation through their performance. However, not all rankings are perfect, so there will be some questions on how some players rank higher than others.

Here are the criterias:
• It was based [b]solely[/b] on 2011.
• It was based on an ethos of [b]all positions created equal[/b]. This isn’t about the most valuable players; otherwise there would be a lot more quarterbacks. This is about looking at what is expected from a position and who most exceeded that.

[b]BOLD = Ravens[/b]

[b]PFF Top 101 of 2011:[/b]
1. Aaron Rodgers
2. Justin Smith
3. Drew Brees
4. Calvin Johnson
5. Darrelle Revis
6. Rob Gronkowski
[b]7. Terrell Suggs[/b]
8. Eli Manning
9. Larry Fitzgerald
10. Jared Allen
11. Jason Peters
12. Von Miller
13. Tom Brady
14. NaVorro Bowman
15. Maurice Jones-Drew
16. Cameron Wake
17. Jason Pierre-Paul
18. Evan Mathis
19. Geno Atkins
20. Patrick Willis
21. Jimmy Graham
22. Chris Myers
23. Trent Cole
24. Wes Welker
[b]25. Lardarius Webb[/b]
26. DeMarcus Ware
27. Carl Nicks
28. Derrick Johnson
29. Arian Foster
30. Johnathan Joseph
31. LeSean McCoy
32. Brian Cushing
33. Troy Polamalu
[b]34. Marshal Yanda[/b]
35. John Abraham
36. Sione Pouha
37. Victor Cruz
38. Clay Matthews
39. Aaron Hernandez
40. Fred Jackson
41. Daryl Smith
42. Steve Smith
43. Matt Forte
44. Cortland Finnegan
45. Ray McDonald
46. Nick Mangold
47. Julius Peppers
48. Ben Roethlisberger
49. Darren Sproles
50. Hakeem Nicks
51. Tamba Hali
52. Jason Babin
53. Jordy Nelson
54. J.J. Watts
55. Adrian Peterson
56. Marques Colston
57. Calais Campbell
[b]58. Ray Lewis[/b]
59. Tyron Smith
60. Antonio Brown
61. Percy Harvin
62. Brent Grimes
63. Mike Wallace
64. Aldon Smith
65. Duane Brown
66. Eric Weddle
67. Joe Thomas
68. James Harrison
69. Brodrick Bunkley
70. Adrian Wilson
71. Bryan Bulaga
72. Jairus Byrd
73. Richard Seymour
74. Matt Ryan
75. John Sullivan
76. Stephen Tulloch
77. Jay Ratliff
78. Carlos Rogers
79. Sean Weatherspoon
80. Champ Bailey
81. Matthew Stafford
82. Andrew Whitworth
83. Kevin Williams
84. Tony Gonzalez
[b]85. Ray Rice[/b]
86. Paul Posluszny
87. Kam Chancellor
88. Joe Haden
89. Philip Rivers
[b]90. Haloti Ngata[/b]
91. Chris Long
92. Marshawn Lynch
93. Asante Samuel
94. Alan Branch
95. Cam Newton
96. London Fletcher
97. Brian Orakpo
98. Josh Sitton
99. Richard Shermon
100. Erin Henderson
101. Chris Gamble

[url="http://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2012/05/03/pff-top-101-of-2011-the-top-10/"]Link for 1-10[/url]

[url="http://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2012/05/03/pff-top-101-of-2011-20-to-11/"]Link for 11-20[/url]

[url="http://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2012/05/02/pff-top-101-of-2011-30-to-21/"]Link for 21-30[/url]

[url="http://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2012/05/02/pff-top-101-of-2011-40-to-31/"]Link for 31-40[/url]

[url="https://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2012/05/01/pff-top-101-of-2011-50-to-41/"]Link for 41-50[/url]

[url="https://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2012/05/01/pff-top-101-of-2011-60-to-51/"]Link for 51-60[/url]

[url="http://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2012/04/30/pff-top-101-of-2011-70-to-61/"]Link for 61-70[/url]

[url="http://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2012/04/30/pff-top-101-of-2011-80-to-71/"]Link for 71-80[/url]

[url="https://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2012/04/29/pff-top-101-of-2011-90-to-81/"]Link for 81-90[/url]

[url="https://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2012/04/29/pff-top-101-of-2011-101-to-91/"]Link for 91-101[/url]

[Yatagarasu]

There were six Ravens players that made the list.
[b]7. Terrell Suggs[/b]
[b]25. Lardarius Webb[/b]
[b]34. Marshal Yanda[/b]
[b]58. Ray Lewis[/b]
[b]85. Ray Rice[/b]
[b]90. Haloti Ngata[/b]

[lgcs27288]

Shoulda made RL number 52 for the hell of it

[Yatagarasu]

Here are some notable players that did not make the 101st.

[b]Quarterbacks:[/b]
Joe Flacco - His regular season stats were down
Tony Romo - If Flacco doesn't make, I guess they fel the same with Romo
Michael Vick - Hmmm, I think running QBs can be detrimental to the team by being injured
Andy Dalton - Rookie QB did solid, but not enough to be top 10
Alex Smith - Playing in a Run First Offense and with inconsistent receivers didn't help his cause

[b]Runningbacks:[/b]
Michael Turner - He had a respectable season, but not enough to make the list
Chris Johnson - There's a reason why he couldn't back up his big paycheck after a lengthy holdout
Frank Gore - After all those carries from the past, he seems to have slowed down with various injuries
Stephen Jackson - Playing on one of the worst offense didn't help
Reggie Bush - Finally broke the 1000 mark, but there were a lot of good backs ahead of him

[b]Wide Receivers (including TEs):[/b]
Brandon Marshall - All those drops and bad QB situation didn't help his cause
Dwyane Bowe - He didn't get a lot of help as his QB situation was a mess
Vincent Jackson - Too many Feast or Famine games to be consistent
Roddy White - It's good to get a lot of targets, but bad to drop a bunch of them
A.J. Green - He had a strong rookie year, but the ranking were not kind to WRs
Greg Jennings - He was on fire until he was shut down for the last three games

[b]O-lineman:[/b]
D'Brickashaw Ferguson - He had a down year, and Mark Sanchez didn't help much either
Jahri Evans - He was overshadowed by the more dominant Carl Nicks
Logan Mankins - He's considered one of the best guards, but did not make the cut
Michael Roos - He was probably shadowed by the poor offensive showing in Tennessee
Jake Long - He had a down year as the Phins were a mess
Ryan Kalil - Had a solid year, but did not make the cut
Joe Staley - He had a solid year, but was overshadowed by the conservative running offense
Maurkice Pouncey - I guess everyone takes the fall for the poor Steelers O-line

[b]Defensive Tackles:[/b]
Marcell Dareus - He proved his worth of being a high draft pick, but being in a bad defense didn't help
Ndamukong Suh - His down season filled with suspension and more attention did play a factor
Vince Wilfork - He provide a stout presence, but couldn't help much for the sieve secondary
Ahtyba Rubin - He did help anchor a top 10 defense, but Browns don't get too much love for their poor season

[b]Pass Rushers:[/b]
Lamar Woodley - Missing 6 games didn't help I guess
Mario Willaims - IR is brutal
Connor Barwin - Williams' replacement didn't get recognition for a breakout year and I wonder why.
Dwight Freeney - Being on the worst team doesn't help much
Robert Mathis - Same as the above
Elvis Dumervil - Probably got overshadowed by the rookie Von Miller
Charles Johnson - I guess that big paycheck couldn't do much
Jabaal Shread - Breakout Rookie, but I think the standards for the Pass Rushers have risen due to the league passing more
Osi Umenyiora - Injuries didn't help for the eariler struggle, but he did get 9 sacks in 9 regular season games
Chris Clemons - Double Digit sacks, but not a lot of recognition

[b]Linebackers:[/b]
Jon Beason - IR doesn't help much
D'Qwell Jackson - A solid player in a really bad team
James Laurinaitis - Another solid player in a really bad team
Karlos Dansby - He performed all over the board, but the Dolphins' poor season didn't help

[b]Cornerbacks:[/b]
Nnamdi Asomugha - HIs struggle was evident as he misses the ranking
Charles Woodson - I guess he was part of the blame for the terrible secondary performance
Brandon Carr - His underrated season was overshadowed by the mess in Kansas City
Ike Taylor - He had another solid year, but his poor performance at Mile High did no favor

[b]Safeties:[/b]
Ed Reed - I assume that Reed didn't make enough interception like the safeties on the list.
Roman Harper - Those sacks look nice, but he was part of the poor secondary
Dashon Goldson - He had a breakout year, but was overshadowed by the other studs of the 49ers' defense
Earl Thomas - Had a underrated year, but was shadowed by the inconsistent Seattle Defense

Just from looking at this list. There's a lot of players that deserve to be in the top 101. Also, I think playing in a bad team doesn't help a lot of cause unless you shut down the playing field like Revis or Allen.

[BloodRaven]

Well it's a hell of a lot better than the nfl.com list.

[Clutch Ravens]

[quote name='BloodRaven' timestamp='1336720911' post='1076152']
Well it's a hell of a lot better than the nfl.com list.
[/quote]

Definitely.

It'll all be worked from their PFF Ratings, which is a lot more accurate than the random opinions that NFL.com spews out.

[Ravenslifer]

[quote name='Corvus Amplus' timestamp='1336716752' post='1076144']
As we all wait for NFL.com to unveil the top 100 for the 2012 season, I believe the already established Pro Football Focus Top 101 of 2011 gives a lot of clues of how the board might look or not. Also, the stats don't lie, which is why these guys have earned their reputation through their performance. However, not all rankings are perfect, so there will be some questions on how some players rank higher than others.

Here are the criterias:
• It was based [b]solely[/b] on 2011.
• It was based on an ethos of [b]all positions created equal[/b]. This isn’t about the most valuable players; otherwise there would be a lot more quarterbacks. This is about looking at what is expected from a position and who most exceeded that.

[b]BOLD = Ravens[/b]

[b]PFF Top 101 of 2011:[/b]
1. Aaron Rodgers
2. Justin Smith
3. Drew Brees
4. Calvin Johnson
5. Darrelle Revis
6. Rob Gronkowski
[b]7. Terrell Suggs[/b]
8. Eli Manning
9. Larry Fitzgerald
10. Jared Allen
11. Jason Peters
12. Von Miller
13. Tom Brady
14. NaVorro Bowman
15. Maurice Jones-Drew
16. Cameron Wake
17. Jason Pierre-Paul
18. Evan Mathis
19. Geno Atkins
20. Patrick Willis
21. Jimmy Graham
22. Chris Myers
23. Trent Cole
24. Wes Welker
[b]25. Lardarius Webb[/b]
26. DeMarcus Ware
27. Carl Nicks
28. Derrick Johnson
29. Arian Foster
30. Johnathan Joseph
31. LeSean McCoy
32. Brian Cushing
33. Troy Polamalu
[b]34. Marshal Yanda[/b]
35. John Abraham
36. Sione Pouha
37. Victor Cruz
38. Clay Matthews
39. Aaron Hernandez
40. Fred Jackson
41. Daryl Smith
42. Steve Smith
43. Matt Forte
44. Cortland Finnegan
45. Ray McDonald
46. Nick Mangold
47. Julius Peppers
48. Ben Roethlisberger
49. Darren Sproles
50. Hakeem Nicks
51. Tamba Hali
52. Jason Babin
53. Jordy Nelson
54. J.J. Watts
55. Adrian Peterson
56. Marques Colston
57. Calais Campbell
[b]58. Ray Lewis[/b]
59. Tyron Smith
60. Antonio Brown
61. Percy Harvin
62. Brent Grimes
63. Mike Wallace
64. Aldon Smith
65. Duane Brown
66. Eric Weddle
67. Joe Thomas
68. James Harrison
69. Brodrick Bunkley
70. Adrian Wilson
71. Bryan Bulaga
72. Jairus Byrd
73. Richard Seymour
74. Matt Ryan
75. John Sullivan
76. Stephen Tulloch
77. Jay Ratliff
78. Carlos Rogers
79. Sean Weatherspoon
80. Champ Bailey
81. Matthew Stafford
82. Andrew Whitworth
83. Kevin Williams
84. Tony Gonzalez
[b]85. Ray Rice[/b]
86. Paul Posluszny
87. Kam Chancellor
88. Joe Haden
89. Philip Rivers
[b]90. Haloti Ngata[/b]
91. Chris Long
92. Marshawn Lynch
93. Asante Samuel
94. Alan Branch
95. Cam Newton
96. London Fletcher
97. Brian Orakpo
98. Josh Sitton
99. Richard Shermon
100. Erin Henderson
101. Chris Gamble

[url="http://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2012/05/03/pff-top-101-of-2011-the-top-10/"]Link for 1-10[/url]

[url="http://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2012/05/03/pff-top-101-of-2011-20-to-11/"]Link for 11-20[/url]

[url="http://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2012/05/02/pff-top-101-of-2011-30-to-21/"]Link for 21-30[/url]

[url="http://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2012/05/02/pff-top-101-of-2011-40-to-31/"]Link for 31-40[/url]

[url="https://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2012/05/01/pff-top-101-of-2011-50-to-41/"]Link for 41-50[/url]

[url="https://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2012/05/01/pff-top-101-of-2011-60-to-51/"]Link for 51-60[/url]

[url="http://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2012/04/30/pff-top-101-of-2011-70-to-61/"]Link for 61-70[/url]

[url="http://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2012/04/30/pff-top-101-of-2011-80-to-71/"]Link for 71-80[/url]

[url="https://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2012/04/29/pff-top-101-of-2011-90-to-81/"]Link for 81-90[/url]

[url="https://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2012/04/29/pff-top-101-of-2011-101-to-91/"]Link for 91-101[/url]
[/quote]

Do they have a list for 2010? Never mind I found it - Matt Ryan the ONLY quarterback in the top 10 besides Rodgers, and Joe not on the list at all.

[hawkprey]

Hard to believe Justin Smith is #2. Why is Revis so far ahead of Webb? How does Brandon Browner not make the list? Polamalu at #33? What did he do all last year? That said, what did Rivers do to get one spot ahead of Ngata? Rivers had a terrible year. How is Ray Rice so far down the list when he had the most yards from scrimmage?

Lots of questions for this list, but I assume not everyone is going to agree with all 101.

[XxSizzleXx]

Wow, unbelievable how underrated Yanda is.
[color=#008000][size=1][b]34. Marshal Yanda, OG, Baltimore Ravens[/b][/size][/color]
Our top-ranked right guard in 2011, Yanda played through pain in the final weeks of the season. It showed in the postseason and his play there didn’t reflect just how well he performed in Baltimore’s regular campaign. No other right guard had as high a run blocking grade and only one bested his [color=#008000][b]+16.2[/b][/color] pass blocking grade. A year after excelling at right tackle, Yanda has returned to his natural position and assumed his role as the top man at the spot.
[b]Best Performance: [/b]Week 13 at Cleveland ([color=#008000][b]+4.0[/b][/color])
[b]Key Stat: [/b]Gave up just two sacks, a hit, and six hurries on 571 pass blocks. That gives him the best Pass Blocking Efficiency of any guard who played more than 250 snaps in pass protection.


So he only gave up 2 sacks, 1 hit and 6 hurries. That means he didn't allow a sack all regular season, the 2 came against JJ Watt in the playoff game.

[gabefergy]

[quote name='hawkprey' timestamp='1336843708' post='1076851']
Hard to believe Justin Smith is #2. Why is Revis so far ahead of Webb? How does Brandon Browner not make the list? Polamalu at #33? What did he do all last year? That said, what did Rivers do to get one spot ahead of Ngata? Rivers had a terrible year. How is Ray Rice so far down the list when he had the most yards from scrimmage?

Lots of questions for this list, but I assume not everyone is going to agree with all 101.
[/quote]
Did you read the explanations? Each player has a blurb and the rank stems directly from how they graded each players performance throughout the season.

[hawkprey]

[quote name='gabefergy' timestamp='1336858652' post='1076933']
Did you read the explanations? Each player has a blurb and the rank stems directly from how they graded each players performance throughout the season.
[/quote]
There's still a lot they don't take into account, like opponent quality and the quality of teammates. For example, Justin Smith played in the NFC where there were a lot more passing downs (especially considering their run defense) and has plenty of support from guys next to him in addition to playing against the bad NFC West O-lines.

[gabefergy]

[quote name='hawkprey' timestamp='1336861024' post='1076947']
There's still a lot they don't take into account, like opponent quality and the quality of teammates. For example, Justin Smith played in the NFC where there were a lot more passing downs (especially considering their run defense) and has plenty of support from guys next to him in addition to playing against the bad NFC West O-lines.
[/quote]
Very true. I think PFF does a pretty good job with their grades, but there are a lot of variables that make football more than just black and white.

[Yatagarasu]

Justin Smith deserves to be top 10 because he anchored the #1 Defense last year by eating up double teams. If he wasn't doubled, he would produce sacks, hurries, and pressure. There's no denying that he had a All-Pro year.

These guys were put on the top 101 for a reason because they had positive ratings, which means they performed their job well and effectively.

It's funny how Larry Fitzgerald quietly put up 1400 yards with Skelton and Kolb at the helm and with all the attention from the defense. He deserves to be a top 10.