Debating NFC North Player Rankings in the NFL Network's Top 100 Players

One darn good way to get some hits (without mentioning Football Jesus in NYC)? Get a list.

It doesn't matter where someone is, someone else is going to get bent out of shape about it.

That said, I have some issues with the NFC North representation as of today (which ends with Rob Gronkowski at 21).

Let's start, though, with guys NOT on the list and see if there is concern.

Calvin Johnson, Aaron Rodgers, Adrian Peterson, Jared Allen, Jay Cutler, Brandon Marshall, Tramon Williams—none there yet.

My assumption is that C.J., Rodgers, AP and Jared Allen will be on the list, sub 20 at the least.

Cutler should have been in the top 100, even though I can see the argument against it. It's a miss but not a stunning one. Marshall probably isn't quite good enough, though his productivity without a decent quarterback in Miami is impressive to me.

Williams is an interesting one. Maybe he sneaks in top 20, but that seems high. So where is he? He had a bad year, but so did Nnamdi Asomugha and he's on the list. So is Tim Tebow. Cortland Finnegan.

So, I have a bit of an issue with no Tramon Williams. He's a very good player who had an off year. Where is he and what are the players thinking?

Of the NFC North teams, the Packers have the most players so far with five, the Bears have four, the Lions two and the Vikings none.

Here are some guys who are on the list and what I think about their inclusion and ranking.

No. 92—John Kuhn, Packers FB

Sort of odd on the one hand, but if you were wondering if the players pay attention to other teams, this proves they do. Kuhn doesn't do much if you're a casual fan. It's fun when he gets the ball and it's fun to chant his name.

But Packers fans, writers and apparently other NFL players know he is much more than that. Kuhn is a phenomenal blocker, a hard worker and a great teammate by all accounts.

He does a lot of the little things well at a position that gets overlooked, especially as some teams move more towards tight ends and away from fullbacks.

I love his spot on the list. Did he knock out a guy like Williams? Maybe, but I like it all the same.

No. 80—Jordy Nelson, Packers WR

This feels about right based on last year. Remember that this isn't a lifetime achievement award thing. This is a list which fluctuates year to year.

So, this ranking isn't completely insane or anything. Nelson did a freakishly good job last year and put up tremendous points. He played hard and showed speed, good hands a some excellent physicality.

Was I a little surprised he made the list? Yes, though in retrospect I shouldn't have been.

He's clearly a very talented athlete. We'll see if this is just the start for him.

No. 72—Lance Briggs, Bears LB

Briggs' numbers did fall off a bit last year, and he didn't have a sack for the first time since 2004. He's never been a huge sack artist, though, as he's always been about the tackles.

At first, I looked at his numbers compared to someone like James Harrison's (No. 29) and thought, "Wow, sacks DO matter more." Looking closer, though, Harrison misses five games. You could argue that immediately makes him too high, until you realize that he was on pace to meet Briggs' tackle numbers while also heading towards a ton of sacks. He had nine in just 11 games.

So, then you look at overall impact and, while Briggs is terribly good, Harrison just has a greater overall effect.

No. 56—Greg Jennings, Packers WR

Again, this is a perfect ranking. Jennings has developed into an outstanding receiver, starting in 2010 when he just pretty much took over the offense. A tremendous vertical threat, he will also fight for the ball and has great hands.

My only problem with this ranking actually is someone else's ranking.

So we're going to go out of order here because—

No. 48—Devin Hester, Bears WR

—how the hell do you have Hester higher than Jennings? He's a phenomenal return guy—but that's it. He rounds out his routes. He can't beat a physical corner.

The only way my brain can grasp this is that he is SO impactful on special teams that kick teams have to game-plan for him.

So, I can maybe buy the ranking, but ahead of Jennings? That's insane. Even Bears fans have to see that.

Do we have to go into the numbers for both? How they impact the game as a whole? Yes, Hester gets you good—let's say great—field position, which is a critical and underrated aspect of the game.

However, beyond that he doesn't do much. Maybe that changes this year but it didn't last year.

If you want to shut Greg Jennings down, often you have to double-team him. You need to focus on him, which allows the offense to open up other areas of attack.

You shut Hester down by not kicking him the ball.

So, who has more impact? I can't imagine there's even a debate.

The ranking is ludicrous. It's insane. I mean, I give the players involved all the credit in the world and am sure they have their reasons for their choices. From certain aspects, I understand why Hester is on this list.

Ahead of Greg Jennings, though? Right behind Mike Wallace (I could go on about Wallace being ahead of Jennings, but at least he catches the ball more than a handful of times a game when he's passed to)? Ahead of Roddy White? Hakeem Nicks?

Where's A.J. Green? Julio Jones?

I could do a whole article on this, really.

However, there is more to talk about, so let's move on.

No. 51—Brian Urlacher, Bears LB

Like Lance Briggs, Urlacher had a down year in some respects but was still a force to be reckoned with in the defensive front.

With a contract year coming up, it bodes well for what Urlacher might see in cash if the coaches feel the same way about him his fellow players do.

Has he lost a step? Certainly. Still, he's a game-changer at the linebacker position and still has some left in the tank.

I wrote the other day that the Bears should bring him back for a few more years before he calls it a day.

No. 41—Matt Stafford, Lions QB

There has been a lot of debate over this ranking. Is it too high, too low, an insult?

So far, the only quarterback ahead of Stafford with whom I take issue is Cam Newton. Mind you, I love Cam Newton and am a believer. Even if he regresses a bit, he's shown me enough to where I believe he's the real deal.

That said, he had one very good year in the league, and he didn't achieve anything like what Stafford did. I have a hard time wrapping my head around a rookie player being ranked over one of the best in the league.

Yes, Stafford has been hurt most of his short career. However, he's been very productive when healthy.

This is another ranking which, like the Hester/Jennings one, at once makes total sense and no sense.

Stafford at 41 makes sense to me—until I see Newton at 40.

Even on a "What has he done lately?" basis, it makes no sense.

The only thing I can think of is that Newton was doubted by so many coming in that when he proved them wrong, in the manner he did, that he really rose in the estimation of the other players in the league who likely identified with him at least a little.

Still—it's a ranking I don't agree with.

No. 38—Ndamukong Suh, Lions DL

For all of Suh's great rookie season, he crashed back to earth in more than one way in 2011. Two less games meant a lot less tackles, and teams were much more efficient at keeping him off the quarterbacks.

If this was year one, I might feel better about this ranking.

Suh is a beast and maybe if he played all 16 games his numbers would be better and he'd be more effective. However, he wasn't repeating his sack total; he isn't always much of a force against the run; and getting ejected and suspended sort of limits his ability to help his team.

It's an interesting ranking—clearly the players who voted feel that this past year was an aberration in many ways. I don't disagree, but if we're voting on last year (as we clearly did with Cam Newton) how does Suh rate this high?

It's one of the odd things about the list and, frankly, why it sucks to have a list in a vacuum.

Suh is incredibly talented and the sky is truly the limit for him. He has a few hurdles before I am comfortable with this ranking, though. His temper, his technique, his consistency.

Two years in, though, and he's on his way.

No. 36—Charles Woodson, Packers CB

Woodson definitely deserves this ranking—as of now, the highest on the list.

My guess is that the New York Jets' Darrelle Revis is higher, as he's not on the list yet.

I find it increasingly difficult to compare these two as they do such different things. Woodson is not the shutdown corner Revis is, but Revis is not the well-rounded player Woodson is.

People throw at Woodson more. They avoid Revis as much as possible.

Woodson wouldn't have been trucked by Tim Tebow the way Revis was last season.

I would have expected the two to be closer together—as it stands, the fact that Revis can shut down just about any wide receiver and that teams avoid his side of the field meant more to the players than the overall skill set of Woodson.

Assuming Revis ends up in the top 20.

I don't disagree with Woodson's ranking. I do disagree with the perceived gap between him and Revis.

No. 33—Matt Forte, Bears RB

Can't fault this ranking and really it just drives home my point that you can't just plug Michael Bush in place of Forte and call it a day.

Forte is much better than that and this ranking is perfect. Arian Foster, Ray Rice and one assumes LeSean McCoy and Adrian Peterson can all be argued above Forte.

The only issue might be the ranking of Frank Gore (No. 28), though I often think of Gore as wildly underrated.

I don't have a huge problem with the ranking, though I would probably switch the two of them.

No. 27—Clay Matthews, Packers LB

No issue here. I'm a big Matthews fan, ever since his senior year at USC. He wowed me on tape, wowed me at his pro day and I am unsurprised he is the best of the three linebackers who came out that year (Brian Cushing and Rey Maualuga being the other two).

Adding the players they did in the draft will only make him more effective.

So expect him higher next year.

No. 26—Julius Peppers, Bears DL

I expected Peppers to be a bit further back. However, he's still as productive as he's ever been and a tremendous asset on the defensive line. The Bears will have one heck of a unit there with Peppers, Israel Idonije and rookie Shea McClellin on the edges.

Peppers may be getting on in years, but he continues to prove that the Carolina Panthers never should have let him go.

I can definitely buy him as one of the most dominant players in the NFL.

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