Tom Brady Leads the REAL Top 10 NFL Players in 2011

In response to NFL Network's series finale of the NFL's Top 100 Players, I've decided to unveil my own top 10 players in the NFL entering the 2011 season (assuming we have a 2011 season). This is based on the here and now, not a lifetime achievement award for guys who have a long and impressive track record.

I'm sure your list will differ from mine, but hey...this is a pretty subjective topic anyway, right?

10. Clay Matthews

Matthews has quickly established himself as one of the NFL's elite pass-rushers. His motor is always running, and he keeps opposing QBs doing the same.

How a guy who posts 13.5 sacks, two forced fumbles and a pick-six (and was just about the last man standing on an injury-riddled Packers defense that helped win a Super Bowl) in 2010 can get left off the top 10 list is beyond me.

9. Darrelle Revis

Darrelle Revis is widely considered the best cover corner in the business, and I'd be hard-pressed to find an argument to the contrary. The only reason I don't have him higher on the list is because he was hampered by injury early in 2010 and wasn't at his absolute best.

A strong 2011 would certainly catapult him into the top five next year.

8. Ed Reed

There's simply no better ballhawk in the league than Reed. Despite missing the first six games of the season, No. 20 managed to reel in an astonishing eight interceptions in 10 games. Reed would easily be top five on this list had he played more games.

7. Troy Polamalu

There seems to always be debate over whether Polamalu or Reed holds the title of the league's best safety. My vote is Polamalu by the slimmest of margins. He does everything for Pittsburgh. He ballhawks, he covers, he tackles, he plays in the box. Nobody plays all over the field as effectively as Polamalu does. 

Like Reed, had he stayed healthy all of 2010, he'd be higher on this list.

6. Adrian Peterson

Peterson is bar none the best RB in football. While he ranked third overall in the Top 100 countdown, I have him a bit lower because the position he plays happens to be the most fungible in football. "AD" is a rare talent, but not to the point where you can rank him above franchise QBs.

I will say this: If he's truly got his fumbling issues resolved, then he could very well be in the top five next year.

5. Andre Johnson

With all due respect to Larry Fitzgerald, Johnson is the best WR in the NFL. Size, speed, agility, hands, route running...he's the full package. Plus he doesn't have diarrhea of the mouth like T.O. and Ochocinco. In fact, you could probably say he's got constipation of the mouth since he rarely speaks.

Bathroom humor aside, Johnson belongs in the top five even if the Top 100 countdown disagrees.

4. Drew Brees

If there's a Mount Rushmore of elite NFL QBs, Brees is on it. While he threw an uncharacteristic 22 INTs in 2010, he still completed an amazing 68 percent of his throws, threw 33 TDs and racked up over 4,600 yards.

Being rated ninth in the NFLN's Top 100 was a joke.

3. Peyton Manning

I know this has potential to be controversial, but hear me out...if this is supposed to be the top 10 NFL players today—and not about total career achievement—then this ranking is just. Manning had a bad stretch in the middle of the year where he was throwing picks left and right, and his 91.9 QB rating was his worst since 2002.

I know he still had a great year (4,700 yards, 33 TDs), but I wouldn't say he had a better year than the guys I have ranked as the top two.

2. Aaron Rodgers

One of the most egregious errors from the Top 100 countdown was the omission of Rodgers from the top 10. I mean, all he did was post a 101.2 QB rating, throw 28 TDs, lead a team to a Super Bowl despite an epic rash of injuries and win MVP of said Super Bowl after picking the No. 1 scoring defense to pieces in the biggest game of his life.

If that can't get you in the top 10, I don't know what does.

1. Tom Brady

This was a no-brainer. Brady was the MVP of the league, threw 36 TDs against only four picks all season, and led what we thought was a rebuilding Patriots team to a 14-win regular season.

If "The Golden Boy" keeps this up, he may be the first Hall of Famer to get his bust in gold instead of bronze.