Ranking the Top 25 Commercials of the 2011 NFL Season

Most commercials can be repetitive and boring, but every time a football-related commercial high-steps across the screen, the NFL grabs my attention.

Whether it's Chris Berman and the gang, Drew Brees and Jay Glazer, Coors Light parodies with coaches or some good ol' gridiron action, fans generally look forward to seeing the NFL's brightest personalities in commercials.

Granted, the commercials haven't been amazing this year, but there are some diamonds in the rough.

Coors has stepped their game up, and ESPN's Sunday NFL Countdown crew can always bring out a laugh.

But of course, I love anything that has Mike Ditka featured in it (Daaa Bears).

Just five weeks into the season, these are the top 25 NFL commercials.

25. Deion Sanders, "Jokers"

"You jokers need to wake up" and realize that you have a Tinkerbell-sized Deion Sanders flying around your living room.

I'm going to be honest, there are far better commercials than this one, but I just love the cameo the bulldog makes.

Right now, I'm in my dorm suffering from cable television and no NFL Sunday Ticket. Sweet cruel world, if only Prime Time could magically appear in my house and put any football game I wanted on my TV.

24. Drew Brees Misses the Second Half

Drew Brees forgets that he's supposed to be playing the second half with the New Orleans Saints (yeah, I know), and Jay Glazer points out the obvious in the 24th slot on this list.

Not the funniest commercial, but it's still nice to see Glazer and Brees interact with one another.

23. ESPN Fantasy Draft, the Early Days

This commercial is great because of the dial-up comment.

Do y'all remember what dial-up Internet is? Yeah, I didn't think you'd remember.

It's where you have to wait a few minutes to connect to the Internet.

Good stuff from ESPN in this commercial.

22. Deion Sanders, "Do I Look Make Belief?"

I'm afraid I'll never be able to get used to seeing Sanders dressed up as Tinkerbell.

I see his full pads with wings, and I bury my eyes in my hands. Do your thing Sanders, and don't worry about what I think.

After all, I'd probably do it to if I was getting paid a bazillion dollars.

21. Jim Mora

Playoffs? Okay, it's not that commercial—but this one's pretty good too.

I lose it every time Jim Mora says, "Gee whiz, Kyle."

Gee whiz? Only Mora could pull that off.

20. NFL Network Commercial

Warren Sapp's beautiful smile while brushing his teeth and disappointing facial expression in the car can make any football fan chuckle.

Not to mention, the man's wearing slippers. Good morning! Yeah, good luck getting that song out of your head.

19. "Sunday NFL Countdown," Dig

Is there a better group of guys to watch on TV than Chris Berman, Mike Ditka, Keyshawn Johnson, Tom Jackson and Chris Carter?

If there is, then I just don't know about it, because these guys are great together. Love the show, and I "dig" the commercials.

18. Drew Brees, "You're Not My Friend Anymore"

Glazer and Brees again, and this time it's funnier.

Enough said.

17. Herm Edwards

Herm Edwards, you are my hero. I just wish I could approach life with the same enthusiasm Edwards approaches going to work.

Whenever he makes an appearance on my TV, you won't get any complaints out of me.

Also, what's up with the must be 21 to view thing? Beer commercial or not, that's just straight-up ludicrous!

16. Deion Sanders, "Hoss"

This is by far the best Deion Sanders DirecTV commercial.

A Cowboy interacting with a miniature Sanders with wings? Yes, please.

15. Drew Brees Game Chant

This is one of the few serious commercials on this list, and I could watch it over and over again.

That Brees chant just gives me chills again, again and again.

14. NFL Mobile

I know what you're thinking, and I thought the same thing too.

Of all the quarterbacks to feature throwing the football, why did they choose Mark Sanchez?

Not a slight against Sanchez because I think he's a good quarterback and hilarious after watching him on Hard Knocks, but I mean Sanchez?

Eh, oh well—still a cool commercial.

13. Plumber

This, my friends, is good television—and it's very insightful too.

People should know that Monday Night Football is a top priority in America, and if you're experiencing problems with your toilet, well, you're just going to have to get that fixed first thing Tuesday morning.

Good stuff from ESPN.

12. Drew Brees, New Assistant

I don't know who this girl is, but she is hilarious.

She's hilarious, Brees is great and Glazer is himself, so this commercial downright nails it.

11. Clay Matthews

Clay Matthews has become one of the baddest men in football, and this commercial uses that perception to its advantage.

"Hey I won, I'm gonna dance about it." No, Mr. director guy—Clay Matthews doesn't dance.

10. Surgery

Boomer and the gang are at it again, and this time they're putting time back on some guy's clock. I really love how ESPN takes football cliches and applies them to real-life situations.

That and the fact that it's the Sunday NFL Countdown crew makes this commercial one of the NFL's best of the year.

9. Mark Sanchez

The same hilarious girl is at it again, and this time she gets to feed off another comedian, Mark Sanchez.

If Sanchez ever has a career-ending injury, a comedy gig might be his best option.

8. Animal Control

Like the plumber commercial earlier, this Monday Night Football commercial cracks me up.

This time the animal control guy did not anticipate the animal being inside the wall, and doing your job is not worth the gamble of missing kickoff.

7. The Man, the Myth, the Legend: Mike Ditka

If you don't love Mike Ditka, then I'm afraid there's no hope for you.

Ditka embodies everything you look for in a football coach and has a great sense of humor, as well.

Ditka proves once again that he is the man with this Coors Light commercial.

6. Fantasy Football Forever

This commercial was great because everyone was still rejoicing over the fact that the lockout ended, and football season was growing near.

No more ships in bottles arts and crafts nonsense; it's time for some football, baby.

5. Dennis Green

Move it turkeys, Dennis Green means business when he's drawing out a game plan for Coors Light.

Green has great charisma, and the fact that he hit on the shopping clerk at the end is pure gold.

4. Back to Football

I always enjoy the commercials every year that showcase the spirit of the league with fans wearing their colors proudly as every team is tied 0-0.

It's a commercial that represents the passion of fans, and the hope that their team will make it to the Super Bowl—even if you are a Buffalo Bills fan.

By the way, how about the start from those Bills? Circle the wagons while you can, Bills fans.

3. SWAT

This is by far the best of the commercials ESPN released with the Countdown crew.

Ditka in a SWAT suit?

I'm pretty sure when the cameras stopped rolling, the hostages surrendered after seeing that.

2. Football Cops

Peyton Manning has produced some great commercials in his day, and this one is up there with the classics.

Crazy villains, don't you know your guns are no match for the arms of the Manning brothers?

1. Star Wars

I could start this slide by making some cheesy joke about the force being with you or something of that nature, but quite frankly, this commercial speaks for itself.

Darth Vader is one of the most, if not the most, iconic characters in film history, so seeing him do a fantasy draft is very entertaining.

Great parody by ESPN, and this commercial has been the best among its peers so far this year.

Darth Vader just better be lucky he didn't try that nonsense on Tedy Bruschi.