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Ravens LB
Ray Lewis
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I feel the need to stir up the pot, to create some bar-stool discussion, to create a
good argument.
Thus, today’s column raises the question: Who is the best player, regardless of
position, in the National Football League?
To reach this king-of-the-hill decision, I took the top 16 players in the NFL and
followed a tournament bracket format. The top 16 players are based on the rankings that
will appear this summer in Pro Football Weekly’s 2001 preview magazine. Every year we
rank the NFL’s finest by position, in addition to naming the top 50 players
regardless of position.
I took the top 16, placed their names in a hat and randomly created the matchups. My
final result is actually different from the top-rated player in our preview magazine. For
our magazine’s top gun, go to your newsstand this summer. For my opinion, read on:
Sweet 16
RB Marshall Faulk vs. QB Peyton Manning: I go with Faulk by a
comfortable margin. As good as Manning is, I can’t overlook the fact that Faulk does
so many things well. Plus, Faulk holds his own with Manning in the area that Manning gets
the edge over most other players — knowledge of the game. Manning must break through
in the postseason to catch Faulk. Winner: Faulk.
WR Randy Moss vs. QB Kurt Warner: A year ago Warner would have won
this battle, but his 18 interceptions last season hurt him. He was great, but not as great
as the previous season. Moss’ remarkable talent and explosive productivity cannot be
denied in this matchup. Winner: Moss.
OG Larry Allen vs. LB Junior Seau: Seau has a lot more sizzle, but
Allen is the better, more dominating player. Although Seau gets high marks for becoming a
more disciplined player than he once was, Allen is just too good to ignore. Winner:
Allen.
OT Jonathan Ogden vs. DT La’Roi Glover: Glover is coming off a
sensational season, but — no criticism intended — a lot of his success came
because of the grunt work done by fellow DT Norman Hand. This is a somewhat close call,
but I’m giving Ogden the edge. Winner: Ogden.
RB Edgerrin James vs. LB Derrick Brooks: Brooks is a wonderful player,
but this is not a close call. James has all the tools, is durable, competes well and
produces at an extraordinary level. Winner: James.
DT Warren Sapp vs. DT Trevor Pryce: A matchup between two players who
play the same position makes this easy to analyze. Sapp, quite simply, performs at a much
higher level and disrupts opposing offenses to a much higher degree. Winner:
Sapp.
OT Tony Boselli vs. QB Brett Favre: This was the most difficult
first-round matchup to decide. While still great, Favre is not what he once was, due
greatly to the fact that his receiving corps has really slipped. Boselli was not what he
once was last year because he was coming back from injury, but he was still very, very
good as the season progressed. I went with Boselli since he will be another season removed
from his knee injury. Winner: Boselli.
LB Ray Lewis vs. CB Champ Bailey: Bailey has quickly moved up the CB
chart and may be the best at his position, but he’s not ready to match up with a
relentless, dominating performer like Lewis. Winner: Lewis.
Elite eight
Faulk vs. Moss: Both are electrifying, exciting, highly productive
players, but Faulk is more dependable. Winner: Faulk.
Allen vs. Ogden: Both receive similar grades, making this a tough
call, but Allen dominates on a more consistent basis. Winner: Allen.
James vs. Sapp: Another very close call. James would be more difficult
to replace than Sapp given the depth their teams have at their respective positions, but
Sapp strikes me as the more devastating performer. Winner: Sapp.
Boselli vs. Lewis: Not a close call. Boselli’s knee injury
prevents him from seriously challenging Lewis’ level of play. Winner:
Lewis.
Final four
Faulk vs. Allen: Although Allen and Faulk receive similar grades at
their respective positions, this is where I will probably surprise/upset people the most.
I’m going with Allen. Faulk plays the more glamorous position, but Allen has mastered
his craft just a little bit more. As great as Faulk is, I don’t hear anyone comparing
him to the truly all-time greats such as Jim Brown and Walter Payton, who were more
durable than Faulk. Conversely, there are now rumblings around the league that Allen may
be even better than John Hannah was in his prime. Hannah, depending on whether you
consider Jim Parker a guard or a tackle, was either the best or second-best guard of all
time. Allen’s potential place in history gives him the edge in my book. Winner:
Allen.
Sapp vs. Lewis: This debate gets settled by a razor-thin margin. Both
players can destroy an opposing team’s game plan. Both have a warrior mentality. Both
combine talent with great production. In the end, I went with Lewis because he elevated
his team’s defense last season to a higher level than Sapp ever has, and that’s
saying something, given the quality of the Bucs’ defense. Winner: Lewis.
Finals
Allen vs. Lewis: The argument I used for Allen over Faulk was
Allen’s potential place in history. That doesn’t apply here since there are
those experts who think Lewis is on pace to challenge Dick Butkus and Jack Lambert for the
title of best middle linebacker in the history of the game. Again, this was a very close
call, but Allen gets hurt by the fact that he dominates on an offense that isn’t
terribly good these days, whereas Lewis is dominating on a defense that set all-time NFL
records for a 16-game regular season. Winner: Lewis. |
