Well, he's No. 9 on the field, number one in our hearts, and apparently he's number nine (the 9th-best player) in the minds of his fellow NFL players in the rankings of the Top 100 NFL players of 2011.

The final rankings were revealed last night in a multi-installment extravaganza - a Top 10 preview show, followed by one-hour episodes with players 10-6, then 5-1, capped off with an experts' reaction show. They also spent the day re-airing the previous episodes in the full series.

Make the jump for a bit more coverage...

Brees was presented by Jonathan Vilma and Sean Payton (natch). For those that missed the broadcast, here's Drew's video segment, brought to you via neworleanssaints.com.

Here's how the Top 10 shaped up:

1. Tom Brady
2. Peyton Manning
3. Adrian Peterson
4. Ray Lewis
5. Ed Reed
6. Troy Polamalu
7. Andre Johnson
8. Darrelle Revis
9. Drew Brees
10. Julius Peppers

Here are some initial reactions to the List and Brees' spot on it by CSC folks...

CrazyforColston

Did I jinx him?
I said a month ago maybe he'd be his jersey number. That was when I thought he might not make the top ten, and if he did, just barely.

In the end it's no slight at all.

The list has been interesting but very limited in real meaning.

cockynessiswhodat

i said #9 too!
wish i was wrong.

BUT he's still got years ahead of him to prove to everyone he's an elite QB w/records & numbers no one else holds.

WHO DAT.

can we please have football now?

Jricky70

He should have been ranked in the top 3

skinnykinney

really, #9?

Ed Reed at #5? Dude had 37 total tackles last year. Granted he had 8 picks but 0 touchdowns with them. Revis who shuts down the best WRs in the game on a regular basis is #8? Polamalu is #6 and I can't argue that too much. He had 7 interceptions with 1 touchdown but had only 63 tackles total. Ray Lewis, can't argue with his close to 140 tackles and couple turnovers. Brees probably should've been #5 at the least imo. Brady, Manning, Lewis, AP, and then Brees would've been ok with me. After that, Revis, Polamalu, Johnson, Reed, Peppers.

Also, Vikings had 2 players I believe. Jared Allen and AP

Chad LeDoux

number 9
seriously? i know he had an off year last year, but number 9. i guess i was delusional thinking drew would make the top 5!

FrenchFreak

Tom Brady no.1?!?!?
I hate Tom Brady. In fact, I hate the whole Pats organisation (David Thomas and Heath Evans, get the eff off of my team!). Cheaters. Even there cheerleaders are in fact travestis (Still not sure if there'd be something wrong with that though). And don't get me started with hairdos or game gears!

I'll admit, 36TD/4INT is a pretty awesome ratio. I just think it had more to do with Belichick play calling then Brady's "genius", specially after seeing Cassel make a career out of nothing. Freeman went 26/4, Ryan was 28/9. Shouldn't there have been considered much higher because of those elite numbers? After all, Freeman did manage to win 10 games with a next to moribond team. Philip Rivers no.29? Child, please...

No1 player: Reevis
No 1 QB: Aaron Rodgers
No 1 WR: Andre Johnson
No 1RB: Steven Jackson
No 1 LB: Patrick Willis

What do you think of this Top 10 list and the List overall? Do you like Stu's Accountability Index more? Do you think Drew Brees was fairly ranked in this?