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As Satch reported earlier this week, the NFL Network's 'Top 100 Players of 2011' series will showcase two of our own New Orleans Saints players tonight when it airs at 8:00 pm EST.
Jonathan Vilma and Jahri Evans have been voted by their peers into the Top 40 ("Holy Casey Casem!" or if you're younger, "Holy Rick Dees!") of NFL players in the game today.
Go ahead and jump (Jump!) with me to get ready for tonight's broadcast.
I'm hoping to spur some fun pre-show dialog and also provide an open thread commentary area we can use during the show to enjoy ourselves in real time...
I'm still not sure exactly what criteria the players were given to make their selections for this list. On one hand, the name of the series is 'Top 100 Players of 2011', which leads me to think it's who was the best in the 2011 season. But on the other hand, the nfl.com site bills the series as this (emphasis added):
The Top 100 Players of 2011 is the first-ever countdown of the 100 Best NFL players of today, as voted by fellow NFL players.
To me this "of today" phrasing seems to imply more than just the best players in the 2011 season, and that it refers to players playing the game today (including multiple seasons in the "body of work").
Regardless of the word game/semantics issues I enjoy expounding upon, Evans and Vilma are the 3rd and 4th Saints to appear on the list so far. Marques Colston (53) and Carl Nicks (55) both have already had their moments on the show that aired on May 29th.
Tonight's edition will showcase the players ranked 40-31, which brings me to my first discussion questions for this post: Who will be ranked higher, Evans or Vilma? Why? What do you think their actual rankings will be?
It's also been reported that Drew Brees will introduce Vilma while Sean Payton will profile Evans.
I wonder what statements they will make about these guys. Will it be the usual football praise-speak: "He's a real FOOTBALL player....he gives it his all on every play." Or will it perhaps be more meaningful and individualized?
What would you say about Evans or Vilma if you were asked to say what makes them great players? Tell us below.
If you want to watch videos of or learn more about the 'Top 100 Players of 2011' series, here's a link to the nfl.com page for it. This link shows the fan vote next to the players' rankings.
Join in the discussion below - I'll be checking in on it and weighing in on it after I cut the grass and sweep off my front porch. I've already done the laundry.