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Starting this Thursday at 8:00 pm Eastern Time, in true NFL Network excessively-dragged out production style, it will take two hour-long shows to unveil the Top 10 NFL players of 2013. Yeesh. That's almost as bad as taking five posts (including the lame "CSC coming attractions" post about it) to cover the historic 1987 Saints season!! Amirite????
I have gone on record noting that this offseason time-killer is as voted by their peers according to criteria that are vague and nonspecific at best, and pretty darn confusing if you put them all together.
Wikipedia said this on their page about the inaugural season in 2011 (SOURCE):
The rankings are generated from voters' expectations for the 2011 NFL season, which they could base on a player's accomplishments from the previous season.
...and this on the main NFL Top 100 Wiki page (SOURCE):
The rankings are based on an off-season poll organized by the NFL, whereby players vote on their peers based on the performance of the previous season and their belief of how the player will perform in the coming season.
The original news release about the show in 2011 described the criteria like this (SOURCE)...
For the first time, NFL players get their say in determining the top players in today's game.
...and this:
The Top 100: Players of 2011 is a new annual series airing every offseason on NFL Network that gives current players the opportunity to vote for the top 100 playmakers today, counting down from 100 to 1.
I wish I could see what the actual ballot looked like, and the corresponding cover letter or email.
Anyway, on this year's list, quarterback Drew Brees is the lone representative from the Saints. Surprisingly, both Jimmy Graham and Jahri Evans did not make the squad (SOURCE), but as the saying goes, "Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups."
Here's where I'm headed with all this: given the upcoming reveal of the Top 10, I'd like for us to engage in a somewhat-related mental exercise.
First, give us your Top 5 NFL Players of 2013, using the best evaluation guidelines you can come up with based on the pull-quotes I used above, and explain your ranking system.
Then, give us the Top 5 NFL Players of 2013, as you attempt to predict how the players' vote will actually turn out on Thursday night. And feel free to cleverly, humorously, and insultingly try to explain their rationales.
In a follow-up post next weekend, I'll score your predictions of how the players voted to see who wins the Grand Prize, and provide some clever and humorous analysis of my own, while trying not to be insulting.
CLICK HERE to see the list of players ranked 100-11, as revealed so far.
It also contains the Drew Brees selection segment in a video at the top. I haven't seen it yet, and I can't watch/listen to it right now, because Mrs. H is asleep here next to me. But if anyone watches it and pulls the attempted explanation for Drew's fall from #2 to #11 from the audio, I'd appreciate it. I wonder if it'll be more than the obvious, "too many INTs and a lower completion percentage in 2013."
Here's me getting out of the way so you can get after it in the comment section...