Nice to see DT Haloti Ngata get his recognition as one of the 10 best players in the game today… but how do you leave Pro Bowl guard Marshall Yanda out of the Top 100?
NFLN Top 100 No. 9 – DT Haloti Ngata
2011 Rank: No. 17
Fans Rank: Not yet released
Pittsburgh Steelers center Maurkice Pouncey: “I think it’s a respect slash fight and battle every week with that guy. You go into the offseason thinking about the Baltimore Ravens and Haloti Ngata. He has a lot of guys that play around him and play well, but he’s the guy in the middle they really need.”
Baltimore was tied with the Philadelphia Eagles for the most players on the list – seven.
Joe Flacco, Vonta Leach, Ray Rice and Terrell Suggs all made significant leaps up the rankings. Meanwhile, age and injuries surely played a part in Ray Lewis and Ed Reed slipping out of the Top 5. Those Ravens who didn’t make the cut, but could make a case, include Pro Bowl guard Marshal Yanda and cornerback Lardarius Webb. Blossoming wide receiver Torrey Smith and cornerback Jimmy Smith may be prime candidates next year.
Yanda is the biggest snub. Fellow Pro Bowl guards Jahri Evans and Logan Mankins were ranked No. 32 and 64, respectively. “Guards just don’t get much love,” explained Ravens blogger Ryan Mink.
Rice and Flacco are ranked too low. Rice is one of the best offensive weapons in the NFL, and is behind Maurice Jones-Drew (No. 12), who doesn’t do nearly as much as a pass catcher.
Flacco shouldn’t be 29 spots behind his own fullback, Leach, and should be ahead of Philadelphia’s Michael Vick. Flacco may not be as exciting to watch, but he stays healthy and wins more even perhaps with fewer established weapons.
Here’s a recap of the Ravens in the NFLN Top 100 ranked below Ngata’s #9 showing:
No. 11 – LB Terrell Suggs
2011 Rank: No. 40
Fans Rank: No. 21
Cincinnati Bengals offensive tackle Andrew Whitworth: “If you could get the Madden game and design your own player, it would be hard to say that you would design anyone that wouldn’t look like T. Suggs. He’s got it all. He’s ripped up, he’s big, he’s fast, he’s strong. He’s intimating looking and he plays the same way. I think I’d create him about 11 times over for my defense.”
No. 16 – S Ed Reed
2011 Rank: No. 5
Fans Rank: No. 9
Ravens wide receiver Jacoby Jones: “He tries to bait you a lot. He’ll backpedal and turn his shoulder and you’ll see that look in his eye like, ‘I dare you to throw the ball.’”
No. 20 – LB Ray Lewis
2011 Rank: No. 3
Fans Rank: No. 6
Titans linebacker Gerald McRath: “Ray Lewis is the blueprint. He laid the foundation. I remember on Friday night games, we’re sitting in the locker room and we’re all practicing our Ray Lewis dance for after you make that big play, that big tackle. He’s one of the people who, as a linebacker, you want to be like.”
No. 22 – RB Ray Rice
2011 Rank: No. 56
Fans Rank: No. 13
Steelers cornerback Ike Taylor: “Just get the ball in his hands. Explosive. Powerful. Has hands.”
No. 45 – FB Vonta Leach
2011 Rank: No. 65
Fans Rank: No. 96
Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma: “He reminds me of the Lorenzo Neals of the day, those 1990s, 80s fullbacks that are just big, raw, mauler type guys that have no neck, just head and shoulders. They’re going one way.”
No. 74 – QB Joe Flacco
2011 Rank: No. 90
Fans Rank: No. 79
Texans tight end Owen Daniels: “A lot of people doubt Joe for whatever reason. Maybe it’s because they have such a good defense that they don’t give him the credit he deserves. But he’s able to make plays and make them in crucial situations.”
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