Ultimate 32 Man Roster

So I took on the task of creating a team of 31 players and 1 coach filling every major roster spot with one player from every team. The following are the results.

HEAD COACH

Bill Belichick, New England Patriots - Belichick has more Super Bowl rings than any active head coach and he's also one of the ten greated head coaches in the history of the league.

OFFENSE

QB Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints - You can make a case for Drew Brees as the best quarterback in the league not only right now, but over the past five years.

RB Adrian Peterson, Minnesota Vikings - Peterson is without a doubt the best running back in the league right now and probably has been since he came into the league in 2007.

FB Ovie Mughelli, Atlanta Falcons - Mughelli doesn't get a lot of attention but he's one of the best full backs in the league and Matt Ryan and Michael Turner know it.

WR1 Larry Fitzgerald, Arizona Cardinals - Larry Fitzgerald is the best wide receiver in the NFL so you have to take him here. He may actually be the best receiver since Jerry Rice.

WR2 Jeremy Maclin, Philadelphia Eagles - Maclin has emerged as the Eagles go to guy inside and is becoming one of the leagues best #2 receivers.

WR3 Brandon Gibson, St. Louis Rams - You may not know the name now but Brandon Gibson has a chance to get his name out there with all the injuries in St. Louis.

TE Jason Witten, Dallas Cowboys - Witten has been an elite tight end for a while now and the University of Tennessee prodigy shows no signs of slowing down.

LT Jake Long, Miami Dolphins - Long is the best tackle in the NFL and the Dolphins made the right decision drafting him over Matt Ryan.

LG Ryan Lilja, Kansas City Chiefs - Lilja is getting older but he can still play left guard pretty well.

C Maurkice Pouncey, Pittsburgh Steelers - Pouncey was Pro Bowler last year as a rookie. He has a chance to become great.

RG Chris Snee, New York Giants - Chris Snee has been one of the most underrated players in the NFL over ther past 6 years and that's saying something for one of the only guards in the league who may actually be close to a household name.

RT Michael Oher, Baltimore Ravens - Though he's probably more famous for being the main character in a Sandra Bullock movie, Oher is actually one of the leagues best right tackles.

DEFENSE

LDE Robert Mathis, Indianapolis Colts - Over the past half decade Robert Mathis has emerged as not only a perennial Pro Bowler, but also as the best left side pass rusher in the league.

LDT Ndamukong Suh, Detroit Lions - Suh is the scariest defensive player in the NFL and is only getting better.

NT B.J. Raji, Green Bay Packers - At 337 pounds, Raji is the perfect size for a nose tackle.

RDE Adrian Clayborn, Tampa Bay Buccaneers - One of only two rookies to make the team, Clayborn is a solid pass rusher who should develop into a solid player in Tampa's cover 2 scheme.

OLB Von Miller, Denver Broncos - Miller may well be on his way to defensive rookie of the year, and one day he may become a defensive player of the year. He's the real deal.

OLB Jon Beason, Carolina Panthers - He may be hurt, but when healthy he's an elite outside linebacker.

ILB Patrick Willis, San Francisco 49ers - He's the best linebacker in the league, not much
else to say besides that.

MLB David Hawthorne, Seattle Seahawks - At middle linebacker Hawthorne makes all the necessary plays to be above the league average at that position.

LCB Darrelle Revis, New York Jets - At this point in time Revis is the best defensive player in the NFL. He had to make this team.

RCB Jonathan Joseph, Houston Texans - Joseph was a great pick up by the Texans this offseason and he's one of the two or three best right side cornerbacks in the NFL.

SS Chris Hope, Tennessee Titans - It was hard to find a place for a Titan on this roster but Chris Hope is a solid strong safety. He's not as good as he was six years ago, but he's still adequate.

FS LaRon Landry, Washington Redskins - Landry is a playmaking free safety who can
take over a game from that position.

SPECIAL TEAMS

K Sebastian Janikowski, Oakland Raiders - Janikowski is the best kicker in the NFL. Not much else to say besides that.

P Mike Scifres, San Diego Chargers - Scifres is one of the most underrated players in the NFL and he's the rare punter who can actually win games with his toe.

LS Garrison Sanborn, Buffalo Bills - Sanburn makes the team because someone had to be the long snapper, but he's no bum either. The former Florida State player has been with the Bills since 2009.

H Kevin Huber, Cincinnati Bengals - He has zero botched snaps.

KR Joshua Cribbs, Cleveland Browns - Since 2007 Cribbs has rivaled Devin Hester as the best return man in the league.

PR Devin Hester, Chicago Bears - He's getting older but the University of Miami product is still the best kick returner in the NFL and may one day actually be a Hall of Famer.

ST Montell Owens, Jacksonville Jaguars - Owens is a part time full back who was a Pro Bowler last year as a special teamer. He holds the franchise record for career special teams tackles.

So what do you think? Do I do a good job? Do you think I did awful? What does your team look like? Feel free to post yours.

Ryan, Sanchez, Revis Make Their Cases For Awards

Awards are usually stupid. Outside of MVP I usually don't get into all the other awards. Offensive player of the year, defensive player of the year, comeback player of the year, coach of the year, offensive rookie of the year, defensive rookie year; I can care less about all of them. Sure I keep tabs on who wins each award every year, but overall I think they're dumb.

About a month ago I did my award rankings. I hit on Manning, Johnson, Woodson, missed on Harvin and Brady by one win my projections, and by two for Cushing. By the end of week 17 I had Cushing at #1, Harvin and Brady misrepresent their awards this year. I still hold that it should have been Vince Young for Comeback Player and Michael Oher for offensive rookie.

Though I still think Michael Oher deserved the award, Mark Sanchez is making the case that he was more valuable as a rookie than any other player in the league. Though Sanchez' numbers have been mediocre, as has his play, it's hard to argue against Sanchez' value as a player this year. He and the Jets may have "backed" into the playoffs, but Sanchez also became the first rookie quarterback to be the only rookie quarterback to make the playoffs and not win the offensive rookie of the year award. This decade alone, Ben Roethlisberger, Vince Young, and Matt Ryan have been given the award. It's not as if Percy Harvin had an outstanding year either, there are a lot of people who believe that he was "at best" the third best rookie wide receiver this year.

When I made my list I left Darrelle Revis off of the list for Defensive Player of the Year and immediately felt stupid when this error was brought to my attention. Though Charles Woodson was more of a play maker, and had more prime time opportunities to show off, Revis continues to show why he's a real star. To shut down Randy Moss (x2), Terrell Owens (x2), Chard Ochocinco (x2), Vincent Jackson, Steve Smith, and Andre Johnson down in the same season is the sort of thing that Canton busts are made of. Revis may not have gotten the award this year, but he'll get it next year if he has a remotely similar year; a lot like Bob Sanders in 2007.

The Jet that I absolutely believe deserved an award was Rex Ryan for Coach of the Year. Nothing against Marvin Lewis, but the man did not deserve the award. If anything Lewis should have finished fifth in the voting behind Jim Caldwell, Norv Turner, Sean Payton, and of course Rex Ryan.

All Rex Ryan did in 2009 was turn around the culture of a franchise whose culture was losing. The Jets of 2009 were able to do everything the Edwards/Mangini Jets were able to do, except with confidence. They punched the Patriots in the mouth and took care of business when they had to this year. Sure they "backed into the playoffs" but that's not Ryan's fault. He prepared his team to win each and every week, you can't hold other coaches decisions against Ryan. He deserved that award.

The Jet who probably will get an award is Mike Tannenbaum for executive of the year. In the same off season Tannenbaum fired Mangini, straight up released Brett Favre, hired Rex Ryan, signed Bart Scott, and traded up for Mark Sanchez and Shonn Greene. In other words, he replicated Ozzie Newsome's 2008.

Tannenbaum, like Revis, Sanchez, and Ryan probably won't get the award. They'll end up giving it to Ted Thompson or AJ Smith or some other GM who has done far less than Tannenbaum this year, and that's fine; because Revis, Sanchez, Ryan, and Tannenbaum would much rather be where they are than where all of the other award winners are right now...

Well besides Peyton and Percy, at least.