If It Ain't Steel's 2013 Top 25 NFL Players

Written by Jayden and Jason

As the season gets ready to begin, it's time to take a look at the top players in the NFL. It's an extension of If It Ain't Steel's Top 12 Quarterbacks. - http://ifitaintsteel.blogspot.com/2013/08/if-it-aint-steels-2013-top-12-nfl.html

Each year we're blessed and disappointed, we cheer and we cry, we scream and we...scream. The NFL is America's true pastime and the five months that we have it always go entirely too fast.

So, before it's too late...

1. Aaron Rodgers, QB, Green Bay Packers - Honestly, he just seems to get better every year. The thing that should scare every man with a "DC" attached to his name is that he is just now getting into his prime.

2. J.J. Watt, DE, Houston Texans - Nicknamed J.J. "SWAT", he was as dominant as any down lineman we may have ever seen. He was completely unblockable. Maybe that should be his new nickname: "C-Block." He was so dominant that the Texans might utilize his high level of talent on offense. - http://t.co/OLLJ6PFVzf

3. Calvin Johnson, WR, Detroit Lions - How do you stop the 6'5", 235-pound Megatron? With 122 receptions, 1,964 receiving yards, 122.8 yards per game average, 16.1 yards per catch and 11 100-yard receiving games, he commands a double on almost EVERY play. Oh, and he'll turn just 28 a month into the 2013 season.

4. Tom Brady, QB, New England Patriots - The Dorian Grey of NFL quarterbacks. He doesn't seem to be slowing down, as he threw for nearly 5,000 yards, had 34 touchdown passes and just eight interceptions in 2012.

5. Adrian Peterson, RB, Minnesota Vikings - If he came back from his ACL injury legally, then to do what he did was amazing. Think about it - he almost took down the single-season record for total (not yards per game) rushing yards.

6. Geno Atkins, DT, Cincinnati Bengals - He was a true force in 2012 with 12 sacks from the defensive tackle spot. Very special and scary player.

7. DeMarcus Ware, OLB-DE, Dallas Cowboys - Whether a rushing down end or an outside linebacker, Ware is a true force. His sack numbers were down (11½) some last season, but it doesn't change the fear factor.

8. Patrick Willis, ILB, San Francisco 49ers - An athletic freak, he can run, tackle and get to a lot of plays you didn't think he would. Best middle/inside linebacker in the game.

9. Von Miller, OLB, Denver Broncos - Great speed, intense and is a good tackler, Miller has the goods. Goods you'll see in 2013 after the first six games.

10. Drew Brees, QB, New Orleans Saints - Despite last season's results, he threw more interceptions than in 2011, he remains one of the top players in the league.

11. Richard Sherman, CB, Seattle Seahawks - The best cornerback in the NFL - just ask him. But he backs up his cockiness. He can cover, had eight interceptions and led the league with 32 passes defended.

12. Cameron Wake, DE, Miami Dolphins - Another guy who moved to a rushing down end spot from a 3-4 pass rusher and responded with 15 sacks. Just damn good.

13. A.J. Green, WR, Cincinnati Bengals - He has an incredible catch radius and brings in nearly everything he lays even a finger on. He led all receivers in 2012 with seven 40-plus-yard receptions and had nearly 100 catches total.

14. Peyton Manning, QB, Denver Broncos - The Sheriff bounced back to look like the Manning of old. His monster of Frankenstein act didn't stop him from coming back and dissecting the NFL in the regular season.

15. Duane Brown, T, Houston Texans - He simply pancakes guys. Makes lot of pass rushers look pedestrian. Simply the best in the game right now.

16. Larry Fitzgerald, WR, Arizona Cardinals - The best thing we can say about him is that only bad quarterback play keeps him from being the best.

17. Clay Matthews, OLB, Green Bay Packers - He had 13 sacks in 12 games. 'Nuff said. Whether you call him Samson or Goldilocks, he's a beast.

18. Aldon Smith, OLB, San Francisco 49ers - One half of the Smith brothers had 19½ sacks, but he didn't get any during the absence of...

19. Justin Smith, DE, San Francisco 49ers - A shoulder injury derailed what was a very good season. He demands the double team and allows other player to be great. Just ask Aldon.

20. Julio Jones, WR, Atlanta Falcons - Explosive. A big-play threat. A man among men. So many superlatives can be thrown his way. He's simply the real deal.

21. Ben Roethlisberger, QB, Pittsburgh Steelers - No. 7 with/times 3 Super Bowls = 21 on our list. He threw 26 touchdown passes and only eight interceptions in just 13 games. He was injured in week 11 and was in some MVP talks before that. Look for him to return to that form this season.

22. Rob Gronkowski, TE, New England Patriots - He is the league's best pass-catching tight end and can block too. He's a true weapon for Brady.

23. Haloti Ngata, DT, Baltimore Ravens - He has been slowed by injuries lately, but when he's healthy he's a bruising inside player. Just ask Big Ben's nose.

24. Joe Flacco, QB, Baltimore Ravens - We're giving him the benefit of the doubt here, because he had didn't even complete 60% of his passes last season and he had the two worst quarterback ratings since the system was invented. But he did have a remarkable playoff and Super Bowl run.

25. Eli Manning, QB, New York Giants - In some ways he's better than his brother, and he's twice better than Brady, but he does have his inconsistencies. He's still one of the better in the game.


The Next (Magnificent) Seven:

Matt Ryan, QB, Atlanta Falcons - Matty Ice!

Marshal Yanda, G, Baltimore Ravens - Rock at guard.

Jimmy Graham, TE, New Orleans Saints - 85 receptions and nine touchdowns despite time missed with injuries.

Gerald McCoy, DT, Tampa Bay Buccaneers - The anchor on the league's best run defense.

NaVorro Bowman, LB, San Francisco 49ers - Great against the pass and defends almost as well as his line mate.

Lawrence Timmons, LB, Pittsburgh Steelers - Very underrated. Second on Steelers in tackles with 106 and had six sacks, three INTs and two forced fumbles.

Patrick Peterson, CB, Arizona Cardinals - A cover man (7 INTs) and return man (4 TDs) and now catches passes too.

If It Ain't Steel's 2012 NFL Awards and Super Bowl Predictions

by Jayden Matthews

The NFL regular season has now ended and the debate can truly begin as to whom will win the yearly awards as well as which teams will take the coveted ultimate prize - the Super Bowl.

We at If It Ain’t Steel wrote a piece mid-season where we made predictions for the season awards based on what we knew then. Now that the season has shown us everything, we are going to follow that up to see if it has changed any and to make our official prognostications. Then, when the awards are announced, you can refer back to this to see if we hit it on the head (or, if Jason was wrong), and also if our Super Bowl prediction holds up. - http://ifitaintsteel.blogspot.com/2012/11/nfl-mid-season-grades.html

The MVP Award: We predicted that Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning would win this in our mid-season article, and that has not changed. Though, there is a candidate who ended up making a good case for himself: Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson. A.P., also known as A.D. for "All Day", cemented himself in the Most Valuable Player talk with a monster year. After coming back from an ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) and MCL (medial collateral ligament) injury that some thought would sideline him for some of the season, A.P. did not miss a single game and coming within nine yards of the recognized single-season NFL rushing record. - http://tinyurl.com/a6d6tro

We still believe Peyton, "The Sheriff", has the edge because, like A.P., he came back from what some considered a career-ending injury. Some, myself included, didn't think The Sheriff would make it much past the first game, let alone all season. But he did far more than that, he led the Broncos to a 13-3 season and the first seed in the AFC Playoff chase. The Sheriff played the way he always played, deadly lethal, again making household names out of ordinary receivers. For those reasons, we believe that Peyton “The Sheriff” Manning will deservedly win the MVP award.

As for A.P., we still believe that, though this and the MVP awards could ultimately be flipped, "Purple Jesus" has the Comeback Player of the Year award...all day.

Defensive Player of the Year: We predicted the Houston Texans J.J. Watt at the mid-season and that, like our MVP, hasn’t changed. San Francisco 49ers outside linebacker Aldon Smith was building a good resume, but in the end we still believe it will be Watt. He led the league with 20.5 sacks, had 81 tackles, 16 passes defensed (which is more than some defensive backs), four forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and a partridge in a pear tree. Though the Texans Defense struggled down the stretch, the AFC's Defensive Player of the Month for December didn’t. He may even be more feared right now than Clay Matthews...no quarterback wants to see No. 99 coming for them right now.

Coach of the Year: We really didn’t make a choice on this one because there seemed to be a lot of good choices at the time. Arguably, one could say that Indianapolis Colts "interim-head coach" Bruce Arians deserves consideration, naturally, though, he won’t get it because he is still just an offensive coordinator. If he could be, though, he would be my (Jayden's) clear cut choice. What Arians was able to do with the Colts, to keep them winning in the absence of their head coach Chuck Pagano as he battled cancer, is nothing short of amazing. No one really give the Colts a chance once Pagano went out, but Arians took the bull by the horns and led them to a winning season and a playoff spot. Even his former team's (former) players admit he's a good coach. Way to go Brucey!!! - http://espn.go.com/blog/chicago/bears/post/_/id/4681828/spaeth-arians-helps-qbs-succeed

So, while there are only a few truly viable choices, this even put my partner-in-crime and I in a quandary of as to who should get the nod. So, we are each going to make our individual cases for who we think will win.

Jayden: John Fox I believe John Fox is the best choice for Coach of the Year. He took the Broncos from 8-8 last year to 13-3 this year and in the playoffs again. Yes, my partner argues that it was because of Peyton, and we both do say that Peyton makes any coach look great. While that is true, I still just think that he deserves the nod. Even though he has Peyton now, he still had to provide Peyton a dominant defense as a compliment in order to have a chance at the last dance. To his credit, he has done that. He has slowly built a great team in Denver that keeps a smile on John Elway’s face. Therefore, I believe he deserves that nod and should get it. Peyton doesn’t may not need coaching, but the rest of the players do.

Jason: My choice for the coaching award is, once again, Mike Smith of the Atlanta Falcons. But, I admit that his winning it in 2008 may put a damper on this prediction. Since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970, there have been only been six repeat winners (Chuck Knox{3x}, Joe Gibbs, Mike Ditka, Bill Parcells, Dan Reeves and Bill Belichick {3x}), but I believe his team's consistant performance all season, pulling them up from an average 2011, gets "Smitty" the trophy this season.

Rookie of the Year: Andrew Griffith 1.5 - No, we didn’t have a clear cut choice then and we still don’t now that the season is over. RGIII and Luck are arguably the best rookies to come into the NFL at the same time in a long time. At the quarterback position at the very least. Both are playing very well and both will be in the playoffs this year as the 4th and 5th seeds in their respective conferences. So, we still are at a quandry over coming to a clear choice because an entire article could be written making a case for either of them. Not to mention the fact that another emerged as a solid choice, the rookie playing for the Seattle Seahawks: Russell Wilson.

Wilson has also played well enough to be in consideration for this honor. And oh, yeah, he has his team in the playoffs as well. So, with that being said, we're going to go out on a limb and say that the 2012 NFL Rookie of the Year will be Russell Luck III. We know it's a bit of a cop out, but we have no idea which one of these guys will win it.

That now brings us to our Super Bowl prediction, which naturally will not involve a repeat champion considering the Giants missed the playoffs. With the Pittsburgh Steelers also on early vacation, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger cannot participate in helping keep the streak alive of one of only three teams representing the AFC in the big show. However, while the Colts and the New England Patriots are in the playoffs, Manning is with Denver now. There is still a chance that either he or the Patriots Tom Brady, the other two QBs in this streak, could be in the Super Bowl and we believe the streak will remain intact.

We chose the Texans and the Chicago Bears as our early picks, and that has definitely changed. The Bears took a turn for the worse and missed the playoffs, and while the Texans at the time were arguably the best team in the AFC, they are not anymore. The Texans were sitting pretty in the No. 1 spot for a long time, but fell down to the third seed in the AFC and now may have to take their act on the road. We believe the Denver Broncos will come out of the AFC and that The Sheriff will fire his six-gun all the way to New Orleans and could walk away with another piece of jewelry in the process. On that, we agreed. The NFC, not so much.

As stated earlier, there will be a new team emblem on the NFC side of the Super Bowl ensign. My partner and I have once again disagreed on who that will be. Shocking, I know. So we are going to again make our case just like with coach of the year.

Jayden: I think the Seattle Seahawks will represent the NFC in the Super Bowl. They are playing lights out right now and have a very good defense. They have been on a tear as of late with Wilson and Marshawn Lynch going all "Beast Mode" on defenses. The though that they could not win on the road has been laid to rest with wins over Buffalo and Chicago. They have a ball-hawking secondary that can pick you off or force a team to fumble and are poised to make a strong run and make it to the big show. I know I may be wrong on this, but I like the Seahawks chances.

Jason: As long as Justin Smith is on the field, the defense of the San Francisco 49ers and the Colin Kaepernick-led offense will take them to The Big Easy. Linebackers Patrick Willis and Aldon Smith get more of the publicity, but defensive tackle Justin Smith is the glue to their front seven that solidifies a bruising and stingy unit. Add to that a running game led by Frank Gore, and the 49ers should see their first NFC Championship and Super Bowl berth since 1994.

There you have it, If It Ain't Steel's final 2012 season award and Super Bowl predictions. Come February 4th, we'll see how many of our prophecies came true.

If It Ain't Steel's NFL Mid-Season Reports And Predictions

The NFL season is at the midway point and we at If It Ain’t Steel are going to throw our predictions out there at the midway point along with some others. Week nine is in the books and we're now at a crucial point for a lot teams. This is the time of year when the cream rises to the top and the men separate themselves from the boys.

Starting off, we are going to talk mid-season MVP. The clear cut winner right now has to be Matt Ryan of the Atlanta Falcons. Matty Ice, or the “Matural” as he has been called as of late, has the Falcons sitting at 8-0 and has been playing rather well a fifth year starter. Do we think that he will win the MVP hands down, if it was decided today? Yes, but it's not being decided today, so time will tell. There are some very viable candidates out there who could make a case for having their names mentioned in this discussion.

One who could emerge from the rubble as the 2012 NFL MVP is "The Sheriff”, Peyton Manning. He is playing extremely well coming of a neck injury (and four neck surgeries) that sidelined him for all of 2011, so I would not stick the fork in him just yet. There is also his little brother Eli who is having a very good season as well. Then there are also ones like Drew Brees, Percy Harvin, Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers and Ben Roethlisberger who are leading for their teams in the right direction. So, as of right now there is no clear cut winner.

If It Ain’t Steel's Prediction: Peyton Manning

As of right now, the Defensive Player of the Year is clearly J.J. Watt's to lose. He is playing lights out on defense and leads the league in sacks (10.5) and has been batting down passes like a wild man (10...as a DEFENSIVE END). He is helping this Texans defense show why they are to be feared and one of the most complete defenses in the league. Bears cornerback Tim Jennings is making a good case for consideration as well with a league-leading six interceptions, one for a touchdown, and 15 passes defended. Clay Matthews is making a good case, as is Demarcus Ware, but I again say it is Watt's to lose.

If It Ain’t Steel's Prediction: J.J. Watt

Comeback Player of the Year is also Peyton Manning’s to lose. He came back this season under the cloud of “can he play like the Peyton that we are all used to?” It turns out that the answer is a resounding "yes!" He sat out all last season and a lot of people, including myself, thought he would never be the Peyton of old. But, he proved me and a lot of others wrong. He is playing very well and, just like always, is making no-name receivers household names. Adrian Peterson is also a consideration as he leads the NFL in rushing (957 yards) through eight games after missing most of last season with a devastating knee injury. Matt Schaub’s name could also be put into this mix, coming off a foot injury last season and having the Texans poised to take the first seed in the AFC. Time will tell.

If It Ain’t Steel's Prediction: Peyton Manning

Rookie of the Year is still up for grabs in my opinion. Yes, right now Robert Griffin III is the front runner, but don’t count Andrew Luck out of this race just yet. Luck has been impressive so far in his rookie campaign as well, including setting a single-game rookie record Sunday for passing with 433 yards. He does not have the running yards that RGIII has, but he is playing well and has the Indianapolis Colts already at a better record than they had at this point in the season last year and is slowly making the people of Indy forget about that other guy. Russell Wilson is also playing well, but I believe this one will be a tight two-man race until the end.

If It Ain’t Steel's Prediction: Andrew Griffin 1.5

Coach of the Year is a tough one in my opinion. These guys are responsible for what goes on with their teams. If their team is having a bad season, then it is their name that gets tossed around as being on the proverbial hot seat. If the award was given today it would go to Mike Smith. The Falcons are playing perfect ball right now, but won't go undefeated.

Another coach that sticks out to me who should be in the conversation is Gary Kubiak of the Texans. The Texans are 7-1 and playing almost as well as the Falcons. They had one bad game against the Green Bay Packers, but that happens to teams. How did they respond? They came back and knocked the feathers off of the Baltimore Ravens, a team they had never beaten. They scored the most points in a single game in their franchise history and controlled the game almost from start to finish.

Another that could be in this conversation soon is John Harbaugh of the Ravens. If the Ravens manage to take the North and the second seed in the AFC with the injuries they have piled up, then he very well should be. He probably won’t be, however, because Mike Tomlin was not named coach of the year when he led the Pittsburgh Steelers to a 3-1 record without their starting quarterback, to a 12-4 overall record and to the Super Bowl again in 2010. But, I do not personally see the Ravens keeping the second seed, but just some food for thought.

If It Ain’t Steel's Prediction: None yet. It can still be any one of several coaches.

OK, now that we have those predictions out of the way, we want to touch on another prediction that everyone will start making now: which team will go to the Super Bowl and win it all. The NFC is not as much of the jumbled mess right now that the AFC is. There are several teams right at or above .500 that could very well make a late season push, so things are not completely written in stone yet in the AFC. I think the only team that is close to set in stone is the Texans. They're currently the #1 seed, are the most complete team in the AFC and I just do not see them going into any sort of spiral.

So, this is what I like to call my spin on this, or what my partner-in-writing calls “Jaydenisms." We do this a lot when coming up with ideas for our blog, we bounce off each other ideas and then the pieces take life. This one was no different. So, here goes some food for thought, so to speak.

There has not been a team to repeat as Super Bowl champions since the New England Patriots did it in '03 and '04, to find the next team to do it goes back to '97, '98 Broncos. So, to be a repeat champ is even harder than taking it all the first time. There have only been three teams since the 2003 season to represent the AFC and those were the Patriots ('03, '04, '07, and '11), the Colts ('06 and '09) and the Steelers ('05, '08 and '10). We predict that will change this year, but we will touch on that a little later.

The NFC on the other hand has only had one team to make a repeat appearance in that time frame - the New York Giants. Every year since '04 there has been a different NFC team represent the conference. So, the Giants being the current SB champs and representatives of the NFC does not assure them of going to the big dance.

For instance, in 2010 the New Orleans Saints went marching in to Seattle as the reigning champions. They were to play a team that was 7-9 and had won their conference. I'm sure they were thinking that this would be an easy win considering they were 11-5 and, again, the reigning champs. They thought wrong. Marshawn Lynch went Beast Mode on them with a 67-yard touchdown run by mowing down a supposedly good Saints defense. He made them look like a high school defense. Junior varsity. Similarly, last year the Packers, coming off a SB win and a 15-1 record got sent packing despite hosting a 9-7 Giants team on the (in my best John Facenda voice) frozen tundra of Lambeau Field.

Recently, though, the team that gets hot at the right time seems to be the team to take the championship regardless of the conference. Don’t believe me? Look back at who has gone to the SB six of the past seven seasons (Steelers, Colts, Giants, Arizona Cardinals, Packers and Giants). Those teams came from the wildcard rounds and all except one went on to win it all.

So, it really doesn't matter what your record is going in to the playoffs, it matters how you are playing when you get there. Right now, the Falcons are the best team in the NFC right now, but history has shown that it may not matter who has the best record. It is more of one of those “who wants it more” kind of things. Note the examples above.

That gets me to another point: just because a team looks good right now, and has a great record, does not mean they are going to be the team to beat. History has shown that a team with a sub-par early record can get hot late and win it all. Just because a team is sitting at or below .500 does not mean that they are done by any means.

Anything can happen. There are still a lot of games to be played and some of these teams sitting with winning records right now can see that change in a hurry. There are several teams that start out hot and falter second half of the season. Maybe they benefitted from an easy early schedule and then face better opponents late. Maybe they lose key players for the season. Maybe rivals want to play spoiler because they have nothing else left for which to play.

For teams that surge at the end of the season, the reverse could have been the case. Once early-season injuries that had initially set them back are behind them, they suddenly are true contenders. There are lots of things that factor into why.

The teams that stand out to me that are in that boat in the AFC are the San Diego Chargers, Broncos, Steelers and Colts. Those four teams could very well make the playoffs or end another teams playoff dreams, depending on the scenario. All four of these teams have the ability to turn their seasons around they are already on that path and could be spoilers for the ones sitting on top right now. Time will tell, because, again, there is a lot of season left.

So, to end this we are going to make our prediction of who we think will make the Super Bowl this year. It may surprise some people. But, hey, we aren’t known to think inside of the box, now are we?

If It Ain’t Steel's Super Bowl Prediction: Texans vs. Bears

I know, we don't have our Steelers in the big dance. We have a lot of work to do, even after the Giants win. And let’s face it, we're not delusional, we are realistic. The Texans are the best team in the AFC and are going to be hard to put out of the playoffs if they play at home. The Bears are getting it together and quietly demolishing teams. Jay Cutler and crew will be hard to beat the second half of the season.

Trust us, we hope our Steelers prove us wrong, we would love nothing more. And if they do, that is one big helping of crow we will be more than glad to eat.