After reading Pete Prisco’s article on the top 50 players and being outraged at his selections I decided I might as well cross sports metaphors and step into the batter’s box. I stopped at 25, because after that you are splitting hairs. Plus it got harder.

Before you criticize remember - this is a Patriots blog. Get over it.

1. Tom Brady, QB, New England Patriots: He has 3 rings, an insatiable drive to win, Giselle. And he is not satisfied.
2. Peyton Manning, QB, Indianapolis Colts: Can I have some Tabasco with my crow?
3. LaDainian Tomlinson, RB, San Diego Chargers: I am almost ashamed to put him this low. Although I was down on him a little bit when he cried after the Pats ripped his heart out, I came to realize he was probably more upset Marty cost him his best shot at a Super Bowl. The ultimate offensive weapon.
4. Ed Reed, S, Baltimore Ravens: The leader [sorry Ray] of a damn good defense. He is a natural ballhawk, hits like a truck, blocks kicks, returns INTs like Deion. When all those teams take safeties early in the draft they are praying to get the next Ed Reed.
5. Brian Westbrook, RB, Philadelphia Eagles: The closet thing to Marshall Faulk since Marshall Faulk. Better hands than most receivers, tougher runner than he gets credit for. McNabb goes down and they keep on winning with Garcia, Feely, Detmer, Steve Carlton, it doesn’t matter. Westbrook is the heart of the offense. Take him away and the Eagles might not crack .500.
6. Richard Seymour, DE, New England Patriots: Despite 5 Pro Bowls and three rings he is not always recognized when the top defensive players are named. His dominance looks effortless.
7. Champ Bailey, CB, Denver Broncos: The only shut down corner in the NFL today. But he still got run down by a TE running well over 100 yards across the field. Yes, it was a touchback and yes I am still bitter.
8. Julius Peppers, DE, Carolina Panthers: Physical freak who does things men that size have no business doing.
9. Brian Urlacher, LB, Chicago Bears: A little over hyped, but great player with quickness and instincts for the big play.
10. Steve Smith, WR, Carolina Panthers: I don’t normally think WRs should be ranked that high on a list like this, given their reliance on other players to get them the ball. But Smith has the ability to take over a game like few WRs have ever been able to. They play a different style game but Jerry Rice was the last guy that comes to mind that could almost single handedly put a defense on their heels.
11. Jason Taylor, DE, Miami Dolphins: Toiling away as the Dolphins bumble along. If he were to ever leave Miami Bill Belichick would be the first person to call. For an undersized guy playing on the line he manages to disrupt an offense like few can. More powerful than you think. His speed and anticipation keep Matt Light up at night twice a year.
12. Drew Brees, QB, New Orleans Saints: Seems like a really nice guy who plays best with a chip on his shoulder. The Saints are a great fit for him.
13. Walter Jones, T, Seattle Seahawks: Draw up a blueprint for a left tackle and you get this guy. Strong as an ox, quick feet, massive frame.
14. Steven Jackson, RB, St. Louis Rams: Power, speed, great hands. I really like his game.
15. Larry Johnson, RB, Kansas City: Once he started getting the ball, he established himself as one of the league’s top backs. I just can’t shake the feeling his career is going to look like a stock price graph from Enron.
16. Carson Palmer, QB, Cincinnati Bengals: I have problems on where Carson should go on this list. He has a great arm and has all the prototypical QB tools you look for. I want to like him but his plain, squeaky clean image give him the personal depth of a Fathead. And the tiger stripes make him look ridiculous.
17. Chad Johnson, WR, Cincinnati Bengals: One of those guys that seems to genuinely love to play the game. It doesn’t hurt that he is flat out better than most of the other guys out there. Plus he raced a horse and won.
18. Torry Holt, WR, St. Louis Rams: So smooth, so precise. I think I may have underrated him here.
19. Adalius Thomas, LB, New England Patriots: In Baltimore Rex Ryan put AD everywhere, including corner. Think you have any idea what Bill will do with him? Me neither. I think I just heard the collective sphincter of AFC East QBs contract.
20. Olin Kreutz, C, Bears: Nobody ever pays attention to centers. But watch this guy the next time the Bears are on TV. Smarter and more of a leader than his QB.
21. Ray Lewis, LB, Baltimore Ravens: I was never a big fan of his over the top personality but always liked his game. There is a little rust around the wheel wells these days, but like all great players he makes up for it with desire.
22. Andre Johnson, WR, Houston Texans: Has the size of some tight ends and the speed of a track star. If Schaub can stay upright more than poor David Carr could, look out.
23. Marvin Harrison, WR, Indianapolis Colts: Who would have thought he would be the best of the WR draft class of 96?
24. Deuce McAllister, RB, Saints: They say it takes a full year to recover all the way from the ACL injury he had. He should have that extra gear back this year. Plus he has a great name. I wanted to name one of the kids Deuce but Amy wouldn’t go for it.
25. Antonio Gates, TE, San Diego Chargers: Imagine how good he would be if San Diego actually had a good WR to draw some of the coverage.

Just missed the cut

Larry Fitzgerald, WR, Arizona Cardinals: As Matt Leinhart gets better, Fitz will shoot up the charts.

Casey Hampton, NT, Steelers: He clogs up the middle to let the seemingly endless supply of Pitt LB’s do what they do best.

Vince Wilfork, DT, Patriots: Perfect fit on this defense. Massive and surprisingly quick. Only a matter of time before he passes Hampton for best NT.

Donovan McNabb, QB, Philadelphia Eagles: If he could stay healthy he would be in the top 25.

Hines Ward, WR, Steelers: Tough, physical receiver. If the Steelers ever let him go I would love to see him in NE.

Rodney Harrison, S, Patriots: The man broke his arm in Super Bowl XXXVIII and stayed in the game and made a tackle. Who does that? He has to be on any list based on heart alone.

Dan Koppen, C, Patriots: The Pats demand a lot out of their center and he does a great job.

Jonathan Ogden, T, Baltimore Ravens: A little grey around the temples but still great

Orlando Pace, T, Rams: Not far behind Ogden.

Brian Dawkins, S, Eagles: The soul of the Philly defense.

Shaun Alexander, RB, Seahawks: I was never a huge fan. Has the skills but not the heart. I don’t think he is ever going to be the same after the foot injury.

A little wet around the ears but not for long

Reggie Bush, RB, Saints: Houston, what were you thinking? Did you not get USC games in Houston?

Ty Warren, DE, Patriots: A crime that he didn’t make the Pro Bowl last year. He might suffer in recognition being on the same line as Seymour.

Nnamdi Asomugha, CB, Oakland Raiders: Might be ready to take the torch from Champ in a couple years.

Logan Mankins, G, Patriots: Flat out nasty.

Peter King ranked the quarterbacks this morning, and 1-2 is exactly what you’d expect. It freaking kills me, though. Yes, I was one of those shooting my mouth off last season about how Peyton Manning was on his way to becoming another Dan Marino (love you, Dan, I do), and then he went and did that thing that we don’t speak of by name in this house. (For the life of me, I don’t know how he got there, because I have blocked out the AFC Championship game.) So, fine, he’s got a ring (ONE ring) and all those lovely stats and so I guess he (choke, gag, heave) can have the number one spot. FOR NOW.

There was a lot of press last season about how the Colts-Pats/Manning-Brady rivalry is really played out amongst the fans and in the media, but not between the quarterbacks. Maybe yes, maybe no, but we know Brady is competitive over everything. (If you haven’t read Moving The Chains, you should.) What’s his favorite ring? The next one. If I had to guess, I’d say he doesn’t care so much about where he’s ranked as an individual player, but not getting to the Super Bowl galls him. He’s not so much about himself. He’s not so much about the money. As King says about Brady, “he’s a coach, an offseason facilitator, a free-agent recruiter — and he does it while retaining respect from the guys he often has to lean on hard.”

I don’t follow Manning as closely as I do Brady. I haven’t read any books about him, and my opinions are not objective. My disdain for him grew when he signed such a ludicrously high contract, although I see he’s restructured it recently. I wonder about the motivation behind his relentless pursuit of endorsement deals (he sure as heck didn’t grow up poor). Really, the whole family annoys me with their “HEY! We’re the MANNINGS” attitude. (Archie insisting Eli get traded from San Diego? So his boy doesn’t have to wallow in mediocrity? Eli doesn’t need a whole team to do that; he can engineer mediocrity all on his own.)

This is what I want for this season (I’ll start the list now). I want my bragging rights back, starting on November 4 and ending on February 3. I want more of this.

CBS Sportsline posted this year’s top 50 players and the Pats are on the list. The first two are expected in Tom Brady (#2 behind Peyton) and Richard Seymour (a bit undervalued at #11), but the third is a nice surprise - Ty Warren comes in at #43. Honorable mentions include Asante, Big Vince Wilfork, and Logan Mankins.

I know this is all Pete Prisco’s opinion but there are some glaring issues on this list. I am OK all the way to #8. Where do you think the poster boy for ‘roid rage falls without the juice? And how does Ed Reed drop to #17? And how does Brian Westbrook not even make the cut? You think Jeff Garcia looks that good without Westbrook? But enough about the rest of the NFL. This is a Pats blog…

Warren got robbed of a Pro-Bowl shot last year. And big Vince should have gotten more consideration. Seymour is the established star but these two guys are quickly becoming some of the best at their positions. Warren is overshadowed by Seymour on the other side but he made more big plays last year. And there are not many guys who can play the nose in a 3-4 defense and Vince is one of the best. Not to mention the world’s biggest running back.

The other guy I am happy to see on the honorable mention is Mankins. The dude has a mean streak like a pit bull. Not to mention he sports a full on Yosemite Sam mustache and gets away with it. He plays like the other team said something bad about his mamma and dammit somebody is going to pay. Exactly what you want for an interior lineman.

Now, for the big problem with this list. Arguably last year’s most versatile defensive player on the number one defense in Baltimore is not listed at all. Mr. Prisco, Mr. Thomas would like to have a word with you.

I mean, it’s only two cents. It’s not like it’s $7.79 million or anything. So I’ll make it brief.

• Asante should have gone to Marquis Hill’s funeral with the rest of the team. Business is business; a teammate’s funeral is something else entirely. That action says a lot about Samuel, in my book.
• I’m betting Deion Branch has some regrets out there in Seattle. Maybe Asante could give him a call? (Note how often “Seattle” or “Seahawks” shows up in that synopsis of Branch’s career highlights: once, when they mention the trade.)
• That’s a lot of frickin’ money he’s turning up his nose at.

It’s hard to listen to rich athletes complain about money. When Ty Law said he just needs to feed his family, I probably ranted for days. Not really a media-savvy moment on Law’s part. However (and bear with me on the tangent here), I just finished reading The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game by Michael Lewis, which includes a lot of interesting NFL facts and history along the way while he tells the story of Michael Oher. Lewis handles a narrative well, and although he drops hints as to Oher’s childhood throughout the book, he doesn’t lay it all on you until late in the game. I’m still disturbed by what I read. I’m quite sure I’m supposed to be disturbed. It’s no secret that a lot of pro athletes grow up in poverty-stricken conditions, but hearing “poverty-stricken” probably doesn’t conjure up the reality. It’s not for me to retell Lewis’s facts on Oher–go read the book. But the typical middle-class fan has no idea.

I don’t know what Law’s childhood was like, or Samuel’s, or any NFL player’s. But my point is, when Law, or another disgustingly rich (in my eyes) athlete says he’s worried about feeding his family, that very well may be true. If you grow up in horrifically poor conditions, there just may never be enough money. You can’t play football forever. What then? It’s sort of a joke, now, about the grandparents who grew up during the Depression and leave two quarters as a tip in a restaurant and won’t spend any money (my grandmother always told me: You only touch interest! Never principal!). But I don’t think it leaves you. If you’ve repeatedly gone to bed hungry, maybe there’s really never enough money to assure you that your kids won’t go hungry, too.

You can call me a stupid pushover. That’s fine. I still think Samuel is making a bad call and Branch got bad advice. I still think athletes who are all about the money are missing part of the point, although this is a damn punishing game and I’d want as much security as possible, too. I’m just saying, I don’t know what’s in their heads, truly. Pure greed? Pride? Or some messed-up psychology?

But it’s all moot anyway. Samuel lost me when he didn’t get on that plane to Louisiana.

Obviously the one big loss the Pats could have this year is if Asante holds out ten games or even the whole season while demanding a long-term contract. I thought I would throw in my two pennies. This is a guy who came in and was coached up to play to the best of his abilities. Don’t get me wrong - he is very talented and seems to have great ball instincts. He knows when to jump a route and when to play it safe. And he is cocky, just like a good corner has to be. The problem is he sees himself as a shut down corner in the NFL. That phrase gets tossed around a lot, probably too much. Nate Clements is an example. He is an excellent corner, and I’m glad to be rid of him in the AFC East. But he is not in the same class as Champ Bailey. Bailey is the only true shut down CB in the league right now. They don’t come around that often. Just like franchise QBs or corner stone left tackles, they are not easy to come by. Before Champ it was Ty Law. Sorry Ty, you are looking fat and slow these days as you follow Herm around the league so you can take it easy and pad your stats for the rest of your career.

It has been reported that Asante wants to sign a long term contract with the big money in the first three years, similar to what Nate Clements signed in SF. The Pats want something quite a bit less, how much less we may never know since you would have better luck getting information out of my shoes than you would out of Foxboro on player contract talks. At the very least they are prepared to pay him the one year franchise rate of $7.79 million dollars. This is guaranteed money, far in excess of what he has earned his entire career thus far.

Asante thinks he can pull the same trick Deion Branch pulled and hold out and get traded. The problem is I don’t think the Pats feel compelled to do anything and teams are not convinced Asante can be a Nate Clements type corner so they are not going to part with one number one pick, let alone two to trade for him. And the Pats have enough bodies in the secondary to get along if he does hold out. This is a team that has won Super Bowls with Otis my man Smith, Randall Gay, and Hank Poteat playing corner at one time or another.

What I don’t understand is why he would not play for the franchise money this year. The worse case scenario would be they franchise him next year too. First year franchise players get the average of the top five players at their position ($7.79 million this year). Second year players get the average of the top THREE at their position. So he would get a raise next year. All guaranteed money. Nate Clements got $22 million in guaranteed money with his insane contract. If Asante plays under the franchise for two years he is probably in the realm of $17-19 million. Hmm… And this for a guy that had a breakout year but was pretty inconsistent the first 3 years of his career.

Instead of posturing and threatening holding out he should sign the contract, play this year for more money than most people will ever make and hope he has as good a year statistically as last year. Then he will have teams lining up to overpay him like Nate this year.

Asante, it looks like you jumped the route too soon.

We are born & bred New England sports fans (native Rhode Islanders). Chris has been a football fan since 1984, when he first began watching. He has vivid memories of the Patriots’ dark days (the slide after the ‘85 Super Bowl), years when every home game was blacked out and he had to listen to the radio broadcast. He’s been a fan through thick and thin, the 1-and-15 season, two lost Super Bowls, Bill Parcells abandoning the team in New Orleans. And now, well, it’s never been a better time to be a New England Patriots fan.

Amy, his wife, remembers football games on the television every Sunday of childhood*, but she thought she didn’t like the sport. She just didn’t understand it! Until 1997, the second football season of dating Chris, the autumn when the only free day they each had was Sunday. And where was Chris every Sunday? Watching the Patriots. Determined to see her boyfriend at least once a week, Amy sat on the couch next to him. Little by little, she began asking questions. Like any true lover of the game, Chris was eager to explain its nuances. Amy fell hard. Oh, she fell for Chris, too, and years later, their second son earned the middle name of “Brady,” after the Super Bowl MVP of the year of his birth, 2004. (We got lucky there; “Branch” wouldn’t have sounded as good.)

Chris, the longtime Pats fan, with the typical New England sports fan’s memory of every single thing that has gone on before, is the football geek. But Amy is no slouch, living with the football geek like she does, and besides, a little female perspective isn’t a bad thing.** So hey, fellow Pats fans… make yourself at home.

*Full disclosure: In sixth grade, I was one of those girls complaining when long football games preempted Punky Brewster. I’m sorry, okay?

**Yes, that means we’ll occasionally have Brady swooning on the blog.

Minicamp has just wrapped up and we are in that waiting period before training camp actually starts in late July. By all accounts mini camp went well. Although I have only seen small snippets of footage and pics on the web, I think Wes Welker is going to be huge. He catches everything, is quick, tough and goes all out all the time. Exactly what the Pats look for. And with Moss and Stallworth stretching the field, the middle should be open for Welker and Watson to roam free.

A friend of mine has figured out the perfect 3rd and short formation. Moss and Stallworth on the outside, Welker in the slot, Watson at TE and Kevin Faulk in the backfield. You can’t single up Moss, and Stallworth has to be respected. Do they run Faulk up the middle on a D that is playing the pass, do they hit him or Stallworth on a screen, does Welker run a short crossing pattern? Pick you poison and move the chains.

As far as the other side of the ball, I saw some pics on the Pats website, and new addition Adalius Thomas looks absolutely gargantuan. He has lined up everywhere on D and should immediately help what was a weak spot last year. The options are dizzying - Vrabel, Colvin, AD, Junior, Bruschi give them five starting quality LBs behind what may be the best defensive front in football. Scary. And yes I want to see Asante back but not at crazy money. The front five can go a long way to make a secondary look pretty good without him.

So, optimistic fan that I am, I see the shiny new toys and can’t wait to see them in action.