It’s not arrogance or egotism. It’s just natural. We all have an innate human proclivity to wonder how we’re viewed through others’ eyes. And while praise and applause come in different forms and have many geneses—fans, media, coaches—perhaps peer recognition bears the greatest honor.
The NFL Network’s Top 100 Players of 2011 series featured just that, the top players in the game as voted on by the players themselves.
Two Tampa Bay Buccaneers were included in the Top 100: rookie wide receiver Mike Williams (83rd) quarterback Josh Freeman (86th).
Williams was one of three rookies featured on the list along with Detroit Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh and Kansas City Chiefs safety Eric Berry.
Perhaps more impressive is that Williams made the list after being selected in the fourth round in 2010 while Suh and Berry were both top-five picks.
Williams fell just 36 yards shy of 1,000 yards as a rookie and set a Buccaneer rookie record with 11 touchdown catches.
Freeman meanwhile, threw only six interceptions (third-fewest in the league) and 25 touchdowns in 2012 as part of a sophomore campaign in which he improved his quarterback rating from 2009 by 36.1 points with his 95.9 rating, sixth in the league behind familiar names like Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, Ben Roethlisberger, Philip Rivers and Michael Vick and topping the likes of Peyton Manning, Matt Ryan and Drew Brees in that category.
Brees set the NFL record in QB rating turnaround when he was with the San Diego Chargers, making a 37.3-point improvement from 2003 to 2004. He’s the only quarterback to have a larger QB rating improvement than Freeman from season to season in NFL history.
Barring significant regression from the Buccaneers’ two young stars, they are very likely to make the list in 2012.
But there are five other Buccaneers that have a shot at making the list as well.
Giulianna Ramirez Ashley Greene April Scott Mia Kirshner Elisabeth Röhm
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