Merry Christmas! Today is a day where we should all be thankful for our friends and families. It’s a day where we shove our faces at Christmas dinner and have the exact same conversation about what were doing with our lives about 15 times with different relatives. Maybe you’ll be lucky enough to attend a Christmas party and have that conversation another 30 times. But I want to focus on something that makes us all happy, watching athletes we hate get beaten. The Bills 40-14 destruction of Tim Tebow and the Broncos yesterday prompted me to lay out a feast of hatred for my readers. Enjoy.

Honorable Mentions:

Tim Tebow, Albert Haynesworth, Alex Ovechkin, Sean Avery, Floyd Mayweather Jr., Kurt Busch, Alex Burrows, Cristiano Ronaldo.

10. Ron Artest … I’m Sorry: Metta World Peace (Los Angeles Lakers)

Talk about a class act, Artest apparently changed his name to Metta World Peace in order to help “inspire the youth.” Coming from the guy who jumped in the stands at the Palace in Detroit and started one of the biggest brawls in sports ever, and coming from a guy who thanked his psychiatrist after winning the NBA championship a few years ago, I find this hard to believe. There is never an excuse to attack fans, unless you’re Mike Milbury (the Boston Bruins shoe incident from 1979)… because that was just hysterical. A main reason why Artest is an athlete you love to hate is because he just lives in his own little world, and has absolutely no sense of reality, or respect.

9. Chad OchoCinco (New England Patriots)

Another guy who decided to change his last name for no particular reason at all, OchoCinco has been a player that sports fans have loved to hate for years. OchoCinco is one of the arrogant athletes who hit his prime for about a season but his mouth never stopped running. His over the top press conferences, ridiculous touchdown celebrations, and outrageous reality show moments are just the tip of the iceberg on why fans love to hate him. The fact that he is in New England now, a team hated pretty much every where except Massachusetts, doesn’t help his like-ability at all.

8. Sidney Crosby (Pittsburgh Penguins)

This one hurts to write because as most of you know I am an enormous Penguins fan, and if I wasn’t this name might be higher on this list. There are many components to why Sid is hated, and I understand all of them. The first is the fact that he is without a doubt the best player in the world, and with great talent comes great skepticism. But that’s not enough to make this list, Crosby dives, he whines, he pouts, he can’t grow facial hair, and he put a javelin in the hearts of Americans by scoring on us in overtime of the Olympic Final in 2010. Now the fact that he has been out indefinitely twice due to multiple concussions, his toughness is being questioned by even his own beloved fans.

7. Philip Rivers (San Diego Chargers)

One of the cockiest athletes in America, Rivers is another guy who is unbelievably unprofessional when it comes to making big plays. Talking trash to players is one thing, but Rivers has been caught multiple times talking trash to opposing coaches, which is highly frowned upon at any level. For a guy who has never won a ring, and never really came close for that matter, it’s enjoyable as a sports fan to watch such a cocky athlete continuously go downhill. The fact that the Chargers are 7-8 this year has even the public in San Diego whether or not he should stay or go.

6. Phil Mickelson/Tiger Woods (PGA Tour)

It is tough to say who golf fans love to hate more when it’s between Tiger and Phil. If you aren’t a huge follower of the sport you might wonder why someone could hate the pudgy, lovable lefty. Well, let me clear that up for you. Mickelson is known around tour for having almost zero respect for any other player that he tees up with. He is also notorious for his outrageous sports betting that he checks on his smart phone throughout rounds, and gives off that arrogant presence that isn’t really acceptable in a gentleman’s sport like golf. Take in mind that Woods is still heavily loved by fans, and Mickelson used to be his biggest threat to take away tournament victories from him, and you find a guy that a lot of fans love to watch hit the ball in the lake. Oh, and the fact that lefty’s wife is a bombshell doesn’t help his case. Tiger on the other hand… well do I even need to explain myself? He committed a disgusting amount of adultery and it cost him his wife, his image, multiple endorsements, and tens of millions of dollars. It always is Team Phil or Team Tiger. Pick your side.

5. Michael Vick (Philadelphia Eagles)

The guy got convicted of dog fighting… come on. He might be one of the most electrifying players in the game today, but he is also someone who at one point in time was the most screwed up loyally. Drive drunk and kill a man? America forgets, just ask Donte Stallworth. But kill a bunch of innocent dogs, now that’s just isn’t American.

4. Ben Roethlisberger (Pittsburgh Steelers)

When you think of crimes that are worse than holding your own dog fighting ring, only a few come to mind, one of those being

rape. On the field, Roethlisberger is one of the toughest, and most feared quarterbacks by opposing defenses. In nightclubs, I’m pretty sure he is equally feared by opposing bachelorettes. Roethlisberger has never spent a night behind bars, yet he has been convicted of sexual assualt twice. Outside of Pittsburgh, he is the NFL player that sports fans love to hate the most.

3. Kobe Bryant (Los Angeles Lakers)

If there is anything that Kobe has taught us, it’s if you ever get caught cheating on your wife, while being accused of rape at the same time, just buy your wife a $4 million diamond ring and you’ll be fine. Don’t have that kind of money? Tough luck bud, and enjoy your time behind bars. On the court, Kobe is looked at as a ball hog and a guy whose selfish mistakes can cost his team victories, although he is still one of, if not the best player in the league right now. But no one likes a rapist, which is why Kobe is hated with immense passion throughout the United States.

2. Alex Rodriguez (New York Yankees)

First off, he’s a Yankee, and they’re only loved by people that are from a certain part of New York, because pretty much the rest of the world hates that money pumping franchise to death. Then take into account the fact that he used steroids, which in my mind should have much more severe punishments for infringements, then take into account that he has dated the likes of Cameron Diaz, Elaine Spottswood, and Kate Hudson (just to name a few). Finally, understand that a man who was found guilty of cheating (by taking steroids) in America’s past time gets paid $32,000,000 a year… if you didn’t hate him before, you should now. Oh, and he only hit .276 last year and only played in 99 games, which means he got paid $323,232 per game.

1. Lebron James (Clev… I mean Miami Heat)

 

I could write a novel on why this guy is hated. I’ve seen first hand what he did to Cleveland fans when he left, and I think that people from outside of the state of Ohio don’t really understand it to the fullest extent. Cleveland has perhaps the most passionate fan base in America, yet their sports teams continuously fail them every year. Cleveland hasn’t won a major sports title since 1964, and that was before the Super Bowl era. Put that into context, there are 47 year old Cleveland natives who haven’t lived to watch their beloved city win a championship in any major sport. Lebron was supposed to fix that. Lebron said he would fix that. “I won’t stop until I bring a championship to Cleveland,” he said. Take into consideration that he is from Akron! Lebron KNOWS the pain that the state of Ohio and the city of Cleveland have had to endure and yet he still left. But he didn’t just leave. He had a one-hour special on ESPN to announce his cowardly exit. He joined the likes of Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh to win “not 4, not 5, not 6” NBA championships. Lebron James is an egotistically selfish coward, which is why the entire sports world loves to hate him.

Start Em:

Michael Turner (RB, Atlanta Falcons) – Turner has been a frustrating case for fantasy owners this season, and last week was more of the same. He only rushed for 44 yards on 14 carries against the Texans, but this week there is hope. His groin should be fine by Sunday, and he faces a Carolina run defense that he torched in week 6, where he rushed for 139 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Maurice Morris (RB, Detroit Lions) – Even with Kevin Smith named the starter last week, Morris still put up decent fantasy numbers after Smith left the game when he re-injured his ankle. Morris is a duel threat, and is a solid flex play this week, especially in PPR leagues.

LaGarrette Blount (RB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers) – It is tough to put someone in the lineup who only had 18 yards rushing last week and averaged under 2 yards per carry, but Blount hasn’t been completely at fault for the weeks where his production has lacked. In the games that Tampa competes, Blount tends to do quite well, and they shouldn’t have an issue staying in with the Jaguars this week.

Matt Hasselbeck (QB, Tennessee Titans) – In week 12, Eli Manning threw for over 400 yards and 2 touchdowns against the Saints. Last week, Matt Stafford threw for over 400 yards and had 1 touchdown against the Saints. Expect at least 300 yards and a few touchdowns from Hasselbeck this week against the same defense that has been crushed in garbage time.

Carson Palmer (QB, Oakland Raiders) – Pretty similar logic here, Green Bay will slaughter the Raiders, leaving plenty of room for Palmer to throw for yards and touchdowns that will matter to fantasy owners, but have zero effect on the actual game.

Nate Burleson (WR, Detroit Lions) – He would have had over 150 yards receiving last week had he not been flagged for offense pass interference twice. He still managed just under 100 yards,and he is as solid a WR2 as they come.

Jeremy Maclin (WR, Philadelphia Eagles) – He is expected to return from injury this week, and with Vick expected to return at QB, the two should pick up right where they left off. Hopefully he is the spark plug that the Eagles need to give them some optimism as the year winds down.

Torrey Smith (WR, Baltimore Ravens) – There is nobody in the Colts secondary that can come close to matching the outside speed of Torrey Smith. Expect Ray Rice to have the biggest day out of anyone in fantasy this week, but Smith should be able to burn Indy for a couple big plays.

Kellen Winslow (TE, Tampa Bay Buccaneers) – He has 18 catches in the last 3 weeks, and the Jaguars give up more points to opposing tight ends than any other team in the NFL.

Jacob Tamme (TE, Indianapolis Colts) – It’s last year all over again, with Dallas Clark out look for Tamme to step in and become a top ten fantasy TE from here on out.

Tampa Bay D/ST – Currently ranked the 28th best fantasy defense, they are a huge sleeper this week against a Jaguar defense that is as one dimensional as they come. If they can shut down Jones-Drew, they will definitely be a top 10 defense this week, and possibly even higher.

Sit Em:

Ben Roethlisberger (QB, Pittsburgh Steelers) – Big Ben has been a top 10 QB all season, but facing a Cleveland Browns defense that allows the fewest points to opposing quarterbacks should shy you away from this matchup.

Mark Sanchez (QB, New York Jets) – Sanchez has only 345 yards passing in his last two games and now is going to see the 11th ranked Kansas City defense. This game will be low scoring, and the Jets will rely heavily on their run game. Don’t expect much from Sanchez.

Jonathon Stewart (RB, Carolina Panthers) – Don’t get too excited about his 80 yards and a touchdown last week. I don’t want to say it was a fluke… but it was a fluke. Leave him on your bench, and enjoy watching him struggle against the Falcons 5th ranked run defense.

Frank Gore (RB, San Francisco 49ers) – I know it is hard to bench a running back that is currently in the top 15 on the year in fantasy points for running backs, but look at his last three games. Gore is only averaging 66 yards per game on the ground in the last three weeks, and he hasn’t had a rushing touchdown since week 8.

Rashard Mendenhall (RB, Pittsburgh Steelers) – Remember how I said that he has to score a touchdown to even be relevant? Well the Browns have only given up 10 all year, so depending on him scoring is a bit of a risk, especially with Isaac Redman getting the goalline touches.

Johnny Knox (WR, Chicago Bears) – The matchup is really good on paper, but the problem is that the Broncos have such long drives, the Bears offense will barely see the field. Knox will need to break a long catch in order to make him start in your lineup, and frankly I think that’s asking a little too much out of him without Jay Cutler under center.

Mike Wallace (WR, Pittsburgh Steelers) – *See Ben Roethlisberger*

Laurent Robinson (WR, Dallas Cowboys) – He had a great run, but Robinson is now hobbled by a shoulder injury, and with Miles Austin expected to return this week, expect Robinson’s output to go downward quickly.

Demaryius Thomas (WR, Denver Broncos) – He is a one hit wonder, and the secondary he played last week was atrocious. The Bears defense will do a much better job containing Tebow, and will make sure that Thomas doesn’t find 10 yard gaps with no one around to cover him.

Aaron Hernandez (TE, New England Patriots) – The sixth highest projected tight end on ESPN won’t have even a top 10 day on Sunday. He hasn’t scored a touchdown since week 9, and with Gronkowski the main target in that offense, it’s hard to ask much more out of Hernandez.

Detroit Lions D/ST – Without Ndamukong Suh in the lineup, this defense is not even close to as dynamic as they were earlier in the year. There are far better options this week, even though they are facing a beat up Minnesota Vikings squad.

Dream Team:

QB 1 – Aaron Rodgers

QB 2 – Matt Stafford

RB1 – Ray Rice

RB 2 – Maurice Jones-Drew

WR 1 – Calvin Johnson

WR 2 – Percy Harvin

WR 3 – Wes Welker

RB/WR 1 – Michael Turner

RB/WR 2 – Arian Foster

RB/WR 3 – Victor Cruz

TE – Rob Gronkowski

D/ST – San Francisco 49ers

K – David Akers

1. Malcomb Floyd’s return helps V. Jackson, and Gates

Vincent Jackson has been a yo-yo all year long when it comes to producing fantasy points. In weeks 9-12, his receiving yardage went the following: 141, 22, 165, 25. With Malcomb Floyd back in the lineup, Philip Rivers finally has the depth that he has been searching for all season. Teams are no longer going to be able to double team Jackson or Gates, because Floyd’s speed will cause single coverage nightmares all day long. With a consistency finally established, feel free to deploy Gates and Vincent Jackson with no worries of a setback.

2. Say Goodbye to Michael Bush

He might get one more week without Darren McFadden in the lineup, but after the atrocious performance he put up against Miami, it is safe to say that Bush is all but done in terms of fantasy relevancy. He had a good run during weeks 9-12 as the starter in Oakland, but with his last starting gig a road game against the Packers, it is going to be tough for him to produce big numbers. If your playoffs start next week, and you have already locked up a playoff spot, try and trade him for someone who will help you throughout weeks 15-17 like C.J. Spiller or even Marion Barber.

3. No Heart in Desean

One of the most dynamic players in the NFL has just had a terrible year for fantasy owners who drafted him as a top 10, and some even a top 5 receiver. With the Eagles now at 4-8, thus mathematically eliminated from the playoffs, it is hard to imagine Desean Jackson doing anything outstanding. His heart doesn’t seem to be in it, and even though Vick is going to return to the lineup this week… there isn’t much hope.

4. The Hot Commodity: Marion Barber

With Matt Forte going to be sidelined due to a sprained MCL, the Bears offense is going to have to get big things out of Marion Barber if they have a shot at making the playoffs. Barber has already established himself as the first candidate for the goal line carries, and he shouldn’t have trouble touching the ball 20-25 times a game considering he did that in Dallas for years. He might not be worth a start this week, but he is definitely worth picking up to see how Chicago uses him.

5. Flip a coin: Heads start Mendenhall, Tails don’t

Pittsburgh has completely established themselves as a pass first offense, which is really awkward when it comes to the Steelers tradition of hard knock football. Mendenhall has only had more than 70 yards rushing in a game once this season, but he has been stellar in the red zone. It is a huge gamble, but when he scores he is a great guy to have in the lineup. It is just impossible to guess when that is going to happen.

6. Jacob Tamme with Deja Vu

When Dallas Clark went down last season with an injury, Jacob Tamme stepped up and became a top ten fantasy tight end. Now I know that Curtis Painter is not even on the same planet as Peyton Manning, but he is a pretty solid replacement. He has 13 catches in the last 3 games, and he will eventually find the endzone.

7. Chris Johnson is Back

If you drafted him, I hope you didn’t trade him. Chris Johnson has been the most distributed player throughout ESPN fantasy leagues, and whoever ended up with him is ecstatic now. CJ has had 100 yards rushing in three of his last four games, and there is no reason to believe he will stop any time soon. The most important statistic is that he is finally getting his touches, he’s averaging just over 21 carries over his last four games.

8. Ryan Matthews is Finally Relevant

Ever since coming into the NFL, there were high hopes that Ryan Matthews was going to be a huge force in the world of fantasy football. He has failed to deliver thus far, but the past two weeks he is showing great strides. He has rushed for over 100 yards in the last two games, and he now faces a Bills defense that has been horrendous against the run. Expect big things from him this week.

9. Andre Johnson is Done

If you have him, just drop him and let him be someone elses problem. He has been a fantasy nightmare this year. After 25 catches through his first 4 games, he missed 6 straight weeks due to injury, and now his hamstring is bothering him again and chances are he sits this week as well. Even if he comes back during your playoffs, T.J. Yates is still his quarterback, and he is way too risky to start.

10. Trade Steven Jackson

He is averaging under three yards a carry in the past three weeks, and look at who he plays in weeks 15 and 16: Cincinnati, and at Pittsburgh. Good luck. Both are two of the best run defenses in the NFL and if Jackson can only put up 42 yards on 15 carries against Seattle… I’m not seeing much hope here. Once again, try and find someone who NEEDS him this week, and give yourself somebody that is going to help you in the playoffs.

 

I recently wrote an article on five reasons why NBA fans should tune in to watch the NHL this season; however, I never belittled the NBA in any way, or tried to make a claim that hockey is an overall better sport than basketball. I never claimed that it was a talentless sport, or that the sometimes lack of physical play leads to a belief in basketball players not being top tier athletes.

The NHL has always sat in the back seat of ESPN’s highlights. When a coach in the NFL gets fired, there is a five minute argument over whether the decision was right, who should replace him, etc. When an NHL coach is fired, they’ll just say “so and so has been fired…” Next topic. Even while the NBA was suffering in a lockout, there was more repetitive, meaningless coverage of that league moving nowhere than there was of NHL highlights. For the entire 60-minute program, hockey fans are lucky to see highlights of one or two games, and maybe one goal or save that appears on the top 10, which will always be overshadowed by a routine dunk. It sickens me, but that’s how ESPN has operated since the NHL lockout cost them the entire 2004-05 season. It bothers me, but I have gotten over it.

Over the last week however, I have been sickened by the amount of publicly slandering remarks made toward the NHL, and toward the sport of hockey as a whole. I am used to the almost daily, ridiculous comments made by Skip Bayless and Colin Cowherd, but the main problem is that they are teaching the millions of ESPN viewers that it is okay to belittle hockey. Colin Cowherd commonly makes negative remarks toward the NHL mainly to generate ratings. His co-host, Michelle Beadle, dated NHL analyst Matthew Barnaby for over a year (they broke up in June), and is a huge ambassador of the game. She loves it, and she always defends it.

Linda Cohn is another great example of somebody who has commonly had to defend the sport, live on the air, against other anchors during Sportscenter. Cohn played hockey her whole life, growing up in New York – she was talented enough to make her high schools boys hockey team, and was the goalie for the college hockey team at SUNY at Oswego.

Steve Berthiaume, another New York native, is another ESPN anchor who has come to the support of the game. Although he is commonly known for his reporting on the sport of baseball, Berthiaume has the ultimate respect for all sports he covers, which is something that could be taught to all of ESPN’s personnel.

Now on to what is making me absolutely livid:

It all started on Tuesday, when during what seemed like a normal show of NFL32, a remark about hockey came into play. Herm Edwards immediately laughed at the inquisition, and then came up with the following quote: “Please, I’m here to talk about real sports.” Look Herm, I have all the respect in the world for the NFL, I really do. The least you can do is have a little respect for a sport that is followed by tens of millions of people.

The most awkward part of the whole thing was that the question was steered toward hockey after a fight broke out in a football game. There used to be a debate at which sport was tougher. You can’t compare football and hockey in terms of toughness, but you can compare the NFL and the NHL in terms of toughness. In today’s NFL, if you touch the quarterback, or make a big hit – it’s a penalty. If you push a guy after the whistle – it’s a penalty. If you punch a guy in his helmet – it’s a penalty, a fine, and an ejection. Bottom line is I am sick and tired of NFL analysts belittling the fact that there is still some grit left in the NHL. Sure, Shanahan has stiffened suspensions this year, but fighting has gone up, and physical play is still maintained as the most successful way to shut down top lines.

I almost lost it when Edwards said that, but hey I’ll give him a break. He’s as respected as a guy gets in the world of the NFL. Sure, it drove me crazy to listen to an NFL analysts say anything negative about a sport that I will absolutely guarantee he knows nothing about. I guarantee he doesn’t know how to skate, and I would be shocked if he could tell me what icing or offsides is.

I tweeted my frustrations (@ShaneDarrow), but I eventually got over it. I figured it was a slip of the tongue, and considering the environment he was in, it was socially acceptable at the time. Then yesterday happened.

I try to watch Sportsnation every time I can, it really is an informative show and I enjoy the common debate between Michelle Beadle and Colin Cowherd. Their jokes are usually pretty weak, but the show is entertaining because they go over all sports, and every issue surrounding them, and there is a lot of viewer participation. They usually bring on a guest to help host the show, and yesterday they brought on Mark Schlereth. Here is how the show ended:

During the three tears segment, the last clip was an unbelievable fight between Aaron Asham and John Erskine, two of the best fighters in the league. The last time these two teams played, Asham knocked out Jay Beagle, who hasn’t played since, so it wasn’t surprising to anyone that Erskine was going to step up and go toe-to-toe with him. Here’s the clip of the tilt:

While showing the clip on Sportsnation, Beadle showed her usual support for the fighting aspect of the game. Surprisingly, Colin Cowherd wasn’t really belittling the fight, but he still showed his absolute lack of knowledge for the sport. To paraphrase, he said that they were throwing haymakers, and if the guy in the red landed one, then the guy in the white would have been in trouble. Are you kidding me? Can you imagine if they said that about two players in the NFL? When Ndamukong Suh stomped Evan Dietrich-Smith (see how I actually know their names Colin?), imagine if someone said “Oh man, the guy in the blue is probably going to get suspended for kicking the guy in the white.” The analyst at hand probably would have lost their job.

That wasn’t the end of it. As the camera panned out, Beadle called out Cowherd for his lack of knowledge on not knowing who neither Asham nor Erskine was (even though Michelle said both their names 15 seconds earlier). It was a fun poke at Cowherd, and Beadle played it perfectly. Out of no where, Mark Schlereth looks at Colin and says the following, “I agree with you, that sport is just dumb.”

…

Mull that over.

…

WHAT!? You were a guard in the NFL, and you were drafted in the 10th round. If the standard 7 round draft was in play today you probably wouldn’t even have a career in sports right now. Mark, you have absolutely zero knowledge of hockey, and no one even asked for your opinion! Just sit at your table, and keep your mouth shut until somebody asks you whether or not Tim Tebow should be in the pro bowl. Better yet, sit there until someone asked you how to block, because that is all you did your entire career. I couldn’t believe what I heard, I mean I had to rewind it on DVR about ten times to make sure that what I thought I heard, I actually heard.

This is the point I want to make:

You can have your opinion on how you feel about sports. Different people have different opinions about different things, and I will do nothing but respect your passions as long as you respect mine. I am personally not a huge fan of soccer, but I would never publicly belittle the sport, because that is the respect you give to other sports fans who love it. To say that I have lost a tremendous amount of respect for Mark Schlereth is an absolute understatement. The immense amount of classlessness that has been shown by ESPN analysts when referring to the NHL is absolutely unacceptable for an on air anchor, especially those with no knowledge of the sport to begin with. The immaturity shown by Schlereth during Sportsnation was even taken back by Cowherd, who usually closes out the show but was left in an awkward silence after realizing what was just said.

I would love for Mark Schlereth to read this and find a way to explain to hockey fans everywhere what compelled him to say that on the air. I would love for Mark Schlereth to get in an educated argument with myself or any other enthusiast of the game, and have him explain his reasons for why he finds the sport I grew up loving “dumb.” I would love for Mark Schlereth to issue an apology on behalf of the tens of millions of people that were taken back by his comments. I would love to see someone from ESPN call him out, and have him realize that when he is an anchor for the “world wide leader in sports,” he should probably take in to consideration the other sports that the station represents.

Will any of these ever happen? Of course not. Would somebody with the arrogance to call the entire sport of hockey dumb, live on the air, take the time out of his day to respond to an aspiring sports writer who has the integrity to call him out for his inexcusable actions? No.

There are hundreds of different junior, collegiate, and professional leagues in North America alone. Every single beauty that has ever laced up a pair of skates is effected by comments like those of Herm Edwards or Mark Schlereth.

Will the slanderous comments of the NHL end any time soon? Probably not, but I couldn’t stand in silence any more. It just absolutely disgusts me.

Have you ever heard Matthew Barnaby or Barry Melrose say anything negative about the NFL, NBA, or MLB? No. Because these men have class. They were raised on a sport that taught them that.

Oh and Schlereth, if you apologize to me personally I will wish you the best of luck in your acting career. Seriously, your role in the soap opera Guiding Light really moved me… Absurd.

Quarterbacks:

1. Aaron Rodgers

2. Drew Brees

3. Tom Brady

4. Matthew Stafford

5. Cam Newton

6. Eli Manning

7. Tony Romo

8. Ben Roethlisberger

9. Ryan Fitzpatrick

10. Matt Hasselback

11. Josh Freeman

12. Philip Rivers

13. Christian Ponder

14. Tim Tebow

15. Dan Orlovsky

16. Carson Palmer

17. Joe Flacco

18. Alex Smith

19. Matt Ryan

20. Matt Moore

 

Running Backs:

1. Ray Rice

2. Matt Forte

3. Frank Gore

4. Marshawn Lynch

5. DeMarco Murray

6. Lesean McCoy

7. LeGarrette Blount

8. Roy Helu

9. Reggie Bush

10. Michael Bush

11. Shonn Greene

12. Maurice Jones-Drew

13. Chris Johnson

14. Beanie Wells

15. Willis McGahee

16. Michael Turner

17. Kevin Smith (assuming he starts) … Maurice Morris if he doesn’t

18. Ryan Matthews

19. BenJarvus Green-Ellis

20. Brandon Jacobs

21. Steven Jackson

22. Jonathon Stewart

23. James Starks

24. DeAngelo Williams

25. Darren Sproles

26. Rashard Mendenhall

27. Toby Gerhart

28. Cedric Benson

29. C.J. Spiller

30. Pierre Thomas

 

Wide Receiver:

1. Percy Harvin

2. Wes Welker

3. Calvin Johnson

4. Greg Jennings

5. Victor Cruz

6. Stevie Johnson

7. Steve Smith

8. Larry Fitzgerald

9. Hakeem Nicks

10. Brandon Marshall

11. Roddy White

12. Dwayne Bowe

13. Brandon Lloyd ; Laurent Robinson if Miles Austin doesn’t play

14. Vincent Jackson

15. Jordy Nelson

16. Marques Colston

17. Nate Burleson

18. Plaxico Burress

19. Antonio Brown

20. Doug Baldwin

21. Pierre Garcon

22. Santonio Holmes

23. Mike Wallace

24. Dez Bryant

25. Pierre Garcon

26. David Nelson

27. Mike Williams (TB)

28. A.J Green

29. Lance Moore

30. Eric Decker ; Miles Austin if he plays

31. Andre Johnson

32. Deion Branch

33. Nate Washington

34. Anquan Boldin

35. DeSean Jackson

36. Santana Moss

37. Michael Crabtree

38. Reggie Wayne

39. Laurent Robinson if Miles Austin does play

40. Damian Williams

 

Tight End:

1. Rob Gronkowski

2. Jimmy Graham

3. Fred Davis

4. Jason Witten

5. Brandon Pettigrew

6. Antonio Gates

7. Kellen Winslow

8. Jermichael Finley

9. Tony Gonzales

10. Vernon Davis

11. Dustin Keller

12. Mercedes Lewis

13. Scott Chandler

14. Jake Ballard

15. Aaron Hernandez