The fine staff over at Pro Football Focus (you know, the "Every Game. Every Player. Every Play." folks) came out with its list of the Top 101 Players of 2011. It is not your typical ranking because it is based primarily on PFF's unbiased play grading and treats every position equally. This is not an MVP list, so thankfully it does not begin with the ten best quarterbacks (only the single best one!). Because it is not based purely on stats, the list is not without flaws or controversy. I thought it might be fun to run down which Packers made the list and what PFF had to say about them. I will also include a short bit on which players from the other NFC North teams appear on the list.

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We've all had time to digest the Saints scandal surrounding their bounty program. I started out at the level of utter disgust. I am mostly still there, but I suppose I could be described as having softened a little. The Saints will be punished as they should be. But as I was thinking about this story, I couldn't help drawing some comparisons to the last major coaching/management scandal in the NFL: Spygate. I would suspect that many of you have reached the quick conclusion that the Saints bounty program is worse than the Patriots Spygate. It's a fairly easy case to make. After all, the Saints were trying to hurt opposing players. How could that possibly compare to a little video taping? Well, I will attempt to make the case that Spygate is worse.

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Dear Abby,

I don't really have a question, I just need to vent a little. But stick with me, because, who knows, maybe a question will somehow squirt out of my gin-soaked disappointment. If you pay attention to sports, you might understand my pain from this one-word clue: Wisconsin. You see, fans of three major Wisconsin sports teams have suffered through a similar and frustrating script this past season. And, for this particular sports fan, its the type of storyline that brings the greatest amount of anguish. Here's the basic narrative:

Act One: Prior to the season, the fans have a reasonable expectation for possible greatness.

Act Two: During the season, the performance of the team meets, and at times exceeds, expectations.

Act Three: At some point, the team craps away its chance for a championship in some excruciating way.

It all started with the Milwaukee Brewers. In the previous season, they showed off a powerful offense but lacked starting pitching.The team made bold moves to improve its pitching in the off-season and appeared to be legitimate contenders for the National League Pennant. The first part of the season was shaky, but they rebounded to win the division handily. They crapped away their shot at the World Series by getting stomped at home at the hands of the St. Louis Cardinals, a team that barely squeaked into the post season and also has the distinction of beating the Brewers in its only previous World Series appearance. That knife would get a good twist when the Cardinals went on the win the whole enchilada.

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Recently, there was a bit of debate (in the comments of this post) regarding the behavior of Jim Schwartz, the Detroit Lions head coach.  My own comments on the subject attempted to paint Mr. Schwartz as unprofessional and displaying bad sportsmanship.  It was not a popular point of view.  Well, it didn't take long for the Lions coach to give me a bit of an assist to support my point.  After the 49ers win over the Lions today, Schwartz took exception to the exuberant celebration of Jim Harbaugh, the 49ers coach, immediately following the game.  If you saw it live, the look on Schwartz's face gave away his irritation after shaking hands with Harbaugh.  I assumed it would end there, but alas...

Jim Schwartz tries to Fight Jim Harbaugh After 49ers vs. Lions Game (via BSOTube)

If the video gets pulled, you can see it here on NFL.com.

Now, I'm not here to defend the behavior of Jim Harbaugh -- I don't think his celebration was very professional either.  However, Jim Schwartz, at the very least, is guilty of laughable hypocrisy for taking exception to behavior that bears a striking resemblance to his own.  In the fan debate I referred to above, I drew a comparison between Schwartz and Josh McDaniels when he was head coach of the Denver Broncos.  And, who can forget the post game non-handshake between McDaniels and Todd Haley, the Kansas City Chiefs coach.

I might be in the minority, but I much prefer the laid back personality of Mike McCarthy, and the resulting uneventful post game handshakes, to the fiery personalities of coaches like Schwartz, Harbaugh, McDaniels, and Haley.