A crime has just been committed. In the voting to determine the top 100 current NFL players, 42 players in the NFL were ranked ahead of Joe Thomas, including the Pittsburgh Steelers' Ben Roethlisberger, who was was ranked No. 41 overall by his peers. Thomas came in at No. 43 overall, making him one of two Browns who made the top 100 (Joshua Cribbs was ranked at No. 84 overall). Vic Carucci of NFL.com felt our pain and expressed his disbelief in Thomas being ranked so low. An excerpt from his venting is listed after the jump.
Carucci on the "injustice" of Thomas being ranked No. 43 overall:
Thomas easily should be ranked much higher -- at least 15 or 20 spots higher -- because in four seasons he has proven to be so much more than a top-notch NFL player. He has, in the opinion of many coaches and player personnel evaluators, established himself as arguably the best left tackle in the game.
Offensive linemen understandably don't receive the same amount of love as players at high-profile positions. But there should be an exception here. The voters should have recognized that Thomas' remarkable consistency in both pass protection and run blocking, which has earned him a trip to the Pro Bowl every year he has been in the league, warrants him a better ranking among the best of the best.
I know Thomas is treated like a god around here, so I will spare myself the pancake and will not even post a poll asking if the great one should have been ranked any higher.