Last week, we looked at an article on NFL.com that highlighted the top ten players in the NFL who were under the age of 25. Today, we take a look at an article on NFL.com that is on the opposite end of the spectrum (by football standards): the top players who are over the age of 35. The top five players in the article included, in order, Tom Brady, Charles Woodson, Ray Lewis, London Fletcher, and Jeff Saturday.
The article gives an "honorable mention" to Peyton Manning, which I suppose is fitting given the uncertainty of his health. If you remove last season from the equation and assume that Manning is still the same old player, he should be neck-and-neck with Brady. The other two honorable mentions went to Tony Gonzalez and John Kasay. I knew a kicker had to be mentioned somewhere in the article, since they typically have the longevity factor in the NFL.
Here's a question for you: how many players on the Browns do you think were even eligible for this list (i.e. they are over the age of 35)?
My guesses were defensive lineman Ja'qua Parker and kicker Phil Dawson. I was right on Dawson (37), but Parker still has a year to go (34). Our team is definitely in the "youth movement" phase, looking at the number of guys in their early 20's at each position.
Now, then, why would Kasay get mentioned before Dawson? Well, the main reason is that he has been doing it for 7 more years than Dawson, and his field goal percentage (81.9%) is close enough to Dawson's (83.1%) to give Kasay the edge.