Players of the Decade—2005-15

OPINION
By John Turney

This is the 18th in a series of picking players of the decades. We began with 1915-25, the 1920s, the 1925-35 period, the 1930s, 1935-45, the 1940s, 1945-55 the 1950s, 1955-65, the 1960s, 1965-75, the 1970s, 1975-85, the 1980s, 1985-95, the 1990s, 1995-05 and also the 2000s.

Here are the 2005-2015 picks:

2005-15 Player of the Decade
Tom Brady

In the 2000s we went with Manning. For 2005-2015, we go with Brady and it's not that close.

2005-15 Defensive Player of the Decade
Patrick Willis

This was a hard time frame to pick a top defender. There were several that were worthy. We went with Patrick Willis who was a five-time First-team All-Pro and a seven-time Pro Bowler. He was a tackling machine and was a linebacker who was in the Ray Lewis/Randy Gradishar/Jack Lambert/Joe Schmidt category as a coverage 'backer. He was solid at closing holes and could scrape with the best of them. His career was cut short, but his 2007-14 seasons fit perfectly into this "decade".

2005-15  Player of the Decade Runner-Up 
Peyton Manning

Manning is the runner-up for this 2005-15 time frame.

Adrian Peterson is the top honorable mention and Calvin Johnson is next.

2005-15  Defensive Player of the Decade Runner-Up
Darrelle Revis

Revis Island was considered for the top spot. He was a four-time First-team All-pro and a seven-time Pro Bowler. He was the best cover corner since Deion Sanders but he did tail off his final couple of seasons.

Troy Polamalu and Patrick Willis are tied as top honorable mentions followed by DeMarcus Ware, Julius Peppers, and Jared Allen.

next up: the 2010s