PATRIOT64

I cannot envision this team going anywhere without Tom Brady as starting Quarterback and he leads my list of players that MUST be playing for all season if not 99% of it in order for their team to win and be competitive for a championship try.

Football is a team game for sure but there is always a guy that you can say is a 'must play guy' for the team to not fall back into the middle of the pack and is most important for sure.

My list in order of players importance are...

1) Tom Brady QB Patriots - No Brady and no Super Bowl its as plain as that (I know others will disagree but if you think those other 3 backup QBs on this roster can take this team anywhere you are fu(king nuttier than a fruitcake).

2) Peyton Manning QB Colts - For the same exact reason that Tom is needed,Jim Sorge (or whatever his name is,I don't even think Colts fans can spell it)would be eaten alive and the Colts would be nothing.

3) Brian Westbrook RB Eagles - This guy ALWAYS flies under the radar but in Philadelphia the important guy who makes a difference is not Donovan McNabb - Its Westbrook who the team relies on week after week for the team to stay competitive and he almost always seems to deliver in the clutch.

4) Ladanian Tomlinson RB Chargers- While LT has not been much of a force in the playoffs lately, he still is the reason why San Diego is so dangerous,If LT was out for a time with an injury the Chargers no longer have Mike Turner to go to and the pressure would be all on Rivers and a mediocre WR corps in SD - Rivers is a pretty good looking young QB but he cannot do it with everything on his shoulders,not yet in his career.

5) Julius Peppers DL Carolina - The heart and sole of that defense,Take away Peppers and you have a mediocre defense that worries no one,The panthers need him on every down to be a force on the front line,They have no one even close to Julius's ability so he is my #5

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WHO DO YOU THINK ARE THE 5 MOST IMPORTANT PLAYERS THAT A CERTAIN TEAM CANNOT BE WITHOUT TO WIN CONSISTENTLY?

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Lifer

I have to agree. Tom Brady and Peyton Manning are pretty important to their teams.

Kdo5

Well thats a pretty solid list but its very obvious. Of course we are screwed the most without TB.

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Lifer

maybe we can coax Bledsoe out of retirement. Hes been practicing this off season by throwing footballs backwards over his shoulders, bouncing footballs off his kids heads, and standing still in the middle of traffic until someone finally crashes into him.

K-Ro 25

Take Peppers off that list for someone like Brees and that is a great list. I agree with your top 4 and you have very good reasoning.

Im going to be a copy cat b/c you nailed it but my top 5 would be: 1) Brady 2) Manning 3) LT 4) Brees 5) Westbrook

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PATRIOT64

I don't know - While Brees is a fantastic QB,I think Mark Brunell who is their backup would do a commendable job - I always liked the accuracy Mark had when he was on his game but he became erratic and lost his job in Washington although I still think Brunell could get the job done with all that talent on offense in N.O. who I think is the NFC version of offense that NE has here in the AFC,Even if Brunell is old like Favre.

I was leaning towards Matt Hasselbeck at #5 but went with Peppers who I like a lot as a player and the domination he shows in many games

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Richter

Mark Brunell is roughly 80 years old and awful. Peppers shouldn't be anywhere near that list, he hasn't done anything for 2 years. Go ask Panthers fans, and read some of the local press down there. They've been talking about how the Panthers think Peppers might be going along the lines of Kris Jenkins, that they made a mistake in paying him, and they are thinking about moving him at some point. Aside from that, everyone on that list should be a quarterback, pretty much. LdT is very, very good, but so was Michael Turner behind that line. The Chargers could get by if they lost him for the season. Seattle would be totally cooked without Hasselbeck, Jacksonville would be hurting without Garrard, Tennessee would have no offense at all without Vince Young (and what they do have isn't that great), and the Cowboys would be completely boned without Romo. Brady is clearly at the top of the list, though.

K-Ro 25

If you extended the list to top ten I think one of the first guys after the top 5 should be Randy Moss. While he probably is not a top 5 guy he easily is a top ten guy. I will give you that without Moss the Pats still have a very good D, Brady, and another target in Welker, but Moss adds so much and makes everyone around him so much better. From a gameplan stand point you literally have to always have a safety deep b/c on any play he could burn you. Maybe im confusing importance and pure dominance but IMO Moss transforms a nice Pats offense into a HOF caliber offense.

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PATRIOT64

HOF caliber offenses get together in the biggest game of the year and WIN it - Lets just say the offense is an above excellent one,not HOF offense which does not fart in SBs - Hopefully this year IF they can get there they will try to not fart it away again - Sure the stats last year showed were the best ever STATS WISE but I still would put the Niners offense of the 80s as best of all time,despite getting mauled in the stats catagory vs last years Pats,The Niners WON the big game.

HOF offenses are left for Super Bowl champions - You gotta get it done for that kind of honor IMO

SD and Fouts had a HOF type offense in the 90s but never got to the SB so it was null and void,They were great too but you gotta put em all away and your defense has to respond just as well.

If the Bears did not win the Super Bowl in 1996 are we talking about them today as being one of the greatest defenses of all time? - People forget stats and great years on D or O when the ultimate prize is not won

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Dino 6 Rings

I like the list, top 4. But I think Adrian Peterson of the Vikings should be #5. The Vikes are getting all kinds of love this season and its not because of the QB play. It has everything to do with Peterson and his potential of being a potent running back this season. Take him off the team and they are an NFC North Bottom feeder. Sure their Run D is pretty good but without the ball control running attack, Tavaris Jackson isn't going to sniff the playoffs.