Any 'best ever' is sure to inspire a lot of debate, no consensus, and a fair amount of revenue. Comparing players of different eras is difficult, if not impossible. I will say that I'm a bit surprised that the Pats had more players that any other team.
On a separate note, SN has been releasing the results of various midseason polls they had with NFL players. Here are a few of them:
Which coach would you most like to play for?
1. (tie) - Rex Ryan, Mike Tomlin
3. (tie) - Bill Belichick, Mike McCarthy
5-10 - Jim Harbaugh, Raheem Morris, Sean Payton, John Harbaugh, Hue Jackson, Mike Smith
Which coach would you least like to play for?
1. - Tom Coughlin
2. - Tony Sparano (one vote behind)
3. - Bill Belichick
4. - Pete Carroll
5-9 - Todd Haley, Jim Harbaugh, Rex Ryan, Jim Schwartz
Rate Roger Goodell's performance as commissioner
55% - Satisfactory
50% - Poor
5% - Excellent
Who Is The Dirtiest Player In The League?
1. - Ndamukong Suh (in a landslide)
2. - James Harrison (Suh had 4x as many votes)
3. - Cortland Finnegan
4. - Tyson Clabo
5. - Hines Ward
6-10 - Richie Incognito, Brandon Meriweather, Harvey Dahl, David Stewart, Mike McGlynn, Casey Wiegmann
Have the stricter tackling rules taken too much physicality out of the game?
90% say Yes
10% say No
Has the new kickoff rule, with all the resulting touchbacks, removed too much excitement from the game?
56% say Yes
44% say No
Which player has been the biggest surprise of the first half?
Cam Newton (4x as many votes as anyone else)
Others: Ryan Fitzpatrick, Alex Smith, Andy Dalton, Fred Jackson, Steve Smith
Which player has been the biggest disappointment?
Chris Johnson (in a landslide)
Donovan McNabb
Chad Ochocinco
Tony Romo
Nnamdi Asomugha
Peyton Hillis, Kevin Kolb, Tim Tebow, Michael Vick
