The top 25 players NFL players over the last 25 years

USA Today is compiling a list of their top 25 players of the last 25 years, revealing a new name each day. It's amusing that they include Terry Bradshaw on the list, considering his last season was in 1982, so he hasn't played in the last 25 seasons. It's sad that Darrell Green isn't on the list, because he was the best player over most of 8 year period for arguably the dominant team in the NFL over that stretch.
1. Joe Montana QB
2, Jerry Rice WR
3. Walter Payton RB
4. Lawrence Taylor OLB
5. Reggie White DE
6. John Elway QB
7. Emmitt Smith RB
8. Ronnie Lott SS/CB
9. Tom Brady QB
10. Barry Sanders RB
11. Dan Marino QB
12. Peyton Manning QB
13. Anthony Munoz OT
14. Brett Favre QB
15. Bruce Smith DE
16. Deion Sanders CB
17. Mike Singletary ILB
18. Ray Lewis ILB
19. Marshall Faulk RB
20. Troy Aikman QB
21. LaDainian Tomlinson RB
22. Rod Woodson CB/S
23. Terry Bradshaw QB
24. Steve Young QB
25. Eric Dickerson RB

Profootballtalk is making a list of their own, and I'm finding it disappointing. Get this: #25 is a kicker!
1. Jerry Rice WR
2. John Elway QB
3. Joe Montana QB
4. Brett Favre QB
5. Barry Sanders RB
6. Lawrence Taylor OLB
7. Reggie White DE
8. Emmitt Smith RB
9. Dan Marino QB
10. Ronnie Lott S/CB
11. Bruce Smith DE
12. Marvin Harrison WR
13. Deion Sanders CB/PR
14. Mike Singletary ILB
15. Peyton Manning QB
16. Anthony Munoz OT
17. Tim Brown WR
18. Marshall Faulk RB
19. Darrell Green CB
20. Junior Seau OLB
21. Steve Young QB
22. Cris Carter WR
23. Willie Roaf OT
24. Shannon Sharpe TE
25. Adam Vinatieri K

So I decided to make my own damn list, and it's way better than either of these lists. My criteria is simple: if I had to vote for one guy for the Hall of Fame, who would I vote for. So I think I'd vote for three time Super Bowl MVP Joe Montana over anyone, I'd vote for Favre over Elway if push came to shove because Favre had so many more monster seasons statistically, and so on. Also they had to be playing at their peak in the last 25 years, knocking off Walter Payton, among others. The hardest part was where to put active players, because who knows how many more championships are in Brady or Manning, if any. I'm predicting 1 or 2 more for Brady, probably none maybe 1 for Manning. For Ray Lewis, Tony Gonzalez, Manning, and Tomlinson, I'm saying they're past their prime in that order, and Ogden could retire any year. I couldn't stop at 25 but I did stop at 27. It may appear to be skill position heavy as well it should be.
1. Joe Montana QB
2. Jerry Rice WR
3. Tom Brady QB
4. John Elway QB
5. Brett Favre QB
6. Peyton Manning QB
7. Reggie White DE
8. Dan Marino QB
9. Barry Sanders RB
10. Emmitt Smith RB
11. Deion Sanders CB/PR
12. Ray Lewis ILB
13. Lawrence Taylor OLB
14. Steve Young QB
15. Marshall Faulk RB
16. Bruce Smith DE
17. Anthony Munoz OT
18. Rod Woodson CB/S
19. Marvin Harrison WR
20. Ronnie Lott S/CB
21. Darrell Green CB
22. Cris Carter WR
23. Tony Gonzalez TE
24. LaDainian Tomlinson RB
25. Jon Ogden OT
26. Troy Aikman QB
27. Larry Allen OG