Peyton Manning, Eric Berry on PFF All-Decade Top 101

Former Tennessee football Volunteers Peyton Manning and Eric Berry made the PFF All-Decade top 101 NFL players from 2010 to 2019.

If any two players from Tennessee football were going to make the list of top producers from the 2010s decade in the pros, Peyton Manning and Eric Berry would be among the ones to make it. Well, Sam Monson of PFF.com listed the top 101 players from that decade on Thursday, and those two guys both made the list.

Ironically, Manning came in at No. 18, the number he wore. Meanwhile, Berry came in at No. 101, the very last player on the list. Both of these players probably could have been higher if not for injuries that caused them to miss entire seasons.

When it comes to Peyton Manning, it’s remarkable that he made the list given the fact that he missed all of 2011 with a neck injury and then only played half of 2015. The other half, by the way, he was horrible, so it only hurt his status. Remember, this is PFF, so it takes into account production and doesn’t care if your team won a championship.

So Manning only had four seasons in which he could actually boost his production value, and in those four seasons, he was amazing. The 2010 Indianapolis Colts team that was rattled by injuries saw him carry them into the playoffs, and the 2014 Denver Broncos team still saw him put up huge numbers even as he began to decline.

However, the real story for Manning and co. were his first two years with Denver, 2012 and 2013. In 2012, Manning finished second in MVP voting to Adrian Peterson, and in 2013, he had the greatest statistical season in NFL history for a quarterback, throwing for the most yards and touchdown passes. Here’s what PFF said about him.

"Obviously, Peyton Manning is one of the greatest quarterbacks in league history, but he was drafted in 1998, so the past decade captures only the last part of his career. Still, that was good enough to propel him into the top 20 of this list. Manning’s late-career revival in Denver was a remarkable thing to watch. Fresh off a neck injury that threatened to end his career, Manning retaught himself how to play the game within his new physical limitations and then put up back to back seasons with a PFF grade above 90.0, including the greatest statistical season of his career with 55 touchdown passes and almost 5,500 yards. Manning eventually grabbed a second Super Bowl ring, but his play in the years before that was what propelled him up this list."

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Berry on the other hand, was also impressive for getting on this list. Again, this values production, so despite how beloved he is off the field, the number of injuries and health issues he has had would naturally limit that for him. Remember, this guy missed almost all of 2011, 2017 and 2018 due to injury, and his 2014 season was cut short due to lymphoma.

Still, Berry’s elite seasons as a rookie in 2010 and 2012 and then All-Pro seasons in 2013, 2015 and 2016 were enough to put him on here. Like Manning, he only needed half the decade, and he still was incredible. Here’s what PFF said about him.

"Much of Eric Berry’s legacy will revolve around beating cancer to return to play at an extremely high level. In addition to that incredible achievement, Berry was one of the best players of the past decade. He showed incredible versatility within the Kansas City Chiefs‘ defense, excelling as a deep-lying free safety as well as an in-the-box joker on defense. It speaks to his skill set that his best seasons in terms of overall PFF grade (both well above 85.0) came in completely different roles and responsibilities within the defense."

There’s a reason Peyton Manning and Eric Berry made the FanSided modern-era Mt. Rushmore for the Vols. These two players are legends, and they were beloved even when they played on Rocky Top.

If one other player should have been on here, it was probably Jason Witten, but Witten doubled as a blocking and receiving tight end, and blocking tight ends are undervalued in pure production. Still, getting Manning and Berry is pretty good for the schools.