NFL Top 100: Justin Smith Checks into Top 20

Over at NFL.com, Justin Smith has been named number 17 on their Top 100 Players of 2012. I think we can all agree that he is the type of guy who totally deserves such recognition, and I am glad to see that he cracked the top 20.

Just like with the other players, there is a pretty cool video you can check out, in which Donald Penn, Todd Herremans, Evan Mathis, Matt Birk, and our own Frank Gore, Patrick Willis, and Joe Staley extol the qualities that Justin Smith embodies as a player.

They use a lot of the words that we see week in and week out, like "tenacity," "tough, tough," and "man-beast." And who else could earn the epithet "genetic mutant?"

Besides showing some awesome Justin Smith plays from last year, like the strip against the Eagles, the blocked pass against the Giants, and the bull-rush against the Saints, there is an excellent story about how Justin Smith refuses to stop playing at 100%, no matter the score.

So congratulations to Justin Smith. It truly was a pleasure to watch him abuse o-linemen last year. He's a bedrock in this defense's foundation. I am looking forward to watching him continue his quest to sack every QB he sees over the next few years.

Now everybody write really nice things about the man in the comments. Justin Smith is not a man you would want as an enemy.