Mp3 Player From 2000s

[Heron Mathis]

Thebest players of the 2000s changed football forever. Post-training parties were a thing of the past, leagues awash with cash meant Galactico squads were hastily assembled and a new era of tacticians were slowly ousting the 4-4-2 formation.

Increased marketing budgets saw companies like Nike and Pepsi create iconic adverts involving casts of the greatest players on Earth. Whether it was Eric Cantona hosting a 5-aside tournament in the belly of a cargo ship or David Beckham strolling into a saloon in the Old West, audiences were kept entertained by the greats long after the final whistle blew.

Any honest evaluation of the defining Major League Baseball players of the decade spanning 2000 through 2009 centers around three men, separated by a 15 1/2 year difference in age from oldest to youngest and with three distinct career stages played out during the first decade of the twenty-first century.

Public perception has shifted a bit in favor of Alex Rodriguez and against Derek Jeter. While A-Rod is now regarded as an all-time great player and has become well-received as a TV analyst, Derek Jeter is widely viewed as overrated (though still great, lest we over-correct here) through the prism of advanced statistics while his role as the public face of the Miami Marlins ownership group has made him a convenient villain. But this shift happened too late.

Arguing for a best player of the 2000s is largely subjective but considering that Mike Trout has completely ruined the 2010s, it is all we have. And the extreme burst of energy that is Bonds, the well-rounded body of work that is Rodriguez, and the metronomic offensive consistency that is Pujols make for a compelling argument and my own, dispassionate conclusion.

This series has already examined the start of the program in the 1940s and 50s, the emergence of the first two FSU superstars in the 1960s, the best players from the start of the Bobby Bowden era in the 1970s and the best players from the 1980s when FSU grew into a national power.

Most recently, we examined the tough task of identifying the 10 best FSU football players from the 1990s, the decade that brought the Seminoles their first two national championships. Now, it's time to examine the 2000s.

The 2000s began with promise and concluded with the end of Bowden's legendary career. The amount of talent on the team began to slip and the on-field results followed suit in what is colloquially known as "the lost decade" within the fanbase.

His best season, however, came in his final season, 2006. That year, he started all 13 games at middle linebacker. He racked up 109 tackles (57 solo), eight tackles for loss, five sacks, two forced fumbles and an interception. Yes, that year's team finished 7-6, but the FSU defense allowed 19.8 points per game.

Davis' senior season accomplishments earned him a First-Team All-American honor from the American Football Coaches Association and second-team honors from Walter Camp and The Sporting News. He was the lone Seminole to earn a First-Team All-ACC honor in 2006.

He was drafted in the third round of the 2007 NFL Draft by the Arizona Cardinals and played in the league for just two seasons before finishing his playing career in the CFL. He's now the defensive coordinator/director of football operations at Division-III Willamette University.

Johnson moved across the country from Sherman Oaks, Calif. to enroll at FSU in 2000, just after the Seminoles' second national championship the year before. The impressive depth FSU had at the time kept Johnson out of the starting lineup until his redshirt sophomore season in 2002, but he wasted no time upon infiltrating the lineup.

His final season in 2004, however, was his most impressive. That year, Johnson wrecked havoc in the middle of the FSU defensive line all season long, finishing with 18 tackles for loss -- tied for seventh-most in program history at the time -- 2.5 sacks and 12 quarterback hurries.

Carr never had that jaw-dropping statistical season that threw him into the national spotlight. In fact, he never led the Seminoles in receiving yards in a season. But an impressive level of consistency made Carr one of FSU's better skill-position players from the 2000s.

Unfortunately for Carr, his peak came early in his career. His best individual season came as a sophomore in 2006 when he amassed 619 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns, tied for fifth-most in a season in FSU history. He earned Second-Team All-ACC honors in each of his first two seasons, but failed to earn conference recognition in either of his final two seasons.

A victim of the talent around him at that time, Carr faded down the stretch of his career and never really got his chance at an NFL career. Instead, he played in the CFL and Arena Football for the better part of a decade.

His lingering impact in the FSU record books is a testament to his talent, though. Carr finished his FSU career with 2,574 receiving yards, sixth-most in FSU history, and 29 touchdown catches, still tied for second-most among FSU players.

But Hopkins can claim something that none of that trio can. Hopkins finished his prestigious kicking career at FSU as the leading scorer in ACC history. The better part of a decade later, that remains the case.

The four-year kicker for the Seminoles scored a program-record 466 points in his time at FSU. That remains the most by an ACC player, eighth-most in NCAA history and fourth-most in NCAA history by a kicker.

With each passing season, Hopkins improved for the Seminoles. He missed four extra points as a freshman, but then missed just one in his final three seasons. His field goal percentage rose each year he was at FSU from 70.3% as a freshman to 83.3% as a senior.

His career-best 140 points he scored in 2012 was, at the time, an FSU record. It may have been broken the very next season by Roberto Aguayo, but Hopkins still leads Aguayo for the all-time program scoring record.

Hopkins got his NFL chance when he was selected by the Buffalo Bills in the sixth round of the 2013 NFL Draft and he's made the most of it. He's still in the league, about to enter his sixth season with the Washington Redskins.

Bridging the gap between the end of the 2000s and the early 2010s, he completed 66.89% of his passes with the Seminoles, more than any quarterback in program history and tied for third-best in ACC history.

A five-star quarterback from Virginia Beach, Manuel was only FSU's full-time starter for two seasons, 2011 and 2012. But he played significant snaps in four seasons for the Seminoles as his predecessor, Christian Ponder, battled injuries.

Manuel was not exempt from criticism during his FSU career. That being said, he was, for the majority of his FSU career, a proven winner. He led FSU to a 25-6 record in games he started and was 16-3 in ACC games he started. He's one of only two players in FBS history who was the winning quarterback in four bowl games over his collegiate career.

Manuel was finally acknowledged for his accomplishments with a Second-Team All-ACC honor as a senior in 2012. He became the second consecutive FSU quarterback drafted in the first round in the 2013 NFL Draft by the Buffalo Bills and now works as an analyst for the ACC Network.

After all, the Rome, Ga. native is the only FSU punter to ever be named a Consensus All-American, doing so in his final season in 2011. The punter whose name is all over the FSU record books finished off his strong career with the best season by a punter in program history.

Powell split the punting duties with kicker Graham Gano in his first year with the Seminoles before taking the full punting reins for his final three seasons. His prowess grew exponentially with each season as he went from averaging 41.6 yards per punt in 2009 to 44.3 in 2010 and, finally, a program-record 47.0 yards per punt as a senior in 2011, the best average in the country.

With that season, Powell broke program punting records for highest average punt in a season and career that had both stood for 30 years since the early 1980s. Powell's career average punt traveled 44.2 yards, breaking the program record by 1.5 yards. His career punt average remains the fourth-best in ACC history.

Playing for the Seminoles from 2001 through 2004, the Orangeburg, S.C. native became the seventh FSU player -- and first offensive lineman -- to earn multiple Consensus All-American honors, doing so in his final two seasons.

While FSU had fallen off from its elite status during Barron's tenure, he proved himself to be one of the best offensive linemen in the country. As a senior in 2004, Barron started 12 games at tackle and allowed one sack and five quarterback pressures, earning a Unanimous All-American honor as well as being named one of three finalists for the Outland Trophy.

Somehow, Brown wasn't recognized as a First-Team All-American from any major outlet after this season, but he did earn second-team recognition from six different outlets including AP, Walter Camp and Sporting News.

While his 2008 season was by far his most effective, he contributed enough in his first two seasons that he remains a major factor in FSU's defensive record books. His 46.5 career tackles for loss are second-most in program history. His 23 career sacks are tied for eighth-most by an FSU player.

On the strength of his 2008 season, Brown was picked in the second round of the 2009 NFL Draft by the Carolina Panthers. He played in the league for five seasons and is now an assistant linebackers coach for the Panthers.

He made ACC history in his final season when he became the first offensive lineman in the history of the conference to earn three First-Team All-ACC honors. Along with his Second-Team All-ACC honor as a freshman in 2007, he's one of only two offensive linemen in ACC history to be named to four all-conference teams.

Hudson's extreme level of success at FSU has translated to his NFL career as well. He was drafted in the second round of the 2011 NFL Draft by the Kansas City Chiefs and has become one of the best offensive linemen in the league with the Oakland/Las Vegas Raiders.

3a8082e126