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The NFL Network's list of "The Top 100: Players of 2011" resumed Sunday night with Nos. 61 through 70. Three more AFC East players were named.
The rundown of AFC East residents so far:

• 61. Brandon Marshall, Dolphins receiver
• 62. Jerod Mayo, Patriots inside linebacker
• 63. Cameron Wake, Dolphins outside linebacker
• 76. Santonio Holmes, Jets receiver
• 79. D'Brickashaw Ferguson, Jets tackle

The NFL Network's list is based on ballots submitted by NFL players.

Eighteen receivers are in the top 100. Eleven receivers rank ahead of Marshall.

"The guy can do everything," Kurt Warner said on the review show. "I'm hard pressed to find 11 guys at that position that are better than him."

Added fellow analyst Warren Sapp: "I think that might have a little something to do with his quarterback [Chad Henne] that was throwing him the ball. Normally when you have a good combination, they both rise. When you have a bad combination, somebody has to suffer. Brandon suffered."

Mayo is the first of five New England Patriots on the list of 100. Quarterback Tom Brady probably will be No. 1. Nose tackle Vince Wilfork also will pop up at some point. Who will be the other Patriots? Left guard Logan Mankins and slot receiver Wes Welker are safe bets, but rookie cornerback Devin McCourty started in the Pro Bowl.

Oakland Raiders defensive lineman Richard Seymour was No. 66. The Patriots dealt Seymour two years ago for a first-round draft choice that brought Colorado tackle Nate Solder last month.

I once heard Tom Donahoe, the former Buffalo Bills president and general manager, call quarterback Drew Bledsoe a future Pro Football Hall of Famer.

Then again, Donahoe used to say a lot of things.

I was reminded of this when taking a glance at players who will make their first appearance on the Hall of Fame ballot for 2012.

Buffalo News reporter Mark Gaughan, who's on the Hall of Fame selection committee and last weekend was elected president of the Pro Football Writers Association, blogged the top newcomers to consider the next few years.

The lists are helpful in speculating when fan favorites such as Andre Reed and Curtis Martin will get their Canton calls. They both were finalists this year -- Reed for the fifth time, Martin for the first -- but weren't added to the 2011 induction class Saturday.

Perhaps that development was fitting for Martin because his coach with the New England Patriots and New York Jets will be on the ballot again. They could get in together in 2012.

Bill Parcells has been a finalist twice, but not since 2002 because rules for coaches changed. They now must wait five years from their last game to be eligible for induction, and Parcells returned to the sidelines with the Dallas Cowboys in 2003.

Is Parcells a Hall of Famer? I know Miami Dolphins fans aren't too thrilled with him these days, but he did add to an already remarkable legacy -- two championships, different teams to the Super Bowl, a few organizational turnarounds -- by guiding the Dolphins from 1-15 to the AFC East title as their football operations boss.

Also on the ballot next year will be Bledsoe, running backs Corey Dillon and Tiki Barber, fullback Mike Alstott, guard Will Shields and coaches Bill Cowher and Marty Schottenheimer.

Bledsoe had a fine career with the Patriots, Bills and Cowboys and ranks eighth all-time in passing yards. But he was a Pro Bowler only four times and never was first-team All-Pro. Bledsoe was helpful in getting the Patriots their first championship, so he does have a ring. But that was Tom Brady's team.

Dillon also was a four-time Pro Bowler and won a Super Bowl with the Patriots. He ranks 17th in rushing yards and never led the league in a major rushing category.

Schottenheimer played for the Bills and Patriots before winning 61 percent of his regular-season games as head coach of the Cleveland Browns, Kansas City Chiefs, Washington Redskins and San Diego Chargers. His 200 victories rank sixth all-time, but his 5-23 playoff record will hurt.

That group of first-time candidates -- plus the newcomers for 2013 -- bodes well for Reed. There won't be any new receivers for him to box out. He already has jockeyed ahead of contemporaries Cris Carter and Tim Brown by making the cut from 15 to 10 in the selection process the past two years. Carter and Brown haven't.

Gaughan highlighted first-year players for next few classes.

2013: Quarterback Vinny Testaverde, offensive linemen Larry Allen and Jonathan Ogden, defensive tackle Warren Sapp, defensive end Michael Strahan.

2014: Running back Shaun Alexander, receiver Marvin Harrison, linebacker Derrick Brooks, safety Rodney Harrison and coaches Tony Dungy, Jon Gruden and Mike Holmgren -- if they don't return to sideline work.

2015: Quarterback Kurt Warner, receivers Isaac Bruce and Torry Holt, tackles Orlando Pace and Walter Jones and linebacker Junior Seau.

The NFL Network produced a "Back to the Future" segment in which host Rich Eisen and analysts Warren Sapp and Jamie Dukes wondered how one reversed event from way back would've altered the course of history.

The first two scenarios referred to AFC East teams.

What if the New England Patriots didn't benefit from the tuck rule against the Oakland Raiders in the 2001 playoffs?

Facts or possibilities to consider:

• Patriots don't win their first Super Bowl.
• Patriots don't win any Super Bowls.
• Pittsburgh Steelers go to Super Bowl XXXVI.
• Jon Gruden takes Oakland to the Super Bowl.
• Gruden stays in Oakland, doesn't go to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
• Buccaneers don't win Super Bowl XXXVII.
• St. Louis Rams win two Super Bowls in three years.

What if the Miami Dolphins signed Drew Brees in 2006?

Facts or possibilities to consider:

• Dolphins don't sign Daunte Culpepper.
• Nick Saban stays and doesn't go to Alabama.
• Owner Wayne Huizenga doesn't hire Bill Parcells to run football operations.
• Dolphins don't draft Ted Ginn
• Dolphins don't draft Chad Henne.
• New Orleans Saints don't win Super Bowl XLIV.

INDIANAPOLIS -- Over the next few days, Mike Mamula and Vernon Gholston will be mentioned in tandem as prime examples of how the NFL scouting combine can send teams off beam.

Mamula was the original combine-induced false phenom. The Boston College pass-rusher tested off the charts in 1995 and caused the overexcited Philadelphia Eagles to draft him seventh overall. Mamula lasted six seasons and remains the poster boy for the dangers of combine giddiness.

Gholston, selected sixth overall by the New York Jets two years ago, often gets compared Mamula -- workout warriors who soared up the draft board but didn't perform up to their gaudy measurements.

But with the 2010 combine upon us, here is my plea to end this link immediately.

It's unfair to Mamula.

Gholston -- and Jets fans -- would be ecstatic if he had stats that resembled Mamula's. After two seasons, Mamula started all but three games and registered 13.5 sacks, four forced fumbles, four fumble recoveries and a touchdown.

Gholston has been deactivated for as many games as he has started -- three. He has made 3.5 fewer solo tackles than Mamula had sacks through two seasons. Gholston made one solo tackle as a rookie and nine last year.

Rex Ryan made Gholston a pet project. Neither the extra attention nor the opportunity created when Calvin Pace was suspended the first three games helped.

In case you were wondering, Mamula, who missed all of 1998 with a knee injury, finished with 31.5 sacks, eight forced fumbles, six recoveries and one interception -- certainly not the type of production the Eagles expected when they picked him well ahead of Warren Sapp, Ty Law and Derrick Brooks, but a far better career than what Gholston projects.

An interesting chess match could unfold in the trenches Sunday in Land Shark Stadium, where the New England Patriots visit the Miami Dolphins.

When they played four weeks ago, Patriots nose tackle Vince Wilfork moved out to the edge to line up against Pro Bowl left tackle Jake Long. The maneuver helped the Patriots short-circuit the Wildcat, which was limited to 7 yards on 10 plays.

"Vince has really played all across the line for us," Patriots coach Bill Belichick said after the game. "He's a pretty versatile player. He's very flexible. He did a good job. He embraced the move all week, and I think -- we'll see how the film looked -- but it looked like he did a pretty good job on Long."

Since then, however, Miami's offensive line has gotten raggedy. Belichick's thoughts on the matchups likely will be different.

Nate Garner has taken over for Justin Smiley at left guard, and center Jake Grove has been battling an ankle injury that forced him to miss Sunday's loss to the Buffalo Bills. Joe Berger made his first NFL start in Grove's place.

Grove, who missed practice Wednesday, was considered a high-priority offseason acquisition for the Dolphins. They didn't like the way former center Samson Satele handled the AFC East's behemoth defensive tackles: Wilfork, Kris Jenkins of the New York Jets and Marcus Stroud of the Bills.

On the NFL Network's "GameDay Morning" show Sunday, former defensive tackle Warren Sapp made Wilfork his pick for toughest player in the league.

Where will the Patriots put Wilfork? They might have all sorts of options, and whoever draws the assignment won't be thrilled.

Posted by ESPN.com's Tim Graham

Warren Sapp couldn't just predict a big game for Miami Dolphins outside linebacker Joey Porter against the Oakland Raiders on Sunday and leave it at that.

No, Sapp had to take his analysis to the extreme, as he's wont to do.

Sapp, a weekly guest on Miami radio station WQAM with former Dolphins tight end Jim Mandich, ragged on Raiders left tackle Kwame Harris.

"You can't give a team that is not on your level any life to play with you," Sapp said. "If the Dolphins come out, get Porter talking and going crazy ... Get on the quarterback because that left tackle couldn't block my little girl. I watched the tape. The guy couldn't block Mercedes Sapp. I promise you he couldn't. She takes him to the house."

Porter, or somebody on the Dolphins defense, better have a big game now.

"The Dolphins have to be ready to take their punch, make them miss, and then knock them out right then," Sapp said, "because once you get a team like that in your house and you punch them in the mouth and you knock them down, they'll quit. They'll quit because they know they are not as good as you, and they know they don't have a chance. So you can't give them life."

Posted by ESPN.com's Tim Graham

The NFL Network on Sunday broke a couple of intriguing AFC East stories on its "NFL Gameday Morning" show.

Adam Schefter reported New England Patriots nose tackle Vince Wilfork could face a suspension for an elbow thrown at Denver Broncos quarterback Jay Cutler on Monday night.

Here is Schefter's scoop from an NFL Network press release:

Based on the hard-line stance the league is taking on cheap shot and Vince Wilfork's prior record of controversial hits, the New England defensive tackle is staring straight at the possibility of being suspended for next Sunday night's game at Indianapolis for a hit he delivered Monday night versus Denver.

During the first quarter of Monday night's win over the Broncos, Wilfork threw a blatant elbow at Jay Cutler after Patriots safety Rodney Harrison knocked down the Denver quarterback. As Cutler attempted to get up, Wilfork drilled the quarterback in the head with an elbow that caught the attention of the Broncos and the NFL. Ironically, the only penalty called on the play came against Broncos tackle Ryan Harris, who defended Cutler, knocked down Harrison and drew a 15-yard penalty for unnecessary roughness. ESPN cameras failed to capture Wilfork's hit. But the coaches' tape caught it and the league noticed it.

Disciplinary action against Wilfork could come as early as this week for a player who has another controversial hit on his resume. Last September, the NFL fined Wilfork $12,500 for landing his right elbow on Bills quarterback J.P. Losman's left knee. The elbow drew a penalty and knocked Losman out of the lineup, paving the way for Bills quarterback Trent Edwards to take over and the league to be monitoring Wilfork. This time Wilfork could be facing a fine and or a suspension.

"Cheap, Cheap, Cheap. That's all that is," NFL Network analyst Warren Sapp said. "When you are that big of a man, impose your will on the game between the lines and between the whistles."

Schefter also reported the Buffalo Bills and head coach Dick Jauron have agreed to a three-year contract extension.

Also on the NFL Network's pregame show, Sapp declared the Bills are going to the Super Bowl.

Sapp, known these days for his outrageous comments, said the Bills "will win today and go to 6-1. The Buffalo Bills are going to go to the Super Bowl."

Posted by ESPN.com's Tim Graham

Warren Sapp, found on page 142 in the Guinness Book of World Records as the most inflammatory sports commentator, considers the Miami Dolphins' exotic Wildcat offense an affront to the intelligence of opposing defenses.

"This is disrespectful to all defenses," Sapp said on Showtime's "Inside the NFL" roundtable Wednesday night. "It's disrespectful. You're taking the best player in the game, the quarterback, and you're putting him out wide, outside the numbers, and you put the running back in the back.

"How the hell you going to throw the ball? I'm not even thinking about throw right now. I'm going to get everybody in the gap. It's just power 'O.' You have the running back with the ball already in his hand."

Dolphins running back Ronnie Brown in the two games since the Wildcat was unveiled has four rushing touchdowns, but he also has thrown a TD pass.

Fellow analysts Phil Simms and Cris Collinsworth debated the overall merit of the Wildcat and whether it would catch on. Collinsworth remarked at how well it was working for the Dolphins and predicted they would keep using it.

Simms isn't high on the Wildcat's widespread value.

"The Miami Dolphins have trouble getting offense, so they're trying to do a lot of things to get yards, to fool the defense," Simms said. "They don't have playmakers outside right now at the wide receiver position. But when it's all said and done, it got less than 50 yards of total offense for the Miami Dolphins last week.

"What happens, it's kind of the sports-talk-radio [mentality]. You watch highlights and every team that runs a play that gets a few yards 'There it is. It's going to change the NFL.' No, it's not. Trust me. It's not."