I was inspired by
this article from earlier in the year and the discussion a couple of days ago about Kurt Warner and Peyton Manning. I thought I would just share who I thought were the 10 best QB's in the league. As always these are arbitrary and is just what I think. I am not trying to start a discussion or anything necessarily. I thought the names on the linked list were very interesting. Romo #3, Favre #5, and of course a good amount of the names on the list were not starting at the end of the year. Basically, I found it interesting how wrong I thought the list was after just one more season of playing football. I am going to honestly say what I think and not try to "shock" anyone, so if it is boring or predictable, sorry.
1.
Tom Brady- He is not moving from this spot until I see proof he is not the best QB in football.
2.
Drew Brees- He played without a full receiving corps this year and without a decent running game. Reggie Bush does not count as a RB ever and I am not including Pierre Thomas as a decent RB. Teams knew he was going to be throwing and they knew he would be throwing to a group of receivers that were banged up or was missing important guys, and he still got the job done. I think Brees is as close to #1 in my mind as anyone can be to Brady.
3.
Peyton Manning- He proved something to me this year, throwing for over 4,000 yards and winning games when Harrison was running on one leg (maybe because he had a gun in the other one) and Manning was throwing on one leg. If this were a postseason list, I would have Manning maybe out of the top 10, but in the regular season, I think he is a top QB.
4.
Kurt Warner- Not to go Bill Simmons on everyone, but Kurt Warner just plain scares the shit out of me and that is why I put him so high. The ball comes out quickly when he throws, and sure he gets a lot of yardage because the Cardinals had the 32nd best running game, but he also helped turned Steve Breaston into a 1,000 yard receiver. He had a 67.1% completion percentage this past year and I am impressed with his accuracy. Of course, he could very well be 15th on the list next year, since his performance tends to vary from year to year.
5.
Philip Rivers- Kerry Collins making the Pro Bowl over him was a huge travesty. This seems high to me as well but a 105.5 rating and 34/11 TD:INT ratio really convinces me. I think of him as a dink and dunk passer but he had the highest yards per attempt average in the NFL this year. Even though I pretty much cherry picked that stat, it shows he is not quite the short yardage passer I think he is. I don't get it either...
6.
Tony Romo- If this were a pressure situation or December only list, I would not put him up this high, but Romo with that odd ball delivery is a great QB. As backwards as it sounds, I think he will be a better QB with T.O. gone. I think you can tell he is a people pleaser, or has no backbone, take your pick. If he doesn't have to worry about making sure everyone gets their touches, I think he could make it in my top 5 this upcoming year.
7.
Aaron Rodgers- It was his first year as the starter, there tons of distractions that he had to face, and the defense just collapsed in games. Still he put up great numbers, and if you want to compare, he beat Brett Favre in every single major QB category. Not bad as a first year starter.
8.
Jay Cutler- This may seem low but he throws too many interceptions for me, and though he had a great year numbers wise and despite hearing about how he has a great arm, he only threw for 7 40+ yard plays. Honestly, if I did not have questions about injuries, experience, and consistency for the other QB's, Cutler could have missed my top 10. The low amount of 40+ yard plays could be the result of play calling, receivers dropping the ball, or any number of other factors. He only got sacked 11 times last year, so it is not like he did not have time to go downfield. Overall, he is a good, young QB but this is going to be an interesting year with Josh McDaniels the new coach. Cutler could go way up or way down.
9.
Carson Palmer- He was injured for a good portion of this year and his interception total of 20 the last full year he played does scare me but he plays great at the quarterback position when he is healthy. I am not going to penalize him for an injury. I may already regret this pick.
10.
Donovan McNabb- The entire city of Philadelphia hates him but he still makes plays for his team and is a great leader. I would want him on my team, as long as he is healthy.
One that missed barely:
Matt Ryan
If you would like, please feel free to tear me apart. I don't like lists because they are arbitrary and will regret the order of this one possibly if someone makes a great point about why my rankings suck.
6 comments:
I always thought of Kurt Warner as overrated. I remember when he was in St. Louis, and every play went as follows: throw screen or short pass to Isaac Bruce, Tory Holt, or Marshall Faulk, and let them run for 70 yards. Maybe its just me.
RE: Mcnabb
I cant think of another athelete who is more hated, yet has done more for his team than Mcnabb.
What about Big Ben? One Superbowl ring and likely another next weekend...that alone should put him on the list above many listed here - especially Romo. What has he done exactly? Oh right - do nothing while his team self-destructs.
I always thought Warner had a lot of guys around him that made him look really good as well, but at this point, I think he is really one of the top QB's in the league. I ranked them as of right now, so again, he could be at 15th next year, which is why it actually is stupid to rank QB's but I found it fun.
Elvis, Roethlisberger almost made it I swear. I think I regret not putting him in the top 10, but I for some reason looked at his numbers and all the games I have seen and personally don't think he is up there. I could see how someone would disagree though, especially after he gets his second ring next Sunday, and if he plays well.
I'd flip Cutler and Rivers.
I too am surprised that Rivers has a high YPA, but then again, I wonder how many YACatch his receivers and RB's have. Probably higher than normal.
I don't know. I just think Rivers has maybe the ugliest mechanics and worst arm in football....he's still effective, but I would think most teams would take Cutler and all his wrinkles over Rivers and his rubber arm and huge numbers that benefit from a stud corps of targets (including probably the best safety valve in football in Gates)
Big Ben finally matured some this year. I've watched quite a few Steeler games and he was terrible at throwing into coverage, but the ball not being intercepted for years. Now that he has a lousy O-line this year, he learned "Oh screw this" and throw the ball away.
Actually Rivers and the Chargers throw deep a lot. Well they throw deep effectively a lot. Teams are so concerned about teh ground game (god knows why) and the short passing game that a couple times every game they hit a long one to Chambers or Jackson. A lot like that bomb to Jackson in the playoff game against the Steelers.
Chris, I see your argument and I did not base my ranking of Rivers on the YPA solely, but would actually argue the Broncos have a better set of receivers than the Chargers, at least production wise (maybe because of Cutler) and that Scheffler is a decent safety valve as well. Maybe I just don't like Cutler. Rivers does have ugly mechanics but he also (even with Tomlinson declining) had a better running game. Maybe they are closer than I ranked them.
Again, as far as Roethlisberger, he does make a lot of things happen when he is running around but I guess I looked at his numbers and the games I have seen of him and just don't put him in my top 10.
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