With the NFL season over, it’s time for year two of my annual quarterback rankings. Actually, last year the list was of quarterbacks I’d take over Jake Plummer. Since such a list this year would be at least a novella, I’ve changed it to the top twelve quarterbacks.
This list is intended to be the best quarterbacks as of today and/or next season. Thus, it won’t correspond perfectly with, say, my list of the best young quarterbacks. Vince Young’s completion percentage, for example, will count against him more here. That said, some predictions are still involved. (For example, will Jake Delhomme and Ben Roethlisberger bounce back?)
The winners:
12. Philip Rivers, San Diego. Rivers may deserve a higher spot on this list. I’m just trying not to get too carried away. On the plus side, he’s on a fine team (if they have coaches next year) and has a fantastic arm. On the downside, he’s young and was nothing special in the playoffs. So there’s a chance he won’t be quite so good next year, though he’s got a very bright future.
11. Marc Bulger, St. Louis. Bulger didn’t make last year’s list due partly to injury, but had another spectacular statistical season this year. He’s tough, he’s accurate, and he rarely turns the ball over. One thing he doesn’t seem to do is lift his team to a lot of unlikely wins, though it’s not his fault the defense is so bad.
10. Donovan McNabb, Philadelphia. McNabb got off to a terrific start this season, though he tailed off a little before his injury. He’s taken some serious punishment to this point in his career and I wonder how he’ll hold up now that he’s on the wrong side of 30. Another point against him is that the Eagles never seem to miss a beat when he’s out, even behind good-but-flawed guys like Jeff Garcia and A.J. Feeley.
9. Vince Young, Tennessee. Young’s numbers are pathetic. He got off to an ugly start. And next season he’ll be just a second-year man on a team without a ton of talent. But Young has the fire to lead the Titans back into prominence. I’m happy for the Titans. They went all-out trying to win a Super Bowl for several years, but ended up destroying their roster and salary-cap situation. Fine with me-at least they tried, unlike some teams (cough Philadelphia! ahem). With Young, their road back will be a lot easier, though they still have a long way to go.
8. Brett Favre, Green Bay. Favre bounced back with a vengeance this year, throwing for twelve more feet than in his disastrous 2005 campaign. He also cut down on the picks, of course, which were the real problem. That said, he’s drifting farther and farther from elite status.
7. Jake Delhomme, Carolina. Everyone acts like Delhomme had some kind of miserable season. I didn’t see much of the Panthers this year, but his numbers don’t tell quite the same story. Besides, of course the Panthers were bad. Every other year they’re bad, and every other year they’re really good-sort of like the Steelers of the NFC. Next year, they’ll be good, and Jake will have a chance to show off his terrific postseason skills.
6. Carson Palmer, Cincinnati. Rarely am I as wrong on a quarterback as I was on Palmer, who I just knew would bomb in the NFL. He was just as aggressive and successful downfield this year as he was last year. That’s pretty amazing considering…well, if that injury he suffered last year had happened to my knee, I wouldn’t even have tried to walk yet. Now the Bengals need a defense so Palmer can get a shot in the clutch.
5. Drew Brees, New Orleans. Brees was nearly MVP and could have jumped as high as No. 2 on this list…but a playoff blowout will always knock you down a few spots. Brees was actually fine in the postseason when he wasn’t giving away safeties. He had an amazing year, especially throwing deep, and lifted the Saints far higher than anyone could have expected.
4. Matt Hasselbeck, Seattle. Hasselbeck’s one of my favorite players and has incredible accuracy when he’s on his game. Of course, he played hurt this year and his play suffered as a result. Like my No. 2 QB, I think he’ll bounce back next season.
3. Peyton Manning, Indianapolis. He still has the worst body language in the league, but most everything else is pretty good. He carries his team through every regular season and never misses a game.
Last year Manning didn’t make this list at all. I thought he didn’t have the makeup to win a Super Bowl, but I was obviously wrong. And no, he didn’t play great in the playoffs-at times, he was really bad. And he certainly didn’t deserve Super Bowl MVP. But a lot of Super Bowl-winning quarterbacks have had worse games, and I don’t hold it against them.
2. Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh. Roethlisberger’s incredibly talented-he’s got size, arm, and mobility, and though he’s younger than I am, he’s already got a Super Bowl ring. I think he’s too good not to bounce back. People talked like he was just a system QB his first two years, but that’s not true at all. Some of his statistics-like yards per attempt-were off the charts. He was all over the place this year, though that surely has a lot to do with his accident. I’m betting he’ll be much improved in 2007.
1. Tom Brady, New England. Still the class of the NFL, even though he lost to the Colts. Brady’s a true leader, but he’s a fine quarterback on passing skills alone. He plays well in practically every big game, and who else on this list can say that? Brady’s clearly an all-time great.
That said, it’d be nice if he had some competition. Maybe I’m too harsh on today’s players, but look at the league about ten years ago. You had guys like John Elway, Favre, Steve Young and, though I hate to admit it, Troy Aikman, all of whom played best when the stakes were high. You go back a few years and you had Jim Kelly. He obviously never won a Super Bowl, but he got there four times in a row, and how many quarterbacks today could do that? (The AFC Kelly played in was weak, but so is today's NFC.) This decade, you’ve basically got Brady and Kurt Warner as the passers who’d really scare you, and Warner was only that good for three years.
Maybe 2006 is just a bad year for the comparison, especially considering Roethlisberger’s struggles. And everyone should be excited about Vince Young. But I’m not sure. Am I comparing today’s QBs unfairly to some imagined Golden Age, or is this indicative of a larger trend? What do you think?
9 comments:
I don't think you're too harsh-
60-70's had guys like Bart Starr, Johnny Unitas, Joe Namath, Bob Griese, then you move to the 70-80's with Joe Montana, Randell Cunningham, Terry Bradshaw, Warren Moon, and Terry Staubauch. The 80-90's Had, as you said, Steve Young, John Elway, Brett Favre, and Troy Aikman. (I hope I'm not confusing eras)But when we remember this era I think Peyton Manning and Tom Brady will be remembered....Not many other people, it really seems like a transition period to a new kind of quarterback that may explain the loss of the traditional quarterback-It recently started with Randal Cunningham, has progressed with Daunte Culpepper, Donovan McNabb and of course, Michael Vick-I think the position is changing, and the burden of leadership is being removed from the quarterback and borne on the coaches, displacing leadership in quarterbacks to pure overall talent and ability to quarterback; one coaches learn to use the talent, I think we will enter into a new era of pro football.
First of all, I more or less agree with your rankings, although I would have placed both Rivers and Brees higher up (how stacked were the Chargers with BOTH those guys?) and Manning and McNabb (and probably Roethlisberger, but only because of his struggles this year) farther down. My reasons for moving Manning are obvious, and I have always thought McNabb was overrated, especially in light of the fact that any journeyman back-up can pick up where he leaves off.
I like the omission of Michael Vick from the list, too. Can anyone explain to me how Jim Mora Jr. got fired when his dad described Vick as a "coach killer" but Bobby Petrino can talk about trading Vick on day 1?
As for comparison with the golden age, I agree that there is a trend toward system quarterbacks and more conservative play-calling and that today's QB's don't appear to be as good. But, I do think there is a tendency to remember guys in th past as being better than they were - no one seems to remember Montana's Favre-esque fade into Kansas City oblivion. Plus, right now we are seeing guys go through ups and downs over the course of their careers, and we remember the great ones only in their (sometimes momentary) greatness.
By the way, is anyone else scratching their heads at how Wade Phillips got another head coaching job?
I don't include Bob Griese and Randall Cunningham on any list of the absolute best quarterbacks, but it's up to you where you draw the line. (Terry Staubauch is always out, though.)
Anyway, David, I get what you're saying about the position changing, but I'm not sure I agree with it, unless it's some kind of comment on race. I agree that Cunningham and Vick were really different, but I don't know how often quarterbacks will come along with that speed. McNabb doesn't do anything revolutionary, and neither does Culpepper, who I like as a pocket passer. (He is huge, though, if that's what you meant.)
So, Cap, I'm curious: who's your No. 2? Brees?
What's amazing about the Chargers is that they ended up with L.T. and Rivers (and, to a lesser extent, Brees) by passing on Vick and Eli Manning. That's impressive.
Anyway, Vick narrowly missed the list, along with fellow erotemes Tony Romo and Rex Grossman. Okay, Grossman doesn't "narrowly" miss anything these days.
Maaaaan. Every time I look at this list I want to re-do it. You're right, the former Chargers teammates are the two who would move the most.
I think I would put Brees as #2, and Rivers would crack into the top ten on my list. I know Bulger's got decent numbers, but Rivers at least deserves to be ahead of him.
The more I think of it, though, Manning probably deserves to be where he is now that he has actually won one, so maybe I would slide Big Ben to #4 . . .
And Terry Staubach must have been one hell of a quarterback . . .
considering Romo and Grossman, why not Trent Green or Bryon Leftwich or even McNair?
I was just impressed that Bulger had better numbers than "I" Philip Rivers "with toxic waste". It's not like Phil is bringing added mobility to the table or anything. But you're right, he could go past McNabb and Bulger easy. It was more that I didn't want to overrate him while he's still so young, and I sort of wanted to highlight Bulger because he's often forgotten. No doubt to me that Rivers will become better, of course.
Honestly? McNair's old, and the Ravens' baffling unwillingness to attack the first down markers knocks him down a few pegs. And he wasn't really that great in the regular season.
Green's not even the best quarterback on his team right now. People say the same about Leftwich-I disagree, but I can see where they're coming from.
Rex Grossman was garbage in the Super Bowl. But before it, he tried to make a point to reporters that though he'd had some awful games, he'd been really good in the rest. In his five worst games, he combined for one touchdown and sixteen picks. But in his other games, he threw 22 TDs to four picks. I don't know if it means anything but that's crazy. (It probably means he's a talented, immature guy on a very good team.)
I don't want to backlash too far against Romo. I saw him throw with terrific touch and do pretty well in crunch time up until that fumbled hold. Of course, neither he nor Grossman made my list, but you can at least see why I'd consider them, right?
I guess, by the way the Pro Bowl was awesome.
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