Can't really find any expert lists of these just yet as everyone is busy keeping up with free agency and the draft. I've been watching the NFL for years, and follow multiple teams every season. I tried my best to remain entirely unbiased. This list is intended to trigger "friendly" debates and discussions, so please respect my opinion and the opinions of others. Enjoy guys!
Tom Brady - Don't really see how you could put anyone over him at the moment. 4 Super Bowls wins, including a fresh one. He does it consistently every year and has showed no signs of slowing down in his late 30's. He's also won championships with either "average" or no-name receivers such as David Patten, David Givens, and most recently Brandon LaFell and Julian Edelman (without Brady, Jules would be nothing). Arguably the greatest of all time. I see no reason to put anyone ahead of him.
Aaron Rodgers - Absolute stud. The difference between he and Tom Brady right now? Three rings. He's actually very similar to Brady in the sense that he turns mediocre receivers into superstars (e.g Greg Jennings, Randall Cobb, maybe even Jordy, though I think he's a stud on his own). He also has a Super Bowl win of his own against a very good Pittsburgh Steelers team, and damn near almost had another one this past year had the Pack not choked miserably.
Ben Roethlisberger - I may get some heat for this one, but ignore everything you hear on SportsCenter or about "fantasy football" and look at his numbers over the past few years. 32 TD's to just 9 INT's in 2014. He also tied Drew Brees in having the most passing yards with 4,952. 48 yards away from becoming just the 6th player in NFL history to throw for 5,000 yards in one season. He's also the only quarterback to throw for 500+ yards in one game on two separate occasions. In HISTORY! He was also the youngest quarterback ever to win a Super Bowl at age 23, and won his second just three years later at the age of 26. The only reason this guy doesn't have a third ring is because of a man by the name of Aaron Rodgers. If only the Burgh's weak secondary hadn't have been exposed by ARod and the Pack Attack, Big Ben could have been just the 5th quarterback ever to win 3 super bowls. The four who have at least 3? Joe Montana, Terry Bradshaw, Troy Aikman, Tom Brady. Three hall of famers, and a future hall of famer.
Andrew Luck - What's keeping this guy from the top 3 are his excessive turnovers. Despite throwing 40 touchdown passes in 2014, he gave the ball away 29 times (16 INTs, 13 fumbles). He was also massacred by the Patriots in the AFC Title game and looked uncomfortable from start to finish. Basically what I'm saying is that in order for this guy to move higher on the list, he's going to have to win the big one. Keep in mind however that this guy is still only 25 years old, and even looks better than Peyton did through his first three seasons in Indy. Another thing I like about this guy is his effort and willingness to work. I've yet to see him quit under any circumstance. He has that "John Elway" type edge where he gets to the point that he'll do absolutely anything to win. In three, hell maybe even two years, this guy could reach the Uno spot. I truly believe he's that good.
Peyton Manning - Peyton is arguably the greatest "statistical" quarterback of all time. He went from breaking hall of famer's records, to breaking his own records within a very short period of time. In 2013 this "old man" threw 55 touchdown passes just two years after having serious neck surgery. Talk about gutsy. Oh, and to top it all off, he's been to the big dance three times, winning once against the Bears in 2006. The reason he is significantly lower on the list than probably expected is the fact that he has undoubtedly deteriorated in his performance over the past year. Not necessarily in terms of his numbers, but in terms of how he plays in big games. To be honest, he was never what we expected him to be in the postseason anyway. Sure he has a super bowl ring, but it was against a very mediocre Chicago Bears team who was quarterbacked by Rex Grossman. Tom Brady has beaten Kurt Warner, Jake Delhomme, Donovan McNabb, and Russell Wilson. All CLEARLY above average quarterbacks at the time the two faced. Roethlisberger himself has even been tested against Matt Hasselbeck in his prime, and Kurt Warner during one of his best seasons where he had both Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitz to throw to. Call me crazy for putting him this low, but I don't see how one could blame me.
Drew Brees - Breezy is one of my favorite players of all time. I've been a fan of him since he was in San Diego years ago. This guy completely turned the Saints franchise around and brought life back to the city of New Orleans. He's also an incredible guy off the field and a role model for us all to look up to. His numbers speak for themselves, so I won't go into much detail. But I will mention, however, that he is not just the only quarterback to throw for 500 yards twice, but also three times, and also FOUR times. Four times this guy has thrown for 5,000 yards in one season. That is a record that may never be broken. But why is he slightly lower on the list? The fact that he has only won one playoff game since winning the Super Bowl in 2009. He has also failed to advance deep into the playoffs with guys like Jimmy Graham and Marques Colston to throw to. A lot of people wouldn't consider Colston a "great player." My response to that would be to simply look at his career numbers, and watch him play the next time you stumble upon a Saints game on TV. Not to mention that Brees, (like Luck), can be a turnover machine at times. The past three season, Drew's turnover total have been as followed - 2014: 24 (17 INTs, 7 fumbles) 2013: 19 (12 INTs, 7 fumbles) 2012: 24 (19 INTs, 5 fumbles; league leader in INT's that season)
Philip Rivers - Since 2007, Rivers has thrown for at least 26 touchdown passes in each season. He has done so without any starpower of a #1 receiver. Sure, the Chargers haven't been great in recent years, but whenever Rivers manages to seep into the playoffs, he never fails to put on a show. It's not like he's in the same boat as Romo, who has a mere two playoff victories. In fact, Rivers took the Chargers to the Conference Championship back in '07 and played the undefeated New England Patriots relatively tough. Had it been a different scenario, the Chargers could have been playing in the super bowl. Keep in mind that Rivers played in this game with a partially torn ligament in his ACL. One of the gutsiest performances in playoff history. The reason he is where he is on the list is because of his stellar numbers. The reason he's not higher is simply due to the fact that he hasn't really been on any great teams. Sure, football is a team sport, but a lack of surrounding talent never held back Tom Brady, among many others.
Tony Romo - In 9-seasons as the Cowboys starting quarterback, Romo has appeared in the post-season just 4 times and accumulated only two wins. You could make the argument that he hasn't had any surrounding talent, except you would be wrong. This guy has had elite big name receivers to throw to pretty much throughout his entire career, including but not limited to Terrell Owens, Dez Bryant, Miles Austin, and Jason Witten (TE). Not to mention he had DeMarco Murray to take the load off the passing game, but we won't go there since he struggled to stay healthy during his time in Dallas. Needless to say, his numbers aren't the reason why he's not a top 5 QB. It's how he performs in big games. The good players put up big time numbers. The great players win in the postseason.
Russell Wilson - There will probably be two types of viewpoints on this one. On one side people will be exclaiming, "Wilson in the top 10?" while the other side will be asking, "How is he not higher?" Since 2013, there has only been one quarterback to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl. That player is Russell Wilson. He's the second youngest QB to ever with a championship, just behind Ben Roethlisberger. He was one unfortunate play away from capturing his second ring, becoming the first quarterback to repeat since Tom Brady in '03-'04. Still, his unorthodox style of play that distances itself from the traditional "pocket style" passer tends to turn critics away from placing him in the top tier. At least in my opinion it does. Also, keep in mind that he's playing on possibly one of the best defensive teams ever seen on an NFL stage. It will be interesting to see what he can do with Jimmy Graham. Hawks aren't going anywhere soon, I'll tell you that.
Joe Flacco - I feel many of these spots will be subjected to controversy, and it's safe to say that this one undoubtedly falls into that category. But please, hear me out. Throughout this list, you'll see that while I do take statistics into account (like anyone would), it is certainly not my only (or main) course of judgement. As I stated above, good players put up numbers. Great players win in the postseason. Well what if I told you that since 2008, no other starting quarterback has more playoff wins than Joe Flacco? I wouldn't be lying, and it's not even close. Since 2008, Joe Flacco has posted a 10-5 record in the postseason, including one super bowl victory, and three conference championship appearances. Oh, he was also MVP of that super bowl team in 2012, posting up one of the best super bowl performances by a starting quarterback that I've ever witnessed. Now I'm sure you could name me almost 15 quarterbacks with better numbers than Flacco over the past few years, but you can't even name me one who has more postseason wins than this guy. Hell let's make it a challenge, name me four quarterbacks you'd rather have in the final 2 minutes of the game. Bottom line: the guy's a winner.
Almost cracked the list: Cam Newton Matt Ryan Eli Manning Matt Stafford
Submitted March 21, 2015 at 10:23PM by Croat32 http://ift.tt/1HjGt4K
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