Ranking QBs
August 31st 2010 18:13
I take some issue with John Clayton's article ranking quarterbacks. There's more than an Elite vs Non-Elite system. There are quarterbacks who are on the cusp of elite - whether rising or falling - who Clayton tagged as "Elite" quarterbacks. You know an Elite quarterback when you have one, or you have to play one. So without further ado:
A - Elite. Pre-requisite: several years of excellence in QB play, championship wins, league-wide recognition
There are 6 elite QBs in the NFL. You can probably name all 6 in a heartbeat. Tom Brady. Ben Roethlisberger. Peyton Manning. Philip Rivers. Aaron Rodgers. Drew Brees. 4 of these QBs have 7 titles among them; most expect Rivers and/or Rodgers to obtain one in the near future. Rodgers is perhaps an argumentative choice - meaning maybe he should be still in the "B" ranks because of a lack of body of work. While I acknowledge that status, at the same time Rodgers is ready to take that next step forward, and his performance last year left little doubt. Rodgers is primed to be the best QB in the NFC North without argument. Yeah, including THAT GUY in Minnesota.
B - Very Good. This group of players feature QBs you fear, or are rising with a very bright future, or are in their waning days of their career yet retain greatness. Some are here because they've never quite managed to take that next step into the elite category, and others are here as a stepping stone. So I'll do a further breakdown into B , B and B-
B (Rising B). Joe Flacco. With another good year, and a solid playoff run, Flacco joins the ranks of elite. However, to expect him to put up Manning-like numbers is very wrong. Flacco reminds me of Aikman - someone who never puts up wow-factor stats, but wins and leads his team. Matt Schaub in Houston's another one like Flacco. However, Schaub's team is a passing juggernaut, and he will rival Peyton's numbers. Matt Ryan is the third of this group; while quieter last year, there's little doubt Ryan has more than enough to lead the Falcons for a long time, and that very successfully.
Straight B. Carson Palmer, Eli Manning, Tony Romo. Hard to put these 3 into the elite category. Palmer, a step back perhaps. Romo, failure to win the biggest games. Manning, that one magical season. Do you fear them? Yes. Do you worry as a rooting fan of them and their teams? Yes. Hence not elite. Neither rising nor falling, either, but more or less settled out. Very good QBs, but not elite, nor without the ability to become elite.
B- (Falling B). Kyle Orton, Brett Favre and Donovan McNabb. Orton is probably at or near his topping-out point. He's not as much falling as he is done rising, and he's not a C-grade, but not in the league of Eli or Carson, either. In days past, no Elite list would have been complete without Favre or McNabb; not so any longer. Neither fan creates the same level of fear he once did.
C - average. These guys are rising and falling, too. Either he's topped out and will never rise again, is a flash in the pan, or is very young and hasn't proven much. There are some arguments in here, too, but not many I don't think.
C (rising). Mark Sanchez, Chad Henne, Vince Young, Kevin Kolb, Matt Stafford. Sanchez and Stafford enter their 2nd years, both harboring great hopes. Sanchez's preseason has been disappointing whereas Stafford's has been exciting. But both have great potential, and while the Jets are better than the Lions they continue to generate hope and excitement. All Vince Young does is win. He can be a tremendous leader (when he's not engaged in bizarre behavior). But he's not highly considered as a passer, as a pure quarterback. He'll never rate highly because of that, but he needs to be feared. Kevin Kolb and Chad Henne have the chance to take over the reins.
C (neutral). Matt Cassel, Jason Campbell, Jay Cutler, Matt Moore, Josh Freeman. Cutler, Campbell and Cassel have managed to put together some seasons - Cutler's was statistically great as was Cassel's lone one in New England. But let's face it - there's not a lot to go on and what has been shown is not all together that great. Campbell needs stability, and for his team to actually believe in him. Moore and Freeman are simply too young to evaluate further.
C- (falling) Jake Delhomme, David Garrard, Matt Hasselbeck, Matt Leinart, Derek Anderson. A list of names, and some have had great years here and there, but those years are over. Or never were. And one no longer wonders so much why Leinart fell so deeply in his draft.
D - Trent Edwards. Why? There's no one better. Egads for Buffalo.
I - Incomplete. Only Sam Bradford makes this list, because he's projected to be the only first-year starter in the NFL. Like Stafford last year, Bradford is expected to face a long, brutal and occasionally painful year. One hopes that the St. Louis trust can find a way to maximize what he can bring and hide some of his problems; Steven Jackson will get a big role this year assuming he remains healthy. There's lots of excitement and hope surrounding Bradford, and with good reason. But there's a long way to go, and there cannot be any grade given other than Incomplete for him.
Half of the NFL has simply average quarterbacks. This is a QB-driven league. It'll take for special performances for some of those C-rated teams to make the playoffs. They have to win despite their QB, and not because of him. That can make for a long season because with an even smaller margin for error the slightest wobble can destroy a season. But that's why we watch and wait and hope!
A - Elite. Pre-requisite: several years of excellence in QB play, championship wins, league-wide recognition
There are 6 elite QBs in the NFL. You can probably name all 6 in a heartbeat. Tom Brady. Ben Roethlisberger. Peyton Manning. Philip Rivers. Aaron Rodgers. Drew Brees. 4 of these QBs have 7 titles among them; most expect Rivers and/or Rodgers to obtain one in the near future. Rodgers is perhaps an argumentative choice - meaning maybe he should be still in the "B" ranks because of a lack of body of work. While I acknowledge that status, at the same time Rodgers is ready to take that next step forward, and his performance last year left little doubt. Rodgers is primed to be the best QB in the NFC North without argument. Yeah, including THAT GUY in Minnesota.
B - Very Good. This group of players feature QBs you fear, or are rising with a very bright future, or are in their waning days of their career yet retain greatness. Some are here because they've never quite managed to take that next step into the elite category, and others are here as a stepping stone. So I'll do a further breakdown into B , B and B-
B (Rising B). Joe Flacco. With another good year, and a solid playoff run, Flacco joins the ranks of elite. However, to expect him to put up Manning-like numbers is very wrong. Flacco reminds me of Aikman - someone who never puts up wow-factor stats, but wins and leads his team. Matt Schaub in Houston's another one like Flacco. However, Schaub's team is a passing juggernaut, and he will rival Peyton's numbers. Matt Ryan is the third of this group; while quieter last year, there's little doubt Ryan has more than enough to lead the Falcons for a long time, and that very successfully.
Straight B. Carson Palmer, Eli Manning, Tony Romo. Hard to put these 3 into the elite category. Palmer, a step back perhaps. Romo, failure to win the biggest games. Manning, that one magical season. Do you fear them? Yes. Do you worry as a rooting fan of them and their teams? Yes. Hence not elite. Neither rising nor falling, either, but more or less settled out. Very good QBs, but not elite, nor without the ability to become elite.
B- (Falling B). Kyle Orton, Brett Favre and Donovan McNabb. Orton is probably at or near his topping-out point. He's not as much falling as he is done rising, and he's not a C-grade, but not in the league of Eli or Carson, either. In days past, no Elite list would have been complete without Favre or McNabb; not so any longer. Neither fan creates the same level of fear he once did.
C - average. These guys are rising and falling, too. Either he's topped out and will never rise again, is a flash in the pan, or is very young and hasn't proven much. There are some arguments in here, too, but not many I don't think.
C (rising). Mark Sanchez, Chad Henne, Vince Young, Kevin Kolb, Matt Stafford. Sanchez and Stafford enter their 2nd years, both harboring great hopes. Sanchez's preseason has been disappointing whereas Stafford's has been exciting. But both have great potential, and while the Jets are better than the Lions they continue to generate hope and excitement. All Vince Young does is win. He can be a tremendous leader (when he's not engaged in bizarre behavior). But he's not highly considered as a passer, as a pure quarterback. He'll never rate highly because of that, but he needs to be feared. Kevin Kolb and Chad Henne have the chance to take over the reins.
C (neutral). Matt Cassel, Jason Campbell, Jay Cutler, Matt Moore, Josh Freeman. Cutler, Campbell and Cassel have managed to put together some seasons - Cutler's was statistically great as was Cassel's lone one in New England. But let's face it - there's not a lot to go on and what has been shown is not all together that great. Campbell needs stability, and for his team to actually believe in him. Moore and Freeman are simply too young to evaluate further.
C- (falling) Jake Delhomme, David Garrard, Matt Hasselbeck, Matt Leinart, Derek Anderson. A list of names, and some have had great years here and there, but those years are over. Or never were. And one no longer wonders so much why Leinart fell so deeply in his draft.
D - Trent Edwards. Why? There's no one better. Egads for Buffalo.
I - Incomplete. Only Sam Bradford makes this list, because he's projected to be the only first-year starter in the NFL. Like Stafford last year, Bradford is expected to face a long, brutal and occasionally painful year. One hopes that the St. Louis trust can find a way to maximize what he can bring and hide some of his problems; Steven Jackson will get a big role this year assuming he remains healthy. There's lots of excitement and hope surrounding Bradford, and with good reason. But there's a long way to go, and there cannot be any grade given other than Incomplete for him.
Half of the NFL has simply average quarterbacks. This is a QB-driven league. It'll take for special performances for some of those C-rated teams to make the playoffs. They have to win despite their QB, and not because of him. That can make for a long season because with an even smaller margin for error the slightest wobble can destroy a season. But that's why we watch and wait and hope!
| 50 |
| Vote |
subscribe to this blog
