How owuldyou rank the top 20s QBs, using whatever criteria you like:
Rodgers
Brady
P. Manning
Brees
Roethlisberger
E. Manning
Ryan
Newton
Romo
Flacco
Stafford
Alex Smith
Bradford
Freeman
Rivers
Wilson
Palmer
Schaub
RGIII
Locker
Need more than one year to rank the rookies any higher. Luck will probably move into the top 10, but I need to see a lot more. I am not a Vick, guy, but I am guessing most would put him in there somewhere. I am sure some will say I have I have Cam Newton too high. And Eli is tough, because he can be pretty bad for good stretches, but he can also be very good and he has the track record. I very much like Alex Smith, and think it was a mistake replacing him. But he probably shouldn’t be 12, bujt that is what your list is for.
Is there a reason you’re comfortable rating RGIII and Wilson but not Luck? They’re all rookies.
For purposes of rating, I’m going to consider who I want at the helm right now for the playoffs and going into next year. If I were considering long term quality, the older players would drop down and the newer players would pick up a few spots. I’m also assuming the QB is on an otherwise average team. The needs of the 49ers (with a strong defense and running game) are very different from the needs of the Cowboys (bad run game, sub-par defense). I also assume they’re healthy.
This is clearly the top echelon. I might drop Rodgers to 3, but I’ll probably have a different opinion tomorrow. What won’t change is that these 4 are the best. After this, I have some different opinions.
Ryan had a great year and is certainly a top 10 QB. Eli and Rothlesberger have both won the Super Bowl. They’re consistently good, never horrible, and occasionally great. RGIII and Wilson are in the new mold of the good thrower who you can draw a running play for. It’s been a long time since the read option was a mainstay in the NFL because of the speed of the defenses. It remains to be seen if its viable long term as a scheme (and the QBs are viable long term), but RGIII is horribly underrated in the OP. Wilson got off to a slower start, and has Lynch to help carry the load, but his stats are remarkably similar to RGIII. It’s harder to say about Kaepernick, since he took over mid-season. I was afraid he’d make too many mistakes down the stretch and throw interceptions. I’ve been pleasantly surprised at how well he’s taken over. There were some obvious learning mistakes, but he’s only thrown 3 picks and he clearly has a great arm.
I don’t have much to say on Schaub and Flacco. They’re solid but unremarkable from my limited viewing of each. Newton had a big step back this year. I don’t see how he can be ranked above RGIII in the OP unless RGIII’s current injury is a factor. I wonder if the other mobile quarterbacks above will have a similar step back as defenses adapt. Luck is the best of the rookie pocket quarterbacks. He has a solid future ahead, and I agree that he’ll probably crack the top 10.
I was against replacing Alex Smith when the decision was made. I think I was wrong. Smith’s what the 49ers need, but so is Kaepernick. Neither makes a lot of mistakes, and that’s what the 49ers need. (Kaepernick gets some slack here for being only a sophomore and taking over mid-season, but his TD:int ratio is solid.) The 49ers are a running and defensive team who need a QB that doesn’t make big mistakes. That means getting sacked and punting rather than throwing an interception, then winning the field position battle. Smith filled this role well last year and this year. I think he could start on many teams in the league. I think he could be skipped into Shaub’s or Flacco’s place without much of a problem. Still, Kaepernick has a better arm and better legs and I see why he got the position. I was pleased to see the crowd’s reaction in the last game of the season when Smith was put in during garbage time. The crowd was shouting his name and cheering. He’s handled the demotion as well as can be expected. I don’t think he’ll be back on the 49ers next year, but I hope he lands well.
At the next tier, things are getting very muddled. I wouldn’t be enthusiastic about any of these guys as my team’s QB, but I wouldn’t be shouting for their head either. This is also a pretty young tier, so there’s a lot of potential for growth.
The OP lists Romo, Rivers, Palmer, and Locker, who I haven’t listed. I don’t think highly of Romo, Rivers, and Palmer. Romo makes too many mistakes in high pressure situations. Rivers is far worse than his rating would make it appear. Palmer never reacaptured the skill he had with the Bengals, but it’s tough to do that when you play for the Raiders. Locker has potential and is probably my 21st. The OP also mentioned Vick. I don’t know what happened to him this year, but something is fundamentally wrong with him on the field.
Surprised Andy Dalton doesn’t make this list in your bottom tier ahead of non-playoff QB’s like Stafford, Freeman, Tannehill, etc. And Alex Smith doesn’t even start anymore.
I knew I’d leave somebody out I wanted in there. Dalton’s that guy. I just plain overlooked him. Slide him in there above Cam Newton.
As for Smith, I’m comfortable ranking him in the top half of the league even though he doesn’t start. Was Steve Young a bad quarterback because Montana was the starter? Obviously, we’re not talking about Young/Montana numbers, but Smith could start on many teams in the league.
I would just say that I feel that RGIII and Wilson have shown me more this year. But it isn’t a big difference when you get to that part of the rankings. Luck would probably be 21st on my list. I thought about Dalton and I am just not a buyer, yet.
Hm. This is a fun exercise. I’m going to type the list without giving it much thought, and then try to defend the choices later. For the moment, I’m assuming I have to pick a QB to win in a single season, so age is not relevant.
Tom Brady
Aaron Rodgers
Peyton Manning
Drew Brees
Matt Ryan
Eli Manning
Cam Newton
Robert Griffin III
Andrew Luck
Russell Wilson
Ben Roethlisberger
Matt Stafford
Matt Schaub
Jay Cutler
Andy Dalton
Joe Flacco
Colin Kaepernick
Alex Smith
Phillip Rivers
Josh Freeman
So, starters who don’t make the list at all: Vick, Ponder, Bradford, Locker, Tannehill, Palmer, Cassell/Quinn, Gabbert, Sanchez, Fitzpatrick.
