Is Colts Peyton Manning the best QB in the league?
September 1, 2010 by ericschmidt
Filed under AFC, AFC East, AFC North, AFC South, AFC West, Green Bay Packers, Indianapolis Colts, Latest News, Minnesota Vikings, NFC, NFC South, New England Patriots, New Orleans Saints, North, Pittsburgh Steelers, San Diego Chargers
Is Indianapolis Colts QB Peyton Manning the best QB in the league? John Clayton from ESPN thinks so. In his rankings of the 32 starting quarterbacks in the league released yesterday he places Peyton Manning at the top of the list. I would have to agree with him but that is about as far as I agree with him. In his top five after Peyton Manning, Clayton ranks New England Patriots Tom Brady second. New Orleans Saints QB Drew Brees third. Pittsburgh Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger fourth with Minnesota Vikings QB Brett Favre fifth.
At number two, I’ve got to put New Orleans Saints QB Drew Brees. Clayton said he resisted the urge to put him there and went with Tom Brady because he has won three Super Bowls. I thought the ranking was based on performance on the field at this point and time, not ranking because of hardware. Then again, ESPN has never had any problem rooting for sports teams from New England. Brees is one of the leagues most accurate passers in the game today. I watched several games that Brees played in last season and he started many of those game with 10, 12 even 16 consecutive passes in a row. Not just dink and dunk passes either. Brees is surrounded with a quartet of receivers which can score from anywhere on the field.
I move New England Patriots QB Tom Brady to number three. Clayton figures that Brady will improve his numbers from last year (4400 yards and 28 scores) I disagree. Moss is another year older. Wes Welker is recovering from knee surgery. The Patriots have rookie tight ends, a mess of a running game and an offensive line which is questionable.
At number 4, Clayton decides to go with Pittsburgh Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger. I don’t know how he can be ranked number 4 with having to sit 4-6 games in 2010. I have to put Green Bay Packers Aaron Rodgers in the number 4 spot. Have you seen him play this preseason?
To round out the top 5, Clayton picks Minnesota Vikings QB Brett Favre. Favre will not duplicate last season. Sidney Rice will miss at least half the season and he’s already taking treatments on his ankle. At number five, I’ve selected San Diego Chargers QB Philip Rivers. Rivers is the best quarterback in the league that hardly gets mentioned. Criticized for his unique throwing style, Rivers is a leader on the field and continues to get better each season.
