NFL QBs and their Quest for "Eliteness"

NFL Quarterbacks and the Quest for “Eliteness”

Today’s National Football League has gradually transformed from a pound-the-rock and tough-defense game to a finesse, fast-paced aerial attack. Quarterbacks are becoming smarter and much more athletic, and as if they need more help, even the rules are swung to favor the field generals! QBs are the face of the franchise, the most important player on the field, and are rapidly evolving into speedy dual-threats. Combine this development with the incredible rise in social media and a win-now society that feels the need to label everything, you get the most overused, ridiculous term that is impossible to define: “elite”. No matter where you look, from ESPN to local radio shows, everyone is always talking about which quarterbacks fall into this arbitrary category. The word really came to the forefront during the 2011 preseason, when Eli Manning was asked if he was an elite quarterback, to which he naturally said yes. There were mountains of doubters, until Eli went out and won his second Super Bowl, defeated Tom Brady for the second time. From that time, analysts and talking heads have been offering up different opinions about which quarterbacks are elite, which are second-tier, and so on. The only problem is, nobody really knows what this means. The dictionary definition of elite is “a group of people considered to be the best in a particular society or category”. This is fine, but how do you define “the best”? If you ask ten different people, you’ll get ten different answers. Are they the quarterbacks who throw for the most yards? Have the highest QBR? Pass the eye test? Win the most games? Are the most consistent? Have a Super Bowl ring? I could go on and on. There’s so many different criteria to being a top level quarterback that it is impossible to establish what the word “elite” means. This is why I hate the word elite. It should not be used to classify a select group of QBs. Of course, if you ask any of these players, they will of course say that they think they are among the best. This is what Eli did. And this is what brings us to the indescribable passer known as Joe Flacco.

Before the 2012 regular season, I picked the Baltimore Ravens to win the Super Bowl, which they did. Part of my reasoning, almost as a joke, was because Joe Flacco pulled an Eli, and before the season started told the media that he thought that he was the best QB in the league. There was an immediate uproar about this response, as if people expected him to say anything other than that; after all, quarterbacks have to be confident in their ability. While he has never been a flashy, numbers-y passer, he was been able to grind out wins, and has the most wins in his first five season than any other QB in history. When Flacco had a dream postseason, throwing 11 touchdowns, 0 interceptions, and winning Super Bowl MVP, there was, once again, much talk about whether Flacco had taken his place among the “elite” quarterbacks in the league. The praisers felt that a Super Bowl championship combined with constant winning earned him the title of “elite”, but when asked where they would rank him, people still listed Flacco at about 6 or 7 in the league. The nay-sayers felt that he is still not a top QB because of inconsistent numbers and the lack of a “wow factor”, believing that he shouldn’t be paid like a Brady or Brees. There are so many arguments and points to make about individual quarterbacks which make it impossible to just create one category of the best. I, for the record, believe that Flacco should be paid like a top quarterback. I won’t use the word “elite”, because I hate that word. So with that said, I am going to rank the NFL quarterbacks in multiple categories that I think can help establish a logical and legitimate list of top signal-callers, which I will do at the end of this piece. Without further ado, here are my ultimate QB rankings, that I will make to the best of my ability.

Best Arm

1. Aaron Rodgers
2.  Joe Flacco
3. Matthew Stafford
4. Andrew Luck
5. Tom Brady

Best Running QBs

1. RGIII
2. Russell Wilson
3. Colin Kaepernick
4. Cam Newton
5. Michael Vick

Stat Stuffers

1. Drew Brees
2. Matthew Stafford
3. Tom Brady
4. Andrew Luck
5. Matt Ryan

Young Guns

1. Andrew Luck
2. Russell Wilson
3. RGIII
4. Colin Kaepernick
5. Cam Newton

Accurate

1. Tom Brady
2. Aaron Rodgers
3. Peyton Manning
4. Drew Brees
5. Matt Ryan

Improvisers

1. Ben Roethlisberger
2. Tony Romo
3. Aaron Rodgers
4. Russell Wilson
5. RGIII

Playoff Success

1. Joe Flacco
2. Eli Manning
3. Tom Brady
4. Ben Roethlisberger
5. Aaron Rodgers

Consistency

1. Aaron Rodgers
2. Tom Brady
3. Peyton Manning
4. Drew Brees
5. Matt Ryan

Top QBs Overall RIGHT NOW

1. Aaron Rodgers
2. Joe Flacco
3. Tom Brady
4. Peyton Manning
5. Eli Manning
6. Drew Brees
7. Matt Ryan
8. Ben Roethlisberger
9. Tony Romo
10. Andrew Luck
11. Russell Wilson
12. RGIII
13. Colin Kaepernick
14. Cam Newton
15. Jay Cutler
16. Matthew Stafford

I only ranked the top 16, because, let’s be honest, after these guys it really goes downhill. I think that these rankings are extremely fair, without classifying anybody as “elite”. If I had to create a subcategory of the absolute best, I would include the top six guys through Drew Brees. Aaron Rodgers is my top dog, because I think he is the complete package. He’s smart, he can make any throw, he can run, and he’s won a Super Bowl. He is the best overall QB in the NFL right now. I put Flacco at number two, which I’ll explain in his own paragraph. After him I have Brady, Peyton, and Eli. Tom Brady is incredibly consistent and precise in New England’s system and he has enormous playoff success. Peyton follows him because his stats speak for themselves, while Eli comes in fifth. He would have been higher if he could have followed up his Super Bowl win with at least a playoff appearance. I dropped Drew Brees to sixth for a few reasons: he has incredible stats, but he plays in an offense that throws it 40-50 times a game, and we saw how the Saints started out without Sean Payton this year. He won a ring, but so did the five people above him, and he doesn’t have great head-to-head records against those top guys, in general. And remember, this is a ranking for RIGHT NOW; I think he’ll have another huge year next year and move up a couple of spots. No disrespect, Drew Brees, but you’re really just a giant stat stuffer. My second tier is #7-9: Matt Ryan finally won a playoff game this year, so props to him. But he won’t go any higher until he wins a Super Bowl. Roethlisberger does have two rings, and he is incredibly tough, but the Steelers have just fallen, and I think they will only keep heading south. He was never a huge stat guy to begin with, but it doesn’t seem like he has the same winning mystique anymore, especially not without his stellar defense that isn’t anymore. Then there’s Tony Romo...lots of talent, even more underachieving. Enough said. After that comes the young guns: Luck, Wilson, RGIII, and Kaepernick. I can’t put this group higher than #10-14 because they have only started one year. But they will absolutely fly up the charts as time goes on. I would still take Luck over any of these guys; he has huge natural talent, and I think the Colts will at least be in the Super Bowl within the next five years. In terms of the three runners, I put Wilson ahead of RGIII because of more team success, the ability to stay healthy, and just a winning magic about him. Griffin is a special talent as well, but that ACL is scary. Judgment has to be held off. Finally, Colin Kaepernick had some special moments this season, making it to the Super Bowl, but I’m just not a fan of his, which I’ve documented many times. However, I cannot deny that he is very talented and is a nightmare for opposing defenses to handle. He throws a bullet of a pass, but isn’t a polished passer yet, so he has to be ranked behind the rookies.

Back to Joe Flacco to finish up. I have him ranked at number two in the league right now. The only thing holding him back is that he doesn’t light up the stat sheets. He’s never had more than 25 touchdowns in a single season, and has never passed for 4,000 yards. However, this is the reason why he’s up at 2 and Drew Brees fell to 6: he WINS ALL THE TIME. He’s got the most wins in the first five seasons of his career, EVER. He is the only QB to win a playoff game in each of his first five seasons as a pro. He has the most road playoff wins of all time already. He defeated Peyton Manning in Denver and Tom Brady in New England in the playoffs. In fact, he’s got Tom Brady’s number, because the Ravens should have won the AFC Championship Game last year, too. That’s why he’s ahead of Brady, who hasn’t won a title in EIGHT YEARS. Flacco already has the same amount of playoff wins and Super Bowl rings in his career as Peyton Manning, in a third of the time. People compare him to Eli Manning a lot, which I think is a fair comparison, but Eli has missed the playoffs multiple years, including this past one, while Flacco has never failed to win a playoff game. Baltimore started winning during the playoffs when they put the ball in his hands and let him fling the ball around to Anquan Boldin, Torrey Smith, and Dennis Pitta. He has amazing composure; when the 49ers were making their final drive in the Super Bowl, Flacco was sitting down and it looked like he didn’t even have a pulse! With one minute left in the Super Bowl! This guy is money in the playoffs, and just because he isn’t the greatest regular season quarterback (like Peyton Manning, for example), he gets the job done and rises to every occasion. He’s still young at only 28, so he still has plenty of time to improve even more. And he just put together one of the greatest postseasons of all time, with an 11-0 TD/INT ratio, and beat two of the greatest QBs ever on the road. He wants to be the highest-paid QB in the NFL, and if he gets that money, then good for him. Right now, Drew Brees gets paid $20 million a year, while Peyton Manning gets $19.2 million; I think Flacco deserves at least $17-18 a year by comparison. So all this talk and questioning about Flacco’s eliteness is ridiculous, and not just because it’s an undefinable word. He has proven that he’s one of the best quarterbacks in the league, and is the best winner of this generation. He might not have the most dynamic personality but he doesn’t have to be outspoken; he’s Joe Cool, and I’m Wacco for Flacco. He won’t win any regular season MVPs and it doesn’t matter if he makes the Pro Bowl or not, because this guy is, and always will be, a champion, and deserves to be paid like one. Everything I’ve heard on TV and radio the last couple of weeks has gotten me riled up, so I felt compelled to write this piece, not just about Flacco and the word elite, but to try to fairly rank the NFL quarterbacks taking into account everything they do well, including intangibles. I think Joe Flacco is #2 on that list, and if that makes him elite, fine. The only thing that matters is that he is a winner. So enough of this “elite” stuff--the best QBs are the ones who take care of business, and Flacco did that in 2012.