NFL Week 12 Power Ranking the 32 Starting QBs: Where Do Brady and Manning Fall?
NFL Week 11 is now in the books, and with another chapter in Tom Brady vs. Peyton Manning written, it seems fitting to put together power rankings for all the starting quarterbacks.
Successful teams are often the result of a talented quarterback, but the opposite can hold true, as well. I'll do my best to rank all the quarterbacks from worst to first.
Author's note (borrowed and edited from a comment from a wide receiver power ranking):
Please keep in mind that these rankings are not based on careers, including what the quarterbacks have done in the past. For example, Brett Favre and Donovan McNabb may be better quarterbacks than Michael Vick, but in all reality, if those guys aren’t as productive as the other guys are, then they are going to sit lower on this poll. In addition, we aren’t looking at potential, but instead we are looking at real, tangible production.
We just need to keep in mind that this is not an “overall” talent poll. What Favre did last year was incredible but doesn’t factor into this poll. He may be more gifted that a guy like Vick, but if Vick is more productive and means more to his team, then he will rank higher.
Let the debate begin...
32. Anyone Wearing a Panthers Uniform
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With the mish-mash of quarterbacks being what it is in Carolina, I had no idea who to even list here. Then I realized that it didn't really matter because they've all played terribly.
This was never more evident than when Brian St. Pierre threw back-to-back interceptions that were returned for touchdowns on Sunday.
Carolina's quarterbacks have combined for 1,561 net yards and seven touchdowns in 10 games, both league lows. Their 16 interceptions are third-worst in the league.
31. Derek Anderson
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Even when the Cardinals were 3-2, it was easy to see that they were much worse than their record, especially at the quarterback position. Five losses later, turns out we were right.
Supposedly, it's not Anderson's fault. According to Ken Whisenhunt, it's a problem with the system. Okay...?
His passer rating is third-worst in the league (70.3). Yes, that's sometimes a faulty number, but with just 53.7 percent completions, seven touchdowns, eight interceptions and a high pick in the draft coming up for Arizona, the future's not bright for Anderson.
30. Chad Henne
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I wasn't sure who to put as the starting quarterback for the Dolphins. That should tell you something, since I follow the AFC East pretty avidly. Injuries and coach Tony Sparano's uncertainty seem to change this situation on a weekly basis.
Henne will return to action this season, but in his second season as a starter, he is still throwing more interceptions than touchdowns. If we see more of what he did in the first two games of the season, Henne could quickly turn things around, but in an offense that relies so heavily on the run and ball security, he needs to turn the ball over far less.
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29. Jason Campbell
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How much responsibility do you want to give to Jason Campbell for the team's 5-5 record? If you answered more than "not much at all," a look at the numbers will reveal the truth.
Let's put it this way: He only has more than one touchdown pass in two games this year, both of which were blowouts over Denver and Seattle. Other than that, it's been a mish-mash of mediocrity against some subpar defenses.
You can blame it on a lack of talent around him if you want, but his performances in Washington are proof that he's just not a viable franchise-caliber quarterback.
28. Brett Favre
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Many excuses could be made for Favre's poor play this season. The offensive line hasn't been blocking for him very well. He's been without Sidney Rice. The defense hasn't played as incredibly as last year.
But among all these reasons, one fact rings true: He's a gunslinger in the purest form. Either he'll fit the ball into a tight window and look like a genius, or he'll make an errant throw into coverage and look like a fool. He'll always take the chance.
We've long known about "good Brett vs. bad Brett." Usually, "bad Brett" rears his ugly head in small doses, albeit at the most inopportune times. This year, his 19 interceptions lead the league and have many calling for him to be benched.
27. Jay Cutler
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Wasn't Jay Cutler supposed to be a franchise quarterback? Wasn't he supposed to turn things around with Mike Martz leading the offense?
Twelve touchdowns, 10 interceptions and a league-leading 33 sacks later, we have almost exactly what we thought we had in Cutler last year.
Yes, the Bears have somehow compiled an impressive 7-3 record despite some atrocious play from their quarterback...did you think that statement was going somewhere?
26. Carson Palmer
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It's scary to think where Carson Palmer would be without the T.O. rebirth tour taking its talents to Cincinnati. He has Owens to thank for eight of his 18 touchdown passes, and not many would argue the opposite. He has thrown 13 interceptions and fumbled the ball five times this season already.
Despite some respectable stats, Palmer just can't seem to get out of his team's way to win games when they need to.
25. Matt Hasselbeck
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Hasselbeck has the good fortune of playing in the anemic NFC West, which features exactly zero pass defenses ranked in the top half of the league. Still, he's only thrown eight touchdowns.
The Seahawks are winning games, but that's despite Hasselbeck throwing just one touchdown every 40 pass attempts, and he has 31 attempts a game.
You do the math.
24. Donovan McNabb
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With his recent struggles finding the end zone, it seems as though McNabb is more suited for a game-manager role at this stage in his career. Still, he's on pace for the most pass attempts of his career.
His completion percentage is on par with the rest of his career, but he's just one interception shy of his career high and only has 10 touchdown throws.
Give him credit for engineering a couple of game-winning drives this year, but he's thrown more touchdowns than interceptions in only one game this year so far. Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't this the guy that just signed a Tom Brady-size contract extension (albeit with an opt-out clause for the 'Skins)?
23. Kerry Collins
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Hey, at least Jeff Fisher knows what he's getting in Collins: a game manager in his purest form.
The games which the Titans won with Collins were decided victories in which the defense did more than enough to preserve a win.
The games which they lost with him, though, were exactly the opposite. He absolutely needs the defense and Chris Johnson to have a good game.
He can't carry the team on his 38-year-old shoulders.
22. Troy Smith
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It's not surprising that Troy Smith had a bad game against the sixth-ranked Buccaneers pass defense.
He helped lead his team to their first back-to-back victories all season with wins over the Broncos and Rams, which both feature pass defenses that rank in the lower half of the league.
The body of work is simply too small to put a final verdict on Smith, but for now, he'll sit at this spot.
21. Shaun Hill
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The Lions have taken pass-happy to a whole new level in 2010. They lead the league with 438 attempts on the season.
If only it were Matthew Stafford throwing all those passes and not Shaun Hill, they might be slightly better than their 2-8 record. He stacks up yards in bunches to the tune of 240 per game, but that's not saying much when he averages 38 attempts a game.
In short, he hasn't found the end zone very frequently and turns the ball over too much.
20. Colt McCoy
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I admire the quick learning that McCoy is doing, and he's playing efficient ball that's helping to keep the Browns in games. To say he belongs among the ranks of the elite, though, is a bit of a stretch.
The baby-faced rookie could make his big impact in due time, but for now, the Browns are more than happy to have their game manager.
19. Mark Sanchez
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Mark Sanchez gets a lot more credit than he deserves. He has three games this season without a touchdown, and threw two interceptions in one of those—a shutout loss vs. Green Bay.
He has completed over 60 percent of his passes only twice, vs. the Browns and the Patriots.
Yes, Sanchez has made a few clutch plays to help his team win close games, but the way he played in some of those games, he was lucky to even have the chance to do that.
18. Kyle Orton
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Orton may very well be the product of a system that has him throwing a preposterous 39 pass attempts per game. Still, he struggles to find the end zone enough to get his team those all-important wins.
Don't let his 17 touchdowns fool you; four of them came in a blowout over the Kansas City Chiefs' horrid pass defense, which ranks 25th.
To his credit, he has played some tough defenses this year. To negate that, though, he's had some poor performances against some bad defenses, too (only one touchdown against Jacksonville's 28th-ranked pass defense).
No, Orton can't take the blame for the shortcomings of the defense, but they'd sure benefit from him throwing a few touchdowns to give them a big of wiggle room.
17. Tony Romo
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Jon Kitna has led the Cowboys to two victories in Romo's stead, but this is still undoubtedly Romo's starting spot. He has all the talent in the world, but for some reason just has lapses in concentration at the most inopportune times.
He was completing almost 70 percent of his passes and had 11 touchdowns, but put it this way: He had multiple interceptions in three games, each of which were decided by one possession.
Granted, he can't be held responsible for the shortcomings of the team, but if you wipe away any of those interceptions, his team could have a much better record than it currently does.
16. Matt Cassel
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Cassel has quietly compiled the eighth-best passer rating in the league at 96.2. Sure, some of his stats are mediocre (2,074 yards). Yeah, he has the league's No. 1 rush attack behind him.
His four interceptions tie him for the league's second-lowest mark among starting quarterbacks, and that ball protection has helped his team run a game-management offense to perfection.
15. Ryan Fitzpatrick
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The Bills have a lot of problems on their roster. Quarterback, though, isn't one of them. Fitzpatrick has done an excellent job of connecting with open receivers and has really found stride as a pure passer. His passer rating of 88.1 puts him in the top half of the league.
With 1,961 yards and 18 touchdowns in eight games, he would be up there with some of the top quarterbacks in the league if he had started every game this season.
14. Sam Bradford
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It's always anticipated that the transition from college to NFL for quarterbacks means at least one tough season to adjust. Not for Sam Bradford, who has been thrust into the starting role and has proved to be a proficient leader for this team.
His performances have not come against the league's best defenses (although the Chargers rank up there). But completing 60.6 percent of his passes for 2,158 yards, 14 touchdowns and nine interceptions still deserves much praise, especially for a rookie surrounded with as little talent as Bradford.
13. David Garrard
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Garrard's stats look great on paper, but some of his best games have come against some of the league's worst defenses. Take, for example, his monstrous 260-yard, four-touchdown explosion against Dallas' 28th-ranked defense, in which he completed a preposterous 81 percent of his passes.
He's also had some pretty bad games, too, like Week 2 against the San Diego Chargers, in which he threw four interceptions. He hasn't thrown for a ton of yards, but he's completing over 67 percent of his passes on the season and has 17 touchdowns, which tops his total from the past two seasons.
Most importantly, he's showing that he has the steely resolve to lead the team to a few last-minute victories, leading late scoring drives against Indianapolis, Houston and Cleveland to win those games.
12. Josh Freeman
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What a difference a year has made for this high draft pick out of Kansas State. He's had a couple of tough games, but none have cost his team the game. In fact, his ball-control style of play has helped the team significantly improve from last year's 3-13 record to an astonishing 7-3 turnaround.
He's playing more like a veteran than a sophomore quarterback, with 14 touchdowns, five interceptions, a 61 percent completion rate and a 92.0 quarterback rating.
For someone drafted 12 picks later, he's playing significantly better than Mark Sanchez and with significantly less talent surrounding him.
11. Matt Schaub
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After a monster season in 2009, Schaub has taken a step back in his production. Of course, it helps having Andre Johnson to throw to and Arian Foster to hand off to.
Schaub hasn't lived up to the hype that he carried into the season, but he's hardly the only one to blame for Houston's huge four-game skid.
He's on pace for over 4,000 yards, but big yards do not a top-end quarterback make. Especially not in today's NFL, where it seems even the low-end quarterbacks can cross that once-magical 4,000-yard plateau.
10. Joe Flacco
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If ever there were evidence that talented receivers can make a quarterback much more lethal, Flacco is it. He's had good numbers for his entire career to this point. This season, though, he's on pace for his highest totals in yards and touchdowns since he joined the Ravens in 2008, including passer rating, and excluding interceptions.
Of course, having a top-10 defense and a potent rush attack on his side helps, but there's no denying that Flacco has grown into one heck of a starting NFL quarterback that most teams would love to have on their side.
9. Eli Manning
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Manning projects for the highest totals of his career in every category. That includes interceptions, though. He'll have to take better care of the football if the Giants want to make a postseason run.
He also, however, benefits from one of the league's best rush attacks, one of the league's top defenses, oh, and some guy Hakeem Nicks who's having a monster season.
Most of the quarterbacks near the top of this list can lay claim to at least one of those, but all three?
8. Aaron Rodgers
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Rodgers' numbers haven't been good enough to earn him MVP consideration, but he's still managed to put up some very nice-looking stats.
Aside from the past couple of weeks, Rodgers hasn't had many dominant performances. If these past couple of games are any indication (590 yards, seven touchdowns, no interceptions in past two games) the Packers could become a very scary team for the stretch run.
He is, however, giving his team a chance to win just about every game and hasn't outright cost the Packers a game yet. He's also not getting sacked nearly as much.
7. Matt Ryan
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With the resurgence of the Atlanta Falcons comes a mish-mash of those responsible for their record. Michael Turner is having a great season, but Matt Ryan's play has been key in at least a couple of their wins.
His 92.9 passer rating and 2,518 yards are both good for the top-10 in the league, and are both on pace to shatter his career highs.
Yes, the Falcons are proving themselves to be one of the best teams in the NFC, but Matt Ryan has won a couple of games with clutch play, and is to thank for a large part of the team's success this year.
6. Ben Roethlisberger
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If Roethlisberger hadn't been suspended for the first four games of the season, he might have comparable statistics to Peyton Manning and Tom Brady. His 101.9 passer rating is third-best in the league at this point. He's also doing it with a banged-up offensive line.
He may have the support of a top-end defense, but there's no denying his abilities as a quarterback rank him among the best in the league.
5. Drew Brees
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Drew Brees has completed over 61 percent of his passes in every game this season so far. He has also thrown three more interceptions at this point in the season than he had all of last season.
With 2,969 yards and 22 touchdowns, though, Brees is still playing at a high level. Not quite the MVP level of the past few years, but he's also doing it without much of a running game, as both Reggie Bush and Pierre Thomas have been injured this season.
4. Peyton Manning
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I was prepared to put Peyton Manning in the No. 1 spot until his performance on Sunday. Sure, he worked his usual magic in games against the Patriots, with a fourth-quarter rally from down 17 points to within three.
This game, however, proved that this team will go as far as Peyton Manning takes them.
His 73 percent completions and 396 yards were both his second highest totals of the season, but he threw nearly as many interceptions (three) as he had all season up to Sunday (four).
Still, his numbers don't lie. He's one of the best in the league.
3. Tom Brady
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Brady boasts the fourth-highest passer rating at this point in the season with 100.6. He's proving that he can get it done even without Randy Moss streaking down the sideline, and his 19 touchdowns through 10 games put him on pace for 30, which would be his second-highest total of his career.
He's had his up games and down games. He's played the role of game manager and gunslinger, and has put together another very impressive body of work.
It's looking like it could be another MVP season, but either way it's another signature Tom Brady season.
2. Michael Vick
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Has anybody else noticed that Michael Vick still hasn't thrown an interception?
He hasn't started every game for the Eagles, and hasn't even crossed the 2,000-yard mark this season yet, but the extra dimension of his dynamic ability as a scrambler makes him uniquely valuable. He has 11 passing touchdowns and five rushing touchdowns.
Sure, his stats may not be as high as some others due to not starting every game, but Vick leads the league in passer rating. He is doing an incredible job of running Philadelphia's offense, and his return to greatness is the story of the year league-wide.
1. Philip Rivers
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Richard Goodman? Seyi Ajirotutu?
These are just a few of the no-names that have caught passes from Rivers this season in what's been an injury-riddled year at receiver for the Chargers.
In terms of pure passers in this league, Rivers is putting himself in the discussion of the best in the league. 3,177 yards and 23 touchdowns will do that for a person. Through 11 games, he's on pace to fall just one yard short of Dan Marino's single-season record for passing yards.
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