NFC East 2011 Season-in-Review: Final Rankings for Division's Top QBs

If nothing else, the 2011 postseason taught us that as long as you have an elite quarterback, you can win a Super Bowl.

The New England Patriots made the big game almost solely due to elite play at the quarterback position. Meanwhile, though the New York Giants were a much-maligned group on defense for much of the season, they were able to get hot at the right time and rode a dominant postseason performance by Eli Manning to a trophy.

If the other NFC East teams want a chance at knocking off the Giants, it starts at the quarterback position.

So, how do the quarterbacks in the division rank out after 2011?

4. Redskins QB Rex Grossman

2011 stats: 265-for-458 passing (57.9 percent), 3,151 yards, 16 touchdowns, 20 interceptions, 72.4 passer rating / 11 yards rushing, touchdown, 8 fumbles

Was there any question Grossman would be at the bottom of this list? The only question for me was whether to put him or backup QB John Beck here instead.

Grossman's 74.9 passer rating in 2011 was lower than Tim Tebow, Colt McCoy and even Mark Sanchez on the season. 

Is it any wonder why the Redskins are in the market for Peyton Manning?

3. Eagles QB Michael Vick

2011 stats: 253-for-423 passing (59.8 percent), 3,303 yards, 18 touchdowns, 14 interceptions, 84.9 passer rating / 589 yards rushing, touchdown, 10 fumbles

It was another season marred by injury for the Eagles franchise quarterback, but it's hard to give him all the blame for the Eagles' disappointing season.

Perhaps he wouldn't have had to watch three games from the sideline if he had an offensive line that could protect for him and that didn't leave him with pressure in his face on almost every down. In fact, according to Pro Football Focus, he was under pressure on 199 of 500 passing plays (39.8 percent).

His performance this season wasn't awful, but it wasn't as good as the quarterbacks at the top of this list. That being said, he has developed a very disturbing trend in which he has failed to complete over 60 percent of his passes in every season but one (his 2010 season).

2. Cowboys QB Tony Romo

2011 stats: 346-for-522 passing (66.3 percent), 4,184 yards, 31 touchdowns, 10 interceptions, 102.5 passer rating / 46 yards rushing, touchdown, 7 fumbles

Tony Romo has put up some dazzling stats throughout his career. That being said, what he hasn't done is give his coaching staff the confidence they need in him to put the ball in his hands late in games. He did, however, lead four game-winning drives this season, so perhaps that's not totally true.

Even with playmakers across the board, the Cowboys offense ranked just 15th in the NFL in scoring with 23 points per game. Whatever the reason for that, it certainly wasn't Romo's performance in the red zone. He was 39-for-66 passing after the 20, with 18 touchdowns and no interceptions.

1. Giants QB Eli Manning

2011 stats: 359-for-589 passing (61.0 percent), 4,933 yards, 29 touchdowns, 16 interceptions, 92.9 passer rating / 15 yards rushing, touchdown, 9 fumbles

Yup, he's "eli[te]" all right. Even if it weren't for a Super Bowl XLVI win and subsequent MVP award, the Giants quarterback lived up to his word this season and put on a show by falling just 67 yards short of a 5,000-yard season. He also threw for 29 touchdowns against just 16 interceptions and took a step forward in nearly every stat except completion percentage and touchdowns.

That improvement, though, included a 7.6-point increase in passer rating from last year, as Manning moved from 85.3 to 92.9. It also included an increase in one full yard per attempt, as Manning went from 7.4 to 8.4 in this year's league-wide passing explosion.

With weapons like receivers Hakeem Nicks, Victor Cruz and Mario Manningham, as well as running back Ahmad Bradshaw and the various roleplayers in the offense, the future is bright for Eli, but so is the present.

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