Top Four 2008 NFL Quarterbacks

The NFL regular season is over and the playoffs have commenced. The best teams in the league are still standing and still competing. Hot teams have cooled off and cold teams have heated up. The road to the Super bowl is anybody’s guess at this point. It is usually at this point when players are at their very best, when they reach the pinnacle of their talent. Let us take this time to look at the NFL’s top four 2008 Quarterbacks.

4. Chad Pennington

It is my personal belief that every set of rankings in every sport should have at least one curveball thrown in, albeit a deserving curveball. Many people may argue against Pennington being placed as the fourth best QB in the league but what he did with that Miami team cannot be overlooked. Not enough has been said about this teams spectacular turn around and the fact that Chad Pennington was one of the major forces behind that turn around.

Miami’s leading receiver, Ted Ginn Jr., finished the regular season with an adequate 56 receptions for 790 yards. Although those are pretty solid numbers, they are no where near what the numbers of a number one receiver should be.

Despite Pennington’s lack of a dominant first option, he still compiled 3,653 passing yards at a 67.4% completion rate with 19 TDs and only seven picks, finishing second in the league in passer rating at a very impressive 97.4. Pennington, along with help from the coaching staff and front office, breathed life into this depleted franchise.

Twice the comeback player of the year, Pennington has shown that his finishes the season strong and is at his best come time for the playoff push. Chad Pennington is currently the fourth best QB in the NFL.

3. Drew Brees

Everyone has repeatedly heard about and viewed Drew Brees’ unbelievable season so I apologize for mentioning it once again…but it has to be done. Although the New Orleans Saints finished at a disappointing 8-8, their offense was once again as deadly as ever. The Saints finished first in the NFL in points scored and total offense largely due to the play of Brees.

The numbers he put up on this underachieving team are jaw dropping especially considering that many of his weapons were injured during the course of the season. No. 1 receiver Marques Colston missed five games, David Patten missed 11 games, and Reggie Bush missed six games.

Even with all of these impact players missing game time Brees still put up arguably the best season of his career. The New Orleans QB finished with an outstanding 5069 passing yards (second most in a single season in NFL history behind Dan Marino) at a 65% completion rate with 34 TDs (tied for most TDs this season) and 17 picks culminating in a forcible 96.2 passer rating.

5069 yards, are you f%@#ing kidding me?!

If the Saints can improve their defense considerably during the next few seasons look for Drew Brees and his lethal offense to be a serious playoff threat. Right now Drew Brees is the third best QB in the NFL.

2. Philip Rivers

The San Diego Chargers are dangerously hot right now and a lot of that can be attributed to the play of Philip Rivers. It is an NFL crime that Rivers did not make the Probowl with the type of season he has had. When push came to shove, Rivers shoved back hard, leading the Chargers to win four straight games to close out the season and narrowly secure a play off spot.

Despite an underachieving 8-8 record, the Charger’s QB composed his best season since entering the league. Rivers finished with 4009 passing yards (most in a single season in his career) at a 65.3% completion rate with 34 TDs (tied for most TDs this season) and 11 picks resulting in the leagues best passer rating standing tall at an excellent 105.5.

Rivers is taking full advantage of all the weapons at his disposal and is recently proving that the Chargers are a dangerous team. The team’s disappointing regular season record can mainly be blamed on their spotty defense, ranking 25th overall. Currently, Philip Rivers is the second best QB in the NFL.

1. Peyton Manning

Come on now, did you really think it was going to be someone else? Now I know the Colts were eliminated from the playoffs but that wasn’t Manning’s fault and his level of play this season simply can’t be ignored. Manning is not only a QB, he is also a coach on the field able to identify defenses and adjust the play to take advantage of mismatches.

Having Peyton Manning as your QB is like putting elite NFL talent into the body of Marty Shottenheimer or Bill Belichick (I know they’re old guys but you get the point!)  Manning is also facilitator, meaning that he has the unique ability to make every one around him better and improve the quality of his team single handedly.

Manning proved this by leading the Colts to win their last nine games of the season while completing 72% of his passes over that stretch! With QB play that good it is no wonder why he was awarded with his third MVP. Overall, Manning finished with 4002 passing yards at a 66.8% completion rate with 27 TDs and 12 picks emerging with a very good 95 passer rating.

Even with Marvin Harrison a few seasons deep into his decline, Peyton is still getting it done on the offensive side. The windows he puts balls through and the passes he completes are almost unreal. Peyton Manning is the best QB in the NFL.