Michael Vick, Eli Manning Among 5 Overrated NFL Quarterbacks

Yesterday, I wrote a piece about five NFL quarterbacks who are underrated.

Today, it’s time to take a look at the other end of the spectrum—five quarterbacks who are overrated.

Keep in mind, most of these guys are good NFL quarterbacks. They are overrated in that most people consider them great quarterbacks.

This list is composed mostly of second-tier guys who get grouped with the first-tier QBs and shouldn’t be.

So, without further ado, here are the top-five overrated quarterbacks in the NFL.

5. Michael Vick, Philadelphia Eagles

Vick is overrated the most by his own team.

There’s no way he’s worth $100 million at this point in his career. He’s too injury-prone to play at this level for much longer.

And, if he didn’t have DeSean Jackson, Jeremy Maclin and LeSean McCoy to help him out, there’s no way he would have been able to grab a $100 million contract.

He’s good, but that $100 million should have been split between the other three key offensive weapons to make sure they stick around for the long term.

4. Eli Manning, New York Giants

Manning turns the ball over too many times to be an elite NFL quarterback.

While he’s not as bad as last year’s 25 interceptions, he’s not as good as 2008’s 10 interceptions.

He’s about a 16-interceptions-per-year guy. And he's good for seven fumbles a year as well, according to his career averages.

Granted, he’s certainly better than any other option the Giants have at this point. I’m just saying I wouldn’t be thrilled with another 10 years of Eli Manning if I was a Giants fan.

3. Matt Schaub, Houston Texans

There’s no reason Schaub shouldn’t rank higher in the NFL in passing touchdowns and QB rating every year given the Texans' dynamic offense.

Despite having Andre Johnson (arguably the best WR in the NFL) and Arian Foster (the best RB in the NFL in 2010), Schaub’s offense only ranked ninth in points per game.

He finished fourth in total passing yards in 2010, but couldn’t make that translate into touchdowns, throwing for only 24 TDs (12th-most in the NFL).

As far as making the playoffs, that was mostly the defense’s fault in 2010, but in 2011, it’s going to rest heavily on Schaub’s shoulders.

2. Matt Ryan, Atlanta Falcons

Ryan is a decent quarterback, but he’s not elite.

He’s great when his team is playing with a 14-point lead, like the Falcons did for most of 2010.

But, if a team needs a couple of quick scores to get back in a game, Ryan isn’t the guy.

Despite having Roddy White, Tony Gonzalez, Michael Turner and now Julio Jones at his disposal, Ryan can’t make explosive plays often enough to be an elite NFL QB.

1. Matt Cassel, Kansas City Chiefs

Seriously, how did this guy land a 6-year/$63 million contract?

If he didn’t have Dwayne Bowe to throw to in Kansas City and the best running back duo in the NFL, he’d be nothing.

I’m not entirely sure what general manager Scott Pioli saw in Cassel during his days in New England, but whatever it was didn’t follow him to Kansas City.

The Chiefs aren’t going to win very many playoff games with him as their quarterback.