NFL: Top 10 Active Quarterbacks

Many believe that the quarterback is the most important position in all of sports. He is responsible for taking command of the offense and touches the ball on every play.

Star quarterback Peyton Manning's injury opened the door for a slew of quarterbacks to gain more national exposure. The NFL has become a passing league and is stacked with talented and established quarterbacks.

10) Matt Stafford

Matt Stafford is off to an incredible start this season. Stafford has thrown for 16 touchdown passes and only 4 interceptions while having a passer rating of 95.5.

The issue with Stafford in his first two NFL seasons was his inability to stay on the field. He started only 13 games in his first two seasons while dealing with numerous injuries.

After seeing Stafford play this season, it is apparent he is an immensely talented player. He has great arm strength and because of his young age (23), he will continue to improve. If Stafford is able to stay healthy, he has a good chance of becoming one of the best quarterbacks in the league.

9) Matt Ryan

Matt Ryan has been playing well ever since his rookie year in 2008. He has improved the Falcons franchise mightily during his time with the team. The franchise struggled greatly following star quarterback Michael Vick’s arrest, until Ryan arrived in Atlanta and brought the franchise back to prominence.

For really the first time in his career, Ryan has really struggled in the early going this season. The quarterback has only thrown nine touchdown passes compared to eight interceptions and has a passer rating of 79.5.

Prior to this season however Ryan was among the most consistent quarterbacks in all of football. Last season he led the Falcons to a 13-3 record while throwing 28 touchdown passes and only nine interceptions.

8) Michael Vick

Michael Vick is the definition of a high risk high reward player. Vick is extremely injury prone because of his tendency to break the pocket and scramble.

When healthy, Vick is one of the most dynamic players in all of football. Vick can improvise and use his feet like no other active quarterback which poses a major threat to opposing defenses.

Last season Vick had by far the best season of his career. He finished second in the league’s MVP voting while throwing 21 touchdowns to just six interceptions, and added another 676 yards and nine touchdowns rushing.

7) Tony Romo

Tony Romo has had his share of forgettable performances. This season alone Romo has cost his team two wins through his poor second half play.

Despite his well documented late game struggles, Romo is an immensely talented quarterback. He has thrown for over 4000 yards in a season twice, and also sports an impressive career passer rating of 95.3.

Romo has had his share of late game heroics. He has 11 career fourth quarter comebacks and has orchestrated 12 game-winning drives. This season Romo led his team to game winning drives against the 5-1 49ers and the division rival Redskins.

6) Eli Manning

Eli Manning has always been overshadowed by the performance of his older brother Peyton. Now that Peyton is most likely done for the season, it’s time for Eli to get the praise he deserves.

Manning is one of the few active quarterbacks who have led their team to a championship. Eli wasn’t just along for the ride; he played extremely well down the stretch and during the playoffs for the Giants during their Super Bowl run.

This season Eli is off to a great start posting a 101.1 passer rating while leading an injury ridden Giants team to a 4-2 record, which is good for first place in the NFC East.

5) Philip Rivers

Phillip Rivers is off to a horrendous start this season. He has thrown for more interceptions than touchdowns and has struggled with consistency.

However, Rivers is unquestionably one of the most talented quarterbacks in the league. Despite having many of his best receivers injured last season, Rivers still managed to throw for 4700 yards and post a passer rating of 101.8.

Rivers is also an intense competitor evidenced by the 2007 AFC championship game when he played through a torn ACL. Even with Rivers poor play in the early going of this season; he is still considered one of the best quarterbacks in the league.

4) Ben Roethlisberger

Ben Roethlisberger may be the most underrated quarterback in the NFL. He has led the Steelers to three Super Bowl appearances in the past six seasons while winning two of them.

His strength and astonishing ability to fight off defenders and extend plays is a unique skill Roethlisberger possesses. He also has great arm strength that allows him to effectively through the ball down the field.

He is also known for his toughness and over the course of his career has battled through numerous injuries. He is not known for putting up gaudy numbers, but Roethlisberger holds a career passer rating of 92.7 and this season has a rating of 95.3 while throwing twice as many touchdowns as interceptions.

3) Drew Brees

Two years ago Drew Brees brought the city of New Orleans their first ever Super Bowl title.  The Saints were able to go all the way because of their extraordinary passing game built around Brees.

Brees is maybe the most précise quarterback in the game today having led the league in completion percentage the last two years. His precision and accuracy has made him one of the most reliable quarterbacks in the league.

Brees has thrown for over 4300 yards in each of the past five seasons, including a 5000 yard passing season in 2008. He has continued his aerial dominance this year while completing about 70% of his passes and throwing 18 touchdown passes through seven games.

2) Tom Brady

Tom Brady is debatably the best quarterback in NFL history. His resume includes three Super Bowl titles, two Super Bowl MVPs, and two regular season MVP awards.

Brady is known for his ability to do more with less than just about anyone in the league. Before Wes Welker came to the Patriots he was a subpar receiver  battling for playing time on the Miami Dolphins. Now Welker is one of the best receivers in all of football, being named All-Pro three times since joining the Pats.

Brady was the first ever unanimous MVP last season and has continued his success so far this year. The star quarterback has thrown for a league best 360 yards per game this season.

1) Aaron Rodgers

Rodgers has been on a roll ever since last year’s playoffs. He led an injury plagued Packers team to a Super Bowl title, and was named the game’s MVP.

Rodgers is currently the all time leader in career regular season and postseason passer rating.  He has a rating of 101.9 in the regular season and an incredible rating of 112.6 in the postseason.

This season Rodgers has completed over 70% of his passes while throwing 20 touchdowns and only three interceptions. The thing that sets Rodgers apart from other elite quarterbacks is his mobility and ability to throw on the run.