Playoff Top Twelve: Quarterbacks

Usually the Top Twelve lists are reserved for those select Tuesdays when I can’t think of anything else to write about.  However, because of the NFL playoffs starting this weekend, I’ve decided to forego the convenient alliteration and even more convenient personal laziness to try and do a Top Twelve list each day this week, focusing on a different aspect of the twelve teams that are still alive in their pursuits to hoist the Lombardi Trophy next month.  As always, these lists are based entirely on fact.  Mere opinion plays no role whatsoever, so please don’t even attempt to dispute it.

Today, we’re going to start with quarterback–the most scrutinized position in all of sports.  This is not about debating the relative careers of these twelve guys.  It’s not even about debating their relative 2009 seasons.  This list is going to attempt to rank the 12 quarterbacks in order of who I would want (and trust in the upcoming month of playoff games) to have on my team right now.

This Year’s Top Twelve Playoff Quarterbacks

12). Mark Sanchez – Jets.  (Playoff record 0-0)  Not only is he a rookie on a 9-7 team that squeaked their way into the playoffs on their defense alone, but he didn’t exactly set the world on fire in his rookie campaign.  In fact, not only did Sanchez have the lowest QB rating of any playoff quarterback, but there were only four starting QBs in the league with a lower passer rating–Matthew Stafford and Josh Freeman, whose two teams combined for 5 wins, and Jake Delhomme and JaMarcus Russell, who both had HISTORICALLY bad seasons and ended up as pretty much the two laughingstock QBs of the league.  Other than those four, every other starting quarterback in the league had a better passer rating than Sanchez.  Number 12 was an easy choice.

11). Carson Palmer – Bengals.  (Playoff record 0-1)  To see Palmer as the “second-worst” quarterback on any list is pretty shocking and might make you think that these playoffs are pretty stacked with great quarterbacks.  That is true, but not because of Palmer’s placement at #11.  He, frankly, didn’t have that great of a year.  The team was very successful, but mostly on the heels of their defense and the league’s best running game.  Palmer was just average all year.  That’s not saying that he’s a weak spot of this Bengals team, just that, if I were choosing, the only QB I would take Palmer over is Sanchez, though it would be close between he and…

10). Joe Flacco – Ravens.  (Playoff record 2-1)  Sanchez, Palmer, and Flacco are probably the only three playoff quarterbacks that I would not consider “elite,” which should make for a great playoff season.  Flacco has been pretty good this year, but somewhat inconsistent (which is to be expected–remember, he’s still only two years removed from the University of Delaware).  Granted, his receiving corps has been, at best, ordinary this year, and Todd Heap is just not the player he used to be.  But the receivers aside, there is no doubt that without Ray Rice, this team would be making tee times instead of preparing for a playoff game in Foxborough.  Flacco is good, but not quite great–yet.

9). Tony Romo – Cowboys.  (Playoff record 0-2)  Here’s where the list gets pretty tough.  #6 – 9 were definitely the hardest to order for me, though Romo at #9 was probably the easiest placement of this group.  I am actually a big fan of Romo (his game, CERTAINLY NOT his team).  I think he gets too much flack for the Cowgirls December woes.  The guy can flat-out play, and I consider him an “elite” quarterback in this league.  But, I think that there are 8 QBs I would take in the playoffs this year because of consistency, experience, and overall talent.  Let us not forget that Troy Aikman was the last Dallas quarterback to win a playoff game–and I was in 11th grade.

8). Kurt Warner – Cardinals.  (Playoff record 8-3)  I hate the Warner Hall of Fame debate because those who are in favor of his Hall of Fame candidacy have some really, really good points, and I just don’t see it.  I have no real argument against it other than the “smell test,” in that I never thought, while watching Warner, that I was watching one of the all-time great quarterbacks, just that I was watching some of the all-time great offenses/offensive systems.  But, that is a debate for another time.  Warner is certainly a top-level quarterback and I would, by a nose, rather have him than Romo, based purely on the fact that he has done it before in the playoffs.  However, his inconsistency and proneness to the turnover leads me to trust him less than the 7 guys I have higher on this list.  Also, you have to take into account the fact that he has two of the best wideouts in the league catching his passes.  Imagine any of these other guys throwing to Fitzgerald and Boldin.

7). Donovan McNabb – Eagles.  (Playoff record 9-6)  We all know that I have become more and more of a “McNabb Apologist” in my later years here, but I think I analyzed this one rather objectively (especially considering how much I dislike #6 and could have easily tried to justify McNabb over him).  There are legitimate arguments that this year’s Eagles offense is the best offense in franchise history (not sure where I stand on that, personally), and with Westbrook’s concussions issues, McNabb has become the clear centerpiece of this offense.  And, he has done it all year with a rookie running back and a bit of a pieced-together offensive line.  Donovan has had one of the best years of his Hall of Fame career.  And, despite never winning a Super Bowl, has won countless playoff games in his career, so he has “playoff experience.”  However, he is a bit inconsistent at times–though, not inconsistent in the way Romo and Warner are, in that their bad games are 4 interceptions at terrible times–so it’s hard to argue that he is any better of a quarterback today than any of the top four.  And, let us not forget that he has lost 4 NFC Championship Games, and 3 of which were against teams that were clear underdogs, so he has to slip behind #5 and #6 because they have proven they can win when it counts.

6). Brett Favre – Vikings.  (Playoff record 12-10)  If the Eagles had won yesterday, Favre would have definitely been below McNabb and probably Romo on this list, for me.  The reason for that is that he would be staring at a cold, outdoor game in the Divisional Round.  But, now that the Vikings have won the 2-seed (coupled with the Saints at #1), Favre will not play another outside game until the Super Bowl–in Miami.  And, as much as I don’t like to admit it, the old guy has really had a terrific season.  He was pretty bad down the stretch, so there are questions about his endurance, but it’s hard to say that you’d rather have any of the first 6 guys I mentioned over a guy who has made big plays his entire career.  It hurts me to put him ahead of McNabb, but I do trust Favre more than McNabb in these playoffs, the way they have broken.

5). Tom Brady – Patriots.  (Playoff record 14-3)  No matter what people say, I’m convinced that Brady is either hurt, physically, or still has lingering issues stemming from last year’s knee injury.  He just does not look the same as the Brady that we last saw, throwing for 50 touchdowns.  That being said, I would still go to war, any day, with Tom Brady as my quarterback.  Many playoff games come down to a two-minute drive to win or tie the game, and there are very few QBs in NFL history that do that better than Brady.  Because of his struggles this year, I could not justify putting him into the upper-upper echelon (which the top 4 on this list most certainly belong), but after those four, there is no doubt that I’m taking Brady–injury or not.

4). Aaron Rodgers – Packers.  (Playoff record 0-0)  And, now we enter the stratosphere of NFL quarterbacks.  In my opinion, there were four quarterbacks who seemed to be playing a different game than everyone else this year and, not surprisingly, they are all in the playoffs.  Maybe because the O-line was so poor this year.  Or, maybe because the focus from that division was so much on the successes (Favre) and failures (Cutler) of other quarterbacks in the division.  Or, maybe it’s simply the fact that the guy has never played a playoff game in his career.  But, for some reason, people don’t seem to mention Aaron Rodgers when they discuss the best quarterbacks in the NFL right now.  And, I think that that’s crazy.  The guy threw for over 4,400 yards and 30 touchdowns this year.  His wideout corps is good, but I wouldn’t say it’s great.  Ryan Grant is a solid back, but nothing to really lean on.  The O-line is one of the worst pass-protecting lines in all of football.  And, throw into the mix of playing in freezing temperatures and trying to live up to the hype of being the guy who just happened to replace the greatest quarterback ever for a storied franchise, WITH that guy just happening to be playing for a division rival.  And, if the face of all of that, Rodgers has done it week in and week out.  Aaron Rodgers, ladies and gentlemen, has arrived.

3). Philip Rivers – Chargers.  (Playoff record 3-3)  At first, I had Rivers #2, but then I thought more about it and realized that I was probably just trying to be controversial, though I do think that it’s VERY close between #2 and #3.  But, I’m sticking with Rivers at #3.  But, let us not lose sight of the fact that all those things that I said about Aaron Rodgers in the above paragraph also apply to Mr. Rivers, and then some.  Not sure if there is any doubt left that Philip Rivers is, clearly, one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL.  He has been so good for several years now, that it’s about time that we include Rivers among the upper-upper echelon of QBs in this league (and, yes, there is no question that he is better than Eli Manning, for whom he was traded–which is awesome).  And, though it may not seem like it, Rivers has actually played in six playoff games in his brief career (3-3), including leading his team to the AFC Championship Game two years ago and upsetting the Colts in Indy last year.  So, his playoff pedigree is a bit more developed than it may seem because he is still on the upslope of his career.  I would trust Rivers, and I would ride Rivers as far as he takes me.  Hell, I almost put him ahead of…

2). Drew Brees – Saints.  (Playoff record 1-2)  Then I came to my senses.  While Rivers is fantastic and had, arguably, an even better year than the historic year put up by Brees, if we were to compare the talent around Rivers to the talent around Brees, it is pretty obvious that if they switched spots, I think the Chargers would not be any worse, while the Saints would certainly be.  Despite the late season struggles, Drew Brees put together one of the best seasons I have ever seen from a quarterback.  That offense, when rolling, is unstoppable–and it’s not like they are flooded with “weapons.”  Plus, it is almost impossible to discount the “emotional” factor that Brees exhibits upon his team.  He is clearly their leader, in every way, and though it was 3 losses ago, let us not forget that the Saints were 13-0 before they clinched homefield advantage.

1). Peyton Manning – Colts.  (Playoff record 7-8)  Pretty anticlimactic, huh?  Is there any question that every team in the league would rather have Peyton as their quarterback than the one they currently have heading into these playoffs?  No.  Manning has elevated an already legendary career to new heights as he continues to improve.  His leadership is no longer in question.  His 4th quarter performance is no longer in question.  No part of his physical play of the position is in question.  The only possible chick in the armor might be his playoff performances.  If you take out the one run to the Super Bowl title, Peyton is only 3-8 in playoff games.  And, though most of those losses were in the beginning of his career, when he wasn’t quite as precise as he is now, let us not forget that the Colts were 12-4 and riding an 11-game winning streak into their home playoff game last year and they lost to Philip Rivers’ Chargers.  I’m not saying that I’m concerned, I’m just saying that if they lose a home game again this year in the divisional round, will those questions start to come up again, even about a QB as seemingly infallible as the great Peyton?  Either way, he’s The One for the 2010 playoffs.