Peter King>monday Morning Qb
 

Ranking all 32 QBs
Evaluating every NFL team at the most crucial position

The highlights:

• Manning's No. 1 (Surprise!): A year ago, I would have picked Tom Brady over Manning. But fair is fair. Manning beat Brady twice in 2006, won the Super Bowl and put all the can't-win-the-big-one stuff behind him. Now Peyton has the ultimate reward: being picked over Brady in the inaugural MMQB Ratings.

• I'd take Drew Brees over Carson Palmer if I were starting a team right now. Sacrilege! With fewer weapons and a similar comeback from serious injury, Brees has narrowly outplayed Palmer over the past two years, and I think it's a good bet he will again in '07.

• Want my upset specials in the top 10? Try Vince Young and Jon Kitna. Young's the most feared young player in football right now. More feared than Reggie Bush. He ran for nearly as many touchdowns last season (seven) as Mike Vick has rushed for in the last two (eight). And I put Kitna at No. 9 because, quite simply, he is the right trigger man for the Lions' offense. I believe he'll throw for 4,300 yards again.

• It's not that I don't like Donovan McNabb. I do. I just don't trust him to stay healthy. I rank the Eagles' QB 12th because I have no confidence that McNabb, at 30 and having missed a combined 13 games over the last two years, will be upright in December.

• Ben Roethlisberger 17th? What gives? From Year 1 to Year 2 of his career, his completion percentage dropped 3.7 points; from year two to three it fell 3.0 points. His TD-to-interception ratio, plus-eight in 2005, dropped to minus-five last season. He is profoundly inconsistent. I say he's a C-plus player until I see six or eight straight weeks of the same guy.

• Mike Vick's understudy will be better this year than Mike Vick. I've got Matt Schaub 19th and Vick 21st. Schaub's gobbling up Gary Kubiak's system this spring and I think he'll be an efficient, low-error player. I have no idea what Vick will be, or if the feds will let him finish what he starts with the dog-fighting probe progressing to a possible indictment this summer in his home state of Virginia. Vick is still far too inconsistent when throwing the ball ... stunningly so for a man with his talent.

• Eli Manning, who could playing for two jobs this year (his own and Tom Coughlin's), enters the pop charts at number 23. He'll need to be feistier and significantly more accurate, neither of which I am confident will happen, to save his career in the Meadowlands.

• Rex Grossman's got some improving to do. I hadn't seen such a low-performance passer in the Super Bowl since Trent Dilfer with the Ravens seven years ago. Quite frankly, I'm surprised the Bears didn't get some insurance at the position by drafting a youngster. I have Grossman 27th, fairly ridiculous for a first-round pick who started in the Super Bowl

QB Rankings (Stats combined from '05 and '06)
Rank Player Team Wins Playoff wins Yds/Att. Pct. Yards TD/INT Rush Yds. Intang. Age#
1. P. Manning Ind. 26 4 8.06 .660 8,144 +40 81 9 31
2. T. Brady NE 22 3 7.30 .624 7,639 +24 191 10 30
3. D. Brees NO 19 1 7.58 .644 7,994 +24 81 9 28
4. C. Palmer Cin. 19 0 7.65 .650 7,871 +35 78 8 27
5. M. Bulger St. L 10 0 7.54 .642 6,598 +21 73 6 30
6. M. Hasselbeck Sea. 20 3 7.20 .615 5,901 +18 234 8 31
7. V. Young* Tenn 8 0 6.16 .515 2,199 -1 552 7 24
8. P. Rivers* SD 14 0 7.27 .614 3,503 +12 48 7 25
9. J. Kitna * Det. 3 0 6.89 .622 4,307 -3 170 7 34
10. J. Cutler* Den. 2 0 7.31 .591 1,001 +4 18 5 24
11. T. Romo* Dall. 6 0 8.61 .653 2,903 +6 100 5 27
12. D. McNabb Phil. 9 0 7.66 .581 5,154 +19 267 7 30
13. S. McNair Bal. 17 0 6.58 .622 6,211 +9 258 5 34
14. B. Favre GB 12 0 6.37 .586 7,766 -9 91 8 37
15. C. Pennington Jets 11 0 6.83 .637 3,882 0 136 6 31
16. J. Delhomme Car. 19 2 7.19 .606 6,226 +14 43 8 32
17. B. Roethlisberger Pit. 16 4 8.00 .608 5,898 +3 167 5 25
18. M. Leinart* Ariz. 5 0 6.76 .568 2,547 -1 49 6 24
19. M. Schaub* Hou. 0 0 7.73 .560 703 +3 97 6 26
20. J.P. Losman* Buf. 8 0 6.68 .580 4,391 +5 294 6 26
21. M. Vick Atl. 15 0 6.30 .539 4,886 +9 1636 5 27
22. J. Garcia* TB 5 1 6.22 .604 2,246 +5 138 6 37
23. E. Manning Giants 19 0 6.49 .551 7,006 +13 101 4 26
24. T. Green Miami 14 0 7.60 .621 5,356 +5 141 8 37
25. A. Smith SF 9 0 6.20 .562 3,765 -10 250 6 23
26. J. Campbell* Wash 2 0 6.27 .531 1,297 +4 107 5 25
27. R. Grossman* Chi. 14 2 6.65 .543 3,452 +2 2 5 27
28. B. Leftwich Jax 11 0 6.77 .584 3,282 +12 108 5 27
29. J. McCown* Oak. 3 0 6.80 .604 1,836 -2 139 6 28
30. T. Jackson* Min. 0 0 5.86 .580 475 -2 77 4 24
31. C. Frye Cle. 6 0 6.20 .628 3,456 -8 275 5 26
32. B. Croyle* KC 0 0 3.29 .429 23 -2 -3 6 24

# Age at the start of the 2007 regular season.
*Has not spent the last two seasons as starter.

In the words of Tony Montana: "That's okay". Discount Bush, discount the Saints. We'll settle this in week 3.

As for his QB rankings, they were pretty good. I think Bulger's a little high, but all-and-all, they're spot-on.

I posted this mainly for a couple of reasons; first, look at Drew Brees numbers specifically 19 wins, 7.58 Yds/Att, .644 Pct., 7,994 Yards, +24 TD/INT, Intangibles 9, and age 28. Now look at Brady and Manning's numbers, compare all three QB'S and if you want to point at one main reason the Saints will soon win the Superbowl, it's having one of the best QBs in the league. Throw in Palmer, Bulger, and Hasselbeck, Drew Brees still ranks as the third best QB in the league, ranking higher than Palmer IMO, because he carried his team to Conference Championship Game. Second, what makes this special is those numbers are for the last two years combined. What people tend to over look is the fact that Drew Brees accumulated those numbers with two different teams a situation none of the other top five QBs had to endure. Brees being so young 28, and with a coach who trust and believes in him, I think he's destined someday to be named number 1 QB in the league, MVP, and Superbowl Champion.

I believe that if Brees has just as good a season as last year and we go on to win the Superbowl(That is a stipulation) He WILL be seen as the number one QB in the league, just because he would have gotten the ring. Manning was always seen as number two to Tom Brady because he didn't have a ring, and now he stepped up one slot in that ladder. Does it mean he wasn't better than Brady? NO! it just means the criteria for being a number ONE QB is a superbowl ring. Ask Marino. He will forever live in Elway's shadow.

Couldn't agree more. When Drew first came into the league, I was sceptical mainly because he wasn't playing well (duh). After his last season with SD he proved a lot of doubters wrong, including me. When I heard the news the Saints had picked him up I remember telling my buddy "Finally, we've got a real QB."

If Drew Brees have a spectacular year like he had last year, and either play in the Superbowl or win it(preferably win it), he will be look at as one of the best QBs playing the game today. But there's noway Brees will be look at as the number 1 Qb, that distinction when it's all said and done will belong to our New Orleans native Payton Manning. When Payton is done he will probably own every meaningful QB record in the NFL, and now that he have that elusive ring he can do no wrong, now don't misunderstand what I'm saying, I think if Brees can stay healthy, consistent, and in Coach Payton system for about five years with the weapons we have, Brees will no doubt be one the best in the business, even over taking Brady, but Manning is going to set that bar pretty high. You said Marino lives in Elway's shadow, but Elway will always live in the shadow of no other than Joe Montana. Payton is this generations Montana, I'm not saying he's Montana but every generation have a Montana, Elway, and a Marino, and Payton, Brady, Brees, and Palmer are the guys leading the pack. Between Brees, Brady, and Palmer, the Elway I think will be Brees, winner of multiple Championships(hopefully), but always living in that Payton shadow.

The reason elway was in montana's shadow was joe's clutch performance's in playoff's and sb's.If drew or anyone else matches that,they will becme the leader over manning or anyone else in their generation

Drew will be loved thats for sure.
Manning is loved and repect for completely different reasons than the ones listed here. He actually put his body one the line for team. Really! He had his chances to leave but kept signing back on with the saints and the fans. He got killed out there year in and year out. Kept coming back for more. The saints dumped all over him and sent him to the oilers of all teams after all he had done for us. This made him even more of a icon for the fan. We the fans feel we owe Him alot of extra love because of what he gave to US, THE FANS.
Sorry until someone else sacrifices as much as Archie did for this team he will never be replaced. A close second maybe but never above him. Archie stands for more than just wins and looses.

Perfectly said Hag!

No one will be greater than Archie. If you were not alive to see him play you may not understand the true reason for the love for Archie that older fans have for him. I know I cried the day my mom threw my Archie jersey away (because I had worn it slap out). I still have my black and white photo of me (age 8, no BS) and Archie.

Don't get me wrong, with one year under Drew's belt he has become "The Saints", but he will never be Archie. That's why Drew's number is 9. (figuretively)