For the past 5 or 6 years the argument, when it came to who was the best quarterback in the game, has been between Tom Brady of the New England Patriots or Peyton Manning of the Indianapolis Colts. There’ve been a few others who have been mentioned in the discussion, usually for a season or two over that time, but none of the others has really been considered the best by anyone outside their own fan base. Drew Brees is always acknowledged as of the best but seldom is it suggested he’s better than anyone else. A few years ago Donovan Mcnabb was often placed near the top of the list. Carson Palmer’s been considered elite, maybe on the verge of greatness, but not in recent seasons. More recently Philip Rivers has been getting a lot of acclaim and has received strong consideration for league MVP. None of these other highly ranked quarterbacks have seriously been thought of as the best in the NFL.
Despite there being more good or even great QBs in the league in recent years than ever when anyone discusses who’s the best the conversation ends up as Brady vs. Manning. This is entirely predictable and reasonable. After all, Brady and Manning are the two most accomplished quarterbacks in the 21st century. Not by just a little bit either. Brady has led the Patriots to 3 Super Bowls, winning the MVP in 2 of those. He’s also been named the AP Offensive Player of the Year twice and NFL MVP twice as well as a 6 time Pro Bowl selection, amongst other awards. Peyton Manning has taken the Colts to a championship once but has been named NFL MVP 4 times, won the MVP in the Super Bowl win and has been selected for the Pro Bowl 11 times. Both their records speak for themselves. If you were trying to build an NFL team you could not go wrong having either Brady or Manning as your foundation.
The past few seasons there’s been another candidate for the position of best in the business and he’s been especially difficult to keep out of the conversation since winning the Super Bowl last season. Aaron Rodgers, the QB for the defending champion Green Bay Packers has been getting better and better since he became the starter 3 seasons ago, after having spent 3 seasons holding a clipboard while Brett Favre was trying to decide whether he wanted to play or not. Some would suggest he benefitted from having that long to study under someone as accomplished as Favre. I would counter that he was likely ready at least a season earlier and that Green Bay might have won a championship sooner if the texting one had stepped out of the way earlier.
At this point it’s clear to me that Rodgers has supplanted Brady and Manning as the preeminent QB in the NFL and not just because Manning hasn’t played this year. Brady’s had a terrific season and the Patriots offence is humming along as efficiently as ever. However, as good as Brady’s been, Rodgers has been better. His numbers tell you all you need to know. He has a completion percentage of over 70. His passer rating (in the albeit complicated and convoluted NFL QB rating) is far and away the best in the league. His yards per attempt is more than 6-tenths of a yard better than Brady who’s second and he’s thrown for 17 touchdowns while being picked off only 3 times. Those are pretty remarkable numbers.
Beyond statistics Rodgers simply brings a combination of skills that no other quarterback has. He has a cannon for an arm, he’s calm and cool under pressure, terribly sound when it comes to decision-making and he’s very athletic and mobile inside or outside the pocket. You could call him Michael Vick Lite (athletically speaking) with a brain. You could look at him as a Brady or a Manning with legs since neither of those guys has any mobility. The best comparison might be to call Rodgers Steve Young with a stronger arm. In any case, there is no other quarterback in the league who brings as much to the huddle as Aaron Rodgers.
Both Tom Brady and Peyton Manning may have been able to lay claim to the unofficial title of the best quarterback in the NFL at one time or another but neither can right now. Aaron Rodgers has surpassed them both and has the ‘belt’ to prove it.
No comments:
Post a Comment