Elite Quarterback Class

I try to be as unbiased as possible when viewing sports, but I found it difficult at times on Sunday to withhold myself from cheering from the Packers. Mostly because I was absolutely sick of people referring to Ben Roethlisberger as an elite quarterback in the weeks leading up to the super bowl. ESPN pundits were talking about Roethlisberger in the same category as Brady, Manning, and Brees which is absolutely ridiculous. Roethlisberger is a winner- that much we know. However, much of his success is due to the team's he has been on instead of his own merit. Remember the super bowl against the Seahawks when he was dreadful yet they still managed to win? Roethlisberger had the chance to earn the credit for this super bowl victory. He was one two-minute drill touchdown away. However, it was abundantly clear that he's not the type of quarterback with the capabilities to lead an effective two-minute drill. Calling Roethlisberger elite is like calling Jeter an elite shortstop in today's game. Yes, they're winners but the stats just don't measure up.

Brady, Manning, Brees. That was the elite class last year. Now I think you have to add 2 guys to that class of superstars- Rivers and Rodgers. Phillip Rivers took a Chargers team that was depleted from injury all year and churned out unbelievable statistics. He managed to post a quarterback rating that was second only to the MVP Tom Brady. He also led the league in passing yards with 4710. Rivers joined the elite class this year. The only knock on him is that the Chargers missed the playoffs, but that was due to many factors that Rivers had no control over.

Rodgers won the super bowl, so he is an obvious candidate to move into the elite category. Rodgers had the 3rd best QB rating this year, behind Brady and Rivers. It became evident in the playoffs that Rodgers has an absolute cannon of an arm. I remember thinking during the super bowl after his receivers dropped all those balls how he is becoming more and more similar to Favre. Favre often threw balls so hard that his WRs could not maintain possession of the ball. While causing WRs to drop balls isn't exactly a positive quality, it points to his tremendous arm strength. The accuracy was also there. He threw perfectly placed balls into tight spots of coverage. Everything Rodgers did during the game was near perfect- from the movement of his feet up to his arm. Rodgers has been playing at this level for two years now, and it took a super bowl victory for the majority of people to realize that Rodgers is one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL.

So tier 1 of quarterbacks has been extended this year to include Phillip Rivers and Aaron Rodgers.