There are going to be thousands of articles, stories and features covering pretty much every angle of the Super Bowl in the next two weeks that I would rather leave to others. There is one subject that I want to touch on before taking the next week to catch up on other things happening around the sports world before diving into the Super Bowl coverage full throttle next week. That subject is one that I enjoy talking about the most in sports - the quarterback position. In particular, are we seeing a changing of the guard at the top of the NFL’s pecking order?
Sure, Peyton Manning led his team to the Super Bowl just a year ago and Tom Brady just completed what is soon to be another MVP season, but Manning and Brady will be 35 and 34-years-old, respectively, when the season begins next year (I guess at this point we need to start saying IF THE SEASON BEGINS NEXT YEAR). Clearly each has a few great years left in him and if Brett Favre is an example with his career year at the age of 40, maybe even another five or six years of very productive football left. Needless to say, however, both have seen their youth and, most likely, the peak of their physical abilities in the rear-view mirror.
Tom Brady and his Patriots have lost their last three postseason contests, including two of those at home. Peyton Manning owns a career losing record in the playoffs, also suffering defeat in his last two outings. Both have time to add to their unbelievable legacies, and the race to be called to the greatest of all time is still on, but the windows for these all time greats could perhaps be starting to narrow. The Colts look like a team that needs a good amount of roster work to get back to their Super Bowl level of last year. Meanwhile, while it is true that the Patriots look very well positioned for the future, let’s not forget that Brady is already working on one surgically repaired knee and as the Jets playoff game showed, he can be a sitting duck in the pocket.
I am in no way trying to minimize the accomplishments of two, if not the two, greatest quarterbacks of all time. Words don’t do justice to the greatness of the two quarterbacks, and as of today I would consider each of their teams to be on the short list of Super Bowl favorites for next year because of them. I am simply stating that we may finally be seeing a changing of the guard as the premier NFL QBs of today. To illustrate…
Ben Roethlisberger is not yet 29 and Aaron Rodgers just recently turned 27. Both are just entering what has become the historical peak years for a quarterback of 28-34 years old, and in Rodgers case he has not even hit that magic number yet.
I have long maintained that Roethlisberger would be #3 on my list of top NFL quarterbacks and it may now be time to start including him in the conversation with Manning and Brady. In seven years, Roethlisberger has now won two Super Bowls with a chance at a third, been to four AFC Championships, is the owner of a 10-2 career postseason record, a 69-29 regular season record and a career passer rating of 92.5, good for 8th all-time. Did I mention that he is only entering what are believed to be a quarterback’s peak years? Did I mention that stats only tell half of the story with Roethlisberger, a guy who keeps plays alive with his legs and always seems to elevate his play when the game is on the line as evidenced by his 19 comeback victories including his best comeback in Super Bowl XLIII?
As for Rodgers, it is still entirely too early to put him on the level of Manning, Brady or even Roethlisberger at this point historically, but it is becoming harder and harder not to recognize the Hall of Fame talent he is working with. On top of that career passer rating list sits Rodgers at 98.4, ahead of legendary names like Young, Montana, Marino and the aforementioned three greats of today. Rodgers play this postseason has been nothing short of greatness and that play, combined with last year’s performance in the shootout loss to the Cardinals, has Rodgers on top of the career postseason passer rating list as well. Rodgers has a long way to go historically to be mentioned in the same breath as Manning and Brady, but it is almost impossible to argue that he is not playing on the same level as those guys today.
In today’s modern era, with linebackers and defensive ends running 4.5 second forty-yard-dashes and defensive schemes becoming ever more complex, it has become almost essential for quarterbacks to make plays with their legs, both running the football and getting outside the pocket to make plays down the field with their arms. No one performs this aspect of the position better than Roethlisberger and Rodgers, not even Michael Vick who is more of a runner than a scrambler. What Brady and Manning have on the young guns in terms of reading defenses and quick releases, Rodgers and Big Ben more than make up for with their play-making abilities. I mention this only as further proof that it is possible a changing of the guard is taking place. We watched Manning and Brady being hit play after play against the Jets who knew where they would be in the pocket, then watched as Roethlisberger made the two biggest plays of the second half by avoiding rushes and getting outside of the pocket. As this era continues to progress, it will become more essential for quarterbacks to have this escape ability, and both Rodgers and Roethlisberger excel in this regard.
At the end of the day, Peyton Manning and Tom Brady are two of the greatest quarterbacks of all time and are still probably the best two quarterbacks of today. The day is coming, however, that will not be the case and my guess is that this Super Bowl is a preview as to who their two replacements will be as we carry on the argument for the NFL’s best quarterback.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
TPQ, Love when you get into Quarterback posts and asked you awhile back to give us your list! It is a hot topic for debate, one of the best in sports. As the proverbial cranky old guy on here (which I would lose that title if your dad ever blogged), I submit that Big Ben is not the first Q to make plays with his feet. Unitas, Bradshaw, Staubach, Montana, Theisman,Elway,Tarkenton,Cunningham,Stabler, and I can go on!I also submit that it has never been easier to play the position(although I do believe it still to be the toughest in major sports) with miked helmets,playbooks on the wrist, free-running receivers, and passing routes that are so much shorter and designed since the late 80s to increase passing efficiency.Again, and with that being said, Brady,Manning and Big Ben still would be very high on my list but somewhere after Montana, Elway,Unitas, and maybe Marino,Bradshaw, and a few others.Thanks TPQ, great topic and blog, and looking forward to your rebuttal. I will keep an open mind! Haha!
ReplyDeleteIt may be easier in many respects as you point out, but there has never been more on a quarterback's plate. The defensive schemes have become ever more complex, passing plays include three or four reads instead of just one or two, QBs are responsible for calling audibles at the line and the complexity of offensive systems have never been greater.
ReplyDeleteI do think the passer rating statistic makes comparing historical QBs to modern day QBs a bit tough, but that's mostly because the intelligence of the game has improved so dramatically. Just as linebackers and lineman are bigger than ever, wide receivers and d-backs faster than ever, QBs are smarter and more polished passers than ever. Simply put, the play of the quarterback position as a whole is better than it has ever been.
Comparing quarterbacks, just like any position or any sport really, across eras is an impossible task. I always think to judge the greatness of a player in historical terms that you have to judge them against their contemporaries. In those regards, many of the HOF names you mention are certainly on the short list of greatest QBs ever. My personal list would have Manning at the top, followed by Montana at #2 and Brady, Elway and Unitas rounding out the top 5 in some order. I would have to look at it much more closely to assemble an actual order.
Two guys that I think are a bit overrated historically speaking, and this wouldn't make many in Pittsburgh very happy, are Bradshaw and Marino. Both were all-time greats and deserving of their spots in the HOF and on the list of top 10 or 15 of all -time, so this is certainly no knock on them, but neither qualify to me in the GOAT discussion.