Top 10 NFL Quarterbacks

1. Aaron Rodgers-Green Bay Packers

The reigning NFL Most
Valuable Player is at the top of his profession. Rodgers won a Super
Bowl Title in 2010 and has stomped his way out of the shadow of Packer
legend Brett Favre. Rodgers finished 2011 with 45 touchdowns and six
interceptions which were video game type numbers. Those numbers would
have been higher if some of The Packer games last year were closer.
Rodgers led The Pack to their first 15-win regular season before
succumbing to The New York Giants in the playoffs. The Packers will once
again be title contenders again in 2012 and it has a lot to do with
Rodgers and his “discount double check”.

2. Tom Brady-New England Patriots

What got lost in the
shuffle last season is that Brady threw for over 5,200 yards and he
didn’t lead the league in that category. At first people wanted to
classify Brady as overrated and The Patriots only won because of the
defense. Now New England has transitioned from that with Brady leading
the way. For his career, Brady’s regular-season record is 124-35 which
can be almost be unmatched by any quarterback that has played this game.
Critics will look at the fact that he currently lost his last two Super
Bowl appearances, but when it is all said and done, people will
ultimately remember him for hoisting The Vince Lombardi trophy on three
occasions. John Elway is the only other quarterback to start in five
Super Bowls and Brady has a chance to make a sixth appearance.

3. Peyton Manning-Denver Broncos

I developed a new
respect for Manning last season when The Indianapolis Colts went from
being a perennial Super Bowl contender to claiming the first overall
pick in The NFL Draft. I expected The Colts to finish 6-10 without
Manning and that could have been deemed as respectable. Instead, Indy
couldn’t tackle, kick the football, and more importantly, the coaches
forgot how to coach. Manning was asked to do everything for The Colts as
the team never drafted a legitimate wide receiver after Reggie Wayne in
2001. Manning is four-time MVP that will further cement his legacy this
season in The Rocky Mountains for The Broncos.

4. Eli Manning-New York Giants

Eil Manning received
criticism last year when he considered himself to be an elite
quarterback. Manning followed that up by winning his second Super Bowl
Championship. I know people will look at this list and state the obvious
that Manning has more championships than his brother Peyton and Rodgers
and that he has defeated Brady twice in The Super Bowl. Rodgers right
now is the best at his position while Brady has done it so well for so
long and made it look easy at times. Peyton proved his worth last season
while not playing. That still cannot take away from what Eli has done
as he is “Mr. Fourth Quarter”. Eli has a great chance to make another
Super Bowl this year and if that is the case, he will the best in his
profession.

5. Drew Brees-New Orleans Saints

Brees can be this
year’s Peyton Manning if he doesn’t play. Brees is in the middle of a
critical contract negotiation with The Saints that will forever change
of him and the organization. Brees has done the impossible which is that
he has won in New Orleans which had a reputation of being a graveyard
for players. Brees has led The Saints to a Super Bowl Championship in
2009 and he has also thrown for over 5,000 yards in multiple seasons.
Brees set a single-season passing record last year with 5,476 yards
which surpassed Hal of Fame quarterback Dan Marino’s record of 5,084.
Not bad for a man that is six-feet tall and was told by most people that
he was too short to be a quarterback in The NFL.

6. Ben Roethlisberger-Pittsburgh Steelers

Roethlisberger
has seen his fair share of bumps and bruises and some of them have been
self-inflicted, but you cannot question his toughness or his ability to
make things happen on the football field. Roethlisberger reminds me of
Hall of Fame quarterback Sonny Jurgensen who had the ability to win
ugly. Roethlisberger has led The Steelers to three Super Bowls while
winning twice. Anyone who wants to question Big Ben’s ability only needs
to look at the last drive for The Steelers of Super Bowl 43 against The
Arizona Cardinals. Roethlisberger carved up The Cardinals defense which
eventually led to him finding Santonio Holmes for a six-yard touchdown
pass with 35 seconds remaining to secure The Steelers sixth Super Bowl
Title. Big Ben just finds a way to rack up the wins.

7. Philip Rivers-San Diego Chargers

Philip Rivers has
yet to taste Super Bowl glory, but he still is one of the best in the
game. The eight-year pro out of North Carolina State has four
consecutive seasons in which he has passed for over 4,000 yards. Rivers
has yet defeat either The Patriots or Steelers in the playoffs, but he
is 2-0 against Peyton Manning. Rivers threw 20 interceptions last season
and he will need to cut down on that number for The Chargers to return
to the playoffs for the first time since 2009. His throwing delivery is unorthodox, but he gets the job done.

8. Joe Flacco-Baltimore Ravens

Flacco has a decent
amount of critics, but the man has won five playoff games in his first
four seasons. As a team, The Ravens have found ways to self-destruct in
the postseason and the blame cannot be fully attached to Flacco. Flacco
is not a quarterback that will throw for 300 yards consistently, but he
is 44-20 as a starter in the regular-season. Flacco drove The Ravens
down the field for the potential game-winning touchdown against The
Patriots in last season’s AFC Championship. Flacco threw the ball right
to wide receiver Lee Evans for the potential game-winning touchdown that
was dropped and it was followed by kicker Billy Cundiff missing a
game-tying 32-yard field goal. You can’t blame Flacco for that.

9. Jay Cutler-Chicago Bears

Cutler was on his way to a
great career with The Broncos until Josh McDaniels became the head
coach in 2009. McDaniels’ desire to have another quarterback led to
Cutler being traded to The Bears. I know that Cutler led the league with
26 picks in 2009, but what help at the wide receiver position has
Cutler had since arriving in The WIndy City? Cutler has thrown to a kick
returner in Devin Hester and a bunch of fourth guys on the depth chart.
Former offensive coordinator Mike Martz got Cutler killed in the pocket
and his only dependable target in Pro Bowl tight end Greg Olsen was
traded to The Carolina Panthers before the start of last season for
peanuts.

Now Cutler has his former Bronco teammate Brandon Marshall to throw to
along with second-round pick Alshon Jeffery. Cutler and The Bears were
7-3 last year before a thumb injury shelved him for the rest of the
season. A healthy Cutler in 2012 should have The Bears back in the
playoffs.

10. Michael Vick-Philadelphia Eagles