“The Top 32 Quarterbacks in the NFL” (Ramsey #29)

[rv581]

from www.laststory.com

“The Top 32 Quarterbacks in the NFL”

1) Brett Favre (Green Bay Packers): He’s the last man standing from the golden era of NFL quarterbacks, having seen contemporaries like Steve Young, Troy Aikman, John Elway, Jim Kelly, Warren Moon, and Joe Montana pass into retirement. Incredibly tough and still the owner of a Howitzer arm, Favre remains the gold standard for NFL quarterbacks.

2) Rich Gannon (Oakland Raiders): An old man who plays young, Gannon is still widely ignored by the mainstream media, but for the past several years has ranked among the very best in the NFL. Surprisingly athletic for a greybeard, Gannon is the one indispensable piece to the Raiders’ Superbowl puzzle.

3) Peyton Manning (Indianapolis Colts): Still more inconsistent than one would like, he’s at the forefront of the NFL’s new generation of gunslingers. A tough, hard working kid, Manning has struggled some without a healthy Edgerrin James, but he’s still recognized as an elite talent and the man Indy will build around for the next decade.

4) Brad Johnson (Tampa Bay Buccaneers): He has the résumé of a journeyman, but like Gannon, has developed into a deadly field general with remarkable poise and leadership. And perhaps not coincidentally, both Gannon and Johnson had the same mentor in Jon Gruden. He’s quietly putting together an MVP season.

5) Donovan McNabb (Philadelphia Eagles): The success of the Eagles without McNabb has actually downgraded his perception league-wide—perhaps McNabb isn’t the indispensable difference-maker people thought. Still, he’s a wonderful athlete and a much improved thrower who’s on his way to a Hall of Fame career.

6) Kurt Warner (St. Louis Rams): After setting the NFL ablaze in his improbable debut several years back, Warner struggled mightily this past season with shoddy play and injuries. Still, even a handful of “down” games shouldn’t cause the public to forget that Warner is an accurate thrower with two Superbowl appearances in his short career. As the Rams’ offensive line improves, so will Kurt Warner.

7) Drew Bledsoe (Buffalo Bills): A change of scenery has done wonders for Bledsoe, as few now doubt which Patriot quarterback from a year ago was the superior talent. He still throws too many interceptions, but is back on the path of a Hall of Fame career. If he can lead the Bills to a Superbowl within the next few years, his seat in Canton is assured.

8) Jeff Garcia (San Francisco 49ers): He’s consistently performed at a Pro Bowl level for the past several years, despite an abundance of natural ability. He’s in the Doug Flutie mold, getting by on intangibles rather than physical talent. A confident player with great scrambling ability, he’s taken the mantle bestowed by Montana and Young.

9) Steve McNair (Tennessee Titans): In truth, the Titans expected McNair to be on the level of a Donovan McNabb and he’s never really reached such heights. Still, he’s an amazing leader and tougher than a bucket of nails. He runs and throws with superior ability, although he doesn’t always make quick decisions in the pocket.

10) Chad Pennington (New York Jets): After spending several years on the bench learning plays, Pennington has emerged as a seasoned student of the game and an elite quarterback in his own right. Not too many teams have the courage to keep a first rounder on the sidelines, but the Jets are reaping the benefits of this wise decision.

11) Michael Vick (Atlanta Falcons): Perhaps the greatest physical talent to play quarterback in NFL history, Vick is developing about as quickly as Reeves could have hoped. He has the arm-strength of John Elway and the foot-speed of Deion Sanders. If he can fine-tune his pocket-passing skills, he could become the Michael Jordan of the NFL and dominate the next decade.

12) Trent Green (Kansas City Chiefs): Another one of Dick Vermeil’s reclamation projects, Green—now healthy—is playing with Favre-like poise and confidence. Vermeil seems to be gearing for a Superbowl run in 2003 and Trent Green will be one of the pivotal cogs in the engine.

13) Aaron Brooks (New Orleans Saints): A frustratingly hot-or-cold quarterback, Brooks is very similar to Steve McNair, but with a greater instinct to gamble. He has the surrounding cast: a quality offensive line, a good young running back, and two talented receivers in Horn and Stallworth. If he continues to progress, the Saints’ offense could mirror the ’99 Rams in 2003.

14) Tom Brady (New England Patriots): Still a young, inexperienced quarterback, Brady hasn’t quite ironed out all the kinks, but has already established himself as an above-average talent and his arrow is still pointing up. The product of hard work and dedication, his recent success hasn’t caused him to loose sight of his priorities.

15) Mark Brunell (Jacksonville Jaguars): Age and injuries are taking their toll, as is a team that’s routinely decimated by injuries and personnel turnover, but Markk Brunell continues to be the glue holding the Jaguars organization together. A gritty veteran whose headed for the twilight of his career, he’s still a playoff-worthy competitor.

16) Kerry Collins (New York Giants): His fumbling woes and embarrassing departure from Carolina earned Collins a negative stigma, but he’s still an elite talent and a very good quarterback. When he plays within himself, he’s capable of beating any team in the league and has quietly putt together a quality season at the helm in the Big Apple.

17) Daunte Culpepper (Minnesota Vikings): A breakout sophomore season was followed by mediocre and disappointing junior and senior campaigns. His performances are wildly unpredictable and inconsistent. He’s a mammoth talent with a terrific arm, but needs to channel his efforts more routinely.

18) Marc Bulger (St. Louis Rams): An impressive debut after taking over for Kurt Warner, Bulger is emerging atop trade rumors and NFL front office wish lists. He’s shown an ability to move the football and avoid errors, but is he a product of Martz’s wizardry or an NFL-caliber talent with the ability to lead a franchise?

19) Tim Couch (Cleveland Browns): A former #1 overall draft pick, Couch hasn’t been able to turn the corner and dominate games. He’s still an impressive athlete with good poise and touch, but seems to fall short with a disconcerting regularity. The Browns aren’t ready to give up on him… but with all the punishment he’s received these past few years, is he ready to give up on the Browns?

20) Jay Fiedler (Miami Dolphins): An intelligent player who quickly learned Norv Turner’s offense, Fiedler’s best friend has become a resurgent Ricky Williams. He’s at his best when he serves as a caretaker rather than playmaker, for he lacks the overall ability to dominate games on his own.

21) Brian Griese (Denver Broncos) Seemingly on the outs in Denver, Griese is a talented young player with a nice upside and has a future in the NFL as a starter. Not a natural leader and rumored to have trouble with alcohol, a change of scenery could do wonders for this quarterback.

22) Jon Kitna (Cincinnati Bengals): Has actually played fairly well for the perennial cellar-dwellers, his hot hand could preclude the Bengals from drafting a quarterback in the first round. He’s probably better suited to be a backup than starter, but his recent performances would indicate otherwise.

23) Tommy Maddox (Pittsburgh Steelers): The Kurt Warner of the 2002 season, Maddox has displayed some decent zip and generally manages a game much better than the player he replaced, Kordell Stewart. It’s still too early to tell if Maddox is a flash in the pan or good enough to be the starting QB for Pittsburgh for the next three-or-so years.

24) Kordell Stewart (Pittsburgh Steelers): He followed his breakout 2001 campaign by making awful decisions, losing confidence in his ability, and being demoted. He needs to be coddled by an offensive coordinator who can scale-down a game plan and minimize the potential for mistakes. We wonder what would happen if Stewart could hitch his wagon to Norv Turner’s playbook…

25) Matt Hasselbeck (Seattle Seahawks): He’s played well for Mike Holmgren of late and shows signs of becoming the top-tier player Seattle projected when they parted with a first round pick for his services. He posts quality statistics and ranks among the better quarterbacks in the NFC numerically, but these numbers don’t always translate into on-field success.

26) Drew Brees (San Diego Chargers): A young player without many gifts, sans his intellect, generalship, and feel for the game. As such, he’s a good fit for a run-first, throw-second style of offense. A major concern is his head coach, Marty Schottenheimer, who has a knack for undermining a quarterback’s confidence.

27) Chad Hutchinson (Dallas Cowboys): A tall, imposing quarterback with a cannon for an arm, “Hutch” is old for a rookie and lacks a good feel for the flow of a game. He’s a tough player, but not as accurate as his coaching staff would like. He’s still very much of a work in progress.

28) Joey Harrington (Detroit Lions): An irregular heartbeat ended this rookie’s season, but he showed signs of being capable of becoming “The Man” in the Motor City. A superb on-field leader, he makes up for his less-than-overwhelming arm with a cool wit and instincts. He has the tools to be a long-time NFL starter.

29) Patrick Ramsey (Washington Redskins): Ideal in terms of size and arm-strength, Ramsey had one breakout game and a bunch of inconsistent efforts. He should be given every opportunity to emerge as the starter for the ‘Skins in 2003, but will need to study hard in the offseason—and Spurrier will need to be patient.

30) David Carr (Houston Texans): Carr has taken an unbelievable beating this past season, and the best you can say is that he’s taken his lumps like a man. Playing behind a horrendous offensive line, Carr is fortunate to still have his health. But he’s making progress and still has a laser-sharp arm. He has a bright future in this league… if he can avoid getting killed in the meantime.

31) Jake Plummer (Arizona Cardinals): Once viewed as an up-and-coming young talent, Plummer hit a plateau and then a sharp decline. He makes terrible decisions and can’t seem to follow a consistent game plan. It seems as if he’s given up on the Cardinal franchise—and the Cardinal franchise has given up on him.

32) Rodney Peete (Carolina Panthers): Peete played surprisingly well for the over-matched Panthers, showing he still has a little tread left on his tires. At his age, he probably can’t make it through another season unscathed, but still has the ability to step in and win games in the NFL.

[DeathByLinebacker]

I'm sorry, but Favre is overrated at this point in his career. I've seen GB lose more than one game this year largely because of poor play by Favre. He's still good and on some days great, but he's not the best in the league anymore.

[Dirk Diggler]

Nope. Do you think we can trade Ramsey for Hutch, Kordell, or Fiedler? No???? How bout Jon Kitna??? We gotta get rid of this inconsistent Ramsey guy. Rookies are supposed to throw for 30 TD's and have 105 QB ratings. What a bust...

[Atlanta Skins Fan]

Harrington and Hutchinson may yet become top NFL QBs, but their performance in 2002 was demonstrably below that of Patrick Ramsey. (So was Carr's performance, but the writer also saw it that way.)

Harrington had a QB rating of 59.9, with 5.3 YPA.

Hutchinson had a QB rating of 66.3, with 6.2 YPA.

Carr had a QB rating of 62.8, with 5.8 YPA.

Ramsey had a QB rating of 71.8, with 6.8 YPA. If you throw out the two INTs Ramsey got in his single-play Hail Mary relief appearances, Ramsey's QB rating is 75.5.

Probably all four guys will end up being good NFL QBs. But you'd have to grade Ramsey the best on 2002 performance.

[chiefhogskin48]

Ramsey is extremely underrated it seems. After the two debacles at the beginning of the season, he has played very well in rookie terms. Hutch would be 31 on my list.

[chiefhogskin48]

ASF, I totally agree. Also, Ramsey is running a much less dumbed down offense. I have watched the other rookie QBs extensively (except Carr), and their passing is mostly of the dumpoff/screen variety with only a few downfield attempts. Other than the Eagles game, Spurrier has run the offense in the same manner as he did when Wuerffel and Matthews were in.

[Yomar]

what is up with all these lists from this site? Lists are for shopping...and deciding draft picks.

[Riggo-toni]

Pennington should be even higher on this. Isn't he the league's leading passer?

[Eparadox]

Bulger?? Gimme a break? If you stick Ramsey in that offense he'd have over a 100 rating, and he's a rookie.

[Tay]

Ramsey would have been higher if he started more this year. They already think he is better than Carr. Spurrier knows what Ramsey can do, so that is all that matters.

[Henry]

I think Harrington and Hutchinson are rated higher because they were out on the field more. Ramsey saw what, four starts in six games? So the sportswriters saw more of those other two than they did of Ramsey. Big deal. I'd still take Ramsey at this point.

[Henry]

Also, with Pittsburgh getting two names on the list one team's starter was left off. I think it was Chicago.

[bulldog]

based on what he accomplished in 2002, Kurt Warner does not belong on this list. His season reminded me a lot of Mark Rypien's 1992 season. Hurt, then ineffective for long stretches with the magic seemingly gone................

Jon Kitna is not an NFL starting quarterback. Period. To put him ahead of anyone else on that list is a joke.

I except Ramsey from this list because he was not the starter for the Redskins in the majority of their games. In fact he only started a quarter of the games. How you can make a value judgment about a player in 4 games is beyond me.

Another guy that is overrated is Tim Couch. Kelly Holcomb may be a better qb on his OWN TEAM!

Kerry Collins got the shaft here. He has had one of the better seasons among NFC quarterbacks. He is a better player than Mark Brunell at this point of their respective careers.

Collins also had a better season than Aaron Brooks, who is clearly overrated.

This guy gets an awful lot of publicity for beating the .500 teams around the league early in the season.

Unfortunately when it comes down to December this guy is stone cold.

[Romo]

Who cares where they rank Ramsey? I would rather he be ranked low and be an underated player then an overated one. For one hopefully our opponents will underestimate him and secondly it will fuel Ramsey's desire to prove he is better then some of these chumps listed ahead of him.

[jimster]

It's all mostly opinion anyway, so who cares, but Hutchinson better than Ramsey? Give me a break.

[Da Rockwilder]

"Also, with Pittsburgh getting two names on the list one team's starter was left off. I think it was Chicago"

The Rams had 2 QBs on the list as well. I don't recall seeing a Baltimore QB on the list.

[Mad Mike]

Ramsey has something that can't be defined by statistics. He has *IT*. Dont ask me what *IT* is, I couldnt' tell you. All I know is that if you watch him you can see *IT*.

Mark my words. Ramsey is going to be one of the best QBs in the NFL.

[Thinking Skins]

When was this made? It looks like it was posted like midseason or so without taking note of the QB's recent stats. I mean its cool cause it doesn't really matter what the media thinks about Ramsey anyway. I just know that next year he will have a lot of people bowing down to him.