I highly disagree with this post.
Rivers (No Way. He is good, but he also has LT in the backfield, one of the best TEs in the game and the luxary of playing against Oakland, Denver and KC twice a year. Sorry but I don't see the Rivers Lead Chargers ever beating the Ray Lewis Ravens Defense 3 times in one season.)
Both LdT and Gates were shells of themselves this season, and Rivers still did a tremendous job.
Warner (He's good, but he has always had Tremendous Talent as Wide Outs in the Years he had Great Years. 5 years of his career are great, the rest mediocre.)
People forget, but Warner injured his thumb and his hand has never been the same. He figured out that he could recoup some of the grip that had been lost by using a glove on his throwing hand in all weather. As for mediocre, have you SEEN Ben's numbers for 2 of the past 3 seasons? Check out 2006 and 2008.
Brees (Great Numbers, zero ability to win big games. Take the Tampa game this year, his team needed a win, the tossed 2 picks in the last 4 minutes)
After Ben's first Super Bowl appearance, I would think Steeler fans would avoid the "big game" argument like the plague.
McNabb (This guy can't win a big game. Yes, he lacks the great talent at WR for most of his career, but he chokes in big spots. He gets nervous and shaky and can not handle pressure at all. He had the ball with a chance to lead his team to Victory in this year's NFC Title game and in the Super Bowl against the Pats, he Choked both times.)
He won plenty of big games to even get to the NFCCG time and again. I think McNabb is often over-hyped, and I do think that the pressure at the very top can get to him, but come on.
But Palmer? No way, he had one of the best wide receiver corps in football and couldn't win a single playoff game since coming out of USC. Not one Playoff game. Imagine if Brady or Manning had Housh and Chad in their Prime?
Palmer was a tremendous quarterback before the dirty play of the Steelers resulted in his leg injury. His first year back was fine. I expect that he'll bounce back as long as that elbow heals properly, and he'll once again distance himself from Ben and the other pretenders to the QB throne. I reserve the right to change this opinion if he looks gun shy, however.
Cutler? Come on, the guy has had one ok year and was the QB of the only team in NFL History to be 9-3 and Miss the Playoffs. Great QBs are Great Leaders too. He has proven nothing.
Ben's proven that he can ride the coat tails of a great cast. So did Trent Dilfer. This is the quarterback that opponents WANTED throwing the ball, because people knew that if he had to throw 30 times, his team was probably losing the game. This year, when they became more of a throwing team out of necessity, he threw 17 touchdowns and 15 interceptions, and had an 80.1 passer rating. In fact, in the two seasons that he's passed the most, he's combined for 35 touchdowns and 38 interceptions, and had passer ratings of 75.4 and 80.1.
Rodgers. Took an NFC Championship Game Team and missed the Playoffs. He may need a couple years to shake off the Favre legacy. Tell me though, if the Packers start the season next year 0-6, is he still QB of that team? I don't think so. I think a coach could very well be fired in GB next year because of Rodgers.
In his first season as a starter, he led his team to the #5 scoring offense in the NFL. His TD/INT ratio was 28/13 and he had a 93.8 rating. Now, I will say that it clearly didn't translate to wins, and it's fair to ask whether that's significant or coincidental. But, unless that question is answered in a negative manner, you've got to admit that he's in the same realm as Ben. Was it his fault that the team fell from #6 to #22 in defense? How much was a Favre effect, and how much was the defense collapsing? The answer to that question will tell us a lot about this kid over the next couple of seasons.
Look, I'm not saying that he's a complete stiff or anything, but let's be realistic about the guy. Unless he improves by some factor of 10, he's not going to be approaching Manning/Brady status.
