NFL.com asks if Brady or Luck is the second best QB in football after Rodgers

[libra957]

Not even close,Brady is clearly number 1, number 2 everybody else. Rodgers puts a lot of pretty stats, but that's not nearly enough to be compared to Brady.I feel like they should compare him to Manning instead.

 

[convertedpatsfan]

Rodgers is a great QB and will end up in the HOF, but as BB says, there's no quarterback I'd rather have than Tom Brady.

Rodgers has lost a lot of close games throughout his career. Some consider him too conservative with the game on the line. Some of the stats bear it out. The Packers under Rodgers are 9-26 in games tied in the 4th quarter or OT. He's 5-24 when he has the ball in the 4th quarter down by 8 points or less, second-worst in the league to Cam Newton (stats as of 2013). The link does point out 7 of those 26 losses did have Rodgers scoring a go-ahead touchdown, only for the defense to lose the game, but even without those 7, it's a 9-19 mark.

Then again, his splits in the 4th quarter of close games are great, so it isn't necessarily entirely on him. But he's only led 8 4th quarter comebacks and 12 game winning drives in his career, or roughly the same as Mark Sanchez. Part of that is the Packers dominating while the Jets play a lot of close games, but part of it may be something else.

This article from FiveThirtyEight shows the incredible and confounding of Rodgers in the same space. He's actually quite amazing at 4th quarter drives to tie or take the lead (regardless of final result), better than everyone except Manning. At the same time, it talks about other scenarios and how Rodgers remains conservative even when down by 9+ (2 possessions).

Rodgers has NEVER led a comeback win with that margin, partly because he continues to play within the game. They compare him to Pay-me-a-ton only (not the greatest comparison), but Manning's INT % goes up from 7.9% when leading to 15.6% when trailing by 2 possessions, partly I guess to try and come back and win the game. Rodgers barely fluctuates from 6.2% to 8.1%, which is actually lower than his 8.3% in close games within a FG. He doesn't deviate from the game plan, and he has never come back from down 2 possessions in the 4th quarter.

You can make fun of Manning's INTs, but as Herm said, you play to win the game, and his gun slinging at the end has led to 14 wins in 49 games when down by 2 possessions in the 4th quarter. Meanwhile, Rodgers has gone 0 for 21 but kept a nicer stat sheet.

None of this makes Aaron Rodgers a bad QB. He's going to the HOF and deservedly so. But that last bit is damning. There's too much front-running going on, and considering we just won our 4th Super Bowl thanks to our HOF QB leading us from 14 points down TWICE in the division round and overcoming a historic 10-point deficit in the 4th quarter of the Super Bowl, I am happy to have our guy over anyone else in the league.

 

[Bobsyouruncle]

How can anyone deny Luck's greatness? Nobody has created more HOF hype with fewer accomplishments in NFL history. He's incredible!

 

[1960Pats]

The NFCers are jealous of Tommy LomBrady.

I like that.

 

[IllegalContact]

between this article and the 2017 power rankings on cbssports, you know they are just writing to be biased against the pats.....

the line of reasoning used in the article is pretty silly since there are so many different scenarios that would have to be considered......if I were starting a team, Luck would be the first one I would choose simply because of his age.

I'm also not a fan of the idea of picking a QB in his 30's because of his mobility (Rodgers) even with his injury, he was more mobile than brady but that difference made it hard for him to execute.....on top of that, he's wound up injured each of the last 2 years, which does not bode well for a QB that relies on mobility.

for a 2-3 year window, Brady is #1
for longer term, I would take luck

 

[ctpatsfan77]

rodgers is an overrated front runner. he's great when he has the lead but if he has to lead a team from behind to win, he's incapable. i don't think he has 10 game winning drives in his career.
besides one run in the playoffs, he's been a consistent disappointment. since his only SB win, rodgers has two playoff wins...technically 1. i dont count the other win against the vikings led by joe webb at QB

You're close, actually: he has 12 in a decade. By comparison, so do (for their careers) Andrew Luck and Mark Sanchez.

By comparison, TFB has 46 and Paymetons has 52.

http://www.pro-football-reference.com/leaders/gwd_career.htm

Game-winning drives led by quarterback.
Must be an offensive scoring drive in the 4th quarter or overtime that puts the winning team ahead for the last time.

 

[bobbutts]

As long as we're talking about fantasy football I have no problem with these ratings. Playoff losses don't hurt and INT's are not too bad either.

 

[bishbash]

After Brady retires, the media should/probably will say Brady best ever. But before he goes, they can keep writing Brady off as inferior. Brady seems to thrive with a chip on his shoulder and that's always a good thing for the Pats.

 

[Gronkowski123]

You're close, actually: he has 12 in a decade. By comparison, so do (for their careers) Andrew Luck and Mark Sanchez.

By comparison, TFB has 46 and Paymetons has 52.

http://www.pro-football-reference.com/leaders/gwd_career.htm

more proof that rodgers is nothing more than a front runner..

 

[ChoWZa]

When people make Rodgers vs Brady arguments, from observation, they are generally making a peaks and valleys comparison. For instance, you would look at Rodgers back footed throw across the line of scrimmage and compare it to one of Brady's run of the mill 5 yard completions to make the case Rodgers is 'more talented'. Remember Brady completing a pass after stumbling, sitting flat on the ground? Brady juking Brian Urlacher for a first down, all the QB sneaks? Brady, unfairly, has any athletic plays discounted for some unknown reason.

If you set up an obstacle course with hurdles and moving targets, long range throws, made them do a head to head competition, and assume Rodgers won with flying colors it still wouldn't make him the better quarterback. Even if Rodgers could jump twice as high, had 5% body fat, ran 5x faster, and slept with 3 super models at a time, it still wouldn't make him a better quarterback.

It's all about consistency. Brady is the best because he plays at a higher level, more of the time. To say the same thing another way, Brady's quarterbacking is the least volatile which is why he's the best.

21 game win streak
10 consecutive playoff wins
undefeated regular season

 

[Guts]

Forgot to mention what people rarely do in these type of debates Brady's heart is what also seperates him from his peers. His will to win is probably greater than anyone else I've seen not only in the NFL but any other proffesional athlete out there. Those two intangibles should count in these debates because it's a major reason Brady is the GOAT.

 

[Ice_Ice_Brady]

Forgot to mention what people rarely do in these type of debates Brady's heart is what also seperates him from his peers. His will to win is probably greater than anyone else I've seen not only in the NFL but any other proffesional athlete out there. Those two intangibles should count in these debates because it's a major reason Brady is the GOAT.

Heart and "guts". A lot of QBs, including Manning, have a burning, obsessive desire to win at the highest level and are competitive freaks. What separates Brady is more about his unflappable attitude and leadership when under pressure.

When you look at Manning and Brady's postseason stats, their passer rating is virtually the same. Most of their stats are very similar. The difference is that Brady has what, nine fourth quarter drives and something like seven fourth quarter comebacks while Manning has just one comeback. That alone is the entire difference between Brady and Manning. Brady is at his best when all the pressure is on and the season hangs in the balance. Manning is at his worst. There is no evidence that Luck or Rodgers are even in Brady's stratosphere in those situations.

 

[wolverinejoe80]

After Brady retires, the media should/probably will say Brady best ever. But before he goes, they can keep writing Brady off as inferior. Brady seems to thrive with a chip on his shoulder and that's always a good thing for the Pats.

inferior? in what ways? brady is regarded as one of the best. most has him top 2-3QB right now and IMO, that's a right assessment. and whoever has luck over brady is probably thinking about the future.

 

[NE_Zealot]

I have no problem saying Rodgers is the most talented QB in the league bar none. He is also in the prime of his career at 31 whereas Brady is 37 and "near the end" lol.

Unfortunately if the conversation turns to body-of-work it is total dominance by TFB. Rodgers has another 8-9 years to win another chip or two but the bar is now at making it to six gigs and coming away with 4 rings. I don't give a rat's about insane stats alone. GOAT conversations involve MULTIPLE titles WITH good-to-great stats.

As far as Luck goes, he has his whole career ahead of him and that Colts' D needs some work. Hell, I'll put Wilson in front of Luck with two trips to the bowl with a ring. Brady had an excellent defense during the 3-in-4 years as does Wilson.

 

[5thRing-Hunt]

People keep saying Luck has his whole career ahead of him. I hope Brady proves everyone wrong and plays until his late 40's. If that happens and Brady plays at a high level then there is a good chance Luck will have played in the league over a decade and his playoff record won't be that good because Brady didn't retire. Ha.

 

[MitchKumstein]

Agree with all who don't care about these QB debates.

For me its as simple as asking "if your team was down by 10 points in the 4th quarter of the Super Bowl, who do you want playing quarterback for your team?"

 

[LightSkinSmurf]

I don't have a problem with people putting rodgers above brady but putting luck above him is just a joke.

 

[LightSkinSmurf]

People keep saying Luck has his whole career ahead of him. I hope Brady proves everyone wrong and plays until his late 40's. If that happens and Brady plays at a high level then there is a good chance Luck will have played in the league over a decade and his playoff record won't be that good because Brady didn't retire. Ha.

I guess we can all dream.

 

[VJCPatriot]

Brady just dominated the postseason on the way to his 4th Superbowl title and 3rd Superbowl MVP. Luck got completely bamboozled and destroyed by us head to head. Rodgers got decimated and embarrassed by the Seahawks, the team that we beat in the Superbowl. These two Qbs meanwhile have 1 SB ring between the two of them. So that makes Brady the '3rd best QB' in the league behind those 2?? I swear these so called 'journalists' are incredibly stupid.

 

[ausbacker]

I don't have a problem with people putting rodgers above brady but putting luck above him is just a joke.

I do. Outside of Watt and Gronkowski, Brady is the best player in football. Brady takes the cake because he plays the hardest position in team sports the best.