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| Early success by this year's class of rookie QBs added a degree of difficulty to this week's power rankings. |
The Un-throwables
32. Blaine Gabbert
While much improved from last season, Gabbert has still shown he lacks the basic skills required to be an NFL QB. Skills such as throwing accurately, completing over half of your passes, and not crapping your pants when the pass rush is coming.
31. Kevin Kolb
When people say the Arizona Cardinals are 2-0, they really mean the Arizona Cardinals defense is 2-0. Kevin Kolb made one play in each game that kept the tides in their favor, but for the other 59:10 of the game, Kevin Kolb has been inefficient, inaccurate, and running a drip-drip-drip offense.
30. Matt Cassel
Matt Cassel is well on his way to being replaced by Matt Barkley in the 2013 season.
Lost in No-Mans Land
29. Carson Palmer
Carson Palmer does not seem to realize he plays for the Oakland Raiders. If he did, he might notice he was often throwing to people that are not Oakland Raiders. Some may point to his high volume of passing yards, but those people are unaware of what occurs during garbage time in late game blow outs.
28. Jake Locker
Jake Locker is looking like a guy who was started a year too early. Why when you have Matt Hasselbeck on your team, who almost led the team to the playoffs last year, would you hand the team over to a guy who hasn't really shown that he is ready to win in the pro game just yet. All Mike Munchak is doing is ruining Locker's confidence and his team's ceiling.
27. Josh Freeman
Josh Freeman seems like he should have all the tools to succeed in this league. Big build, big arm, big time swagger. This year he even has a decent offense around him. The only logical explanation I have for his lack of success is good old fashioned Buccaneer stink.
Growing Pains
26. Brandon Weeden
Browns brass had to heave a huge sigh of relief after Weeden's week 2 performance against the Bengals. Weeden looked flat out incompetent against the Eagles in week 1. If he can even approach that performance on a weekly basis, he should have no problem keeping Colt McCoy on the bench.
25. Ryan Tannehill
I regarded the Dolphins as one of the worst teams in the league. Before the Raider's game I had the Dolphins on 0-16 watch. Tannehill looked bad in week 1, but like Weeden, bounced back to show signs of life.
24. Christian Ponder
In year two, Ponder has made great strides. He still needs to prove a lot more to show that he will be able to take the Viking's cadillac-esque offense to the high octane level it should be at. An offense with All Day, Percy Harvin, and Jerome Simpson should not be struggling.
You Got Paid, But You A'int Money
23. Ryan Fitzpatrick
The Bills gave him $60 million dollars last season, and he wasted no time mailing it in. The Bills were 5-3 at the time of the signing, and they are 2-8 since. Money well spent, Bills.
22. Jay Cutler
Petulent, big armed, locker room cancer, hates offensive lineman, favors skill players, douchebag, "Gooood Luuuuck.", The Denver fiasco, the list goes on and on....
Growing Pains II
21. Russell Wilson
Russell Wilson should have a bit of an easier learning curve knowing that he has a defense that will always keep him in ball games. My mindset going in if I'm Russell Wilson is just to play within myself and not make and game killing errors.
20. Andy Dalton
Andy Dalton should be in the GM's office daily begging for offensive line help. Everyone knows the Ginger is known to be frail and easily broken. If the rest of the season goes the way the first two weeks have, we will get to see Dalton placed into an ambulance at some point during the season.
19. Sam Bradford
I'm much higher on Sam Bradford than his power ranking indicates. Jeff Fisher has always been known to build strong lines. Once Bradford gets a line to protect him, expect him to become one of the leagues next stars in the new generation of QB's coming up.
Caught Between Stardom and a Hard Place
18. Andrew Luck
I can guarantee by season's end Luck is no lower than 13 on the rankings. He showed poise, and the ability to make the tough throws as well as the throws he is not supposed to miss. Ryan Grigson better do his draft homework, he may not be picking as high as everyone was expecting this year.
17. Mark Sanchez
Does he get it? Will he ever put it together? Even though its my job to know, I just don't.
16. Robert Griffin III
Everyone was hopping on the bandwagon, and while Griffin will still have a great individual year, his team is being devoured by injuries. Right now, the injuries are mostly on defense, but if they creep over to the offensive side of the ball, his performance could suffer.
15. Matt Schaub
I'm a big Schaub guy, and don't the Texans make the Super Bowl with Schaub last year? But until he proves himself a healthy QB and proves he can get it done in the post season, he remains in the middle ground.
14. Cam Newton
Superman while extremely great in bursts needs to show he can string four quarters together and win games before proving he can win over a prolonged period of time.
Bursting At The Seams of a Breakout
13. Peyton Manning
I'll say this, I hope before it is all said and done, Peyton Manning can reign triumphant at the end of a season. Right now, the arm strength scares the crap out of me. No one masks their deficiencies better than Manning, but if he can't throw it deep, corners will continue jumping routes, and the INTs will keep coming at a higher and higher volume.
12. Phillip Rivers
He's got a perennial all-pro level offense, and one of the best offensive minded coaches in the league. Phil Rivers--you are out of excuses. Time to produce.
11. Tony Romo
Champion quarterbacks are never this consistently inconsistent. If you can't string together 4 quality regular season games, who will ever trust you to do it four times in a row in the playoffs. It takes time to break out as a playoff QB...but 6 years is a bit overdue.
10. Mike Vick
Vick has totally changed his life. I can see how he leads his team, he has the "it" of a championship quarterback. But right now, he has the erratic play of a Blaine Gabbert. If he gets rid of the turnovers, the Eagles become a force in the NFC.
The Alleged Next Big Things at Quarterback
9. Matt Ryan
Everyone is getting very high on this kid. He doesn't have the same pressure this season as Joe Flacco does. Most people will be happy if he can get a playoff win. Personally, I'll be happy if he even just shows signs of life in a playoff contest.
8. Joe Flacco
You have been to an AFC Championship twice, you have won playoff games. The time is now if you want to challenge Rodgers for the QB crown once Brees and Brady finally step aside. You're carrying the Ravens, something the defense has done for a decade. Prove this postseason you will be worth Manning money.
Playoff Contenders
7. Alex Smith
The way he ran the 49er offense in the Detroit game sold me on Alex Smith. He has made one of the truly great comeback stories in the league since Jim Plunkett. 3 years ago, the Candlestick crowd screamed for DAVID CARR (you read that right.) Now he runs the offense with such a cool, he looks like some of the other legends at QB in San Francisco history.
6. Matthew Stafford
Big time arm. He needs to really rise up as the leader of this team and get some of his wild west teammates to get their act together. This Lions team only goes as far as Stafford leads them.
5. Ben Rothelisberger
He's not the prettiest QB. But he is the guttsiest, and he has rings to back it up. No other QB can frustrate a defense mid play quite like Big Ben. I cannot wait to see how he develops in the Todd Haley air it out offense.
The Current Mt. Rushmore
4. Eli Manning
Can anyone do it better late game than Eli. We saw it on full display last Sunday. It helps having a defense that will never let the game get away from him. Eli Manning single handedly prevents the prevent defense from being an option.
3. Tom Brady
Tom Brady burns for that 4th Superbowl. 8 years ago, did you think that would be a realistic scenario. Bill Belichick, who made his bread and butter on defense, ignored it when he had an invincible offense. Now that Brady is getting older, you're seeing him revert back to building a defense that helped Tom win 3 in 4 years.
2. Drew Brees
The best QB in the league wastes a year of his prime under political embargo by Roger Goodell. Hooray.
1. Aaron Rodgers
If Matt Ryan and Joe Flacco and the past two rookie class QBs don't try to model themselves after Rodgers, Aaron Rodgers could end up with rings galore. Right now, he has to take his game to the next level and learn some new tricks, because as we saw in the 49er games, coaches are beginning to figure out some of his old tricks.
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