1 â€"œ I think Ben has a good argument amongst Brees, Rivers and Cutler. Sure, Brees was offensive player of the year but again, he is on a team that bases their entire offense on passing. Not to say he isn’t a great QB but to say that Brees is clearly better than Ben is unfair, IMHO. Brees has not shown he is a winner and outside of throwing TDs, im not sure hes good for anything else. Sure, passing for TDs is a big part of what a QB does but he isn’t a great leader, is immobile, cant win, etc. I used to look for all the numbers and spectacular plays but recently, I’ve been much more aware of the “intangibles†that make a good QB, great â€"œ that is, winning, being a great leader and being able to do all that without necessarily passing the ball.
With regard to Rivers, I think he falls into the same category as Brees, Great passing QB that is neither a leader or a winner. He also showed us very little in the beginning of the season and only caused a spark late in the season. He has Mannings poor performance, bad coaching the Colts (should have just taken the safety) and Sproles to account for much of his “success.†Again, great QB but IMHO, doesn’t have a clear nod over Ben.
I have Cutler as my fantasy QB so I cant say too many bad things about him but his late season collapse goes to show you how important stamina, consistency and leadership go. I will say that he plays on a pretty beat up team with absolutely no running game so to be as successful as he has been has been pretty impressive. That being said, I don’t think he has earned a place ahead of Ben…yet.
2 â€"œ How the heck did Orton and Grossman make their way into this discussion? Those are by far, two of the worst QBs in this league. In their defense, if that team had any receivers, they wouldn’t be so bad. I attribute much if their “success†this year to Matt Forte and I think without him, they probably would have won a game or 4 less. I think Orton and Grossman should thank Forte and that Bears Defense, for without them, they could have been nearly as bad as the Lions.
3 â€"œ Good point about the '84 Dolphins and the '08 Cardinals. True, sometimes QBs are “forced†to pass because of bad defense. That being said, I think its pretty clear that Warner is a pure passing QB and if he cant pass, hes not good for much else. Again, passing is what QBs do but if you put him on team that relies a lot on the run, it would probably throw his rhythm off. He is the type of QB that need to throw a lot.
4 â€"œ Not to take away anything from the Cards but I think they squeaked into the playoffs and got lucky with the teams they played. In their first game, the Cards played a good, but young and inexperienced Atlanta team. Ryan has been very impressive but lets face it, hes a rookie that will make rookie mistakes. He also came pretty close to beating the Cards so that should say something about his poise.
Next up, they played the Panthers, who went undefeated at home. All along, I thought Carolina was lucky to have been undefeated at home and but for a couple close wins, could have easily been a .500 team. Carolina also had a pretty easy schedule and lost to the “cusp†playoff teams â€"œ Minnesota, Tampa and Atlanta. All three teams had an inferior record. They beat Chicago, KC, Detroit, Oakland and Denver. Take away those “easy†wins and the miraculous game winning plays by Steve Smith and you got a 10-6 or 11-5 team. Still good record but still a “soft†team that got lucky with wins and strength of schedule.
Finally, you got the Eagles, who came on strong at the end of the season. After the OT debacle, McNabb stepped it up and finished the season strong but lets face it, the Eagles are not that great of a team. Im am admittedly Mcnabb hater but we all knew this streak was coming to an end. They got hot and rallied around Mcnabbs resurgence but we knew it wasn’t going to last.
5 â€"œ Ok, ive said way too much. Just haven’t seen a post on our forum here that ive wanted to contribute to in a long time. Hats off to Warner and Ben for making it to the SB. As much disparaging as I’ve done, I think that one of the most difficult championship game to make it to in any sport is the NFL. There is reason why good teams don’t stay good and there is a reason why we have new teams in the SB nearly every year. Easy win, luck or not, it takes a lot to make it all the way. That being said, I think Pitt gets another ring this year. I think that defense will shut AZ down. At least 2 of AZs TDs came on either blown or bad defense, something I don’t see a Pittsburg team doing. Boldin and Fitz are VERY good WRs and Warner has been able to just throw balls up there and let his players make plays. I don’t see that happening in the SB. Pitt will play ball control and play a very disciplined game, keeping the ball out of Warners hands and pounding that weak AZ defense. Im gonna go with a 24-10 prediction.
