A FRANCHISE QUARTERBACK IS HARD TO FIND

Without question, the most difficult position to play in all of sports is Quarterback in the NFL. That’s why the good ones are hardly ever traded in the prime of their careers (apparently Josh McDaniels believes that franchise quarterbacks grow on trees). They face more pressure than any athlete in any other sport. Their team success or failure is often dictated by their play. Quarterbacks are the highest paid players in the NFL, and with good reason. They are the leaders or the engines that make the team go. The quarterback handles the ball on virtually every offensive play and has more influence on the outcome of the game than any other player on the field. For these reasons, the fate of the head coach is often directly tied to the success of the quarterback. Therefore, the primary goal of each and every NFL team is to have a good player under center. Who is the best quarterback in the league? Who is the worst quarterback in the league? Where do the rest of them rank?

For answers to those questions, scroll down and check out STRAIGHT CASH HOMEY’s!!!! 2009 QUARTERBACK RANKINGS. These rankings are for the 2009 season only and are subject to change next year. The players were ranked based on one simple criteria. I simply asked myself, “If I was running an NFL team and could have any quarterback in the league, who would I choose?”

#1 Peyton Manning (Indianapolis Colts) – This is an easy choice for #1. He is arguably the smartest football player in the league today. He call his own plays, has a rocket arm, works harder on preparation that any player I have ever seen, and will end his career (if he stays healthy) owning all of Brett Favre and Dan Marino’s passing records. He has one Super Bowl ring and three MVP’s (so far). To put in perspective how good this guy is, he was the league’s MVP last year after arguably his worst season since his rookie year. Love him or hate him, he is the best in the game today, and definitely in the discussion of the best quarterbacks to ever play the game.

#2 Tom Brady (New England Patriots) – This guy is living the life that all men dream of. He plays quarterback and gets to throw the ball to Randy Moss for a living, is filthy rich (although he is underpaid, but that will change this year), and married to a super model. He is also one of the best in the league today. There are some that would even place him above Manning. Although I disagree, I couldn’t really fault anyone for feeling that way. Personally, I think Manning is better because he calls his own game, has a much better arm, and has never been caught cheating. True, Brady has more championships, but we all know that a special assist to those titles go to the Patriots video staff. That being said, he is still great, and deserves to be ranked this high. On a serious note, there are some questions about Brady going into this season. He is returning from the first major injury of his career, and he is also playing behind an offensive line that has not been quite right since the Giants took their manhood in the Super Bowl a couple of years back. I truly hope he can stay upright this year, because no quarterback (not even the great Tom Brady can get the ball to Randy Moss from his back).
Honestly, the first two were easy. No one who knows anything about football can really debate them. Some people may want to swap them, and I won’t argue with that. However, neither player can be placed below #2.

Now the real fun begins, because the players ranked #3 thru #7 can all have an argument made in their case for them to be #3. Here’s how I see it.

#3 Phillip Rivers (San Diego Chargers) – I know some people will disagree with this, but I truly feel that Rivers is the best quarterback in the NFL not named Manning (Peyton) or Brady. Simply put, there isn’t a throw on the field that he can’t make. He has a strong enough arm to get the ball into tight spots when needed, yet can still throw it with touch when the situation calls for it. Rivers also throws a great deep ball. He has developed into a good enough passer to make the Charger’s receivers appear to be much better than they actually are. He also makes great decisions with the football and throws very few interceptions. On top of all of that, he is also Built Ford Tough. It is well chronicled how he played in the AFC title game with a torn ACL and then was ready for the start of the next season. I don’t know any other quarterback who could’ve done that. I am also picking Rivers to finish second to Adrian Peterson, if he tops 2,000 yards rushing, in the league MVP voting this season. If Peterson does not top 2,000 yards, Rivers will be the MVP.

#4 Drew Brees (New Orleans Saints) – What would have ever happened to him if the Chargers had never drafted Phillip Rivers? Up until that point, he was simply an average quarterback. Now, he is far from average. He has the quickest release in the NFL, which also means that he very rarely gets sacked. This makes him an offensive linemen’s dream. He also makes very good decisions with the football. It has been a long time since I have seen a quarterback use all of his receivers the way that Brees does. He makes is seem as though the Saints don’t have a go to receiver (and maybe they don’t) because he does such a great job of getting the ball to whoever is open on any given play. Sean Payton loves to throw the football all over the place, and Brees is a player that can be depended upon to make sure that it reaches its intended target. His numbers are inflated because Payton has an allergic reaction to run plays, but he is still among the best.

#5 Donovan McNabb (Philadelphia Eagles) – In my opinion he has the toughest job in the entire NFL. He is quarterback in a town that loves to hate its star athletes. The fans in Philly were disappointed when they drafted him (they preferred Ricky Williams, how’d that turn out?) and they are still complaining ten years later. The knock on Donovan is that he hasn’t won the big game. That is true, but how many times has he really had a team good enough to win it all? If you look at the NFL playoffs as a gunfight, Donovan has basically arrived with a slingshot every year, except for the 2004-2005 season when they reached the Super Bowl. They lost that game to the Patriots’ video staff. We all saw what he can do when he has a legit wide receiver. Aside from that year, he has virtually single handedly taken them to the NFC title game on a regular basis. Name the quarterbacks who can say that they have gone deep into the playoffs more often than McNabb. That being said, he is ranked this high because he is an extremely accurate passer with a very strong arm. Great pocket presence, and enough speed to take off and get the first down and occasionally break a long run when needed. To all of the McNabb haters, I simply say, you will miss him when he’s gone. (P.S. to all of the Philly fans that were counting on Vick to replace McNabb this season, you had better enjoy watching McNabb this year. I’m guessing that Vick didn’t play on the prison football team, because he has quite a bit of rust to knock off. I still think that he will be fine in the long run, but he is seeing first hand, just how difficult it is to play at the NFL level after a two year layoff.)

#6 Ben Roethlisberger (Pittsburgh Steelers) – I’m guessing that he never heard the phrase, “The bigger they are, the harder they fall.” Because he takes waaayyy to many hits. Most quarterbacks have an internal clock in their head that let’s them know when to get rid of the ball before being hit. HIS IS BROKEN! He should really spend some time with Drew Brees discussing ways to avoid sacks. I really don’t know how much longer his body is going to hold up. He gets hit an awful lot on the football field (I have seen him completely laid out more than a couple of times), and he has also survived a horrific motorcycle accident in which he broke his face. I sure hope he figures it out and can stay upright, because when he does, he is a great football player. This guy is the definition of CLUTCH. If I was down four, with two minutes left and needed a touchdown to win the game, I would want him at quarterback. Not Manning, Brady, Rivers, Brees, or McNabb. I WOULD WANT BEN ROETHLISBERGER LEADING MY TEAM ON THE FINAL DRIVE! Nothing rattles him. If he hasn’t been knocked out of the game already, this is the guy that you would want in crunch time. He may not be as good of a quarterback or as polished as the previous five players on this list, but he is definitely the most clutch.

#7 Carson Palmer (Cincinnati Bengals) – This is the prototype. If you were making training videos for drop-back passing, he would be the star. His footwork is perfect, his accuracy is amazing, and he has a cannon for an arm. Not only can he make every throw on the field, he can throw it in such a way to allow the receiver to catch it in stride and continue to run. The Bengals are going to surprise a lot of people this season, and #9 will be the primary reason why. He is going to have a huge season.

#8 Jay Cutler (Chicago Bears) – Without question, JAY CUTLER HAS THE BEST ARM IN THE NFL! There are those who would argue that Manning (Peyton), Palmer, Russell, or even Favre may have the strongest arm in the league. To them I say, If Jay Cutler had one of their arms, he would kill himself. His arm strength is reminiscent of Favre or Marino in their primes. That arm strength will come in handy playing in the windy city. Chicago finally has a quarterback, and trust me, they will love watching this guy play. He is one of my favorite quarterbacks to watch, because he throws the ball so effortlessly. Fans of the Denver Broncos are going to take one look at Kyle Orton this season and immediately realize that franchise quarterbacks don’t grow on trees. They had one, and now Chicago has one. This guy makes me wish that the NFL still had the quarterback challenge, because it would be fun to watch just how impressive his arm is in comparison to his colleagues. I would not be surprised if Cutler is #1 in the 2012 quarterback rankings. He is that good now and he still has quite a bit of room to get better. The sky is truly the limit for this guy.

#9 Aaron Rodgers (Green Bay Packers) – No Favre, No problem. That is what Packer players and fans have been saying ever since Aaron Rodgers became the team’s starting quarterback. While he may not have Favre’s arm or his Wrangler jeans collection, Rodgers is quickly making the league realize why the Packers quickly closed the door behind Favre when he first retired. They thought Rodgers was ready, and they were correct. The only problem that I have with Rodgers is the fact that he is the anti-Roethlisberger when the game is on the line. If I’m not mistaken, last season Rodgers threw interceptions in four different games on potentially game-winning drives. If he keeps that up, he really does have a chance to be the next Brett Favre. All jokes aside, if he begins to play big in the fourth quarter of games, Rodgers can cement his status as a top ten quarterback in the NFL.

#10 Kurt Warner (Arizona Cardinals) – The ageless wonder is still getting it done. It doesn’t hurt that he has the best group of receivers in the league. Warner is the best quarterback in the league against the blitz. Whenever there is a blitz, he always finds the hot receiver before they can get to him. Now that he has corrected his fumble problems, Warner is once again one of the best in the league. I hope that Matt Leinart is taking notes, because Warner is a great player to learn from.

#11 Tony Romo (Dallas Cowboys) – This guy has to be the most careless quarterback with the ball in his hands in the NFL. He has all the talent in the world. If he gets serious and takes care of the ball he will definitely be a top five quarterback in the league for a very long time. Will he be committed to taking care of the football? I guess we will see. By the way, he will have a much better season this year without T.O. This will definitely be a case of addition by subtraction.

#12 Eli Manning (New York Giants) – Eli Manning has greatly improved since his rookie year in the league. As a matter of fact, it can honestly be said that he has improved each year that he has been in the league. This year we will see what he is really made of, because he will be playing without the most accurate marksman in New York City. Eli will definitely miss his security blanket. While Manning was never the most accurate passer in the league and will never be mistaken for his big brother, Plaxico was able to turn most of those wild throws into complete passes. Will he be able to put the ball on the money to his new group of young and less-talented receivers? This season will answer those questions. I do now one thing for sure. He will be better this year than he was last year, because he has a strong work ethic and seems to improve every year.

#13 Matt Ryan (Atlanta Falcons) – This guy does not get rattled. The thing that I like most about Ryan is the fact that he does not have an ego on the field. What I mean is that he knows that Michael Turner and the Falcons running game is their bread and butter, and he is smart enough to rely on it and allow the run to set up the pass. You will never see him checking out of perfectly good run plays into bad pass plays. He also makes good decisions and doesn’t throw balls that should not be thrown. He has set the bar for future rookie quarterbacks. He also has a better than average arm.

#14 Matt Schaub (Houston Texans) – Great player. WHEN HE ACUTALLY PLAYS! The Texans always go as his health goes. I love his skill set, but I hate the job that his personal trainer is doing. If he stays healthy, the Texans will make the playoffs this year. If he stays healthy for the next few years, he will definitely be considered a top ten NFL quarterback.

#15 David Garrard (Jacksonville Jaguars) – What happened? I thought he would be a good quarterback for a long time. Was I wrong? Was he a one-year wonder? There are a lot of questions surrounding Garrard. He is a very talented player that is very smart with the football. However, he is yet to take that step to elite status and quite frankly, I don’t know if he ever will. Has he maximized his potential? I don’t think we will get any answers this year because Jacksonville will be a very bad football team (I still can’t figure out why Torry Holt signed there). This will probably be Jack Del Rio’s last season as the head coach, which means that the new coach could want to bring in a new quarterback. This year could indirectly be a make or break one for Garrard. If he isn’t great, he can begin the next phase of his career. As a backup quarterback (which would actually be going back to where he started).

#16 Chad Pennington (Miami Dolphins) – This guy gets more from his ability than any player in the NFL. He has no arm strength, yet is always able to get the ball where it’s supposed to be. He can quickly grasp offenses and does an excellent job of reading defenses. If he had an arm, he would easily be in the top ten. Last season, the Jets discarded him like yesterday’s trash for the next player on this list. I bet they regret that decision.

#17 Brett Favre (Minnesota Vikings) – Since Favre has come back (we think), I keep hearing people say that the Vikings only need him to manage the game. THAT MAKES ABSOLUTELY NO SENSE TO ME! Why on earth would they pay a player $12 million to simply manage the game? Has Brett Favre ever been a game manager? Brett Favre is a player who is going to either win games for you or lose games for you. This is who you signed. Favre is going to make some great plays and he will probably lead the league in interceptions again. He is what he is. At this point in his career, I can’t justify ranking him any higher than #17 and I definitely can’t rank him above Pennington who clearly outplayed him last season. For Brad Childress’ sake, I hope your $12 million game manager is what you thought he would be. If not, you will certainly face the same fate that Eric Mangini had to face last season.

#18 Jason Campbell (Washington Redskins) – Very talented player, but plays as if he is afraid to make mistakes. Can you really blame him? He plays for an organization that has tried to replace them every chance they get. He rarely throws interceptions, but he also rarely makes big plays. For the first time since high school, Campbell will be in the same offensive system for two consecutive years. I hope that will lead to consistent play from Campbell. I really feel bad for Campbell because the Redskins will definitely be on a mission to replace him again next season if they don’t win the Super Bowl (and they definitely won’t). In this tough housing market, I hope that you are renting and didn’t buy.

#19 Matt Hasselbeck (Seattle Seahawks) – When healthy, he is a good player. Nothing more, just a good player. There really isn’t anything special about him. He gets hurt about as much as Matt Schaub, and is simply a good player on the rare occasions that he is healthy.

#20 Trent Edwards (Buffalo Bills) – Solid player who will be the next victim of T.Ozilla. Edwards is a smart player with good size and a strong arm, but he tends to become very inconsistent as the season wears on. I like his skill set, but he is not a strong player for an entire season. Maybe this will be the year that it all comes together. On second thought, no it won’t.

#21 Joe Flacco (Baltimore Ravens) – I really didn’t understand all the fuss about Flacco last season. He was decent and nothing more. The Ravens won because of their defense and running game. He did very little to contribute. True, he was good for one deep ball (which he throws very well) every two games, but that was about it. I found the comparisons between him and Matt Ryan laughable, because Matt Ryan is so much better than him that it isn’t even funny. The defense really covered up all of the holes in his game. He has a lot of work to do, but he does have all of the tools and is off to a good start.

#22 Kerry Collins (Tennessee Titans) – Dependable veteran who does not lose games for you. He may not lead you to victory, but he keeps the team close enough to allow the defense and running game to lead you to victory. He is also good enough to keep Future Hall of Famer, Vince Young on the bench. Which says a lot about both Kerry and Vince.

#23 Matt Cassell (Kansas City Chiefs) – One year wonder? Who knows. Last year he stepped into the perfect situation and played quite well. But now he is in Kansas City and he doesn't have Randy Moss. How good is Cassell? No one knows. The Chiefs either know or hope that he is special, considering the fact that they signed him to a $63 million contract this off-season.

#24 Jake Delhomme (Carolina Panthers) – At this point Jake is simply keeping the seat warm for the next quarterback. If Michael Vick returns to form, look for him to land here. Jake is done. He must have some pictures of coach John Fox in some compromising situations. That is the only way that I can explain him not only keeping his job, but also getting a contract extension.

#25 Shaun Hill (San Francisco 49er’s) – There is nothing pretty about his game. His delivery isn’t great and he throws a bad ball, but he GIVES THE 49ER’s A BETTER CHANCE TO WIN THAN ALEX SMITH! That being said, I don’t know if beating out Smith says very much.

#26 JaMarcus Russell (Oakland Raiders) – Strong arm, but wrong organization. I truly don’t know if the Raiders have the correct coaching staff or organizational infrastructure to bring along a young quarterback. If he ever reaches his potential, the rest of the league had better watch out. The problem is that at this point it has proven to be nothing more than potential.

#27 Matthew Stafford (Detroit Lions) – The first time I watched him play as a freshman at Georgia, I turned to my wife and said, “He is going to be the first pick in the draft in three years.” As it turned out, I was right. He is a big guy with a tremendous arm. He is the closest thing to Jay Cutler in the league right now (as far as raw ability). That being said, he is still a rookie. Although he played his college ball in the NFL Southeast division, he will soon find out that there are no creampuffs on the NFL schedule. You won’t get to play Central Michigan and Georgia Southern the week before a big game. As a matter of fact, the Lions are Central Michigan by NFL standards. Stafford will quickly find out that the one game on the NFL schedule each year that you have the best chance to win in the one against “BYE.” Every other game will be a dogfight. If you don’t believe me, just ask your teammates. Trust me, THEY KNOW HOW HARD IT IS TO WIN IN THE NFL. Stafford has all of the tools to be a good one, and with good coaching and experience he will one day be an elite NFL quarterback.

#28 Mark Sanchez (New York Jets) – Sanchez could very well be this year’s Joe Flacco. That’s because the Jets should have a dominant defense this year and simply ask him not to throw the games away. If he manages not to lose many games, the media will treat him like the best rookie since Matt Ryan. However, looking at him as a player, he does have some flaws and shows great potential as well. It was hard to gauge his talent in college because he played on a team with All-Americans at basically every position, so all he had to do was distribute the football and stay out of the way. His arm is average by NFL standards and he will get caught up in the moment and try to make a big play when nothing is there. This year, I expect him to be a game manager and take on more responsibility as he grows with the offense. Long term, I see him being a better than average NFL quarterback. Nothing special, but good enough to keep the Jets from drafting a quarterback for the next 5 – 6 years. He is definitely an upgrade over the scrub they have backing him up.

#29 Marc Bulger (St. Louis Rams) – It really was the system. Mike Martz really made Bulger appear to be better than he really was. Come to think of it, he has been pretty bad since Martz was fired. There was a time when Bulger appeared to be on the cusp of becoming an elite quarterback. Fortunately his agent was smart enough to capitalize on the hype. He did get paid, but the return on that investment has been basically non-existent for the Rams. The Rams will in all likelihood be drafting either Sam Bradford or Colt McCoy with the first overall pick of the 2010 NFL draft. He will probably be released this upcoming off-season, or he will start the season next year to ease the transition for the rookie. Long story short, this guy is done.

#30 Byron Leftwich (Tampa Bay Buccaneers) – Leftwich has gone from first round pick with promise to journeyman in a matter of three short seasons (and he isn't even 30 years old). Health has basically been his problem. It’s almost like he is made of glass, because he completely shatters every time he gets hit. The fact that he has the longest windup in NFL history does not help his case at all. It’s almost like watching Hideo Nomo pitch. He takes so long to get the ball out of his hands once he decides to throw it that it is ridiculous. He does however have a great arm, which is put on display about five seconds after he decides to throw the ball. This is his last shot as a starter. If he isn’t successful, he will begin the second half of his career as the next Charlie Batch (permanent backup).

#31 Kyle Orton (Denver Broncos) – The innocent bystander in the Jay Cutler v/s Josh McDaniel feud will be unfairly linked to Cutler for the rest of his career. Simply put, he isn’t a very talented player. If McDaniel is the offensive genius that he thinks that he is, he may turn Orton into an average quarterback. He is really going to hate being compared to Cutler who is on the cusp of elite status for the rest of his career.

And now, the worst starting quarterback in the NFL today is….

#32 Brady Quinn (Cleveland Browns) – Quinn is probably the most over-hyped quarterback to come out of college in years. He is entering his third NFL season and is yet to become the unquestioned quarterback of the Cleveland Browns. He has not dominated the competitions between himself, Derrick Anderson, or even Charlie Frye. People assumed that he would be a good pro based on the fact that he played for Charlie Weiss at Notre Dame. But let’s look at that for what it was. He never won a big game or a game that Notre Dame wasn’t favored in during his college career. Also as it turned out, Weiss really wasn’t an offensive genius. He simply used his NetFlix account more than anyone else during his time in New England. Quinn simply isn’t that good, and obviously new coach Eric Mangini agrees because he hasn’t named a starter in Cleveland (at the time this blog was written) and we are six days away from the opener. If Quinn was really any good, he would be the unquestioned starter because he is a first round pick that they had to make a draft day trade to get.

AND NOW FOR MY BALLER AND SCRUB OF THE WEEK:

BALLER: University of Geogia, Oklahoma State University, University of Alabama, and Virginia Tech Football Teams – I would like to commend all of you for opening the college football seasons against REAL OPPONENTS! I get sick and tired of seeing these lopsided college games on opening weekend. Seeing Florida and USC open up against glorified high school teams is a waste of television airtime. All four of you play in tough conferences, yet are not afraid to open the season against a tough non-conference team. Kudos to you. I wish more schools would follow your lead.

SCRUB: LeGarrette Blount (University of Oregon) & Byron Hout (Boise State University) – Both of you are scrubs this week for very different reasons. First of all, I would like to give Mr. Hout a little bit of advice. There is no reason to talk trash AFTER A FOOTBALL GAME IN WHICH YOUR TEAM WON! There is enough trash talking and hitting going on during the game to make it totally unnecessary to seek out a player to taunt him after he played a terrible game. But in the event that you decide to anyway, KEEP YOUR HELMET ON!!!! Any football player that talks trash with his helmet in his hand deserves to get knocked out. Here is where I would usually quote Smokey (Chris Tucker) from the movie Friday, but remember this is a family blog. Also, you should be given some sort of suspension as well, and the conference still has the option of handing down one. I guess the coach didn't suspend you because he figured that getting knocked out on national television was punishment enough. Trust me that clip will live forever (on STRAIGHT CASH HOMEY!!!!)

As for LeGarrette Blount, you have got to learn that there are simply some things that you can’t do. You cannot throw a punch on the opening night of the college football season on national television and not expect to be severely punished. I know that Hout was wrong for seeking you out to talk trash, but young man you are going to deal with much worse than that as you go through life. That one punch (although it was beautiful) cost you a boatload of money. You have gone from a sure fire second round draft pick with first round potential, to an undrafted free-agent if you are lucky. Truthfully, I don’t have a problem with you being suspended for the entire season, because an example had to be set to prevent this type of behavior from becoming the norm. Also, this is the only way that I believe that you would learn that THERE ARE CERTAIN THINGS THAT YOU JUST CAN’T DO! To those of you who think that his punishment was too severe, just think about what would happen if you knocked out a co-worker for saying something to you when you were upset. You will be fired, no questions asked. I rather him learn this lesson as a college student, than in the real world.

If for some reason, Blount is not picked up by an NFL team next year, he should really consider a career in boxing, because that punch was on the money and dropped a 300 plus pound football player in full padding (minus the helmet). That is indeed impressive. (Please see video clip below.)