As we draw ever closer to the 2006 season, teams are beginning to get a pretty good idea in regards to their rosters, and fans are starting to get a clear idea about which football tickets will be worth obtaining based on the schedule. Since the coaches and GM?s generally don?t ask us for input on their rosters, we?ll give the fans a helping hand on who they should go see by ranking players at different positions in the NFL. Today?s analysis will concentrate on the quarterbacks.
1. Tom Brady
Is there any doubt about who the best QB in the NFL is in 2006? The guy is the perfect QB. He plays hurt, he plays smart, he has a good arm, he?s accurate, and as any football fan who hasn?t been living under a rock for the past five years knows, he wins. It?s hard to argue with three Super Bowl wins, especially when two of them came courtesy of a last-minute drive down the field. Honestly, who else would you want under center with the game on the line?
2. Peyton Manning
Manning has just about everything you could ever want in a QB. He?s smart, obsessive in regards to his work habits, knows opposing defenses as well as any offensive coordinator in the NFL, has a good arm, and he?s accurate and durable. Other than Brady, there?s no one better in the NFL. However, there?s one ?flaw? in his game that won?t be eradicated until he does something about it – he doesn?t win big games. After the meltdown against Pittsburgh in the playoffs last year, perhaps we saw why – he?s not a great leader. Leaders don?t call out their teammates. Until he wins a big game, he?ll be the Karl Malone of the NFL – great stats but no hardware.
3. Donovan McNabb
McNabb had a disastrous 2005 season, what with his abdominal injury that ultimately forced him to shut it down and the ongoing fiasco with Terrell Owens. He still has it all – he?s a good leader, he?s tough, has a great arm, is intelligent and throws pretty accurately. However, it appears that once again he?s being saddled with marginal talent at WR, so he?ll have to use all of those talents to bring Philadelphia back to prominence.
4. Brett Favre
He may be about to turn 37, but few other players in the league move football tickets the way Brett Favre does. Even fewer have his arm. Favre may not be on this list but for some issues with others you?re about to see, but he is still as talented as any QB in the game, and people who know will tell you he hasn?t lost it. He played horribly last year, but had a deplorable level of talent to work with and a coach who had lost touch with the team. If Favre plays disciplined football, he?ll prove all of his doubters wrong in 2006. If he plays well enough, he may even return in 2007.
5. Matt Hasselbeck
Hasselbeck seemed to put all of his talents together last season. He has a good arm, is accurate, plays with discipline and is a good leader. He is becoming a coach on the field, and it seems that every QB who spends time with coach Mike Holmgren reaches his potential – see Montana, Joe, Young, Steve, Favre, Brett – and Hasselbeck is on his way to building a long-term career as one of the best QB?s in the game.
6. Honorable Mention
There are three QB?s who would be on this list, but we need to see how things come together for them before they move up. First is Carson Palmer, who could eventually be the best in the game, but his horrible knee injury is still not fully healed, and may not be for quite some time. Ben Roethlisberger is another, but we won?t know about him until we see him take a few hits after an awful motorcycle accident. The third is Trent Green, who needs to adjust to a new coach and a new RB, but he?s always been one of the most overlooked QB?s in the game, and his ability always gets rabid Chiefs fans to snap up their football tickets early.