QB Rankings! (Well, slightly outdated though)

Okay, well, I originally did these rankings on 11/20/06, which is almost 2 months ago. A few things have changed since then. But you can see a couple places where I was right (like where I said I think Romo was good enough to get the Cowboys into the playoffs) and wrong (like where I said the Eagles were done without McNabb). I'm mostly posting this to keep Anonymous happy while I finish some work before posting the playoff picks. Enjoy debating the rankings as they would look now! (My biggest movers between now and then would probably be Eli and Carr dropping several spots, and Alex Smith and VY moving up a few.)

On to the rankings...

1. Pats - Tom Brady
The Super Bowl rings do the talking. He misses the WRs he lost a bit this year I think, and he's suffered a bit from bad play-calling (see the losses to the Colts and Jets), but he's still who you'd most want to have at the helm during the playoffs.

2. Colts - Peyton Manning
I don't think this needs much explanation. He has the numbers, but not the Super Bowl rings (or appearances actually).

3. Philly - Donovon McNabb
The Eagles are just a totally different team with him in there. Watch them now fall out of playoff contention with him gone for the year. Arguably the most important player to any team.

4. Saints - Drew Brees
The Saints huge turnaround this season could be largely credited to Brees. He's looked excellent. And to think the Dolphins saved a few bucks and signed Culpepper instead.

5. Seattle - Matt Hasselbeck
I might have considered putting him at #3 had he not missed the past 4 games. He could finish the season anywhere between #3 and #15, depending on how he leads this shaky Seattle team down the stretch.

6. Rams - Marc Bulger
Has single-handedly killed my fantasy team the past two weeks with poor performances. But his accuracy is pretty damn good most of the time, and he makes very few mistakes. (I think he only has 2 picks all season.) Something about the guy is very... dull... though. Seems like he doesn't have much fire in him most of the time and not much of a personality.

7. Bengals - Carson Palmer
Can we really still call him "the best young QB in the league" any more? He's been around long enough. I think the knee injury is still bothering him a little bit, maybe mentally as much as physically. But he's shown some signs of life these past couple weeks.

8. Packers - Brett Favre
Looks like he's having fun again, and the West Coast Offense is starting to click. Well, aside from yesterday against the Patriots.. Since it sounds like he'll be back next week despite banging up his elbow, I won't bother listing Aaron Rodgers anywhere.

9. Chargers - Phillip Rivers
After a conservative start, he's been let loose. And the Chargers may be the team to beat in the AFC now that the Colts have lost. Impressive comeback win in Denver last night. I guess the Chargers' peeps knew what they were doing when they let Brees get away in free agency. This kid is for real.

10. NYG - Eli Manning
Has looked great at times... and awful at others... Seems he may have inherited the Manning gene for choking in big games, so I don't expect him to really rise above #5 or so on this list ever. And he actually seems less charismatic than Peyton, who woulda thunk that possible?

11. Dallas - Tony Romo
A bit early, but I like this guy so far. And as much as I hate Parcells and the Cowboys, I can easily see him leading them to a playoff berth. The Cowboys have a good defense, and he has the weapons on offense to get it done.

12. Texans - David Carr
This is probably slightly too high for him, but the fact is he's playing well right now. Very few mistakes. He's staying upright more than he's used to. And the Texans are competitive just about every week. Andre Johnson is one of the most underrated receivers in the league, and Carr is finding him often.

13. Panthers - Jake Delhomme
He'd probably be like 5 slots lower if he didn't have Steve Smith making ridiculous catches. He is quietly accurate and mistake-free though.

14. Ravens - Steve McNair
I'm not really a big McNair fan, but he is winning games for the Ravens. Even if a few of those wins did require a lucky bounce or two. There's no way the Ravens have as many wins with Kyle Boller as their QB, so that in itself is worth a few jumps up the list.

15. Jets - Chad Pennington
He looks like his shoulder is holding up okay, and his play is a big reason the Jets are alive in the playoff hunt. He had a rough game against the Bears, but most QBs do. And they were in it til the end.

16. Bears - Rex Grossman
Speaking of the Bears, Grossman has stayed healthy for a change and is getting a lot of credit for giving Chicago a decent offense to go with their dominant defense. But really, he's very inconsistent, and can cost the team the game at any point.

17. Broncos - Jake Plummer
Copy and paste time! "But really, he's very inconsistent, and can cost the team the game at any point." Jake the Snake still makes way too many mistakes. Last year was clearly an anomaly. Look for a first round playoff exit with Jake in control.

18. Falcons - Mike Vick
4 weeks ago, he might have cracked the top 10. Now, he's back down here sandwiched between the likes of Jake Plummer and Jon Kitna. I think it's safe to say Vick is never going to "get it" and suddenly become a top 5 QB in this league.

19. Lions - Jon Kitna
He's actually doing fairly well under Mike Martz's offense, though the Lions' record wouldn't tell you that. The problem with Martz's offense is that it goes pass wacky, and defenses adjust. And Jon Kitna-Roy Williams isn't quite Marc Bulger-Tory Holt.

20. Niners - Alex Smith
He's maturing and looks decent and times. But he's not exactly setting the league on fire and you don't hear too many Sportscenter highlights mentioning his name.

21. Miami - Joey Harrington
New life in Miami? Sure, why not. The bottom line is the Dolphins have won a few big games since he has taken over at QB. Really, it's been the defense winning the games. But Harrington hasn't turned around and lost them right back.

22. Bills - J.P. Losman
Not much to say here other than the Bills are just about where we'd expect them to be, and it sounds like Losman has played well enough to quiet any QB controversy between him and that Holcome guy whose first name I can't even remember right now. You know, the former Browns guy...

23. Chiefs - Trent Green
Probably moves up the list quite a bit if he can show he's recovered from that concussion. But it took a last minute touchdown to beat the Raiders yesterday, and really the Chiefs offense revolves around Larry Johnson. It's not like Green is asked to do a lot.

24. Titans - Vince Young
Typical rookie mistakes and struggles, but showing an occasional sign of life here and there. Way too early to give him a fair rating, but right now, he's not winning too many games on his own.

25. Seattle - Seneca Wallace
2-2 as the starter. Loss in KC was acceptable. Win over the Rams was impressive. Loss to the Niners yesterday while throwing 3 picks and making a few other questionable decisions takes him down several notches. With a well-played game yesterday, he goes to 3-1 as starter and sets himself up for a nice free agent contract from a team considering making him their starter. Instead, he played himself back to the bench and an uncertain future.

26. Steelers - Ben Roethlisburger
Decent comeback win yesterday against the Browns. But that was more thanks to the Browns prevent defense than anything great Ben was doing. He's had way more bad games than good ones this year, and my ill-fated Trent Dilfer comparsion may come to proove true before his career is over.

27. Browns - Charlie Frye
He's been decent at times, but the offensive play-calling was killing him until recently. He has nice weapons with Winslow and Edwards to throw to, but needs to show a bit more consistency and win some games.

28. Cardinals - Matt Leinart
Got off to a nice start, but has mostly struggled since. Has the weapons to be good, they just need an O-line that keeps him off his back. Which might be a few years away yet.

29. Jags - David Garrard
It was thought maybe he was the answer to an ineffective Leftwich, but he hasn't exactly lit it up. I'm not convinced. Although his receivers haven't helped him much by dropping balls.

30. Jags - Byron Leftwich
Comments get shorter as we get towards the end. He's immobile, not accurate, and inconsistent.

31. Chiefs - Damon Huard
Looked decent in a few starts for Green. Looked not-so-decent in the most recent couple.

32. Bucs - Chris Simms
Even before the ruptured spleen, there were some whispers he might be benched.

33. Philly - Jeff Garcia
Probably among the best backups in the league, but that's not saying much. Now he'll get a chance to try and get the Eagles into the playoffs.

34. Dallas - Drew Bledsoe
Borderline starter material at this point. His lack of mobility and tendancy towards big mistakes late in games make him just about done.

35. Skins - Jason Campbell
Don't know a whole lot about him. But if Mark Brunell was a better option for the Skins for the first 10 weeks of the season, that's not saying much.

36. Bucs - Bruce Gradkowski
Has won a few games, but mostly was the defense. He might keep the job over Simms. Big deal.

37. Vikings - Brad Johnson
Actually has a decent offensive line and running game. His receivers drop a lot of balls, but the whole "he knows how to manage games" compliment only gets you so far in this league.

38. Skins - Mark Brunell
Stick a fork in him, he's done. His brief resurgence last year was his last gasp.

39. Cardinals - Kurt Warner
Hasn't been the same since that nasty thumb injury. The dude still has some ability, he just can't hold on to the damn ball. And that's a problem.

40. Miami - Daunte Culpepper
Hasn't been the same since he lost Randy Moss. And now even when his knee is "100%" he might have a tough job winning the starting job back from Harrington.

41. Raiders - Andrew Walter
9 sacks in one game is a rough way to get settled in at the pro level. Still, even with zero pressure on him, I've seen this kid overthrow wide open receivers and bounce balls at people's feet.

42. Raiders - Aaron Brooks
If this guy is still in the league in 3 years as anything more than a clipboard holder, I'll be shocked. Notice how the Saints got rid of him and pretty much instantly won 5 more games? Yes, he's the worst, by far.