Yasinkas: NFC South QB rankings

[Fireball77]

Oh no, Rivers is no Hall, etc. I think he simply does some things that a leader shouldn't do like trash talking with opposing fans. I expect a QB to be the example with that type of stuff. Were he not to do that yet trash his teammates in the press I would think very ill of him (Which would basically make him P. Manning, hence my feelings on him being far less positive than on Rivers). PM doesn't act like that to opposing fans but he will and does throw his teammates under the bus in a heartbeat. Rivers is a good teammate and NEVER does that. I would probably take him over Manning for that factor alone (being a good teammate) since they both have skill.

[thefuzz]

Oh no, Rivers is no Hall, etc. I think he simply does some things that a leader shouldn't do like trash talking with opposing fans. I expect a QB to be the example with that type of stuff. Were he not to do that yet trash his teammates in the press I would think very ill of him (Which would basically make him P. Manning, hence my feelings on him being far less positive than on Rivers). PM doesn't act like that to opposing fans but he will and does throw his teammates under the bus in a heartbeat. Rivers is a good teammate and NEVER does that. I would probably take him over Manning for that factor alone (being a good teammate) since they both have skill.

Both can ball, of that there is no doubt. And as good as Peyton is, the whining to the media about his coaches and players cannot sit well with some of his teammates.

The jawing with the fans was not a good idea, and you didn't see any of it last season, I watched very closely. And yes, I have never heard a cross word from him concerning his team, or coaches, and that is something that I really respect.

[TheDeuce53]

I hear you fuzz about BR. I don't like him much myself personality wise (I think he is a drama queen and a bit of a baby) but he has usually been an efficient QB.

I have no issue with Brees as a human being at all and I am not exactly a personal fan of Rivers because I thing he does some punky things but there's no way I take Brees over Rivers. NO WAY.

I don't understand your logic... Rivers is a punk with a big mouth and a drama queen... and Brees is a person who says and does all the right things. Brees puts up better numbers without the benefit of maybe the best running back and best tight end in the league.... but you take Rivers without a second thought?

As for Warner, I can't even imagine what Brees would have done with Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin at his disposal..

I am getting the feeling that you are picking your QB based on the colors he wears and not the player he is..

[Fireball77]

I said Roeth is a drama queen, not Rivers (hence my writing BR not PR).

LdT wasn't the main cog this year the way Rivers was. Rivers' earlier years I agree, LdT was the best player on the offense. Don't forget Brees benefitted form LdT's younger years himself.

Were Brees on any other team I would feel the exact same way about him, good QB, benefits stat wise a bit from the offense he runs currently, good teammate, but not an elite QB. I never ever base my opinion of a player's skill level on what colors he wears. I hate Cutler in every way possible and I think Brees is a good person yet if I said Brees had a better arm than Cutler, does that make any sense? No. I do admit I look at the whole package though (value for the dollar, character, fit for the team etc), not JUST the skill level when trying to decide who I would want on my team.

[thefuzz]

I don't understand your logic... Rivers is a punk with a big mouth and a drama queen... and Brees is a person who says and does all the right things. Brees puts up better numbers without the benefit of maybe the best running back and best tight end in the league.... but you take Rivers without a second thought?

As for Warner, I can't even imagine what Brees would have done with Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin at his disposal..

I am getting the feeling that you are picking your QB based on the colors he wears and not the player he is..

Rivers is a talker, of that there is no debate. What his teammates say is that it's just a LB playing the QB position...I don't have a problem with that. If it affected his game play it would be a huge problem, but it doesn't seem to. Drama queen he is not, that title would go to Ben if anyone that I had mentioned.

Brees had the best rb in the league behind him for 4 seasons, LT is a shell of what he was back then.

I don't care about the NFL man of the year awards, I want a fierce competitor back there, and Brees is not that person that I want. In the same breath we can discuss Carson Palmer and my not liking him to lead my team, but has put up gawdy numbers.

[Fireball77]

Agreed Fuzz. IMO Palmer and Brees are about the same guy. Palmer has better physical tools but that's it. I do think a bit more of Brees than I do of Palmer though which proves that physical skills alone don't always tip the balance for me.

[thefuzz]

Yup.

I rate Brees higher on my want to lead my team chart, but just barely. Palmer has every tool in the box, I mean, he could be unreal...but.....

One of the knocks I have on Brees is his height, and size, but that does not diminish him in my eyes all that much, but it is one...

If it came to it though, I do think that Brees and Palmer are both really good, and leaps and bounds better than Jake.....as far as playing the game. However I put a HUGE amount of stock in attitude, desire, toughness....you know intangibles.

[TheDeuce53]

I said Roeth is a drama queen, not Rivers (hence my writing BR not PR).

LdT wasn't the main cog this year the way Rivers was. Rivers' earlier years I agree, LdT was the best player on the offense. Don't forget Brees benefitted form LdT's younger years himself.

Were Brees on any other team I would feel the exact same way about him, good QB, benefits stat wise a bit from the offense he runs currently, good teammate, but not an elite QB. I never ever base my opinion of a player's skill level on what colors he wears. I hate Cutler in every way possible and I think Brees is a good person yet if I said Brees had a better arm than Cutler, does that make any sense? No. I do admit I look at the whole package though (value for the dollar, character, fit for the team etc), not JUST the skill level when trying to decide who I would want on my team.

How can you say he is not an elite quarterback? What does one have to do to be an "elite" quarterback?

[TheDeuce53]

Rivers is a talker, of that there is no debate. What his teammates say is that it's just a LB playing the QB position...I don't have a problem with that. If it affected his game play it would be a huge problem, but it doesn't seem to. Drama queen he is not, that title would go to Ben if anyone that I had mentioned.

Brees had the best rb in the league behind him for 4 seasons, LT is a shell of what he was back then.

I don't care about the NFL man of the year awards, I want a fierce competitor back there, and Brees is not that person that I want. In the same breath we can discuss Carson Palmer and my not liking him to lead my team, but has put up gawdy numbers.

Brees is not a fierce competitor? Have you ever seen an interview of Brees?

Do you not remember before the Monday Night game against the Packers last season when the packers were talking up their top 5 pass defense... and Brees said "My best is better than their best".. and proceeded to destroy their secondary?

Brees is the undisputed leader of the team. He has put up better numbers the past 3 seasons than any other quarterback in the league.

Rivers played extremely well last year... but I seem to remember him being "beaten" by Drew Brees in a head to head matchup. Brees didn't even have Reggie Bush to dump the ball off to and Brees also didn't have the luxury of playing against the Terrible Saints secondary.

I just do not see how anyone would place Brees outside of the top 5 QBs in the league. His top 2 receiving targets (Colston and Bush) missed time as did his starting tight end.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sv0nLv4-XcU

Brees continually is among the least sacked QBs in the league... is that because he has a crushing O-line? No. The O-line isn't bad but they certainly aren't great. He has shown he is maybe the most accurate deep ball passer in the game. People question his arm, but he is continually topping the charts in 20+ and 40+ yd passes!!!

What would Drew Brees have to do to be considered "elite"? Is there some scale I am not aware of... since clearly stats do not count in your eyes.

[thefuzz]

Brees is not a fierce competitor? Have you ever seen an interview of Brees?

Do you not remember before the Monday Night game against the Packers last season when the packers were talking up their top 5 pass defense... and Brees said "My best is better than their best".. and proceeded to destroy their secondary?

Brees is the undisputed leader of the team. He has put up better numbers the past 3 seasons than any other quarterback in the league.

Rivers played extremely well last year... but I seem to remember him being "beaten" by Drew Brees in a head to head matchup. Brees didn't even have Reggie Bush to dump the ball off to and Brees also didn't have the luxury of playing against the Terrible Saints secondary.

I just do not see how anyone would place Brees outside of the top 5 QBs in the league. His top 2 receiving targets (Colston and Bush) missed time as did his starting tight end.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sv0nLv4-XcU

Brees continually is among the least sacked QBs in the league... is that because he has a crushing O-line? No. The O-line isn't bad but they certainly aren't great. He has shown he is maybe the most accurate deep ball passer in the game. People question his arm, but he is continually topping the charts in 20+ and 40+ yd passes!!!

What would Drew Brees have to do to be considered "elite"? Is there some scale I am not aware of... since clearly stats do not count in your eyes.

Ummm yes, I have seen and interview of Brees.

You do know that the Chargers Pass D was next to last ranked in the league...right?

I get it, you love him, and would not trade him for any QB...that's cool. I just do not agree with you. Drew is a fine QB, a very good one, I just do not think that he is the best QB in the NFL. And he is not the one I would want to run my team, if I had first choice. He is probably the 6-8 range of guys that I would pick out there right now.

[Saint J]

He is probably the 6-8 range of guys that I would pick out there right now.

Earlier you struggled to name 4-5 QBs let alone eight.

[TheDeuce53]

Ummm yes, I have seen and interview of Brees.

You do know that the Chargers Pass D was next to last ranked in the league...right?

I get it, you love him, and would not trade him for any QB...that's cool. I just do not agree with you. Drew is a fine QB, a very good one, I just do not think that he is the best QB in the NFL. And he is not the one I would want to run my team, if I had first choice. He is probably the 6-8 range of guys that I would pick out there right now.

It isn't that you don't think he is the best QB in the league that irks me... it's that you think there are 5-7 quarterbacks that are playing at a higher level than Drew Brees in the league... that is just madness!

[Fireball77]

Yup.

I rate Brees higher on my want to lead my team chart, but just barely. Palmer has every tool in the box, I mean, he could be unreal...but.....

One of the knocks I have on Brees is his height, and size, but that does not diminish him in my eyes all that much, but it is one...

If it came to it though, I do think that Brees and Palmer are both really good, and leaps and bounds better than Jake.....as far as playing the game. However I put a HUGE amount of stock in attitude, desire, toughness....you know intangibles.

I swear we were separated at birth.

Lots of QBs have more physical skill than Jake. BUT...that doesn't mean they are better "QUARTERBACKS"...as in the whole package.

How can you say he is not an elite quarterback? What does one have to do to be an "elite" quarterback?

Well perhaps you have a different definition of that term than I do, a broader one. I mean it makes me puke when the media calls people "franchise QBs" too when they aren't anywhere near that in my eyes (Cutler for example).

Elite to me has more of an exclusivity to it, it isn't the same definition the media casually tosses out. It means that they have very few weaknesses mentally and physically and skill wise and have consistently played at a high level in the regular season and postseason and in the clutch regardless of the level of skill around them. Which means Tom Brady. Period. Postseason play, his attitude at times, and not knowing what Manning would do without a cadre of talent around him leaves him out, though I can't dispute his being second on the list. Rivers could move up there but not yet. I could see Rodgers getting there too. Perhaps Ryan ( another guy who rubs me the wrong way for some reason, he seems phony or something but again, that has nothing to do with how I evaluate him as a player). This is just off the top of my head, there may be more. If Brees gets better in the late and close aspect and would have some more playoff games to evaluate him on (which of course isn't his fault but neither is it Manning's fault that he has always been surrounded by talent) he would be there as well.

Also, just because someone is very good QB wise doesn't mean I would necessarily want him on my team over a guy who is below him...hence my preference for Rivers over Manning. How the guy fits the team, the money you have to put out, the intangibles, etc. It all goes into my opinion of who I want on my team.

[RazzleDazzle]

I'm gonna go smoke but some of you guys are very wrong when you say Brees was no good for the Chargers. Now, would I take him on my team? No, because I hate the douche bag. In my opinion, which is the only one that should ever count. Jake is number 1 and he always gives it his all and practices hard. Why wouldn't you not want him?