Can't Spell Elite without ELI!

Last week I listed 7 NFL Quarterbacks in my conversation about Elite level players at the position. Over the past weekend in the NFC Championship Eli Manning led the New York Giants to an overtime victory against the San Fransico 49ers. Therefore, reluctantly, I am forced to include Manning into the conversation of Elite level NFL Quarterbacks. Manning will now be playing in his second Super Bowl with 1 championship win already under his belt. That alone forces me to include him among this prestigous group. In the past Manning has never "wowed" the league with incredible statistics and has always been overshawdoed by his older brother Peyton, however, with Peyton on the sideline all season with a neck injury, Eli made the most of his opportunity to break out of his older brother's shadow.

In 2011 Eli led the Giants to a NFC East Divsion Championship and a playoff appearance. He did this by having a career year; throwing for 4933 yards... over 900 more than any other season. In the past Eli has been critized for throwing too many interceptions at important stages of games. However, in 2011 he made much better decisions, only throwing 16 compared to the 25 he threw in 2010. For his efforts, Manning was named to the Pro Bowl along with Aaron Rodgers and Drew Brees (putting him with some pretty elite company). In the playoffs Manning has led the Giants to victories over the Falcons, Packers and 49ers, including road wins in Green Bay and San Francisco. This road to the Superbowl is extremely impressive, especially as the Giants were big Las Vegas under dogs the past 2 weeks. Manning has seemed to have "ice in his veins" making big time throws in big situations. In the Giants win against the 49ers, Manning was faced with an extreme pass rush where he was sacked 6 times and seemingly got beat up throughout the game, however he kept getting up and making plays and the Giants capitalized on a costly fumble in Overtime to win the game.

Manning's skill set has never really impressed me, however his ability to make big plays when they matter has. Below is an example of this as Eli makes a huge play in the dying seconds of Super Bowl XXXXII that lead to the Giants victory.

  

Elite Quarterbacks

Elite NFL QB's

Below is a list of the elite level quarterbacks in the NFL. This is a very select group taking into account statistical analysis as well as career accomplishments (i.e. Super Bowl wins, MVP awards, etc.) Currently the NFL is experiencing more elite level quarterbacks than ever as the game has adapted to cater more to the offensive side of the ball. This new movement has also produced a larger number of putrid level quarterbacks making having an elite level QB on your team of utmost importance.

#1 - Tom Brady

All Tom Brady has done since entering the league in 2000 is win. Since that time Brady has been selected to 8 Pro Bowls, set the NFL record for most touchdown passes in a season, and has won 2 league MVP awards.
In 2011 regular season Brady finished in the top 3 of all major quarterbacking stats including, completion percentage, total yards, QB rating and Touchdown passes. What sets Brady apart from the rest of the QBs on this list is his 4 Super Bowl appearances and 3 Super Bowl victories. The main goal in the NFL is to win a Super Bowl and Brady has won more than any other current NFL QB and is poised to win more as he continues to lead the Patriots to more playoff victories.



#2 - Aaron Rodgers

Aaron Rodgers became an elite level quarterback as he lead the Packers to a victory in Super Bowl 45. He continued his success in 2011 leading one of the league's most potent offences to a 15-1 regular season record. Rodgers led the league in 2011 in Quarterback rating and was in the top 3 in completion percentage and touchdown passes.

#3 - Drew Brees

Most notably Drew Brees surpassed Dan Marino's record for passing yards in a single season this year setting a new bench mark at 5476 yards. Brees led the Saints to a Super Bowl in 2009 where he was also named the games MVP. Brees' statistics are just as impressive as that of Rodgers and Brady however, the only knock on Brees that puts him slightly lower on this is an increased amount of interception. In 2011 Brees through 14 picks, whereas Rodgers threw 6. Although you could argue that when you throw for over 5000 yards, your bound to have a few mistakes along the way. That being said, Brees fits in nicely as the leagues #3 Quarterback.

#4 - Ben Roethlisburger

Statistically Roethlisburger has always been a very good Quarterback, however he rarely is on the same level as a Brady, Rodgers or Brees. The reason Roethlisburger makes this elite level list is his ability to win. In his short career he has already played in 3 Super Bowls and won 2 of them. Although it can be agrued that this has been a product of a dominant Steelers defence, It has been Roethlishberger who has time and time again come up with clutch throws to win big games.






#5 - Peyton Manning

Peyton missed the entire 2011 season with a neck injury making it difficult to rank him among the other elite Quarterbacks. The biggest stat we can take out of this season is that in Peyton's absence the Colts finished the season a measily 2-14 after being a perenial playoff contender for the past 8 years. Manning is the QB to start his NFL career by passing for over 3000 yards in each of his first 10 seasons. Manning has led his team to the most ever 12 win regular seasons however he had early playoff struggles. Manning finally won his first Super Bowl in 2006 and in 2009 he went back but lost to Drew Brees and the Saints. In 2010 Manning won his 4th league MVP award, becoming the first ever player to do this.

Soon to be Elite

These soon to be elite QBs had outstanding seasons and have talent beyond their years as they are extremely young. The only reason they cannot be considered elite yet is because of their youth and the fact they have not had a chance yet to win multiple playoff games and Super Bowls. However, I expect this to come very shortly.

Matthew Stafford

In his first full season as the Lions starter, Stafford became the 4th QB in the history of the league to throw for over 5000 yards. He is only 23 years old, enough said.

Cam Newton

In 2010 Cam Newton won a National Championship and a Heisman Trophy. In 2011 Newton was the NFLs offensive rookie of the year, passed for over 4000 yards, set the NFL record for rushing TDs by a QB and totaled 35 TDs.