How does one classify a quarterback as elite? Is the classification based on post season success or juicy stat lines? If it is determined by post season success, then players like Peyton Manning and Dan Marino should not be considered elite. Manning is tied with Brett Favre with the most losses by a quarterback in the playoffs (11). Eight times, whether it was the first round or second because his team had a bye, he lost the first playoff game he played. He did make the Super Bowl twice, but was beaten by the Saints in 2010 and beat a Rex Grossman-led Bears team. Not the most impressive of all playoff stat lines.
Marino, widely considered one of the greatest QBs of all time, went 8-10 in the playoffs. He did better than Manning in opening playoff games, losing only three of them, but reached the Super Bowl only once. His Dolphins were hammered by Joe Montana's 49ers 38-16. The problem with examining post season success is that it leaves out greats like these players above and includes players such as Trent Dilfer, Jake Delhomme, and *gulp* Mark Sanchez.
Obviously the amount of playoff games the three have played have not been many, but their post season success numbers don't lie. All three have better winning percentages than Aaron Rodgers, Steve Young, and Drew Brees in the playoffs. Dilfer and Delhomme have actually played in as many Super Bowls as Marino did, with Dilfer winning the one he was in. It's easy to hate on Sanchez nowadays, but in his first two years he seemed destined to bring New York a title. He led the Jets to the AFC title game in his first two years, even though none of the games were played at home. He has won in San Diego, Indianapolis, and New England along the way. Certainly the talented Jets defense bailed him out a couple games against San Diego his rookie year and against Indy his second year, but his performance the other games were phenomenal. In his other four playoff games, he had a rating of 93.3 or above with eight TDs and one INT. Great post season success, inconsistent regular season play, and on a team where the defense gets the spotlight. Sounds an awful lot like the description for Joe Flacco. Going simply on post season success, how can you not say he's elite?
Flacco is now 9-4 in the post season. Like Sanchez, he had early success, but the success was attributed to the defense rather than Flacco. Also like Sanchez, his regular season stats leave much to be desired. His career rating in the regular season is 86.3 with a 1.82 : 1 TD to INT ratio. By comparison, Peyton Manning, the guy we just said was not elite due to lack of post season success, has a 95.7 rating with a 2.09 : 1 TD to INT ratio. Flacco has also always been blessed with defensive standouts such as Raw Lewis and Ed Reed, while Sanchez had Darrelle Revis and Bart Scott. The difference between the two? Flacco has now led a team to the Super Bowl and won it. So, he's elite right? Well, maybe not quite.
On the opposite end of the quarterback judging spectrum is the belief that stats don't lie and the juicy numbers are what constitutes an elite QB. Guys like Montana and Brady fall into both categories, but it opens the door for players like Manning, Marino, and even the Tony Romo's of the world to claim elite status. Since 2006, Romo has been in the top 10 for passer rating every single year except in 2010 when he had a season ending injury after the sixth game that year. He also finished third in passing yards in 2006, 2009, and 2012. He managed to finish seventh in 2011 when quarterbacks were setting ridiculous passing records. He has led his team to the playoffs three times in a highly competitive division. So why is he not considered elite league wide? There's got to be something more to it than just stats. If so, there would be a number of quarterbacks that could call themselves elite, although they would not deserve that title.
My definition of elite, although it sounds kind of corny, is trust. Who can I trust with my franchise? Who can I trust to win me that game or throw that perfect pass? This is why guys like Romo and Phillip Rivers cannot be considered elite. Being a Cowboys fan and having Rivers on my fantasy team, I found myself holding my breath whenever they dropped back to throw rather than begging for the coordinators to call more passing plays. Flacco wants Drew Brees-type money, but the people signing the checks have to ask if they can trust Flacco to produce like that. Will the Ravens, six or seven years from now say, "Thank God we gave Flacco that money. I think I'll wear the 2013 ring today and leave the 2014 and 2016 ones in the dresser." Honestly, I don't see it happening.
His post season run was great, but should he be considered Drew Brees great? Although Brees' post season record has not been as good as Flacco's (5-4), he has won a Super Bowl and Super Bowl MVP. He holds the record for most passing yards in a season (5476) and the most consecutive games with a passing TD (54). Joe Flacco is...good at growing facial hair? The contract he is asking for assumes he and Brees are on the same level. So I ask you football fans, especially Baltimore ones, if the Saints offered you Drew Brees straight up for Joe Flacco, would you take it? If you said no, you are either a member of the Flacco household or you seriously need to get your head examined. The job that Brees did this year might be even more impressive than Flacco's odyssey to the Super Bowl.
Despite the controversy surrounding the bounty scandal, no head coach, and playing with a defense that was last in the league in yards allowed (by nearly 1000 yards I might add), Brees still managed to get the Saints to a respectable 7-9, and finished tied for second in the division. He still finished in the top 8 in passer rating and was first in yards and TDs. Sure he had weapons with Jimmy Graham and Marques Colston, but so did Flacco with Ray Rice, Anquan Boldin, and Torrey Smith. Yet Brees out played him in every way this season, despite being on a lesser team. Some might say his stats are inflated because they were always down and they had to throw it. Consider that Matthew Stafford had more attempts than Brees, yet finished 22nd in passer rating with less than half as many TDs. In the same situation, could Flacco do that? I'll leave that call up to you, but I think people that know football would answer that question with a resounding "No."
Perhaps yesterday was when Flacco turned from good quarterback to elite. Maybe next season he goes throw for throw with Brees and Rodgers. Maybe he leads the Ravens to back to back titles. All I know is, he's got to show me something more before I can classify him as elite. I think people are being prisoners of the moment when putting him up there with the greats. You can come back to this article in November or December and bash me if he plays well, but I think the Ravens will overpay him. As it stands though, Ray Lewis is retired. Ed Reed and that defense aren't getting any younger. Baltimore has now become an offensive town. Flacco, time to show me, the experts, and the fans that you are, indeed, elite.
My list of elite QBs (active): Brady, Brees, Rodgers, both Mannings, Big Ben
Matty O
No comments:
Post a Comment