Top 10 all-time QBs: Room for Eli or Big Ben?
Just in case you missed it, Brett Favre retired last week. Along with that, you might have seen my column that unofficially placed Favre eighth best on the all-time top-10 list of pro football quarterbacks.
Favre's retirement leaves only two active quarterbacks on the list, Tom Brady and Peyton Manning, both of whom ranked ahead of Favre. Just as Brady (No. 5) and Manning (No. 6) have enjoyed meteoric rises into an elite group because of their combined statistical and championship laurels, it's quite possible for a couple other young guns to make a run at the top 10.
One more championship for Brady, and it will be difficult to displace him -- much like Joe Montana, who is entrenched as my No. 2 (and is No. 1 on many lists). Manning and Favre, despite astronomical regular-season numbers, are in greater jeopardy of sliding down.
So which two current young guns have the potential to enjoy a similar rise into the upper echelon like Brady and the elder Manning did? Simple: It's those now fourth-year quarterbacks who have already managed to get their first Super Bowl rings: Eli Manning and Ben Roethlisberger .
Don't expect Eli to ever put up Peyton-type numbers in the regular season. But Eli may have greater potential, at this point, to end up with the magical three rings than his big brother does.
First off, there's the age factor. Peyton, who turns 32 in two weeks, is realistically looking at six-to-eight more solid seasons where he can keep the Colts in contention. Eli, meanwhile, turned 27 a month before the Super Bowl. He's about to hit his prime.
Also, despite playing with a consistent contender, Peyton has a much tougher AFC field to navigate the Colts through, one that includes Brady's Patriots and Roethlisberger's Steelers, not to mention the nearly right-there Chargers. Additionally, Indianapolis' own division is loaded with rising younger teams in Jacksonville, Tennessee and Houston . All those will be tough roadblocks on Peyton's path to another Super Bowl.
For all the criticism Eli had received before silencing his detractors with a comeback effort to get the better of Brady's then-undefeated juggernaut in Super Bowl 42, remember that he has helped the Giants get into the playoffs three consecutive years. Playing in the weaker conference, Eli seems to have an easier path to get back to the Super Bowl. But for Eli to make a realistic run at the all-time top 10 list, he must post more efficient regular-season stats on his way to more NFC championship games.
The Steelers just signed Roethlisberger to an eight-year contract extension worth $102 million, with $36 million guaranteed. That pretty much locks up Big Ben to be a big fixture in Pittsburgh for his entire NFL career. It's not surprising at all, because the Rooneys have made stability the trademark of a franchise that has won five Super Bowls, including the one Roethlisberger helped guide it to just two years ago.
Chuck Noll coached the team for 23 years. It was Bill Cowher for the next 15 years, and the Steelers are hoping for 15 more good ones from Mike Tomlin. The one mistake the organization made through the previous two coaching regimes was not having a quarterback set to take the mantle from Terry Bradshaw . The franchise struggled through seasons with the likes of Bubby Brister, Neil O'Donnell, Kordell Stewart and Tommy Maddox under center before Roethlisberger finally emerged as the man to get a proud team back to its desired level of success.
By securing Roethlisberger for the long-term, the Steelers should, like the Giants and Colts, be consistent contenders. Defense will always be their backbone, and they'll continue to try to run the ball. But Roethlisberger has showed what he can do if the Steelers open up their game plan with a high-percentage passing game that plays off the run.
His arm and athleticism led him to 34 total touchdowns (including 2 rushing) in 2007 against only 11 interceptions. Big Ben quietly had the big statistical season you might expect from Peyton, matching the Colts' star in TDs while posting the better passer rating (104.1) last season.
Roethlisberger just turned 26 last week and is further along in his development -- and is simply more physically gifted both size-wise and athletically -- than Eli Manning . Big Ben didn't have the greatest game as a winning QB in Super Bowl 40 , but the Steelers wouldn't even have gotten there without the clutch plays he made along the way -- remember the tackle on Colts cornerback Nick Harper?
It didn't take long for Eli Manning and Roethlisberger to justify their first-round selections in 2004, and separate themselves from another '04 first-rounder who hasn't quite broken through -- Philip Rivers. However, the Chargers' QB also has a solid playoff team around him, and he is just a ring away from joining this discussion.
If down the line we measure Roethlisberger and Eli by stats and efficiency, Big Ben will have the edge. But each could get at least one more shot at winning a Super Bowl , and the difference between one of them cracking the list of top 10 quarterbacks of all-time and the other not just might be a Giants victory over the Steelers in the big game -- or vice versa.