1. Aaron Rodgers
For most people this is an obvious choice, Rodgers is an exceptional quarterback who possesses all the exceptional skills that are needed to be a successful quarterback in the NFL, he has a cannon of an arm, pin point precision, brilliant footwork, excellent poise in the pocket and can even run down field if he needs to. Not only does he posses all of the physical abilities but he also has the mental talents required, he can read defenses exceptionally well and can take advantage of the slightest weakness that he finds prior to the snap. He has proven time and again since he took over the starting job from the legendary Brett Favre in 2008, that he was a more than capable replacement and in my opinion an upgrade from the ageing Favre. He cemented his place in the hearts of Packer fans when he claimed a Superbowl title in 2011 when he led his Green Bay team to a 31-25 victory against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Cowboys stadium. This remains Rodgers only trip to the Superbowl, but there is no doubt that if his defense can stay healthy he will make more appearances on one of the greatest stages in the world.
Rodgers has been hampered slightly in previous years by the inability of his defense to stay relatively healthy throughout the course of the season, the continued non existence of a running game and most recently the departure of a veteran wider receiver, Greg Jennings to divisional rivals Minnesota. However none of these troubles have managed to hamper his career as an individual, he has managed to work with the receivers that he has and this year may be his best if Randall Cobb can emerge as a premier slot receiver and work effectively alongside Jordy Nelson, James Jones and Jermichael Finley. If all everything falls into place during the 2013 season, Rodgers will again lead his team to the playoffs, his big test will come against the 49ers or the Seahawks if they meet in the playoffs as these are the two biggest contenders from the NFC to reach the Superbowl. So to just round it all up, Rodgers is in a class of his own, he is, and will be, for the foreseeable future at the top of the class.
2. Tom Brady
Over the past decade Brady has been arguably the most consistent quarterback in the NFL, he has been producing at the top of his game since 2001 and is showing no signs to suggest he is slowing down. The only concern that there may be is his age, at 35 he is no younger in the prime of his youth, but there is no reason that he shouldn't be the leader of the Patriots passing attack for the next 4 to 5 years at least. Brady is an exceptional quarterback, he excels at picking apart defenses and constantly takes advantage of the slightest miscues that he sees. His footwork and presence in the pocket is sensational, he has a brilliant arm that is capable of making any throw and is an extremely cerebral quarterback who is always testing defenses with his calls, shifts and audibles. There will always be the argument that Brady is a product of the system that Bill Belichick has created in New England, although it seems that this is much more evident to players who are brought into the system and can help to make an immediate impact. Brady helps to orchestrate Belichick's system on the field and is for all intents and purposes a second coach on the field. Brady showed us last year that he is still performing superbly on the field and shows no signs of slowing down, posting 4,827 yards through the air, 34 touchdowns and only 8 picks, this all amounted to a quarterback rating of 98.7. This is a solid rating for a quarterback who is 35 years of age and indicates that Brady has many great years left to come.
3. Drew Brees
Drew Brees without a doubt has to be ranked in the elite tier quarterbacks in the NFL, he has a slightly weaker arm than the others ranked in the top 5 (All this means is that he shouldn't break his receivers fingers if they don't catch it properly, "shouldn't" being the word to focus on here) but can still make all the required throws, he is extremely accurate and can place the ball into tiny windows for his receivers to make plays. Another trait that makes him one of the most valuable players not only at the quarterback position but also in the entire league is his pocket presence, Brees glides around in the pocket with flawless footwork and is rarely sacked because he has held the ball for too long, this mean that the Saints are one of the most deadly passing teams in football,when this is combined with his exceptional ability to read opposing defenses then he become one of the most feared quarterbacks in the league.
Brees has also managed to beg himself a Super Bowl ring when he led the New Orleans Saints past the Indianapolis Colts at the culmination of the 2009 season in Miami, Brees managed to steer them past the Peyton Manning led Colts for a 31-17 victory. Although it can be argued that the game turned in the Saints favour when they managed to recover a surprise onside kick at the beginning of the second half, there is no doubt the Brees was a major contributing factor to their success. This was definitely showcased by earning the MVP award, he amassed 288 yards, completing 32 of 39 passes as well as adding 2 touchdowns. This showcases his brilliant ability to perform in pressure situations, although this has been his only trip to a Super Bowl so far, there is no doubt that he will have a good few runs at it again before he decides to throw the towel in. Brees had another outstanding season in 2012, he posted a brilliant 5177 yards through the air, which led the entire league as well as being the only quarterback to make it over 5000 yards, 43 touchdowns and a 96.3 rating, although he did throw a rather high number of interceptions by the end of the season, 19, this can easily be attributed to the fact that he was throwing the ball more than anyone else. All in all, there is no doubt that Brees is among the most elite play callers in this current era.
4. Peyton Manning
After Peyton sustained his neck injury during his time with the Indianapolis Colts many people thought he would never be able to re-establish the lofty heights that he had been playing at before the injury. We followed his recovery progress and all knew how he had to basically teach himself how to throw again and then came the flood of stories about how his arm strength was diminished and he didn't let other people see him throw because he was embarrassed. However this legend of the game who will be enshrined in Canton forever when he decides to set down his shoulder pads for the last time was absolutely superb last year, he showed fans that although his injury had set him back he had worked to get back to the level he was used to playing at and that fans expected to see. Last year he threw for 4,659 yards, 37 scores and only 11 picks, if we look at these statistics and compare them to his last year with the \colts we can see just how hard he worked, he actually performed better in Denver in 2012 than in 2010 before he was injured. He showed that his arm strength had only diminished slightly and that in due time it would return to its normal consistency. He still seems to have a little difficulty in making the ball rotate as it used to but he has no problem in delivering the rock on time and on target to his multitude of receivers.
There is an argument that Manning is the most cerebral quarterback in the history of the game, he can see what the defense is going to do at the line of scrimmage and can adjust the play called to increase how successful that certain play is, this is a sign of an exceptional quarterback, a good quarterback can make throws depending on what he sees after the ball is snapped and he has diagnosed what the defense is doing, the best quarterbacks in the game know the exact throw they are going to make and where before the ball has even reached their hands. Manning is one of the few who does this, his patient attitude and persistence to understand defensive schemes has allowed him over the years to pick apart defenses with ease and claim 4 MVP trophies and a single super bowl ring (yes we do know that Eli technically has won more, but he still isn't on the same level as his big brother).
He is now pushing for his second championship, this time with Denver, he has all the tolls this year for success with the addition of Wes Welker it seems as though he is going to be unstoppable offensively as long as Von Miller and his teammates can at the least stymie offenses (Expect Von to be putting pressure on the quarterback on every other play and causing havoc in the opponents backfield) then Manning is going to cruise into the playoffs (anyone thinking a possible 16-0 season going here?). He as great pocket presence and his leadership and experience has really allowed the Broncos young receivers to flourish, especially Eric Decker and Demaryuis Thomas, with the addition of one of the best wideouts in the league from New England there is no doubt that they could eventually in a year or two become the best receiving core in the league. Whatever happens after last year where their season was ended by the Baltimore Ravens in the miracle at mile high expect Manning and his team to be pushing even harder to make it to Met Life Stadium in February.
5. Joe Flacco
Fresh off his Super Bowl MVP season and signing a contract that made him one of the highest paid quarterbacks in the game, its difficult to argue that Joe shouldn't be sitting at the number 5 spot. Although there was contention for this spot from the likes of Eli Manning, Matt Ryan and any of the stellar rookie quarterbacks from last season Joe has prove that he stands above them with his first career Superbowl ring. Although many critics can argue that the clutch play of Anquan Boldin in particular was a huge factor in making sure that the Raven stayed in the playoffs there can be no doubt that a large number of these plays were possible because of Flacco's impressive array of skills as a quarterback. The success of the Ravens season was clearly helped by the return of Ray Lewis for the playoffs the continual brilliance of Ed Reed and the defense and the presence that Ray Rice holds in multiple areas of the offense. However last season we saw Flacco blossom into on of the top quarterbacks in the NFL he performed much better in clutch situations, for example the incredible touchdown to Jacoby Jones in the "Mile High Miracle" where Flacco threw for 331 yards and 3 touchdowns. Many commented as this being the game in which Joe grew up and took control of the team for good as the whole organisation knew that this was going to be the last ride for Ray Lewis and they needed another player to step up and assume the mantle of leader. Flacco then went on to subsequently beat the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium where they had fallen last year to some crucial errors.
With the emergence of tight end Dennis Pitta and Wide out Torrey Smith we should expect to see Flacco continue his stellar play next year. The loss of Boldin may hurt their offense at the start of the season but as Flacco gets more comfortable with his new core of relievers his production will increase. His time has come, with the loss of Ed Reed and Ray Lewis Flacco stands as their star player, it is on his shoulders to steer the team and lead when the going gets rough. If Flacco continues his stellar play from the 2012 playoffs we should expect to see the Baltimore Ravens yet again claim their division and push for a possible repeat. Flacco possesses all of the attributes that are required to be a successful quarterback in the NFL, he has arguably the best deep ball in football and has good accuracy. His footwork, mechanics and pocket presence are all extremely good. As long as he maintains these skills and continues to develop there is no reason why he shouldn't become an even more successful quarterback than he is now, of course he will be helped tremendously if Ray Rice can continue to be a dual threat running back and force defenses to account for him. This should give Flacco more time to throw to his young recievers and build a successful relationship with them. Overall expect Flacco to continue developing and being successful in the years to come.
