Best Quarterback Situations 2006

Last night, ESPN revealed their power list for the best quarterback situations for the upcoming NFL season. Overall the list was pretty decent. I had some issues with exact numbering, but the general area was pretty good. The usual suspects were on the bottom—San Francisco, Buffalo and so forth. There were a few surprises along the way. The biggest factor for some teams was the fact that the quarterbacks play well in the regular season and maybe not so well in the playoffs—hello Denver Broncos.

My main grip is with the top three selections. At number three was Matt Hassleback of the Seattle Seahawks. Up one spot at number two was Payton Manning of the Indianapolis Colts. At the number one spot, as expected, was Tom Brady of the New England Patriots. Keep in mind, we are supposed to be looking ahead to 2006 and thinking of the regular and postseason.

I can live with Tom Brady at number one. While he is not the best as far as stats go, he does come through in the clutch—that’s key for a winning team. However, why is Payton Manning and his numerous clutch time disasters ahead of Matt Hassleback who basically willed the Seahawks to the Super Bowl last season. Anyone remember the playoff game without Sean Alexander? How many quarterbacks can single handedly win a playoff game without a featured back? Payton Manning can’t even win one single playoff game when everyone is healthy.

In the end, the real non-biased top three would be: Tom Brady, Matt Hassleback and then Payton Manning. 2006 is going to be a great season.