New England Patriots Fan Poll Friday: NFL Network Rankings
The NFL Network top 100 ranking list for this year was completed yesterday, and Tom Brady ended up with a top five finish, checking in at fourth place overall. However, the New England Patriots star signal-caller seems to be snubbed, considering Peyton Manning finished in second. Aaron Rodgers, meanwhile, finished outside of the top five in sixth place, which seems to be too low. In all honesty, I would rank Manning the last of the three with Rodgers and Brady in some combination of first and second. Brady had to overcome worse receivers than Rodgers, but Rodgers also had a worse offensive line and an inferior ground attack.
New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady during minicamp at the practice fields of Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Stew Milne-USA TODAY Sports
These sorts of list are great for generating debates, and it seems like there are no shortage of opinions on how to rank the quarterbacks in the NFL. The top three centers around Manning, Brady, and Rodgers, and there is no doubt in my mind that those are the three best quarterbacks in the league. How exactly to rank them is a different story, and I’m sure the Patriots faithful know who they have on top. I personally love Aaron Rodgers and wouldn’t mind seeing him at the top, and I feel like he was the biggest snub of them all. As for Peyton Manning, I think most of us are used to him grabbing the spotlight.
Well, Pats fans, this is a new series on the site and this is the introductory “Fan Poll Friday”. Each Friday, we will have a poll question for you guys to answer, and we really want you guys to drop comments and debate all you want. Below are all the different scenarios of ranking the top three quarterbacks, so feel free to vote and debate.
For those of you who like to deal with statistics and analytics, the raw data favors Rodgers, the Pro Football Focus grades favor Manning, while the advanced stats such as Expected Points Added, Win Probability Added, and Success Rate all favor Brady. Yeah, it’s incredibly hard to choose among these three. But for my money, J.J. Watt was the best player in the league this past season; what he did at as a three and five tech is just ridiculous. The numbers he put up combined with the tape paint the picture of a legendary season from Watt.