What Will It Look Like When The Great QB's Fall Off and Is That Now?

[BillickFan]

Will be interesting to see how long Manning & Brady play. They could hang for 3-5 years or more at their current level of play. It sucks that the nextgen star is gonna be Luck. Of all years for Indy (rot in hell Bob) to suck....it was with Luck at the top of the draft board. Why not Bradford or Newton or someone who isn't so friggin good.....?

[GOTA]

I think Flacco ends up in the Hall.... Luck could as well if he stays healthy, and they get any sort of defense/ running game in indy

Flacco in the Hall of Fame? Do you think Eli Manning ends up there as well? Joe Flacco hasn't even made a pro bowl. I can't see the writers voting for him

[ravensnhokies]

All it means is there will be others to take over: Rodgers for a while yet, Luck, Romo, Wilson. These guys will have their own identities and we'll be discussing their attributes. Who knows maybe Flacco will be in that mix, especially if he can win a second SB fairly soon.

Romo is surprisingly 34yrs old and has back probs.

Rodgers & Luck will be the 'pocket guys' once the PM, TB, and Drew Brees retire. Joe likely will be the Big Ben of the group... the QB that isn't gonna put up the fantasy numbers, but is a clutch guy for last minute drives and the playoffs. Personally, I think Joe should be in the Big Ben category now, especially that he is in a real offensive scheme now. The national pundits always categorize Joe in a tier below Ben.

[Mike_Z]

I'm curious as to where the NFL is going with the QB position. Will we see great pocket passers like Manning, Brady, Marino and Montana again. Or is the NFL headed to a more mobile QB like Manziel, Russel Wilson, RG3, Kaepernick etc.

IMO, the best QB will always be the field general who manages the game and distributes the ball. But I'm just a fan.

The pocket passer will always beat the "scramble first" QB. That is what separates Wilson from RGIII. Wilson is a pocket passer that can also scramble (Steve Young/Rodgers)), AND knows when to. RGIII just starts running.

Kaepernick is starting to learn and is having growing pains.

But those that control the game best and win the most, stand in the pocket, move from side to side, and find the open receiver.

Like you...always IMO, I am just a fan

[Rxdoxx]

With the rule changes, QBs will continue to pad numbers ...

Records will be broken and things like a 17/18 game season will be ignored just like 16 game season records ignored 14/12 game years.
Yeah! Team! current stars, current record-holders
Sammy Baugh's seasons were 10 games
Unitas' season was 12 games in 1958
I predict QBs numbers that look greater than the current crop but are produced by manipulations/expansions

[Flacco Seagulls]

I don't get all the media love for these running QB's. I guess it is the Fantasy Football effect? Or they are more marketable? But honestly, in the modern NFL, which running QBs have had the ultimate success?

Wilson won a superbowl, but he is more a pocket passers, as many have mentioned, than a runner. He can make things happen with his legs but always seems to look for the pass first.

Vince Young? He had a solid year then vanished.

Before him, Mcnab? He made it to the SB, and although he could run, he was in the same category. He was more a pocket passer than a runner.

Vick? He made it to the playoffs with Atlanta, but not much more.

Steve Air Mcnair (RIP), well, he was a pocket passer too.

Doug Flutie?? lol

Steve Young stands out the most, but this guy too, was a scrambler but pocket passer.

I don't recall a single running QB in the modern NFL really doing too much, why do they get so much hype?

[JoeCool5]

Aaron Rodgers is only 30. Many think he's the best QB in the NFL today and has a very long time left as long as he doesn't suffer a major injury

Put me in that category. Rodgers, barring injuries, has a ton of football left in front of him. QBs don't reach their primes until their late 20s.

[alienrace]

Yup, Rodgers has plenty of good years left, and I think Wilson is a very good QB. Kaep, Newton, RGIII, etc, are not going to do much, IMO. Andrew Luck looks like the best young QB in the NFL right now.

Manning, and Brady in particular, are nearing the end. Brady just looks like he doesn't have the physical tools to succeed any longer. Ditto for Manning, but the Broncos found ways to make up for it by having some good YAC guys around him. Ben is still capable, but he seems slower, injuries taking their toll. He's getting sacked too many times, and he no longer has the ability he once had to extend plays. Brees looks like he's going to start declining soon. Phil Rivers is looking in peak form right now, but hasn't had very good teams around him recently, though this year they have a great shot at stealing the division from what looks like a weaker Denver team. Eli and Flacco have a lot of good years in front of them, more so for Joe than Eli, as I also think that Joe's got much more athletic ability than Eli. HOF seem remote for either, but I'd venture to say if one of them winds up with 3 rings, they have a chance.

The landscape is going to change, that much is for sure. I don't see running QB's being much of a trend. Most people recognize that no pure running QB has sniffed a title, and that most of them spend their careers on the sidelines nursing injuries. It's still a pocket passer league, and teams still want big, but mobile guys back there who can look over the heads of linemen.

[BPF2]

One of the NFL shows was talking after the Denver-Seattle game last week about Peyton's decline. They talked about how last year, he looked great Sep to mid-Nov. then his arm really started to fade as the cold weather came and you could see it in his throws. Their opinion was that his throws now have the look of the throws from the tail end of last year. Not as much zip and not deep.

As for the fascination with the running QBs, I think it's a combination of 2 things.

1) everyone is looking for that next great QB with the current "elites" aging (hence a thread like this).

2) it's the excitement over someone who can do what most at the position can't or won't do. Like the 7-footer that can shoot 3's or a 2b who hits for power. Those plays will always make the highlights.

That fascination will always be there, and I think teams desperate for a QB will take the flyer on those types when they're available in the draft. But at the end of the day, I think every team is looking to have that pocket passer.

[JohnBKistler]

Flacco in the Hall of Fame? Do you think Eli Manning ends up there as well? Joe Flacco hasn't even made a pro bowl. I can't see the writers voting for him

Agreed. Flacco would have to win at least 2 more Super Bowls.

Your next "great" QBs are Wilson, Rodgers, Ryan, Luck, etc.....if Eli ain't on that list, Flacco never will be.

[DarthSizzle55]

I'm curious as to where the NFL is going with the QB position. Will we see great pocket passers like Manning, Brady, Marino and Montana again. Or is the NFL headed to a more mobile QB like Manziel, Russel Wilson, RG3, Kaepernick etc.

IMO, the best QB will always be the field general who manages the game and distributes the ball. But I'm just a fan.

I feel mobile QB's are too breakable. RG3 and Cam Newton come to mind.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

Agreed. Flacco would have to win at least 2 more Super Bowls.

Your next "great" QBs are Wilson, Rodgers, Ryan, Luck, etc.....if Eli ain't on that list, Flacco never will be.

Do you think Ryan will continue to be on that list if the Falcons continue to miss out on Super Bowls?