ESPN NFL

Posted by ESPN.com's Kevin Seifert

Earlier Wednesday, I pointed you toward SportsNation's interactive ranking of the NFL's top 20 quarterbacks, with the promise I would return with my own list. I'm a man of my word. (Except when I'm not, of course). So here is my take, followed by some notes and explanations:

1. Tom Brady
   
2. Peyton Manning
   
3. Drew Brees
   
4. Ben Roethlisberger
   
5. Donovan McNabb
   
6. Kurt Warner
   
7. Carson Palmer
   
8. Matt Ryan
   
9. Aaron Rodgers
   
10. Jay Cutler
    
11. Tony Romo
    
12. Philip Rivers
    
13. Eli Manning
    
14. Jake Delhomme
    
15. Matt Hasselbeck
    
16. Matt Schaub
    
17. Matt Cassel
    
18. David Garrard
    
19. Kyle Orton
    
20. Trent Edwards

I know there was a fierce Brady-Manning debate during ESPN.com's all-decade rollout last month. Sorry, I'm big on championships. Brady has more. And in the one season where he ran a pass-heavy offense, Brady's production was comparable with Manning's best season.

I managed to squeeze both NFC North entrants into my top 10, with an order that shouldn't be surprising to readers of this blog. I'm a bit more comfortable now with Rodgers than Cutler, but that of course is subject to change over time.

To do so, I put some big names in the lower half of my ranking. Romo (11), Rivers (12) Eli Manning (13), and Delhomme (14) have all been named to a Pro Bowl. My NFC West colleague, Mike Sando, notes Rivers' feistiness, but I wonder what his passing numbers would look like without the Chargers' huge running game. And I've never been a huge fan of Eli Manning, who has been pretty average for most of his career. He's a career 56 percent passer.

Sometimes evidence of potential outweighs past performance. I have more confidence in the immediate and future success of Ryan, Rodgers and Cutler than I do in Eli Manning, Delhomme or Hasselbeck.

This is just one blogger's ranking.

Remember these are FUN and NOT NFL canon. With that, please proceed to tear me to shreds in the comments below.