Posted by ESPN.com’s Kevin Seifert

We spent some time this summer trying to develop ways to account for the sudden influx of quarterbacks into our Black and Blue den. I’m sure that Jay Cutler, Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers will play a prominent role in our discussions throughout a typical game week, but I also wanted to find a dedicated day and method for comparing, judging, praising and criticizing them.

Cutler

Rodgers

Favre

So welcome to “Air and Space,” our now-regular Thursday afternoon feature. My goal is to find a fresh and interesting way to follow three potential Pro Bowl players through what could be an extraordinary season. Many weeks, we’ll be leaning on our friends over at ESPN Stats & Information to provide some statistical analysis into their performances. Other weeks, we’ll focus on something less game-related -- leadership, contracts and/or legacy, for example.

For the early going, at least, I’m going to leave Detroit quarterback Matthew Stafford out of this equation. Let’s not hold him to the same standards of three players who have already proved their elite status. If and when Stafford pulls himself into this conversation, we’ll be happy to include him. Otherwise, there’s no sense pretending he’s doing a poor job because he didn’t measure up to this set of peers.

All three of our participants had strong preseasons, but I think everyone would agree Rodgers was special this summer. Here’s how they matched up:

2009 Preseason CMP ATT CMP% YPA TD INT Rating Jay Cutler 28 44 63.60 7.5 2 1 91.9 Aaron Rodgers 29 41 70.70 11.3 6 0 147.9 Brett Favre 14 22 63.60 6.6 1 0 97.9

Once the season begins, ESPN Stats & Information will help us reach behind those basic numbers to give us an intelligent and analytical way to follow the season. Benjamin Lerner and Michael Landrigan whipped up a number of categories based on 2008 performances, and I found one particularly interesting. In the chart below, you’ll see one way to measure effective downfield passing. As you can see, Rodgers produced the best results on passes that traveled at least 21 yards in the air past the line of scrimmage.

Pass Thrown: 21+ Yds CMP ATT CMP% YPA TD INT Rating Jay Cutler 27 80 33.80 11.8 8 7 76.25 Aaron Rodgers 23 61 37.70 15.16 8 4 97.85 Brett Favre 13 57 22.80 7.63 5 10 48.54

Look for this series to continue every Thursday afternoon during the season.