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Check out this Insider post by Trent Dilfer. He ranks the NFL’s quarterbacks, starters and even some backups, although Jimmy Clausen didn’t quite make the list.

Dilfer breaks the quarterbacks down into seven categories and I don’t think anyone will be surprised to hear that he’s got Drew Brees in his “Hall of Fame’’ category. There’s little doubt Brees will be in the Hall of Fame someday, and there’s absolutely no doubt he’s one of the league’s top two or three quarterbacks these days.

I think even fans of other teams freely will admit Brees is the NFC South’s best quarterback. That brings us to the quarterbacks of the other NFC South teams and how they fared in Dilfer’s rankings.

Two categories down, Dilfer includes Atlanta’s Matt Ryan in his “A Ring Away’’ category. He has Ryan grouped with guys like Philip Rivers, Joe Flacco, Tony Romo and Matthew Stafford.

The next category down is “Mostly Good’’ and that’s where Dilfer has Carolina’s Cam Newton and Tampa Bay’s Josh Freeman. They’re grouped with guys like Michael Vick, Andy Dalton and Carson Palmer.

Overall, I’ve got no issues with Dilfer’s list. I’m often asked in chats to rank the four NFC South quarterbacks. During last season, I tried to stay away from picking between Ryan and Newton as the No. 2 quarterback in the division. That’s mainly because Ryan and Newton are completely different quarterbacks. It also was because we were watching Newton evolve in his rookie season and there were changes in his level of play (usually for the better) just about every week.

But, since the season is over and since we’re on the topic, I’ll go ahead and reveal my rankings of the four NFC South quarterbacks. I’ll go in the same order Dilfer did.

We already addressed Brees and we’ll finish with Freeman. But why am I taking Ryan over Newton? First off, I’m only taking Ryan slightly over Newton. He’s been in the league for four years and has won each of those seasons. He hasn’t won big yet, but he may. Newton has way more upside than Ryan, but he’s not a finished product yet. A year from now, I might be sitting here writing that Newton is way better than Ryan. Heck, I might even be writing Newton is better than Brees.

He’s got that kind of upside. But he’s only played one season and only won six games. Let’s see a little more of Newton.

That brings us to Freeman. At the start of this past season, I thought Freeman had a chance to jump over Ryan into the No. 2 spot. That obviously didn’t happen and Freeman tumbled to No. 4 in the division. But Dilfer wrote that he still thinks Freeman can become elite. I agree totally.

Yes, Freeman had a bad 2011 season and some of the blame falls on him for that. But I put more blame on his coaching and supporting cast. I think the talent is there and Freeman can bounce back in 2012.

Anyway, those are my rankings at the moment. I know they’re open to debate. That’s what the comments section below is for.

We held our Friday NFC South chat, and it was about as lively as any session we had during the regular season. Can’t say that’s surprising, because NFC South fans tend to be a loyal and dedicated bunch.

Let’s take a look at some of the highlights:

Zion (New Orleans, La): With a new DC in Spags coming in, i'm sure we will see a new look with new faces. Do you see Porter and Harper fitting into Spags scheme?

Pat Yasinskas: My guess is Porter will be allowed to walk. Harper's contract means they almost have to keep him. They may have to adjust his role to make things work in that defense. Spags generally relies on safeties to cover and make plays. Coverage isn't exactly Roman's strength. They may have to get a little flexible with him.

Tay: (Atlanta, GA) [via mobile]: Pat I'm a die hard falcons fan, but I'm beginning to wonder if Matt Ryan is just another Tony Romo. He looks amazing in the regular season, but cracks under pressure... Maybe we should start looking for his replacement in case the upcoming season is also a failure.

Pat Yasinskas: You might be a tad early on pulling the plug on Matt. Let's give him the upcoming season with a new coordinator before making any final calls on him.

Chris (ATL): Dirk Koetter...We should give the guy a chance. It's not like he's trying to rip apart the offense and rebuild it to be ranked dead last. It seems his goal is to use the pieces already in place, keep the things the offense does well, and add in some elements that werent there like more vertical passing, screen plays....maybe some draws and misdirection to offset some pressure. The offense just needs some minor tweaks and he could be the guy to do it.

Pat Yasinskas: Agreed. I think Koetter is a much better coach than a lot of Atlanta fans are giving him credit for. He's got a ton more to work with than he had in Jacksonville.

Justin (Orlando): Why didnt the Bucs look at Mike McCoy? Are the Dolphins going to hire him?

Pat Yasinskas: I don't know the answer to that. But I would have looked at him. I covered Mike from the day he was hired as a quality control guy in Carolina. I've always thought he's had "Future head coach" written all over him. I think he's got a real good shot in Miami, so maybe the "future" part comes off of him.

Cody (Columbia): What do you think are Armanti Edwards' chances of making the Panthers' roster again next year? With David Gettis coming back and Edwards' inability to make a difference as a punt returner, it seems like it'd be difficult to find a spot for him again.

Pat Yasinskas: Armanti would have to come to training camp and show some pretty major improvement.

Richard F. (Chicago): They say it's a quarterback driven league but at the same time it's also a general manager driven league, so I was a little surprised that Mark Dominik survived the Buc's housecleaning. Do you think it was a good idea retaining Dominik?

Pat Yasinskas: Yeah, I do. First off Dominik's contract situation was different than Raheem's. He has three years remaining on his deal. Secondly, Glazers know what was going on in their building better than we do. There were reasons why they decided to stick with the GM and not the coach.

Corey (D.C.): Pat, if Meachem leaves New Orleans, do you think Arrington plays a larger role? Are they high on him at all?

Pat Yasinskas: Look at history of Saints. It sometimes takes several years for draft picks to really make impact. Meachem is an example of that. I think they like Arrington to some degree and he's a guy who was held back by injuries somewhat early in his career. One thing they like (and Brees likes) is continuity in the WR group. So, if Meachem does leave, I think that improves Arrington's stock.

Matt Riddle (Atlanta, Ga): Do you think there's any logic in trading Roddy White?

Pat Yasinskas: If you can get good value, yes, some logic. Roddy's also getting to an age where he could decline. The number of drops this season have to be a concern. And Julio's waiting in the wings to be a No. 1 WR. They could get another No. 2 pretty easily. But, that said, you don't just give a guy like Roddy away.

Trey (Charlotte, NC): Pat, after drafting Cam Newton, is Marty Hurney’s job secure for the next couple of years?

Pat Yasinskas: I think so. Newton was definitely a home run for him. Plus, you have to understand how Marty is viewed by the owner. Basically, when Richardson fired his two sons, he started looking at Hurney and Danny Morrison almost as two sons. Richardson thinks the world of Hurney.

Here's the complete transcript of Friday's NFC South chat.

In yet another way, it looks like Aaron Rodgers and Drew Brees were pretty much even this season.

According to Total QBR, Rodgers and Brees were by far the two best quarterbacks in the league in 2011. There was only the slightest difference between them.

Rodgers finished the season with an 85.2 Total QBR and Brees was second in the league at 84.0. After that, there was a big drop to third place -- Tom Brady at 74.2 and Tony Romo (70.1) were the only other quarterbacks above 70.

But the NFC South did have another top-five quarterback in this category. Atlanta’s Matt Ryan was No. 5 at 67.5.

The two other NFC South starting quarterbacks didn’t fare as well in Total QBR. Carolina rookie Cam Newton was No. 16 at 56.6, which is slightly above what is considered an average score (50).

Tampa Bay’s Josh Freeman fell below that line. He was No. 23 at 43.3.

TAMPA, Fla. -- Let’s start getting ready for Saturday night’s game between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Dallas Cowboys with some nuggets from ESPN Stats & Information.

The Bucs are on a seven-game losing streak. That’s the second-longest losing streak the Bucs have had since 2001. The longest was an 11-game losing streak from Week 14 of 2008 through Week 7 of the 2009 season.

Tampa Bay running back LeGarrette Blount has five fumbles. That’s the second-highest total in the NFL.

Dallas quarterback Tony Romo is 2-0 against the Buccaneers. In those games, he has thrown eight touchdown passes and averaged 329.5 passing yards per game.

The Cowboys have had a lot of success in three-receiver sets recently. In the past seven games, Romo has eight touchdowns and zero interceptions in three-receiver sets. Laurent Robinson, who once was cast aside by the Atlanta Falcons, has caught five of those eight touchdown passes.

Dallas’ defense has been horrendous in the fourth quarter and overtime this season. The Cowboys have allowed 96 fourth-quarter or overtime points (No. 26 in the league) and 1,516 yards (No. 30).

This will be the first Saturday game for the Buccaneers since Christmas Eve 2005, when they defeated Atlanta in overtime at home.

Sports Illustrated’s Jim Trotter has a thought-provoking column in which he ranks the league’s starting quarterbacks.

I found his rankings on the four NFC South quarterbacks quite interesting and, after a bit of thought, very accurate.

He has New Orleans’ Drew Brees ranked No. 2. I can’t really argue with that. Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers will win the Most Valuable Player award, but Brees at least deserves to be in the conversation. The guy is on pace to set the record for most passing yards in a season.

Here’s where it gets interesting. Trotter ranks Carolina rookie Cam Newton at No. 9.

At first, I wondered if Newton should be a top-10 quarterback. Then, I looked at the three guys ranked directly in front of Newton – Eli Manning, Tony Romo and Alex Smith. After seeing that, I no longer have any doubt Newton belongs in the top 10, maybe even up a few spots from where he is.

Atlanta’s Matt Ryan is No. 15. My first instinct was to argue that one, especially when I saw Matt Moore and Michael Vick ranked directly ahead of Ryan. But, then, I thought about Ryan’s performance in Sunday’s loss to Houston and his inconsistency for much of the season. He’s right about where he belongs.

Trotter put Tampa Bay’s Josh Freeman at No. 25. That’s one spot behind Seattle’s Tarvaris Jackson. If you’re talking purely about talent, there’s no comparison between Freeman and Jackson. Freeman’s way better. But Trotter is talking about production and Freeman hasn’t produced this season.

Moments after the Tampa Bay Buccaneers got thumped 31-9 by the Houston Texans on Sunday, quarterback Josh Freeman shared this thought with the media:

"I think I'm a better quarterback than I was last year," Freeman said.

OK, are you done laughing yet?

I’ll gladly give you some more time -- and a few statistics. Through nine games, Freeman has thrown 13 interceptions (the second-highest total in the league) and just nine touchdown passes. That comes after Freeman threw 25 touchdown passes and just six interceptions all of last season.

And he’s now a better quarterback than he was last season?

This is where the laughing should stop. There’s been nothing funny about Tampa Bay’s 4-5 start because this was a team that went a surprising 10-6 last season and was supposed to be very much on the rise. Freeman’s claim may sound delusional, but it’s not.

I’ll take the Freeman of this season over the Freeman of last season. Seriously.

He’s a year older and a year wiser than he was in his first full season as a starter last year. The statistics don’t show improvement, and I’m not going to suggest that Freeman has taken a big step forward. But I will say I don’t think he’s regressed. The rest of the Bucs have, though, and that’s the problem. Some of Freeman’s teammates, and maybe even the coaching staff and front office, have done the quarterback an injustice and that’s why the statistics and the team’s record aren’t very pretty.

Go ahead and put some blame on Freeman. And it is fair to wonder about that thumb injury that had the New Orleans Saints so excited a few weeks ago. Freeman might not look like the same quarterback he was a year ago, but I think that has a lot more to do with the team around him more than anything else.

The Bucs found out they had a franchise quarterback last season. But the mistake they made -- and this goes to the coaching staff and the front office -- were that they also thought they found a big-time No. 1 wide receiver and a true feature running back.

That’s Mike Williams and LeGarrette Blount, and I have no problem saying each of them has taken multiple steps back from last season. They were two players who fell in the 2010 draft, Williams to the fourth round and Blount all the way out of the draft.

There were reasons for that and they’re playing out now. The coaches and front office people might have let the performances of Williams and Blount last year go to their heads. Williams and Blount might have done the same thing.

When the rest of the offensive skill-position players were working out together in Tampa during the lockout, Williams frequently was hanging out at his home in Buffalo. Now he’s playing more like a No. 3 or 4 receiver and no one else has stepped up. His route running hasn’t been precise and he’s tied for third in the NFL in dropped passes. The Bucs lead the league in drops.

But that’s not the only problem. Blount may be the player most responsible for throwing Freeman and the offense off kilter. Blount came in and rushed for 1,000 yards in half a season as the starter last year. He did that with Cadillac Williams helping out as the third-down back.

The Bucs let Williams leave in the offseason, largely because they thought Blount was ready to become an every-down back. That hasn’t happened. Blount has crippled the offense because he hasn’t shown he can be an effective pass-protector. If you're one of the biggest and strongest running backs in the league and you can't figure out how to pass block by the second half of your second season, it probably never is going to happen. The Bucs used Earnest Graham in passing situations until he suffered a season-ending injury and now they’re going with Kregg Lumpkin.

That’s made Tampa Bay’s offense incredibly predictable. Defenses basically know that the Bucs will run the ball when Blount’s on the field and throw it when Lumpkin’s in the game. That takes away the play-action game and it has made Freeman look bad.

But the fact is Freeman’s pretty close to the same player he was last year. It’s just not showing because the guys around him are nothing close to what they were last year or what the Bucs thought they could be this year.

TRENDING UP

TRENDING DOWN

Every week, it seems we hear about how passing numbers around the NFL are at an all-time high. For the past couple of years, we’ve heard coaches, front-office personnel and media experts talk about how it’s now a "quarterback-driven league."

The numbers support the theory in most ways. But I’m starting to wonder if throwing the ball all over the field every week really is a good thing.

I’m looking at the three quarterbacks with the highest passing totals in Week 9. Philip Rivers threw for 385 yards. Tom Brady had 342. Carson Palmer threw for 332 yards in just his second game with the Raiders.

Guess what? Rivers, Brady and Palmer all lost Sunday.

They all threw at least 35 times, with Brady attempting 49 passes. They combined for nine touchdown passes, but also combined for eight interceptions. Rivers and Palmer each threw three interceptions.

All this leads me to believe it’s not so much about quantity but quality when it comes to quarterback play.

Yes, there’s no doubt you have to throw the ball to win in the modern NFL. But there’s some sort of fine line out there. If you cross it, you’re asking for trouble. When you’re throwing too many times, you’re opening yourself up to too many mistakes.

You’re also making your team one-dimensional, and that’s never a good thing. Balance on offense is a wonderful thing.

So where is the line between enough passing and too much?

It’s not that difficult to spot. Let’s just go back to the stats from Sunday’s games. Let’s use Dallas’ Tony Romo and New Orleans’ Drew Brees as models.

Their numbers were a little bit less than what Rivers, Brady and Palmer turned in. But here’s the crucial difference -- Romo and Brees won.

Romo attempted 31 passes and completed 19 for 279 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. Brees completed 27 of 36 attempts for 258 yards with two touchdowns and one interception.

There’s a very common thread here. Unlike Rivers, Brady and Palmer, Romo and Brees had plenty of help. It came from their running games.

Dallas’ DeMarco Murray rushed for 139 yards. New Orleans’ trio of Darren Sproles, Pierre Thomas and Chris Ivory combined for 175 rushing yards.

Take the New Orleans model back another week. In Week 8, Brees attempted 44 passes and had 269 yards. In that game, the Saints had virtually no running game. They lost to the previously winless St. Louis Rams and came home intent on putting more balance in their offense.

Too much of a good thing can become a bad thing. Yes, it is a quarterback-driven league. But the Week 9 statistics show us that you should keep a quarterback’s throws somewhere between 31 and 36, and you need to be able to run the ball (and maybe play a little defense).

If the quarterback is driving the car all by himself, the team is not going anywhere.

TRENDING UP

TRENDING DOWN

If there’s a lesson to be learned from Week 2 of this NFL season, it might be the more you smack a quarterback around and the deeper a hole you put him in, the more danger you’re in.

Take the cases of Tony Romo, Matt Ryan and Josh Freeman. All three were battered, Romo to the point at which he had to leave the game with a fractured rib. Freeman was bleeding from his mouth and Ryan was flailing on the turf of the Georgia Dome at one point.

Yet, all three were part of what was a great week for quarterback comebacks. In all, there were five fourth-quarter comebacks in Week 2. Buffalo’s Ryan Fitzpatrick and Washington’s Rex Grossman also led their teams to victory after being down in the fourth quarter.

This is nothing new for Ryan. In defeating former Atlanta quarterback Michael Vick and the Philadelphia Eagles, Ryan notched his 10th fourth-quarter comeback since the start of the 2009 season. No other quarterback has had more fourth-quarter comebacks in that time. Peyton Manning and David Garrard are tied for second with nine.

Ryan, who took a lot of hits in the game, was rocking back and forth briefly after taking a hit early in the fourth quarter with the Eagles leading, 31-21. Soon after Ryan got up, he seemed to get into rhythm. He promptly led two touchdown drives to give the Falcons a 35-31 victory.

“I thought our quarterback really showed his toughness,” coach Mike Smith said. “He took a number of shots and he kept going. When you’ve got guys like that, you’ve got a chance to be successful.’’

It was kind of a similar scene in Minnesota, where Tampa Bay fell behind 17-0 in the first half. Freeman was getting knocked around pretty good, but he never lost his composure and led the Bucs back into the game and on to victory.

"He looked me right in the face, 'We got this; we're OK,'" coach Raheem Morris said. "I'm looking at my quarterback's mouth bleeding. It's kind of a situation you don't want to look at too often. He got things rolling for us and able to come back in the fourth quarter. It's becoming a signature move for him."

In the same time span as Ryan’s 10 comebacks, Freeman is tied with Drew Brees and Jay Cutler with eight fourth-quarter comebacks. There’s a bit of a catch here. Freeman didn’t get to play until halfway through his rookie season. Freeman has had 27 career starts and his eight comebacks are the most ever for a quarterback in such a span.

As impressive as Ryan and Freeman were, Romo’s comeback might have been the best of the week. Romo left the field after taking a shot from Carlos Rogers and was replaced by Jon Kitna.

A Kitna interception helped the 49ers take the lead, and that’s when Romo came back into the game. He promptly threw a touchdown pass to Miles Austin, then drove the Cowboys for a field goal to send the game to overtime.

Romo ended the game by hitting Jesse Holley for a 77-yard gain to set up the winning field goal.

TRENDING UP

TRENDING DOWN

We told you Monday it was an historic week in the NFC South as all four teams lost in the same week for only the third time since the division came into existence in 2002.

The NFC South also played a big role in making history in another area. There were five games in which both quarterbacks threw for 300 yards or more and three of them involved NFC South quarterbacks.

New Orleans' Drew Brees combined with Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers, Atlanta’s Matt Ryan joined Chicago’s Jay Cutler and Carolina’s Cam Newton combined with Arizona’s Kevin Kolb to each throw for 300 yards or more. Mark Sanchez and Tony Romo each did it in the game between the Jets and Cowboys and New England’s Tom Brady and Miami’s Chad Henne each did it on Monday night.

That’s the most games with two 300-yard passers in one week in NFL history, according to Elias Sports Bureau. Prior to that, there had been only two weeks in NFL history in which four games featured a pair of 300-yard passers. One of those weeks came last season and the other was in 1984.

The great John Clayton has his annual ranking of quarterbacks, which is always a topic for debate.

In this year’s version, Clayton lists includes 13 “elite’’ quarterbacks. What exactly is an “elite’’ quarterback? Well, I think you could debate that for weeks on end. But for the sake of simplicity, let’s go with Clayton’s definition. That’s only fair because I talk to Clayton on a daily basis and know he puts an enormous amount of time and thought into this.

“Elite quarterbacks are the ones who usually make the playoffs, so I categorize the elites as the ones who give their franchises the best chance,’’ Clayton wrote. “The league has 12 playoff spots, and usually 10 or 11 of the elite quarterbacks fill those positions. To be elite, a quarterback must have 4,000-yard potential, complete 60 percent of his passes and score more than 20 points a game.’’

The good news for the NFC South is that it has three quarterbacks in the elite category. Clayton also gives the same honor to the NFC East, but I think you could make the argument the NFC South has the strongest overall quarterback group based on where he has the guys from each division ranked.

New Orleans’ Drew Brees is No. 4 and Atlanta’s Matt Ryan is No. 7. They both come before the NFC East run of Michael Vick, Eli Manning and Tony Romo at Nos. 8 through 10.

Clayton also has Tampa Bay’s Josh Freeman at No. 13. Although that’s one spot beyond the number of playoff teams, Tampa Bay fans shouldn’t feel too badly about this one. Clayton has the arrow pointing up on Freeman, who has had only one full season as a starter. I know Clayton is very high on Freeman and believes he could move into the top 10 before long.

After the big three, there’s a huge drop to Carolina’s Cam Newton. Clayton has him at No. 32, but the good news here is that Newton’s not last on the list. Clayton ranked 33 quarterbacks and Cincinnati’s Andy Dalton is at the bottom of the list.

Atlanta Falcons

Linebacker Sean Weatherspoon has been working out with Danario Alexander and other former Missouri teammates during the lockout. Weatherspoon said he hopes the lockout can be lifted "before the chaos begins."

Carolina Panthers

Third-rounder Terrell McClain has first-round expectations.

New Orleans Saints

Over the Fourth of July weekend, Troy Aikman, Tony Romo, Jason Witten, Bobby Carpenter and Saints coach Sean Payton played a beach football game in WaterColor, Fla.

Drew Brees came in at No. 9 on the list of the NFL's top 100 players as voted on by players.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Quarterback Josh Freeman sees some of himself in Panthers first-round pick Cam Newton.

2011 second-rounder Da'Quan Bowers denies that his right knee injury is degenerative.

ESPN.com’s NFL writers rank the top 10 quarterbacks in the league today.
Next week: Top 10 safeties.

Take eight football writers scattered from Seattle to Tampa and ask them to come up with a list of the top 10 quarterbacks in the National Football League.

Sounds easy enough, in theory. You take the golden gunslingers, Tom Brady and Peyton Manning, and let everyone else fall naturally into order after that. Well, it didn’t quite work out that simply in ESPN.com’s Power Rankings for quarterbacks.

Heck, we couldn’t even come up with a top 10. We’re going with a top 11 because Baltimore’s Joe Flacco and Dallas’ Tony Romo tied for No. 10 with five points each in our voting system.

Even at the top, there was more disagreement than you might expect. Brady emerged as No. 1, but it wasn’t unanimous and, although Manning finished a strong second, two ballots had a man some consider the best quarterback ever at No. 3.

But let’s start analyzing the rankings by focusing on just Brady and Manning. Six voters put Brady at No. 1, but Paul Kuharsky and Mike Sando put Manning in the top spot. Let’s hear them out.

“Brady's fantastic, let's start with that,’’ said Kuharsky, who covers the AFC South, also known as “The Division Manning Built and Owns." “But no one is asked to do more or does more as a quarterback than Peyton Manning. He almost plays a different position. And while Brady's got three rings to Manning's one and is the reigning MVP, look at their touchdown and interception numbers in their last four playoff games. Manning's are better.’’

Sando has no horse in this race, because voters unanimously agreed the NFC West is the division that forgot quarterbacks, at least until Sam Bradford gets another season under his belt.

“Brady has the better stats over the last couple seasons, but the Colts would undoubtedly be far worse off than the Patriots if both teams had backups under center,’’ Sando said. “Once that was established, Brady's recent postseason struggles became a deciding factor. These quarterbacks have, to an extent, switched roles recently. Manning has won a championship more recently than Brady has won one. Brady has seven touchdowns, seven picks and one victory in his last four playoff games. Manning has seven touchdowns, two picks and two victories in his last four.’’

For rebuttal, let’s head up to the AFC East, to the man who covers Brady and the New England Patriots.

“I'm not sure why everybody needs to consider career achievements when filling out a Power Rankings ballot,’’ Tim Graham said. “Power Rankings are a snapshot of the moment and are expected to change regularly, not encompass years of work. But if the reason for selecting Manning ahead of Brady is recent playoff performances that go back a few years, then Ben Roethlisberger should be ahead of Manning with that logic. Roethlisberger has been to a pair of Super Bowls and won his second title more recently than Manning's only championship.’’

We’ll come to Roethlisberger in just a moment, but nobody put him ahead of Manning on his ballot. Kevin Seifert and I each put a quarterback ahead of Manning.

Seifert put Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers at No. 2.

“Mostly, I didn't think I could face NFC North blog readers if I voted any other way,’’ Seifert said. “Seriously, I think the big advantage Manning and Drew Brees have over Rodgers is time. They've been playing longer and therefore have mostly better career numbers and a bigger frame of reference for knowing how they will perform in the long term. But when you take out longevity, Rodgers is right there with them. All three have one Super Bowl victory. Rodgers has a higher career passer rating than any quarterback in the history of the NFL with qualified attempts, better than Manning and Brees and Brady for that matter. So to break the tie, I think you can look at what they did most recently. I think Rodgers had a better 2010 season than Manning or Brees, and that's how I would justify this order.’’

I put Brees at No. 2 and don’t really want to write a story in which I quote myself, so I’ll just say Brees and Manning each have one Super Bowl ring and Brees’ numbers over the last four years are just as good or better in most categories. Plus, Brees hasn’t spent most of his career surrounded by the likes of Marvin Harrison, Reggie Wayne, Dallas Clark and Edgerrin James.

In the final analysis, Brees finished third and Rodgers fourth. Roethlisberger, who has two Super Bowl rings, came in at No. 5. San Diego’s Philip Rivers, who has zero Super Bowl rings and some gaudy statistics, is No. 6. Relatively speaking, the order from Brees to Rivers, the guy who took his place with the Chargers, was pretty clear-cut.

After that, we had some close calls, strong differences of opinion and one very big coincidence. At No. 7, we’ve got a tie between Philadelphia’s Michael Vick and Atlanta’s Matt Ryan, who each finished with 26 points. For those who don’t see the irony in that, Vick was the face of Atlanta’s franchise for a long time and Ryan now holds that role.

Eli Manning of the New York Giants came in at No. 9, and Flacco and Romo tied for the final spot. Only three other quarterbacks received votes. They were Tampa Bay’s Josh Freeman, who I think could be near the top of this list in another year or two, Houston’s Matt Schaub and Kansas City’s Matt Cassel.

On to some other notes about the Power Rankings.

The Vick factor. Despite a hugely productive season last year, Vick was left off one very important ballot. John Clayton, the dean of all of us, didn’t have the Philadelphia quarterback on his ballot and was the only one of us who didn't.

“The only reason Michael Vick didn’t make my top 10 is because I, after an offseason of thinking, have Michael Vick as my No. 11 quarterback,’’ Clayton said. “That still makes him elite. I have 12 elite quarterbacks. Vick moved into the elite category with his performance last year, but it’s just one year. He can clearly move up the list this season, but he’s in the mix and knocking on the door of the top 10. A year ago, he wasn’t a consideration.’’

Fighting the Eli fight. Speaking of Clayton, let’s continue to ride that train as we discuss Eli Manning. Seifert, Sando, Graham and I didn’t even include Manning in our top 10, but he still made the list.

“I will continue to fight the argument Eli Manning is an elite quarterback,’’ Clayton said. “I moved him to No. 8 above Tony Romo, but if Romo had a full season last year, he might have been ahead of Eli. Remember that Carson Palmer, Brett Favre and Donovan McNabb dropped from my elite quarterback categories, which moved guys like Eli up in the mix. Eli has a Super Bowl ring. He’s a 4,000-yard quarterback. He wins.’’

No tiebreaking here. Speaking of Romo: Clayton and Sando each had him at No. 9. AFC North blogger James Walker had Romo at No. 10. That was good enough to get Romo five points and a tie with Flacco. One interesting note here: Flacco wasn’t on Walker’s ballot. I respect James for not doing the easy thing and being a "homer," although I’m sure some Baltimore fans might have different opinions.

"Joe Flacco is a good quarterback, but I don’t consider him an elite, top-10 quarterback just yet,’’ Walker said. “I need to see more consistency, especially in the playoffs and other big games against the Steelers. Flacco has a lot of natural ability, and I believe he’s ready to break through. But, in my book, Flacco needs to first prove it on the field in the biggest games to be elite.”

The final analysis. If you look at this list from a distance, you could say the Atlanta Falcons, San Diego Chargers and New England Patriots are the big winners. The Patriots, of course, have Brady, but they also drafted Cassel, whom they later traded to Kansas City. If you want to get really technical, the Chargers drafted Brees and Eli Manning and worked a draft-day trade with the Giants to end up with Rivers. If you count the few minutes Manning and Rivers were crossing paths, you could say the Chargers, at one time or another, had three guys on this list. You also could say the Falcons drafted Vick, Ryan and Schaub, who finished in a tie with Freeman for No. 12.

Adam in Chapel Hill, N.C., writes: Purely a hypothetical, but say Matt Moore comes in and within the Panthers system sets the proverbial world on fire. How much of a wrench would this throw in the works? How would talent scouts have to readjust/reassess QB evaluation?

Pat Yasinskas: If Moore does play well, I don’t think it will change the scouting process. Remember, guys like Kurt Warner, Jake Delhomme and Tony Romo have come essentially out of “nowhere’’ to have good careers. Even Tom Brady was a late-round draft pick. It is kind of amazing that teams put so much money and effort into scouting and they seem to miss on a lot of prospects. I guess it just shows scouting is an inexact science and the human element, things like heart and intangibles, can really throw it off.

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Zach in Atlanta writes: I'm not sure it counts, but TECHNICALLY the "greatest player in NFC South" history would be Brett Favre with the Falcons in the early 90s, if like most of your exercises we go beyond 2002. He didn't play long, obviously. Nevertheless, he suited up for Atlanta, making him the greatest player to pass through all of the NFC South teams.

Pat Yasinskas: Well, if you want to go that route, how about Reggie White? He played one season with Carolina. Or Anthony Munoz? He took part in a Tampa Bay training camp before deciding to retire. I suggest we stay clear of that route because it’s pointless. When I think of the greatest player in the history of the NFC South, I think of Derrick Brooks.

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Kyle in Tampa writes: I just wanted to share a thought. I saw in the chat where you said that, after a "few more years" Drew Brees could replace Derrick Brooks as the best player in NFC South history. Brooks is almost inarguably a top 10 linebacker of all time, potentially even a top 5-er. As of now, and even after a few more years, Brees would have to fight hard to even make the top 20 of his position. My Bucs don't have too much going for us in the history department, but best player all time is ours by a landslide, at least for now.

Pat Yasinskas: For right now, Brooks is the best player in NFC South history, in my eyes. But I think Brees could surpass him with a few more big years and another Super Bowl title or two.

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Kenneth in Boston writes: If there is another exciting, noteworthy season from Gregg Williams with the Saints defense, do you see a possibility of the Saints losing him to another team in search of a head coach willing to pay Williams?

Pat Yasinskas: Yes, absolutely. Williams’ stock had tumbled a bit before he joined the Saints. What he did with the New Orleans defense last year reminded a lot of people of what Williams is capable of accomplishing. I say another strong season by the New Orleans defense probably will get Williams a head-coaching job.

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Jake in Pittsburgh writes: What are the Bucs thinking? Stylez White, Tim Crowder, Kyle Moore, and Erik Lorig at defensive end? I know they drafted Gerald McCoy and Brian Price, but how can the Bucs possibly rush the QB?

Pat Yasinskas: That’s a very legitimate question. White’s at least an average player. But there’s nothing certain beyond that and I’m not sure Moore and Lorig have all that much upside. The Bucs do think the presence of McCoy and Price in the middle will help the guys on the outside and there’s probably some truth to that. But Tampa Bay doesn’t have anything close to a dominant pass-rusher. Then again, that’s not uncommon in the NFC South. Carolina doesn’t have a proven pass-rusher. Atlanta’s hoping John Abraham can bounce back from a quiet season. New Orleans’ Will Smith is the best pass-rusher in the division at the moment.

METAIRIE, La. -- Sean Payton’s Friday press conference before the NFC Championship Game was unusual in a good way.

Like a lot of coaches, Payton plays it close to the vest with the media and his press conferences are often dull. But this one wasn’t. In fact, Payton was, at various times, frank, funny and nostalgic. In other words, he opened up.

Payton even included some family stories and was particularly good talking about his arrival in 2006 at a time when the area still was devastated by the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

“Early on we were all staying right here at the hotel which is pretty common when you hire a staff,’’ Payton said. “Families haven't gotten here yet. It probably was late winter, early spring. My family was in town and I needed to get an antibiotic for my daughter and waited in line two hours at a Walgreen's. They had half a prescription of amoxicillin. In other words it was different. It was hard to explain if you weren't here. There were a lot of people that left. I can recall the first trip as a family driving here in June, there was a lot of traffic going the other direction, not much going in.”

Payton also talked about the new postgame tradition he’s started with his son. Payton’s been seen on the Superdome field playing with his son a couple of hours after recent games in the Superdome.

“Yeah, we try to after each game go down on the field -- win, lose or draw,’’ Payton said. “For your 9-year-old son, they look forward to that more than the game itself. It's just funny how sometimes you're always trying to maybe make up lost time that you have as a parent. So that has kind of been a constant, regardless how we finish. We're going to have a little touch game out there. It's grown now where you get 15 or 20 kids are out there playing on running around out on the field, and they enjoy that. It's a chance to really spend some quality time. Even if it's a half an hour, it's an important half an hour.

Payton also fired off a pretty good answer when talking about the importance of quarterback play in the postseason.

“I think it's critical,’’ Payton said. “I think when you look at the four teams remaining, New York's getting good play from their young quarterback. When you look at obviously the Colts and Peyton Manning, you look at the Vikings and Brett Favre. Go back to just the six NFC teams. I believe the six NFC teams all had Pro Bowl quarterbacks, Kurt Warner, Brett Favre, Tony Romo, Drew Brees. Who am I missing? Green Bay, (Aaron) Rodgers, Pro Bowl player. The teams that are winning are getting good play at that position. They handle the ball 65, 70 snaps a game. They can fly you safely to your destination or take you right into a mountain if you're not careful. So I think you've got to have good quarterback play.”

So what prompted Payton to be so gregarious? Maybe he’s feeling good about where his team is headed into Sunday’s NFC Championship Game and he's relaxed. Maybe he was just happy to be facing the media for the last time until after Sunday’s game. Or maybe it had something to do with this scathing column in which Mike Freeman rips Payton for the way he usually deals with the media. The column came out shortly before Payton's press conference.

Either way, we definitely saw another side of Payton, but I’m not sure it’s here to stay.

There was Ali-Frazier. Hulk Hogan-Andre the Giant. The Coke-Pepsi taste test. The status of the most highly anticipated competitive matchups in American history will be threatened this weekend in the NFC Championship Game, which will feature the two teams that spent most of this season jockeying for conference supremacy. Minnesota-New Orleans should be so good, why, it’ll be better than “Cats.”

ESPN.com bloggers Pat Yasinskas (NFC South) and Kevin Seifert (NFC North) broke down the matchup during an orderly phone call this week. We kept it professional, although we occasionally screamed at each other to practice communicating in what we expect will be ear-splitting noise Sunday at the Superdome.

Kevin Seifert: PAT, IT WAS SOMEWHERE AROUND THE ... oh, sorry, I’ll stop yelling. It was somewhere around the third week of September when we realized Minnesota had the potential to be a special team this season. And yet at every point along the way, it seemed the Saints were one step ahead. The Saints were 13-0 at one point and absorbed the conference limelight.

The Vikings had plenty of big games on their schedule, but after they essentially clinched the NFC North in November by completing a season sweep of Green Bay, their eyes privately turned south. I think they knew their path to the Super Bowl would have to go through the Saints, and they’ve been thinking about them ever since. Coach Brad Childress even admitted to watching a few games out of “admiration” for the way Saints coach Sean Payton runs his offense.

Be it admiration or early game planning, this matchup has been on the horizon here for a long time. How about in New Orleans?

Pat Yasinskas: Absolutely. The Saints have kept an eye on the Vikings all season. They were very conscious of everything Minnesota did, because they wanted the home-field advantage in the playoffs and recognized the advantage of playing the NFC Championship Game at the Superdome.

I think they also realize how important hosting this game is to the city of New Orleans. They’ve waited a long time for this game to come.

KS: Indeed, they’ve waited forever. This is the first time the Saints have ever hosted an NFC Championship Game. Their history is long, sordid and not worth recounting here. We could always ask Brett Favre to do it, though.

The Vikings quarterback grew up a Saints fan in nearby Mississippi. He claims he never wore a bag on his head, but more than any player currently in the NFL, Favre knows how far the Saints have come. He also had one of his greatest NFL moments in New Orleans, winning the Super Bowl in January of 1997.

He’ll arrive at the Superdome playing arguably the best football of his career. Counting the playoffs, Favre has thrown 37 touchdowns and seven interceptions this season. Over his last nine quarters, dating back to halftime of the Vikings’ Dec. 28 game at Chicago, Favre has a 140.4 passer rating.

So what do you think, Pat: How do people in New Orleans regard Favre?

PY: Favre is a local hero for the entire Gulf Region. He’s on par with Peyton Manning, a New Orleans native, Deuce McAllister and Drew Brees. But Favre obviously will not be the local favorite for this game. He won’t even be the most-popular quarterback, not by a long shot.

That title belongs to Brees, who could be mayor of New Orleans and governor of Louisiana if he wanted to be.

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