Not playing fantasy football for the first time in 20 years this fall has its consequences:
More free time. More disposable income. Less contact with the geekdom subculture.
But it also has me woefully unprepared for the NFL season, which technically starts Thursday night with Giants-Redskins. To sharpen my skills, I decided to jot down all 32 starting quarterbacks off the top of my noggin’. (Nailed 29 of them, but remind me again who the hell is JT O’Sullivan?) Then I figured, what the heck, let’s rank ‘em.
For a comprehensive grading of backups (Brad Johnson comes in at No. 11 as the only sub with a Super Bowl ring as a starter) go here. For my last-second, catch-up ranking of starting quarterbacks, all you gotta do is jump.
1. Peyton Manning – Colts
2. Tom Brady – Patriots
3. Tony Romo – Cowboys
4. Eli Manning – Giants
5. Carson Palmer – Bengals
6. Philip Rivers -- Chargers
7. Derek Anderson – Browns
8. Donovan McNabb – Eagles
9. Jeff Garcia – Buccaneers
10. Matt Hasselbeck – Seahawks
11. Ben Roethlisberger – Steelers
12. David Garrard – Jaguars
13. Drew Brees – Saints
14. Brett Favre – Jets
15. Vince Young – Titans
16. Jay Cutler – Broncos
17. Kurt Warner – Cardinals
18. Aaron Rodgers – Packers
19. Jake Delhomme – Panthers
20. Marc Bulger – Rams
21. Matt Schaub – Texans
22. Trent Edwards – Bills
23. Jason Campbell – Redskins
24. Jon Kitna – Lions
25. Chad Pennington – Dolphins
26. Tarvaris Jackson -- Vikings
27. JaMarcus Russell – Raiders
28. Matt Ryan – Falcons
29. Kyle Orton – Bears
30. Brodie Croyle – Chiefs
31. Joe Flacco – Ravens
32. JT O’Sullivan – 49ers -- Richie Whitt
