Nothing against Watt, but there are a lot more than 3-4 QBs which, if you traded Watt for that player last year, would've led the Texans to a lot more than 2 wins. I would put the number at around 10 personally. In addition to Manning/Brady/Brees/Rodgers, I'd also include the likes of Rivers or Newton or Ryan. I mean, we lost to the likes of Jacksonville last year. That's hard to do with any competent QB.
Patrick Willis has quietly been the best linebackers for years now, on the defensive side, I think he stands equal with Watt & Sherman. Overall I'd like to say Peyton but man is his playoff record disappointing.
Remember when Manning missed an entire year and his team ended up winning 1 game, even though all the other pieces were intact? Just because his team wins 10 games doesnt mean they are a good team. He makes everyone better...as evidenced by the collapse of the Colts when we went down.
QB is the most important position on the field and the year Manning was out, the Colts had absolutely horrendous backups. If they had a half decent above averge QB that year, they would have won 8-9 games imo.
In terms of just QB's Manning has always had good receivers and decent running backs around him...Brady has done more with less and he only had a few years with Moss but his Super Bowl years his best receiver was Troy Brown? I'll take Brady but you can't go wrong with either one
Bowman's been his equal for some time now, and that whole 2013 Seattle secondary was monstrous. It's like 1a-1b Sherman and Thomas.
WTF are you guys talking about? Rodgers? Watt? Manning? Megatron? Hell nah. It is obviously Shiloh Keo.
it is not about history it is about RIGHT HERE . .. RIGHT NOW You could still try to argue Jordan is still the best based on the past but right now .. he is not . .. . I think the same about Peyton not right now . .. . Rocket River
Are we talking about the best player? or most valuable/impact player? Those are not the same players. Best player: Calvin Johnson > Watt. Most valuable/impact: Watt > Johnson. Not much Calvin can do, if his quarterback doesn't throw him the ball.
Watt is the best defensive player in the league. But the league is so slanted towards quarterbacks. Watt is a generational talent and could go down the best defensive player off all time. But his impact on a game won't be higher then a top 5 quarterback in the league just because of how the game is set up.
people forget that the previous year Brady went 16-0, so its a 5 win differential, its like going to 11 wins to 6 wins, also you could say that Cassel didnt lead the pats to the playoffs, but Brady did it next year. also, Tebow won a playoff game, and next year Peyton didnt win in the playoffs. so what does that say about Peyton?
also, you cant compare Cassel to Curtis Painter, if you trade those two, Painter replacing Brady, the pats wouldnt have won 11 games, and if you put Cassel replacing Manning, they would have 6 or 7 games. the Colts intentionally tanked that year, they never looked for a better QB, until they lost 11 or 12, and they secured the #1 pick, then they went with the backup, that was soo much better than Painter. If the Colts really wanted to win, they would have sit Painter after 2 or 3 games. he was awful!!
The logical flaw in that assessment is assuming the Patriots would have been 16-0 with Brady again the following year. Brady/Belichick still haven't hoisted a trophy since Spygate. Nobody is ever going to put Joe Flacco above Dan Marino when it comes to greatest QB lists. Parity exists for a reason, and it is a team sport and a battle of attrition. A great QB simply elevates and otherwise mediocre team into playoff contention while an average QB can still rely on other strengths of the team to win games. That being said, JJ Watt is the best player in football. Look at the advanced analytics. Watt actually graded out better last year on PFF than he did the previous year wiyh 20+ sacks, even on a 2-14 team. Watt manages to positively impact the game in different ways which makes his value as an individual player substantially higher than any peer at his position. Replace Manning with Brees or Megatron with Dez Bryant and the gap is not nearly ad large as Watt and DL #2.
