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Stray thoughts on NFL quarterbacks

Personally speaking, I'm more into college football and you'll hear a lot about my passion for that in the coming weeks.

Personally speaking, I'm more into college football and you'll hear a lot about my passion for that in the coming weeks.

 

However, there's no denying that the National Football League, is the unstoppable juggernaut when it comes to pro sports in North America.

 

It'll be a pretty interesting year when it comes to starting quarterbacks, especially with Peyton Manning calling it a career after winning the Super Bowl and Tom Brady being suspended for the first four games.

 

While what happens with Denver and New England are big storylines, I'm more curious about some other things going into this year.

 

For starters, there's the top two picks in the NFL Draft, who were both quarterbacks. The Los Angeles Rams traded up to take Jared Goff of the Cal Golden Bears first overall while the Philadelphia Eagles dealt a bevy of picks for North Dakota State's Carson Wentz.

 

I prefer the slow approach to a starting quarterback, but given how well guys have done in recent years after being thrown into the line of fire, I may have to change my way of thinking.

 

Two guys who have benefitted from that are Derek Carr of the Oakland Raiders and Blake Bortles of the Jacksonville Jaguars.

 

Did you know Bortles threw for 35 touchdowns last year, which was only one back of Tom Brady for the most in the NFL? Or that Carr's 53 touchdown passes in his first two seasons is the second most in league history behind Dan Marino's 68.

 

Those two, along with players like Cam Newton, Jameis Winston, Teddy Bridgewater and Marcus Mariotta, should be part of an exciting new wave of NFL starting quarterbacks.

 

They also might throw a wrench into the biggest debate in all of football. Is Joe Flacco Elite?

 

Since he won the Super Bowl a few years ago, everyone's chimed in on the subject. Heck, even Donald Trump shared his thoughts on the campaign trail.

 

It makes for a heck of a time on Twitter whenever someone brings it up at random.

 

In my opinion, while you can't go against a guy who's won a Super Bowl, I'm not sure Flacco is in the elite discussion.

 

He's good, but if I'm making a list of the best starting quarterbacks in the NFL, he doesn't crack my top five.

 

Which brings me to Ben Roethlisberger, who I definitely believe is elite.

 

Okay, last year wasn't great due to injuries, but I feel like Big Ben might be underrated at times given how good he's been over the years.

 

With his talent level and with how scary good the rest of the offence is looking, I'm picking the Pittsburgh Steelers to beat the Green Bay Packers in the Super Bowl this year.

 

That would be a rematch of the 2011 contest that saw Aaron Rodgers come out on top, and one I'm sure to watch.

 

Now I'll be honest, it pains me to pick the Steelers to win it all as a Cincinnati Bengals fan.

 

But when you've watched your team implode in the playoffs for five straight years, you're always prepared for the worst-case scenario.