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SB Nation's Ryan Van Bibber is back today, bringing with him the rankings of all 32 NFL teams based on their quarterbacks. Of course, the teams you would expect to be at the top are there, but there are some teams' rankings that just leave questions, while, of course, the Miami Dolphins find themselves near the bottom of the league.
The top five see the Green Bay Packers at number one, the New Orleans Saints at two, the New England Patriots following at three, and the New York Giants and San Diego Chargers rounding it out. Nothing overly shocking among the top group.
The bottom of the league has the Jacksonville Jaguars at 32, the Arizona Cardinals at 31, the Minnesota Vikings at 30, with the Cleveland Browns and New York Jets taking 29 and 28 respectively.
As for the Dolphins, Van Bibber sees them as the 27th ranked team. Obviously, the competition at quarterback hurts the Dolphins, with it unclear whether the team will go with David Garrard, Matt Moore, or rookie Ryan Tannehill will start for the team, so it's hard to argue against the ranking with any real conviction. Do I think they should be higher? Of course. But, how do you argue if you don't know who the player you are trying to support is?
Van Bibber wrote about his ranking for Miami:
The Dolphins drafted a quarterback in the first round this year, but Ryan Tannehill enters camp as the third stringer behind David Garrard and Matt Moore. Garrard, who missed last season, brings a veteran presence and looks like the starter. Moore thew for 2,497 yards, 16 touchdowns and nine interceptions last season. He will get a chance to establish himself this season, with Tannehill waiting in the wings.
Theoretically, whomever starts for the Dolphins should have a performance ranking him above players like Tavaris Jackson or Matt Flynn with the Seattle Seahawks, and probably ahead of players like Ryan Fitzpatrick with the Buffalo Bills - both of him are ahead of the Dolphins. In fact, last year, Moore finished the year as the 12th ranked quarterback in passer rating. But, that's not a stat many people realize.
I would also argue for another quarterback to be higher on the rankings as well as two players to be lower. Currently, Van Bibber has the San Francisco 49ers ranked 22. That means a team, and a quarterback, who went 13-3 last year is in the bottom third of the league. It also places players like the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' Josh Freeman (19), Oakland Raiders' Carson Palmer (18), Cincinnati Bengals' Andy Dalton (17), and Tennessee Titans' duo of Jake Locker and Matt Hasselbeck (16) ahead of Alex Smith. I don't think Smith is the greatest quarterback in the league, nor is he really a top 10 quarterback, but I think I would rank him at least ahead of those guys.
Plus I would rank him ahead of the two quarterbacks I would drop in Van Bibber's rankings. The Washington Redskins' Robert Griffin III comes in as the 21st best quarterback in the league, while the Indianapolis Colts' Andrew Luck is ranked one spot ahead of him in 20th. Both players have yet to take a snap in the NFL. In fact, Luck missed most of the Colts' minicamps due to school requirements at Stanford, and he is still the 20th best quarterback in the league, ahead of players like Smith.
I know the two rookie quarterbacks are seen as the greatest quarterbacks drafted since the 1983 draft - but I'm not all that sure I am ready to declare them ahead of established NFL quarterbacks. Even Peyton Manning (who gets the Denver Broncos to the 10th ranking) went 3-13 his rookie campaign. Do we expect Luck to turn the Colts around just by walking through the facility's doors?
What do you think of the rankings? Should the Dolphins be higher? Am I wrong about thinking Smith should be higher, or that the rookies should be lower? Let us know in the comments below, and you can head over to the SB Nation article to discuss the rankings there as well.