He could be going for his 6th, if not for Eli and company.

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These playoff games are all so very close. Three out of the 4 could have gone either way. Even the Patriots could have had it tough if that onside kick had a different bounce.
Are these guys that good or are they that lucky? I think it's a bit of both.
Any of the 4 remaining teams could win the Super Bowl. But if all things were to remain equal I'd have to give the nod to the Patriots.
Brady AND the rest of the team look tough to beat.
But...and there is a big BUT...any team getting a little bit more luck that the others can march to the big win!
And that winning quarterback will get all the press.

There are 2 elites only
 

Tom Brady and Peyton Manning are the only 2 elite quarterbacks in my mind. Aaron Rogers and Drew Brees may get there in time, but are not there yet. It takes time. Don't even get me started on Eli. Even Phillip Rivers has had better years than Eli's best.

Being elite means the highest level of performance, year in and year out. I have only seen 2 over any real period of time. Arron Rogers is getting close though.

As far as the new young guns go, please! As Bill Parcells used to say, let's not put then in the HOF just yet.

Interesting question and thread. Certainly the 5 you name are all outstanding, but I would suggest it is more than the quarterback. You must have a good team around you. Good example. A couple of years ago Tom Brady was out for the whole season. His backup, little played Matt Cassell played that season and did well, 11-5. Unfortunately for him, in that division that year, that didn't even make the playoffs. My poor old Kansas City Chiefs bought him for $60 million dollars. He has been a flop. Partly because he is only an average quarterback who had shone with a great team, and partly because the Chiefs pretty much sucked at every position, especially offensive line. That is critical to any quarterback being successful.

I believe quarterbacks generally get too much credit and too much blame in football.

As to the new crop of QBs this year, and it certainly is an amazing year with all the young guys actually starting. So many of them are "running quarterbacks". I had not seen Kapernick play until yesterday and he was great. His biggest benefit that puts him above most of this year's crop, and other runners like Michael Vick, is that he can really throw the ball. The running was extra. When you run first you have the melt downs like that poor Griffin kid. They let him stay in and destroy his knee. While I hope for the best, his career may already be over.

My daughter has never been interested in football, but she is now a Junior at Kansas State and was forced to become interested this year or her sorority sister would toss her out. At the height of the season their QB Collin Klein was the leading contender for the Heissman. I explained to her why those option QBs in college, no matter how good, never make it in the NFL. If they run that much they get killed. Look at Griffin, Vick, Tim Tebow, and most of the new class of QBs. They just cannot take that kind of punishment. Perhaps the NFL is just too violate, but I'm not sure how you reign it in.

Anyway, thanks for the interesting question.

Running QB's don't last long in the NFL, (Not For Long), as the players are bigger faster and stronger than at the college level. If they do last a while, it's becaude they wisely choose to run and step out of bounds or slide before they are hit.

I don't have a dog in this fight but I think it will be San Franciso vs New England.

Brady is great but I think SF will win.

Another running quarterback who was amazing when playing college football at Auburn, is Cam Newton. Now that he is playing with the big dogs, his running game could be less than stellar. Don't get me wrong, IMHO, he is an amazing athlete and hopefully wouldn't get hurt during his time with the NFL. I also agree with the OP top 5.

:agree: The Pistol option Play or whatever they call it in Washington, will be the rage for a short while until they can figure it out. Even few years some teams are built a certain way that other teams will try to copy but ultimately it will go out of style. You need to have the right players for a certain style of play.

Cam Newton had the sophmore jinx this year but he is smart in that he knows it wil be "run at your own risk". As they say, "you may only be a play away from ending your career".

Joe Flacco's contract is up this year. His agent claims that he is one of the top five quarterbacks in the NFL.
He's a very good QB. He's brought the Ravens to the playoffs every year for the five years that he's been there. Should he be in the top five? if not where would you put him?

BYE, BYE, BRADY along with Coach B clad in his classy "Uni-Bomber" sweatshirt. Coach wouldn't even give an interview after the game. "Not very gracious in defeat" as the announcer said. "That's why it's easy to root against the pats".

Guess you don't need an "elite" QB to get into this year's super bowl.

Two brothers facing each other. What's a parent to do?

Should be a good super bowl. My early line guess, 49ers, 1 1/2 pt favorites?
If it wasn't for Ray Lewis, I'd pull for the Ravens. Two weeks of his ranting is gonna be hard to take. Hope he gets laringitis.

I'm taking the Ravens by 3.
Stronger defense and Flacco is not to flaky.

Spread just posted. SF 49ers by 4 1/2 pts. With Flaky Kapernick's talent and 6 pro bowlers on defense I guess that's why they're favored. I agree the Raven's defense is great and they're well balanced with the run/pass.

Should be a brawl. The trainers will be busy all game.

Just came in on the internet:
Over under on the times Ray Lewis says "Man" the next two weeks - 999.

Looks like "the best of the best" was completely outplayed today. Go, Joe!

"Over under on the times Ray Lewis says "Man" the next two weeks - 999." What the heck does that mean?

It's very hard for a Steelers fan born and raised to root for the Ravens, but I so dislike Belichik and his attitude, and the whole cheating thing, and the way Brady reacts when one of his passes is not caught, that I was rooting for the Ravens. I really think this is their year, like them or not. (And of course, I don't.)

Did someone say FLACCO? Go Ravens!!!!!!!!

Flacco is a very good quarterback, but I still wouldn't put him up there with the five I mentioned. He could possibly take Eli's spot, but not yet.
As a Patriots fan, it was depressing to see them come out so flat last night. Welker dropped passes, Brady never has balls batted down and had four in this game. Brady looked like he was sick or something was wrong with him. He overthrew players and threw passes into the dirt. These are things that he never does. He wasn't himself.
The secondary which had been greatly improved over the past several weeks looked like a high school team.
Oh well! Congratulations and good luck to the Ravens. I hope they beat San Francisco and allow Ray Lewis to go out on top.