@Mapleleaf: You were 3/4 (Only home team to win was the Colts), even with the spread (Cheifs -1.5)

Our spread was KC + 2.5

OK, I give up on the Bengals. Go into the half up by 3 despite your opponent drawing first blood then let them score 20 unanswered points in the second half? WTF?!

What happened was Rivers and the Chargers were hot, the Bengals were not, and Dalton just isn't a playoff QB...at least not yet...

He's 0-3 now...it's Win or Be Traded for him next season.

Traded? Lol, Andy Dalton's not getting traded. He's the guy in Cincy. Coach Lewis is also 0-5 in the playoffs, and the team hasn't won a playoff game since before I was born. Is that all Andy Dalton's fault?

If Tony Romo was never traded there's no chance in hell Cincinnati gets rid of Dalton.

Turnover after turnover was what happened to the Bengals, it was less that Rivers and the Chargers were hot (he's had much better games this season) and more all the turnovers by the Bengals gave them great field position.

Dalton was partially to blame and so was terrible play calling by Lewis.

Both games yesterday had less then impressive QBs, neither Kaep, Rivers, Rodgers impressed me, and Dalton was his typical post season self.

I should also mention that this was the first time I have ever watched a wildcard weekend game, maybe I was expecting too much? lol

Just because one franchise is run by an incompetent owner/GM and won't get rid of a QB who will never get them over the hump doesn't mean another is... there's a really compelling argument for ditching middle-performing QBs like Dalton:

1) You need either an elite QB or a very, very good QB on a hot streak to get to and win the Super Bowl in today's NFL. Over the past ten years the following QBs have won the Super Bowl...

Tom Brady
Ben Roethlisberger
Peyton Manning
Eli Manning
Drew Brees
Aaron Rodgers
Joe Flacco

Of those seven, four are universally regarded as the top 4 QBs in the game, Roethlisberger used to be considered in their number (and was when Pittsburgh won their Super Bowls), and Eli Manning and Joe Flacco played like elite QBs during their respective runs.

2) Elite QBs are very rarely available through free agency or late in the draft. Look at how each QB listed above was acquired...

Brady: The quintessential anomaly -- he's nearly as famous for being "the guy everyone collectively missed the mark on" as he is for being an elite QB.
Roethlisberger: Went #11 overall
P. Manning: #1 overall
E. Manning: #1 overall
Brees: Acquired in free agency; again a unique situation, he was coming off a bad shoulder injury and most people thought he'd never play again -- also a product of right-place right-time with Sean Payton coming to town
Rodgers: #24 overall; projected to be #1 overall and slipped
Flacco: #18 overall

You look at the elite QBs, and while most of them did have extenuating circumstances weakening this conclusion to an extent, the conclusion's still inescapable -- top-tier QBs are going to have to be found in the draft, and early in it.

3) You don't get to draft highly unless you flat-out suck. We're talking Blaine Gabbert bad here. Dalton is obviously good enough to win games for Cincinnati, they're 30-18 since he arrived in Cincy and they've made the playoffs every year. But when you make the playoffs, you're automatically drafting low -- meaning you either need to trade up *really* high (which can be really costly) or you're hoping to have an elite QB fall into your lap.

If your goal is to win the Super Bowl and not just win 10 games a year and flame out in the 1st round, it doesn't matter if your QB is good for 10 wins a year or 1, your QB isn't good enough to get the job done. And if you can get 1 win and get the top overall pick -- or trade your franchise QB for a high draft pick and take your lumps for a year or so after that -- then why wouldn't you? You want to win the Super Bowl, right?

Agreed with PE and should add that with exception to Roethlisberger, the other 6 qbs currently hold an all time QB record.

How close the Packers came to winning that game.

http://cdn2.mocksession.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/SPLIT-THE-UPRIGHTS.gif

It'd be one thing with Dalton if Cincy had somebody waiting in the wings, but they don't really have a "next guy" to lean on, nor are there any blue-chip QBs coming up in this year's draft. I think Dalton's pretty secure in that seat. If anything, Cincy's got some big decisions to make at RB with Green-Ellis and Bernard. Bernard showed some speed on the outside, but he's looking like a guy who will always struggle in short-yardage situations.

I'm sorry, I'd rather have a solid quarterback like Dalton than go fishing for an 'elite' in the draft. Like you mentioned, most of the elite quarterbacks are found early in the draft, but finding an elite qb in the draft is no sure thing. One doesn't have to look very far to see the countless busts obtained with early draft picks.

I'd rather continue attempting to develop a great but not elite qb INTO an elite qb, and hope that he gets hot at the right time. Regardless, I feel that very few superbowls are won by outstanding qb play anyway; rather, a defense and/or running game getting hot at the right time tend to lead to more success in the postseason.

Dalton is probably in the top 50% starters in the league, and he has never missed the playoffs while playing for the bengals who are not in the same league with some other perennial playoff teams. I think cincinatti might do better looking to improve their other positions, their dollars would go a lot further.

Most people are overlooking the fact that he's only in his third year in the league as well. Dalton has an elite wide receiver and a top 10 defense (although it didn't look that way this weekend) and at this point in his career he's definitely comparable or better than Joe Flacco.

On the other hand, ship Dalton to Houston or Jacksonville, Teddy Bridgewater went to college right down the road in Louisville and would be a huge draw.

I wouldn't trade the #1 or #2 pick for Andy Dalton in a billion years. There would have to be a lot of draft picks behind it.

The Bears just gave Jay Cutler a guaranteed $50 million. This is the NFL we're talking about, not exactly as smart group of individuals.

In Jay Cutler's mind he is the best QB in NFL history.

Jay Cutler and his big arm are as good a fit for the Bears as anyone not named Brees, Manning, or Brady would be. The two big receivers are about as good for deep throws as anyone. I don't agree with the amount they gave him, but they probably had to to get him back at all. They need a line and a tight end, though.

As a Bears fan, I am ecstatic that we gave Jay Cutler a guaranteed $50 million. The single most hated and underrated quarterback in the NFL today. The media lambasts him regardless of his numbers, and the Bears can be a legitimate contender if we shore up the defense. The O-line is drastically improved, and we have a solid TE. Now we just need to clean up the defense.

Is Cutler elite? No, but I firmly believe he can win a Superbowl in Chicago. He's that talented, and he now has that many weapons on offense. Why on earth would you go play the lottery (draft) in the hopes of winning millions when you already have hundreds of thousands (solid QB) guaranteed.

Cutler has 2 of the best receivers in Marshall and Jeffries. Martellus Bennett is also pretty good. So it's not hard for him to look good. I'm not sure he is worth what we're paying him though.

"Both games yesterday had less then impressive QBs, neither Kaep, Rivers, Rodgers impressed me, and Dalton was his typical post season self."

Hey, now, not to toot the my 49er fan horn here...

But Kaepernick was 13 for 24 for 188 yards with a big-time TD to Davis and 98 yards on the ground...in one of the coldest games in NFL history...and led the game-winning drive.

That's reasonably impressive (I know you Pats fans think Brady invented the clutch-quarterbacking thing, but we members of the 49er Faithful know a thing or two about great QBs too, ya know.)

"Tom Brady
Ben Roethlisberger
Peyton Manning
Eli Manning
Drew Brees
Aaron Rodgers
Joe Flacco

Of those seven, four are universally regarded as the top 4 QBs in the game, Roethlisberger used to be considered in their number (and was when Pittsburgh won their Super Bowls), and Eli Manning and Joe Flacco played like elite QBs during their respective runs."

First, if we're playing the QB Rating game...

Top 10 Today:

1. Brady
2. Manning (Brady beats him out due to playoff performance)
3. Aaron Rodgers (Better in the cold and just a bit more clutch than Rivers)
4. Drew Brees (Hey, being the Ringo here still means he's part of the Fab Four)
5. Russell Wilson/Cam Newton (Tie, we'll see who's on top this week)
7. Andrew Luck (He's earned this slot after that comeback over the Chiefs)
8. Joe Flacco (Maybe a bit high, but I still think he's a pretty damn good QB)
9. Colin Kaepernick (Would you want someone lower on this list over him?)
10. Big Ben (I'd give it to Foles, but not after that loss...Big Ben still cracks the Top 10 for me for now, 2 SB wins gives him the benefit of the doubt)

Foles and Rivers both get honorable mentions...
My oh my how Eli has fallen...
Cutler's the very definition of a Streaky QB, not sold at all on him as a Top 10 guy...
Romo's my pick for Most Overrated QB, it's do or die time in Big D...
Alex Smith gets the nod for Most Underrated, 4 TDs and no INTs, he deserved to win that game in Indy before his defense had an historic collapse.

Obi, I congratulate you on your ability to count to 6.

Alex Smith was at fault for the loss in Indy. When his defense, which has been saving his ass all year, couldn't stop the Colts receivers, he called a stupid timeout which meant the Colts could kneel the ball rather than having to run for a first down, which they rarely manage to do, and threw the ball away in the middle of the pocket where the refs were finally smart enough to call intentional grounding, putting them back at the 50 instead of the 35 or so, which is still well within field goal range. He wrecked their potential game-winning drive.

Top 10 QBs - the top 4 might as well be tied:
1. Manning
2. Rodgers
3. Brady
4. Brees
5. Luck (he's easily in the top four in the league if he plays with Brady's or Manning's crew out there)
6. Cam Newton (did you just forget him or are you really dumb enough to leave him out?)
7. Rivers
8. Matt Ryan (Joe Flacco is not better than Matt Ryan, nor is Kaepernick, who is a really shitty quarterback without an effective read-option game)
9. Wilson
10. Nick Foles (119.2 QBR over this past season is tough to argue with - second highest in a season in league history going back to the merger)

Honorable mentions - Tony Romo, Jay Cutler, Alex Smith (as long as you aren't trying to use him for fantasy purposes). Joe Flacco and Colin Kaepernick are not good enough to make this list. Matthew Stafford and Andy Dalton could be someday.

I agree with PE in saying that you can't draft a QB late. However, as of late, it seems like you can't draft one early either. RG3, Brandon Weeden, Blaine Gabbert versus Andrew Luck, Cam Newton, and Ryan Tannehill... it's a guessing game out there. The only sure thing out of those six was Luck, really. The others were stretches to try to create something they weren't yet. Newton worked, Tannehill is getting there, and RG3 may yet, but Weeden and Gabbert can't play in the NFL at all let alone start.

Cutler is 11 games over five hundred as the starting quarterback in Chicago, and this is his first year with an offensive line and a multitude of weapons. Give him another year in this system (which already was the second highest scoring offense in football) and I think we are going to witness a pretty dominant offense.

And honestly Obi, I'd take Cutler over Flacco, Roethlisberger (who has always been overrated thanks to his defense winning two Superbowls), and Kaep for sure, and possibly Wilson and Newton. Manning, Brady, Rodgers, and Brees are the only true elites, from there it's kind of a crap shoot based on the day.

Nobody is going to argue that the truly elite QBs right now are Brady, Peyton, Brees, and Rodgers. The second tier is where things get a little more murky. I'd include (in no particular order):

Luck
Newton
Wilson
Rapistberger
Kaepernick

I'd go so far as to say Romo is borderline 2nd tier, depending on whether or not its November or December. Rapistberger has been inconsistent but is a clutch performer with a proven track record of success. I'm torn on Wilson, though. A conference championship this year would solidify him as one of the best. Same with Newton.

Third tier:

Stafford
Rivers
Flacco
Cutler
Smith
Ryan
Eli
Foles
Dalton

The rest:

RGIII
Tannehill
Manuel
Palmer

Nick Foles could be this year's Matt Schaub or the next Colin Kaepernick. Flacco is a rich man's version of Trent Dilfer, while Cutler has a well deserved reputation as a terrible clutch performer and a soft QB. Eli and Matt Ryan should be in the second tier but horrible performances this year bumped them down. Smith, Stafford, and Rivers are just too inconsistent. Stafford has no excuses - he's got the best receiver in the NFL and a decent RB.

My list:
1. 4-way tie between Brady, Manning, Rodgers and Brees, they'll all super stars who I rank alongside Montana as the 5 best QBs of all time.
5. Luck: I have to take Luck after what he did to the Chiefs defense.
6. Flacco: Flacco has proven to be one of the best QBs in the league and earned that ring of his. Have people forgotten that he was superbowl MVP and took the record for most postseason touchdowns last year? Until Newton or any of the other young QBs start to put up the numbers he has in the post season, I'm ranking him above them
7. Newton: Unlike most of the other young QBs, Newton has shown consistency and will easily be considered one of the elite(s) in a few years when Brady and Manning get too old to throw dots.
8. Kaepernick: I'm not a fan of read option QBs (which is probably why I rank Cam below Flacco), that said Kaepernick has gotten to the AFC championship game twice, and if he beats the Panthers this weekend (which I think he will), he will get to the AFC finals for the 3rd straight year. Consistently doing well in the post-season earns you points in my books.

I don't really care who #9 through 20 is, everyone else has been too inconsistent to really deserve a spot in a top 10 list. #9 for me would probably be Foles followed by either Rivers or Roeth for #10.

Wilson is my pick for most overrated, he has huge help from his defense, and someone who only throws straight at home isn't someone I can trust as a starter. He will probably win the superbowl this year, because he will catapult to the finals thanks to the 12th man and there is no AFC team capable of beating the Hawks in Jersey. I'd take a healthy Patriots over the Seahawks, but without Gronk, Brady will do as well as Brees did a few weeks ago against the Seattle D.

Fasces, I hate to break it to you, but Kaepernick has never been to the AFC Championship Game, and he will not get to the AFC Championship Game for a third straight year. ;)

"5. Luck (he's easily in the top four in the league if he plays with Brady's or Manning's crew out there)"
Tom Brady has a crew? LOL. We have no talent at WR, niether Amendola or Edelman are top 30 WRs in the league. Gronk is the best Tight End of all time (easily better than Graham who ranks #2 on that list) but is always injured so doesn't really count as a crew...

"6. Cam Newton (did you just forget him or are you really dumb enough to leave him out?)"
Cam Newton was tied for 5th on Obis list (which is why he skipped the #6...)