The Lions' Pride

Manning was inept in the Raven game.... he cannot win in the playoffs.... Sorry Flacco is better there. He won the game that meant the most.

Brady got worked over by Flacco in the title game.... 2 years running!!!

Brees??? LOL fantasy good... not Flacco!

Rodgers I think is better.

Ryan?? ROMO??? RIVERS??????? CRACK KILLS

Tier 1 A

Flacco - Rodgers - Ben - Eli Manning

Tier 1 B

P Manning - Brady - Brees

Tier 2

Ryan Kap Wilson Luck RG3

Flacco had a full team around his efforts. Best team in the league doesn't necessarily mean best qb. Seriously, Trent dilfer and brad Johnson were far from elite when they won games.

Flacco is good, and had a great playoff run, but I don't think he's anywhere near top five QBs in a QBs league right now. Look at Marino, annually was arguably the best QB for a stretch, but never won the ultimate prize.

The $120 million is not important. It's how the contract is structured. These details supposedly won't be revealed until the signing on Monday. So to say he will be the highest paid NFL player is a bit premature this point.

I'm a Ravens fan. I would not call Flacco elite by any means. To me, elite means performance over a long period of time. But the guy is certainly talented and he's a guy I would want on my team and a guy to build a team around.

To say he benefited from being around a good team is sort of a "Captain Obvious" remark. Almost every great QB has pretty much benefited from good OLs (Peyton and Brady rarely get hit), good receivers, a strong running game, etc. I know someone will now point out an exception but I think that's a straw argument. Flacco made huge plays when the team needed it the most. He has become more of a clutch player this year.

Ron Jaworksi, whose opinions I greatly respect, called Flacco one of the two best "throwers" in the league along with Rogers. I generally agree with this. He can go downfield as well as any QB. Those saying Peyton and Brady are better...I'm fine with that. I'd take Flacco over either of those two right now, though, because he's younger and has a brighter future.

Is Flacco one of the top five QBs in the league? I have no idea. At the beginning of this season I said he was in the 10 to 12 range. He certainly moved up in my book. I really don't care if people feel he is a top five or not (and I'm not sure I even do), but he is a perfect fit for this offense, and his chemistry with Boldin and Torrey Smith is tremendous and he has shown signs that he will have a very bright future with the Ravens. It will be interesting to see how his contract is structured.

Look at the two teams who made the superbowl this year...great defenses...

Let's see how the pass-heavy teams fared in the league this year. Top three passing teams were the Saints, Lions, and Cowboys.

It's still about balance in the NFL.

People also forget that Flacco was a dropped TD pass away from being in the Super Bowl last year as well.

WE'LL JUST HAVE TO AGREE TO DISAGREE ... but your tiering makes me laugh.

Totally agree with you on this. I had him 10-12 at the beginning of the year. Probably 5 to 7 range now.

But I will add that some of my top five are on the downside and I think Flacco still has a higher ceiling.

Also, I don't think some people understand that NFL contracts are necessarily top dollars to top players. That's just not always how it works. Given the length of contracts and the volatility of the markets, it's often more about timing.