AFC Position Rankings: QB’s

1) San Diego Chargers: Philip Rivers just got a fat raise and had a career year last season with 4,009 yards and 34 touchdowns. The scary part is that Rivers should have a better season this year as we expect LaDanian Tomlinson and the defense to improve in San Diego. Rivers should be a dark horse pick for MVP and Billy Volek led the Chargers to a playoff win over the Indianapolis Colts in 2007. Volek can win games if Rivers gets hurt and former Clemson quarterback Charlie Whitehurst has a strong arm as a third-string quarterback.

2) Pittsburgh Steelers: Ben Roethlisberger is the toughest quarterback in the NFL and defenses have nightmares trying to think of ways to sack this quarterback that weighs 241 pounds. Big Ben is improving every season and threw for 3,301 yards last season. He should throw for at least 3,500 yards this season and 20 touchdowns as we expect Limas Sweed and Rashard Mendenhall to help improve the passing game. Charlie Batch has 57 career touchdowns and 44 interceptions. Batch is not the player he once was, but remember he had a 121 passing rating in 2006. The most underrated backup in the league is Dennis Dixon. The former Oregon quarterback is recovering from a shoulder sprain, but is very capable of being a starting quarterback in the NFL. We would consider starting him if he played for the San Francisco 49ers, Cleveland Browns, New York Jets, Houston Texans and the Oakland Raiders.

3) Miami Dolphins: This team could easily be higher on this list, but we see the starting quarterback taking a step back while the two backup quarterbacks have bright futures. Chad Pennington was once again the NFL Comeback Player of the Year as he threw for 3,653 yards and 19 touchdowns while leading the Dolphins to the playoffs. We expect Pennington and the Dolphins to take a step back this season as AFC East is once again a touch division and we still don’t like the receivers on this team. The Dolphins drafted former Michigan quarterback Chad Henne in 2008 to be the quarterback of the future. We expect Henne to see the field toward the end of the season as the Dolphins will not be competing for a playoff spot. Former West Virginia quarterback Pat White will see action as the Wildcat quarterback and we think that White could possibly end up being a better quarterback than Henne. White is a dynamic playmaker that has the potential to be a very good starting quarterback.

4) Indianapolis Colts: It is odd to see the Colts ranked fourth on a list that ranks quarterbacks, but Peyton Manning does not have the quality backup that the other teams do. Manning should reach over 4,000 yards and 30 touchdowns with Donald Brown improving the run game. Manning is very comfortable with Jim Sorgi as his backup. The former Wisconsin quarterback has thrown for six touchdowns and only one interception in only 15 career games. This could be the last year for Sorgi in Indianapolis as the Colts drafted Purdue quarterback Curtis Painter in the sixth round. We see Painter being a very good backup quarterback that could handle a couple of starts if the football Gods ever decide to make Manning miss a game.

5) Kansas City Chiefs: This quarterback battle is one of the most intriguing position battles in the NFL heading into week one. For some reason, the Chiefs decided to give Matt Cassel a six-year deal that will pay him $10 million a year. Cassel had a very strong season with the New England Patriots last year, but he has only done this for one season and there is talk that former Alabama quarterback Brodie Croyle is having a strong camp and could win the starting job from Cassel. We have no confidence in Todd Haley as the head coach of the Chiefs, but the Chiefs have three quarterbacks with starting experience in Cassel, Croyle and Tyler Thigpen. People forget that Thigpen threw for 2,608 yards and 18 touchdowns last season.