Last week, I went through ESPN's Scouts Inc.'s rankings for eacj of the Saints' units. I then went into a bit more detail in breaking down the Scouts Inc. synopsis of the Saints' offensive line. Today, I will analyze Scouts Inc.'s breakdown of the quarterbacks. It says that:

In a short amount of time, Drew Brees has become the face of this organization and a favorite son to a city that needs a diversion. He may have the best touch and accuracy of any QB in the league and does a great job of spreading the ball around to all of his receivers. He does not have great arm strength, but he doesn't need it because the Saints' offense puts the emphasis on underneath routes. He is the unquestioned leader and has a calming presence that seems to filter through the entire team. Backup Jamie Martin has the confidence of his coaches, but he's probably not a long-term answer if he had to replace Brees. Still, he does know the system and could step in for a short run. Rookie Tyler Palko has the inside track for the No. 3 job, but this is clearly Brees' team.

Althouh the Saints' "unit" ranks 3rd, this ranking comes on the arm of Drew Brees; Jamie Martin and Tyler Palko--in an objective, comprehensive analysis==would only serve to bring the ranking down. As this is clearly a ranking of the starting quarterbacks, it begs the question, "Is Drew Brees the third-best quarterback in the NFL?" Numbers 4-7 are Cincinnati (Cason Palmer), Philadelphia (Donovan McNabb), San Diego (Philip Rivers) and St. Louis (Marc Bulger). Philip Rivers--despite throwing for 22 touchdowns at a 92.7 rating--doesn't appear to necessarily belong, at least not above Bulger, but all-in-all, this is a pretty good recap of the second-tier quarterbacks in the NFL. I'm not sure that there is any significant difference in the group, just as I would think that if one plugged any of these quarterbacks into another's offense, it would produce at a similarly high level.