(Photo credit: elviskennedy)

If you want to get into a heated debate, start a discussion about who is the best quarterback in the NFL today. Is it Peyton Manning? Aaron Rodgers? Tom Brady? Drew Brees? How about Russell Wilson, RG III or Andrew Luck?

Everyone has their own criteria for determining the best. Let me offer some thoughts for discussion.

First, let’s use the Passer Rating as the numerical yardstick. Secondly, let’s look at how well QBs perform in each quarter. Are some QBs better in the first quarter and less effective in the fourth quarter.

Following is a breakdown of the QBs with the best Passer Ratings since 2010 in the first, second, third and fourth quarters (minimum of 100 passes attempted in each quarter to qualify for the list).

First Quarter
1. Aaron Rodgers, 114.4
2. Drew Brees, 109.8
3. Russell Wilson, 107.5
4. Andrew Luck, 105.6
5. Matt Ryan, 103.5

Second Quarter
1. Peyton Manning, 111.8
2. Shaun Hill, 111.6
3. Russell Wilson, 107.3
4. Robert Griffin III, 105.1
5. Aaron Rodgers, 102.8

Third Quarter
1. Aaron Rodgers, 117.1
2. Philip Rivers, 108.7
3. Colin Kaepernick, 106.1
4. Peyton Manning, 105.9
5. Matt Schaub, 103.2

Fourth Quarter
1. Aaron Rodgers, 108.9
2. Peyton Manning, 101.7
3. Tony Romo, 100.6
4. Tom Brady, 98.8
5. Russell Wilson, 98.2

Based on the numbers above, we discover some interesting talking points:

* Rodgers is the only QB who had a 100 or higher rating in each of the four quarters.

* Brees and Brady had a 100 Passer Rating in the first, second and third quarters, but not the fourth.

* Rodgers, Peyton and Tony Romo were the only QBs to have a 100 Passer Rating in both the third and fourth quarters.

Let’s look at the 2013 season. Peyton Manning is having a great season and his Broncos have been an early season favorite to make it to the Super Bowl. Peyton has the highest Passer Rating this season of QBs in the first and fourth quarters. Peyton’s Passer Rating is 128.9 in the first quarter and 124.3 in the fourth quarter. Seattle Russell Wilson has the best second quarter rating at 127.34, and Cam Newton has the best third quarter rating at 139.1.

For those Aaron Rodgers fans wondering where Rodgers is at in these 2013 by-quarter Passer Ratings, he is still near the top. His first quarter rating is 106.7, second quarter 93.3, third quarter 117.2, and fourth quarter 105.1. Rodgers is very consistent in his overall passing performance over the course of a game; but it is interesting to note that he seems to do his best work (statistically) in the third quarter, yet the second quarter is his worst (in terms of Passer Rating) of the four quarters. Theories? I’ll throw one out there: Rodgers and his coach Mike McCarthy may be the best at making adjustments at halftime to what their offense needs to do to be successful in the second half.

Follow Jerry on Twitter @StatsonTapp