Let’s all gather ‘round the hearth and make fun of Tom Brady (while we still can)

The Chiefs' Alex Smith soars to the Week 1 crown with 56.40 points, edging Viking Sam Bradford, as the Miami Herald launches its 20th season of Passer Success System (PASS) NFL quarterback rankings. That’s a surprise. Smith is not usually a big scorer; he had zero weekly titles last season. Now here's the fun part: the Patriots' Tom Brady stumbles out the gate with a 9.35-point game, ranking 26th of 31 passers who had at least 10 attempts after looking every bit his age (40) in the opener. But enjoy Brady’s struggles while you can, Dolfans. He has what seems an exceptionally favorable matchup this week vs. a typically awful Saints pass defense.

Our PASS formula is simple and unchanged since its inception in 1998, factoring accuracy, yardage, TD-interception ratio and team result. (The exact formula is detailed below). Most major ranking systems such as the NFL's and ESPN's are complicated and percentile based, allowing QBs who miss half a season to still win a title. Our system is cumulative, rewarding players who are consistently productive and avoid injury or benching.

We invite you to follow along with our QB rankings every week. Here we go!

GREG COTE’S MIAMI HERALD NFL QB RANKINGS / WEEK 1

RK ‘16 Player, Team Week 1/Season

1 16 Alex Smith, KC 56.40

2 5 Sam Bradford, MIN 53.30

3 6 Matthew Stafford, DET 45.60

4 20 Carson Wentz, PHI 36.35

5 40 Jared Goff, LAR 36.30

6 7 Derek Carr, OAK 36.10

7 2 Matt Ryan, ATL 36.05

8t 1 Drew Brees, NO 34.55

8t 3 Aaron Rodgers, GB 34.55

10 15 Ben Roethlisberger, PIT 33.15

11 9 Dak Prescott, DAL 30.40

12 13 Eli Manning, NYG 28.00

13 19 Philip Rivers, LAC 26.60

14 52 Mike Glennon, CHI 25.65

15 24 Trevor Siemian, DEN 24.95

Bubble: Tyrod Taylor, BUF, 23.20. Week 1/season best: Smith, KC, 56.40 (28-35, 368, 4-0 in win). Week 1/season worst: Andy Dalton, CIN, minus-2.50 (16-31, 170, 0-4 in loss).

Herald PASS Championships: 7—Brees (2008-11, '14-16); 6—Peyton Manning (2000, '03-04, '06, '12-13); 2—Kurt Warner (1999, 2001); 1 each—Steve Young (1998), Rich Gannon (2002), Carson Palmer (2005) and Tom Brady (2007).

Points formula: Accuracy—Completions times two minus attempts. Ex: 17 for 28 = 6 points. Yardage—Five percent of total. Ex: 202 yards = 10.10 points. TD-interception ratio—Difference times three. Ex: Four TDs and one pick = 9 points. Team result—Winning QB of record = 5 points.

This story was originally published September 14, 2017 at 9:26 AM with the headline "Let’s all gather ‘round the hearth and make fun of Tom Brady (while we still can)."