Tom E. Curran • E-mail

Something pretty remarkable happened in this year’s playoffs.

The three quarterbacks that authored the finest rookie seasons at their position in the modern day NFL all made it to the postseason.

Baltimore’s Joe Flacco, the Steelers' Ben Roethlisberger and Matt Ryan of the Falcons did in their rookie seasons what we’ve come to see and be told was pretty much impossible: start playing while the ink on their first pro contracts was still wet and flat tear it up.

And while Roethlisberger worked his magic over 13 regular-season starts in 2004, Ryan and Flacco did it while starting all 16 straight out of training camp.

Is it a coincidence? Or is the previous belief (backed up by plenty of anecdotal evidence) that rookie quarterbacks are a liability in need of rethinking?

Whichever it is, this weekend’s Divisional Playoffs feature the next generation of NFL quarterbacking elite that will likely be with us until around 2015.

With the 26-year-old Roethlisberger, 24-year-old Flacco, 27-year-old Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers and Giants quarterback Eli Manning (28) in charge of half of the teams in the final eight, there’s a stark contrast between them and the other four relatively grizzled veterans left standing. Check out the ages: Cardinals QB Kurt Warner is 37, the Panthers' Jake Delhomme is 34, Tennessee’s Kerry Collins is 36 and Donovan McNabb of the Eagles is 32.

Factor in the league’s best two quarterbacks – 32-year-old Peyton Manning of the Colts and the Patriots' Tom Brady (31) – and you can see the young bloods are coming.

Before we get too far into which players are in the next wave and how good they’ll be, let’s look at what made the rookie seasons of Roethlisberger, Ryan and Flacco so unique.

Flacco and Ryan became just the fourth and fifth quarterbacks to start every regular-season game. Combined, they went 22-10. The combined records of the three quarterbacks (Rick Mirer, Peyton Manning, David Carr) who started all 16 before these two? 13-35.

Add in Roethlisberger, who took over for an injured Tommy Maddox in 2004 and started the Steelers' final 13 games. Now the record of these three young guns is 35-10.

And it isn’t just a win-loss record. Rick Gosselin of the Dallas Morning News recently broke down the numbers for the 40 rookies who were primary starters (started more than half of the 16 games) since 1978. Ten of the 40 posted winning records in the games they started. Flacco, Ryan and Roethlisberger were the only ones to complete 60 percent or more of their throws. Only four of the 10 threw more touchdowns than interceptions. (Dan Marino was the other, throwing 20 touchdowns and just six picks for Miami in 1984.)

Previously, Roethlisberger’s performance was explained away by the fact he joined a powerful Steelers team. But Ryan and Flacco quarterbacked teams that, the previous year, won four and five games, respectively.

Playoff matchups Compare the NFL teams, then vote on which has the edge Eagles-Giants Cardinals-Panthers Ravens-Titans Chargers-Steelers

Has Flacco been helped by Baltimore’s outstanding defense? Certainly. Did Ryan benefit from handing off to Michael Turner? Yes. But their performances this season were outstanding relative to the rest of the rookie starters in the pool of 40.

The rest of the story is that – despite Manning, Brady, McNabb, Brett Favre and whoever else is in the veteran mix being closer to the ends of their careers than the beginnings – the overall health of the position is strong. And compelling.

There are, as we will see this weekend, varying personalities and styles among these younger guys. Rivers’ brashness makes him someone other teams and fans love to hate, but he’s tough as nails and the kind of guy you’d love if he played for you. Roethlisberger is most similar to Rivers, in that he’s great late. Eli Manning blissfully takes the slings and arrows with a shrug and sheepish face then rips teams up in the clutch. Flacco? Call him Diamond Joe. The kid’s face is stone no matter what the situation – as opposed to, say, Rivers.

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There are, of course, no absolutes. Two years ago, Vince Young went 8-5 for the Titans during his rookie season. Last year, he got Tennessee into the playoffs and nearly led an upset of the Chargers. This year, he can’t get on the field ahead of Collins.

Denver’s Jay Cutler has the tools to be in the group of elites – he’s going to the Pro Bowl this year. But does he have the leadership skills his nemesis Rivers has in spades? And who knows what the future holds for guys like JaMarcus Russell and Alex Smith – former No. 1 picks who are sputtering to start their careers.

There will always be a huge range of performance from young quarterbacks because A) they’re young and B) there are myriad other factors that need to go right in order for them to succeed (coaching, offensive line, health).

But there is no void behind Peyton, Tom, Donovan and Brett. Just promise.

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