We have the Yankees/Red Sox rivalry, we have the Alabama/Auburn rivalry, and we have the Lakers/Celtics rivalry – all great water cooler banter and all have a legitimate argument regarding who’s best.

When it comes to individuals, we have the Tom Brady/Peyton Manning rivalry – the best QB rivalry going.  Who’s better? Who’d you rather have? Who’s more valuable? And both sides can make a great case!  

Besides championships, rivalries are what drive sports, and the only way it’s a true rivalry is when both sides get their share of wins.  

So as we look to the present and the near future, where’s our next great rivalry?  For me, when it comes to QBs, Aaron Rodgers vs. Matt Ryan is the obvious choice.  And here’s why this rivalry will be the closest thing to the Brady/Manning QB rivalry we can find, though by no means do I think it will have the luster or the Hall of Fame credentials that Brady and Manning have blessed us with.  But it will be great and here’s why:

Both in the same conference, both first round draft picks, both play for playoff and Super Bowl caliber teams, both have a supporting cast, both have the love of the fans, media and the NFL schedule makers.  Both have enormous talent, charisma, and impressive resumes and both will cut your heart out to beat you.  Most importantly, neither has a glaring weakness.

And marry that with the fact that both will see each other in the playoffs for many years leads to the obvious “who’s going to be the better QB” banter.  With all due respect to a good group of young QBs, including Big Ben and Phillips Rivers, Ryan and Rodgers will be force fed down our throats by the NFL – and what a blessing that’s going to be!  

When evaluating a QB rivalry, I’m looking for the “it” factor, and this has “IT.”  There’s Ryan, the big, tall, squeaky-clean great leader with a rocket arm and wonderful pocket presence, the obvious respect from his veteran teammates and the results to match, as witnessed by the Falcon’s performance in 2010 – it won’t be the last time they’re staring at the best record in the NFC.  Let’s not forget, Matt Ryan is still learning how to play football even though he has the presence of a 10-year veteran.  Falcon fans are in great hands with what will be the greatest QB in team history.   Ryan will have a monster year in 2011!

The only bummer for Falcons fans is they don’t have the best QB in the NFC, because he resides in Green Bay (Drew Brees, we didn’t forget about you, it would seem that you would be the logical argument here because you are in the same division as Matt Ryan, but we gave the edge to Rodgers because he’s younger and the rivalry will last longer).  While Aaron Rodgers may not be the best QB in the NFL right now, he is the only one who has no weakness: great feet, strong arm, uncanny accuracy, mental, physical and emotional toughness, can handle negative press, i.e. the Brett Favre situation and where he was drafted, has poise under pressure (which was evident all 2010 season) and can carry a team on his back as he did last season in spite of morale-crushing injuries and STILL win the Super Bowl.

Trust me when I say this, because he is too humble to say it. Aaron Rodgers wants a second ring so bad because it’s something Favre couldn’t do – don’t underestimate that!

Just so we understand how good Rodgers is and impressive he’s been early in his career, he’s actually made people at least temporarily, or for the next 15 years, forget about #4, and that’s saying something!

Rest assured there will be a time in the very near future when the NFL, just like it did with the Patriots/Colts, schedules a Packers/Falcons game every year. Only a dumbass wouldn’t schedule that game!

This will be a treat for fans outside Atlanta and Green Bay for a long time to come. So the obvious question is – who wins this rivalry? And for you guys who know me – I’m not a fence-sitter, so to answer the question let me give you a blatant answer. If I had a draft today of all current NFL players, my first choice would be Aaron Rodgers. Advantage, Green Bay.  

Oh and by the way… I’ll take the Red Sox!

Sean Salisbury, former NFL quarterback and NFL analyst for ESPN, covers sports for www.playerpress.com. Follow him on Twitter @SeanUnfiltered.