"When the laughter subsided this summer after Eli Manning declared he was in Tom Brady's class, he left himself with a nearly impossible job: Go prove it.

If Manning stood nearly alone at the time thinking he was an elite quarterback, he has made believers around the NFL. "Eli has been the best quarterback in football the last month,"

one former head coach said. "It's not even close."

Manning closed the gap on Brady, Aaron Rodgers and Drew Brees with the best season of his eight-year career, and if he beats Brady in the Super Bowl for a second time next Sunday, then it might jump him to the head of the quarterback class and secure him a place in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

But where does Manning stand among the game's elite going into Super Bowl XLVI in Indianapolis against the Patriots?

The Daily News convened a 12-member blue-ribbon panel to vote on the top five quarterbacks. The panel is comprised of current coaches and general managers, former coaches and general managers and two former Super Bowl quarterbacks."