Greatest Quarterbacks of the Last 26 Years

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Posted by: Mulder8281 Original: 3/4/2008 1:21 PM Comments: 3 eProps: 6 Read Comments Post a Comment Back to Your Xanga Site

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Tuesday, March 04, 2008

So, with Brett Favre retiring, I thought I would give my list of the best quarterbacks of all time - except, I haven't seen many of the "greats" play; and I've seen little footage on many of them. So I thought it would be better for me to limit myself to the greatest quarterbacks since 1981, the year of my birth. So, here's the list, sans Unitus, Tarkenton, Graham, Staubach and Starr:

(Edit: I was in a hurry and forgot Dan Marino and thought better of my Favre ranking :P)

6. Steve Young - Perhaps Steve Young would have been number one on the list if he hadn't had such a short career - he started in only about eight seasons, having to back up Joe Montana for years and starting his career in the USFL. Anyway, the man was probably the top quarterback of all time in regards to throwing on the run. Plus, he's got a Super Bowl ring and maybe the greatest Super Bowl performance ever to his credit (six touchdown passes against San Diego, if I'm remembering correctly).

5. Tom Brady - If anything, this past year keeps Brady behind Manning in my book. Manning did more with less last year in getting to the Super Bowl. Then again, you still can't argue with the three rings. My biggest knocks on Brady? His numbers aren't nearly Manning's - and when he finally had the weapons and put up monster numbers last year, he couldn't win the big one. Of course, he's still got years to go and could win a couple more Super Bowls.

4. Peyton Manning - I put Peyton slightly ahead of Brady because of his career numbers. He also controls the offense which has to be the overall best in the NFL in the past 6-8 years. He also finally got the Super Bowl win last year.

3. Brett Favre - Favre is here for several reasons: been to two Super Bowls and won one; won three consecutive league MVP awards; strong numbers year in and year out; and his toughness. He isn't higher because of inconsistency: near the beginning and near the end of his career, Favre through tons of interceptions; he had a tendency to make some awful decisions because of his confidence in his abilities; and he also can't claim to have shown up in all the big games.

2. Dan Marino - The man broke just about every passing record possible and still has records that stand today in a much more passer-friendly league. And though he never won a Super Bowl, he did go to one and put up outstanding numbers without ever having a good running attack and without a great wide receiver (Mark Clayton was okay, but certainly not great). He might have the quickest release of all time and he was the only person who stood in the way of my '85 Bears and undefeated season.

1. Joe Montana - Four Super Bowls and zero losses. Just as I was about to have to admit that Brady might actually finally be in the same class as Montana, Joe Cool j and Bradshaw remained the only QBs to be 4-0 in the big game. To top it off, Montana also had some amazing comebacks (including one huge Super Bowl comeback against Boomer and the Bengals), continued to play well even after he left the 49ers and still is second or third all time in quarterback rating. Never a fiery leader, he was still able to just win and win and win.

Honorable mentions: John Elway (overrated), Jim Kelly, Phil Simms (underrated), Troy Aikman

Posted 3/4/2008 1:21 PM - 3 comments

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3 Comments

you're tackling a pretty tough subject: greatness.

what defines greatness? is it pure talent? statistics? championships won? pedigree? awards won? it's hard to say.

when it comes to pure talent, i think manning, elway and favre head up this list. if you're looking for leadership, then montana and aikmen come to my mind. if you're looking for a more cerebral quarterback then i think again montana and brady would be tops.

it's so hard to judge, but if i were to start a team a la Madden franchise mode of QBs that I've seen as well...i would start my franchise off w/ this draft board for QB: 1) Joe Montana (can't overlook the rings and he'd instantly bring leadership to your franchise); 2) Peyton Manning (face of the franchise and opens up your offense just like that); 3) John Elway (i don't think he's overrated. supremely talented qb that wasted his early years on inferior teams); 4) Dan Marino (i can't believe you forgot this guy); 5) Troy Aikman (i'm a huge Cowboys homer)

Posted 3/4/2008 1:47 PM by joshx80

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i'd mostly agree. i'm glad you weren't an idiot by putting bradshaw on the list. he's overrated and he's an absolute moron. i can't argue with your top 3. montana redefined the qb position in the 90s and he had his own videogame. marino suffered from being on a team that could never surround him with dangerous weapons at wr or rb. he did everything virtually by himself. brett favre was a great bomber who could make plays out of nothing. that got him in trouble too though. he made way too many stupid throws but his ridiculous arm strength let him get away with it most of the time.

i'm not quite ready to declare a winner for manning vs brady. my knock on manning is his propensity to shrink in big games. he finally did get his ring but that hasn't made me forget how many times he choked in the postseason. he should have been carrying his team instead of whining so much. brady on the other hand never had a decent wr corps until last year. this guy was throwing to troy brown, david patten, and david givens for a long time. even deion branch is no superstar by any means. brady choked in the superbowl but he had absolutely no protection. any qb would look like crap under so much pressure. i need to see a couple more seasons from the two before i can really decide. even so, my suspicion is that brady will win out in the long run especially since he has moss for 3 more years.

steve young would have been an easy pick for no.1 if he'd played a full career as the outright starter for the 49ers. but that didn't happen. had he gone to the nfl from the beginning he would have ended up on a crappy team like the bucs. he could have been vinny. still, i don't think there's ever been a qb who dominated like he did during his peak years.

now where's the love for trent dilfer?

Posted 3/4/2008 11:08 PM by DaeScrub - reply