Greatest quarterback ever

[zalb916]

The Rush Limbaugh thread in CE got a little derailed with a conversation about the greatest QB ever. Here's Peter King's top 12. Thoughts?

1. Otto Graham. Easy. Ten seasons, seven championships, seven passing titles.

2. Sammy Baugh. Had the best season of any player ever in 1943. Led the NFL in passing, punting and, as one of the best safeties in football, in interceptions.

3. Joe Montana. Made everyone copy Walsh's high-tech offense, and won four titles in a decade.

4. Johnny Unitas. First great modern quarterback, and great in the clutch. He'd be higher if he won more than one title in his last 14 seasons.

5. Brett Favre. Most durable, most productive quarterback of all time. Marred by only one title.

6. Peyton Manning. Could break every record if Favre ever retires. Needs another championship or two to climb the list.

7. John Elway. Two titles, though they came late, capped the career of a Unitas-type with legs.

8. Dan Marino. Prototype dropback quarterback who, arguably, was the model for the pocket quarterback of the last 40 years.

9. Roger Staubach. Might be the best player/athlete/leader of a quarterback ever, and he edges Steve Young in my book with a second title and three more title-game appearances.

10. Tom Brady. Three Super Bowl wins by age 27, and a fourth appearance at 30.

11. Bart Starr. All he did was win -- five NFL titles, including the first two Super Bowl titles, both ending with him being MVP.

12. Terry Bradshaw. Rebounded from a horrible start to his career to lead the Steelers to four Super Bowls in six years.

 

[itsstillmatt]

Graham and Montana should probably be 1A and 1B, or so I have heard from people who watched both. I'd rank Montana #1, but I saw him play a ton and never saw Graham. I don't know that Baugh's reputation as a safety is important when judging quarterbacks. He wouldn't make my top ten. From there, Elway hops to just after Unitas, and Steve Young replaces Starr/Bradshaw. Good list, though.

 

[zalb916]

While I'm biased towards Baugh as a Redskins fan, he's from a totally different era. It's impossible to compare him. I also agree that his playing on both sides of the ball shouldn't really factor into the discussion. I have no problem excluding him from the discussion.

 

[itsstillmatt]

Originally Posted by zbromer

While I'm biased towards Baugh as a Redskins fan, he's from a totally different era. It's impossible to compare him. I also agree that his playing on both sides of the ball shouldn't really factor into the discussion. I have no problem excluding him from the discussion.
It is also pretty tough to know how much of Graham and Montana could really be called Brown and Walsh.

 

[Ambulance Chaser]

Pretty good list. I'm surprised at how low Brady is, given King's well-known nuthugging of Belichick and New England. Elway should be higher. His two Super Bowl wins came when Terrell Davis was the Man in Denver, but he dragged Denver to three Super Bowl appearances with no one else of note on the team.

 

[onion]

I think by the time he retires, Tom Brady will be #1 QB of all time.

I say that even though he's probably my least favorite player, on my least favorite team in the NFL.

 

[Rambo]

Montana, Graham, Unitas, Staubach, Elway

I'm biased against Marino after seeing him play so often and then meeting him.

 

[quevola]

Bullshit, where the hell is Romo on the list?!

 

[Mute]

Montana. Period. And I'll fight any man who says otherwise.

 

[BDC2823]

Originally Posted by onion

I think by the time he retires, Tom Brady will be #1 QB of all time.

I say that even though he's probably my least favorite player, on my least favorite team in the NFL.

Being that I have Randy Moss on my money league fantasy team, I've been watching a lot of Patriots games this year. Brady still has a way to go to get back to where he was pre-injury. Each of the past 3 games, he's missed a wide open Moss for a td by overthrowing him by 5 yards. Not as crisp as he once was but I'm sure as the rust wears off his accuracy will improve.

 

[sonick]

Manning > Brady. Without Manning the colts are 6-10 team, rather than a 12-4 team last season. He himself has more impact on his team's success than any other QB in the league. All he's missing is the championships. He gets a few more of those, undisputed he is greater than Brady.

 

[Ambulance Chaser]

The big knock on Brady, and the reason he isn't higher on this list, is that he has played on some great teams. For the first Super Bowl, he was a Trent Dilfer-like game manager. He was more than a manager for the next two, but the New England offense was clearly subordinate to the defense. The one Super Bowl that the New England offense was superior to the defense he loses and only scores 14 points.

Manning is better than Brady in all areas except two: (1) ability to throw the deep ball, and (2) pocket presence. Brady has looked skittish in the pocket this year, and I don't know if he'll ever get back to where he was before the knee injury.

 

[hboogz]

Great List -- I don't know much about the guys listed at the beginning, but their stats obviously speak for themselves. Personally, championships aside, I'll take Marino over Elway anyday. I've always been a Marino fan for his sheer ability to stand in the pocket and throw. He didn't move well, if at all, and just made ridiculous completions time and time again..I will, however, put Montana above Marino even with those KC numbers..

Brady, Manning and Favre are superior, indeed.

 

[Connemara]

First person to mention Namath gets kicked in the balls.

 

[Tokyo Slim]

I'd be inclined to say that Montana/Young are the best I've seen, followed by Peyton, Marino, Elway, Brady, Brees, Favre, Warner, and Kelly. In that order. I honestly couldn't judge the old schoolers. I wasn't around.