Top 5 NFL QBs of all time......
- Thread starter BMFClone
- Start date
Can't argue against anybody mentioned here. Would have to add Aikman, 3-0 super bowl record is impressive.
Unitas
Bradshaw, Staubach
Montana, Elway, Marino
Aikman, Young
Manning, Brady
Those are the top 10 guys I can think of. Unitas gets a top 5 nod cause he changed the football landscape and what people thought a QB could be. Bradshaw and Staubach, Manning and Brady, and Montana, Elway and Marino are natural rivals. In each one of those scenarios the better QB on skill isn't the most winning QB. I feel Manning is better than Brady, Elway and Marino were better than Montana, and Staubach is better than Bradshaw (although this is closer than the rest. Maybe it is because I was a kid but Marino, Elway and Montana are mythical (almost as much as MJ is to me) I don't see how those three guys in a Brady or Manning situation don't just dominate. So here goes my top 5 that means nothing.
5. Aikman (Cowboys fan, #5 was pick'em for me so I will give the nod to my boy)
4. Manning (Maybe the best student of the game, Not a big game QB)
3. Montana (Best winner here, just not the greatest skills)
2. Marino (Never a winner, but you can't argue with what he did, the team was never great, but he always game them a chance)
1. Elway (Best skills of anyone on the post, finally figured out how to win (amazing what coaching and a running game will do) put him in any of these other guys spots and the team is better)
I think childhood memories really cloud my judgement. That and a hatred of all things Patriots.
Edit: I remembered Favre but for got to write him down, still doesn't change my top 5.
Bradshaw, Staubach
Montana, Elway, Marino
Aikman, Young
Manning, Brady
Those are the top 10 guys I can think of. Unitas gets a top 5 nod cause he changed the football landscape and what people thought a QB could be. Bradshaw and Staubach, Manning and Brady, and Montana, Elway and Marino are natural rivals. In each one of those scenarios the better QB on skill isn't the most winning QB. I feel Manning is better than Brady, Elway and Marino were better than Montana, and Staubach is better than Bradshaw (although this is closer than the rest. Maybe it is because I was a kid but Marino, Elway and Montana are mythical (almost as much as MJ is to me) I don't see how those three guys in a Brady or Manning situation don't just dominate. So here goes my top 5 that means nothing.
5. Aikman (Cowboys fan, #5 was pick'em for me so I will give the nod to my boy)
4. Manning (Maybe the best student of the game, Not a big game QB)
3. Montana (Best winner here, just not the greatest skills)
2. Marino (Never a winner, but you can't argue with what he did, the team was never great, but he always game them a chance)
1. Elway (Best skills of anyone on the post, finally figured out how to win (amazing what coaching and a running game will do) put him in any of these other guys spots and the team is better)
I think childhood memories really cloud my judgement. That and a hatred of all things Patriots.
Edit: I remembered Favre but for got to write him down, still doesn't change my top 5.
Dontchaknow that Superbowl rings in the only criteria one can use when evaluating quarterbacks?
Be careful to have too much of a myopic focus on modern era quarterbacks. It's not just about passing the ball...
In the early era of pro football, fullbacks, halfbacks, and quarterbacks were essentially interchangeable. Look at the names again--they refer to how far behind the ball/line of scrimmage the players were. The fullback was fully behind the line of scrimmage, while the halfbacks were halfway between the fullback and the ball. The quarterback was between the halfbacks and the ball. All players were a threat to throw the ball or run the ball--essentially four modern dual-threat quarterbacks. (This is why the Hall of Fame lumps them together in pre-modern era football.)
These "quarterbacks" of the early days would've been comparable if not better to any of the players already mentioned:
Jim Thorpe (Olympic champion, played pro baseball, basketball, and football.)
Ernie Nevers (Signed pro baseball and basketball contracts, but starred in football.)
Red Grange
Curly Lambeau
Sammy Baugh
Dutch Clark is also an interesting story. As quarterback of the early Lions teams, he was so poor sighted, he had trouble seeing receivers, yet excelled.
In the early era of pro football, fullbacks, halfbacks, and quarterbacks were essentially interchangeable. Look at the names again--they refer to how far behind the ball/line of scrimmage the players were. The fullback was fully behind the line of scrimmage, while the halfbacks were halfway between the fullback and the ball. The quarterback was between the halfbacks and the ball. All players were a threat to throw the ball or run the ball--essentially four modern dual-threat quarterbacks. (This is why the Hall of Fame lumps them together in pre-modern era football.)
These "quarterbacks" of the early days would've been comparable if not better to any of the players already mentioned:
Jim Thorpe (Olympic champion, played pro baseball, basketball, and football.)
Ernie Nevers (Signed pro baseball and basketball contracts, but starred in football.)
Red Grange
Curly Lambeau
Sammy Baugh
Dutch Clark is also an interesting story. As quarterback of the early Lions teams, he was so poor sighted, he had trouble seeing receivers, yet excelled.
Slow down, there. I hope that's true but only one season into his career we have a pretty small sample size. However, if it ends up being true then the Colts will have been fortunate enough to have drafted arguably the best three QBs in the modern era of pro football - Elway in '83, Manning in '98, and Luck in 2012.
