Do you need a great QB to win the SB?

[ivanvamp]

Consider the champs in the 2000's....

2000 Ravens
QB - Trent Dilfer: 11 g, 59.3%, 1502 yds, 12 td, 11 int, 76.6 rating
QB - Tony Banks: 11 g, 54.7%, 1578 yds, 8 td, 8 int, 69.3 rating

2001 Patriots
QB - Tom Brady: 15 g, 63.9%, 2843 yds, 18 td, 12 int, 86.5 rating

2002 Buccaneers
QB - Brad Johnson: 13 g, 62.3%, 3049 yds, 22 td, 6 int, 92.9 rating

2003 Patriots
QB - Tom Brady: 16 g, 60.2%, 3620 yds, 23 td, 12 int, 85.9 rating

2004 Patriots
QB - Tom Brady: 16 g, 60.8%, 3692 yds, 28 td, 14 int, 92.6 rating

2005 Steelers
QB - Ben Roethlisberger: 12 g, 62.7%, 2385 yds, 17 td, 9 int, 98.6 rating

2006 Colts
QB - Peyton Manning: 16 g, 65.0%, 4397 yds, 31 td, 9 int, 101.0 rating

2007 Giants
QB - Eli Manning: 16 g, 56.1%, 3336 yds, 23 td, 20 int, 73.9 rating

2008 Steelers
QB - Ben Roethlisberger: 16 g, 59.9%, 3301 yds, 17 td, 15 int, 80.1 rating

Out of this group, the guys I would consider to be "great" quarterbacks would be 2004 Tom Brady, 2006 Peyton Manning, and possibly 2008 Ben Roethlisberger (despite very pedestrian numbers).

2001 and 2003 Tom Brady weren't "great" yet...they were good, and 2003 Brady was emerging as "great", but I don't think he was quite there yet. Though maybe 2003 was when he became "great". But the rest?

Eli Manning? Hardly "great". Trent Dilfer? Brad Johnson? The first year of Roethlisberger and Brady?

Even Peyton Manning, who by all definitions was "great" by 2006, didn't have a very good postseason. Here were his combined stats for that year's 4-game playoff run: 97-153 (63.4%), 1034 yds, 3 td, 7 int. Good completion %, but an awful td/int ratio.

So I think it's clear that you don't need a "great" QB to win the Super Bowl. You need to have a very good *team* that's playing well and that catches a few breaks. I'm not suggesting having a great QB is a liability, but obviously it's not necessary to winning the whole thing.

 

[RobertWeathers]

Don't need a great Qb to win the Sb. Need a qb who makes plays when plays need to be made, gets 1st downs, leads the team and doesn't turn the ball over.

I am convinced of this.

 

[ivanvamp]

Don't need a great Qb to win the Sb. Need a qb who makes plays when plays need to be made, gets 1st downs, leads the team and doesn't turn the ball over.

I am convinced of this.

That's pretty much exactly what Brady was in 2001 and 2003. That turned out alright.

 

[patsinthesnow]

You need a great QB to get a divisional bye.

You need a great team to win the superbowl.

 

[RobertWeathers]

That's pretty much exactly what Brady was in 2001 and 2003. That turned out alright.

Totally. Look at the history..
66-Starr
67-Starr
68-Namath
69-Dawson
70-Johnny U
71-Meridith/Staubach
72-Griese
73-Griese
74-Bradshaw
75-Bradshaw
76-Stabler
77-Staubach
78-Bradshaw
79-Bradshaw
80-Plunkett
81-Montana
82-Theisman
83-Plunkett
84-Montana
85-McMachmon
86-Simms
87-Williams
88-Montana
89-Montana
90-Hostedtler
91-Rypien
92-Aikman
93-Aikman
94-Young
95-Aikman
96-Favre
97-Elway
98-Elway
99-Warner

Many of those QBs are HoF QBs, but I would not say that they were the sole reason that their teams won the SB. They may have been a big piece for sure, but many of them had very good defenses that at the very least, kept games in reach.

Some of them like Johnny U and Elway were past their primes, but made plays when plays needed to be made.

 

[BradyManny]

I object to the idea that Brady wasn't an elite QB by 2003 - when he was asked to air it out, he always delivered. Weather & a balanced offense kept him from putting up the #s he ultimately would from there on out.

And really, he was the same guy in 2001. He won us the snow game & the super bowl with his clutch play. Whether he was elite or not, I don't know. But the quarterback helped us win those games. And I think you do need a quarterback to play well to win.

Basically, forget stats - just use the eyeball test. Brady, Roethlisberger & [Peyton] Manning are all great QBs. And they've won 6 out of 9 championships this decade. So I don't think your conclusion could be any further from the truth.

 

[emoney_33]

You don't -need- any single one thing. You need some combination of many things as well as a little bit of luck to win a championship. Having a great QB helps but isn't the be-all end-all story of winning in the NFL. There is a LOT that goes into winning in the NFL.

 

[T_Brady12]

Take a step further and do both starting quarterbacks:

(Winners on left, losers on right)

I. Bart Starr vs Len Dawson
II. Bart Starr vs Daryle Lamonica
III. Joe Namath vs Earl Morrall
IV. Len Dawson vs Joe Kapp
V. Johnny Unitas vs Craig Morton
VI. Roger Staubach vs Bob Griese
VII. Bob Griese vs Bill Kilmer
VIII. Bob Griese vs Fran Tarkenton
IX. Terry Bradshaw vs Fran Tarkenton
X. Terry Bradshaw vs Roger Staubach
XI. Ken Stabler vs Fran Tarkenton
XII. Roger Staubach vs Craig Morton
XIII. Terry Bradshaw vs Roger Staubach
XIV. Terry Bradshaw vs Vince Ferragamo
XV. Jim Plunkett vs Rob Jaworski
XVI. Joe Montana vs Ken Anderson
XVII. Joe Theismann vs David Woodley
XVIII. Jim Plunkett vs Joe Theismann
XIX. Joe Montana vs Dan Marino
XX. Jim McMahon vs Tony Eason
XXI. Phil Simms vs John Elway
XXII. Doug Williams vs John Elway
XXIII. Joe Montana vs Boomer Esiason
XXIV. Joe Montana vs John Elway
XXV. Jeff Hostetler vs Jim Kelly
XXVI. Mark Rypien vs Jim Kelly
XXVII. Troy Aikman vs Jim Kelly
XXVIII. Troy Aikman vs Jim Kelly
XXIX. Steve Young vs Stan Humphries
XXX. Troy Aikman vs Neil O'Donnell
XXXI. Brett Favre vs Drew Bledsoe
XXXII. John Elway vs Brett Favre
XXXIII. John Elway vs Chris Chandler
XXXIV. Kurt Warner vs Steve McNair
XXXV. Trent Dilfer vs Kerry Collins
XXXVI. Tom Brady vs Kurt Warner
XXXVII. Brad Johnson vs Rich Gannon
XXXVIII. Tom Brady vs Jake Delhomme
XXXVIX. Tom Brady vs Donovan McNabb
XL. Ben Roethlisberger vs Matt Hasselbeck
XLI. Peyton Manning vs Rex Grossman
XLII. Eli Manning vs Tom Brady
XLIII. Ben Roethlisberger vs Kurt Warner

In the grand scheme of things, for the most part... yes, a great Quarterback will win the Super Bowl. Of course there are the exceptions (Grossman among others) where you have a solid defense or what not.

14 of the 23 current PFHOF QB's have participated in the Super Bowl, 10 of them have won the Super Bowl.

 

[SyN65]

No. Of course not. You need a great TEAM to win a SB.

 

[dhamz]

I don't think you need a franchise QB to win a SB but it helps a lot. The Head Coaches/GMs of NE, Indy, Pit, and the NYG all would tell you that their guy is a franchise QB. That accounts for 7 of the 9 this decade including the last 6.

 

[Scouse Patriot]

You definately need a good one. The SB is the pinnacle and aside from skills you need a guy who is mentaly going to cope with that aswell as lead the offence.

I'm sure nobody needs to be told you need alot more than one player and the offensive unit in football though.

 

[Patspsycho]

You don't need a great quarterback to win a superbowl.

You do need a great quarterback to win a few superbowls.

 

[RobertWeathers]

You don't need a great quarterback to win a superbowl.

You do need a great quarterback to win a few superbowls.

Hmmm. Not sure if I agree or disagree.

2SBs
-Starr
-Griese
-Plunkett
-Staubach
-Roethisberger

3SB
-Brady
-Aikman

4SBs
-Bradshaw
-Montana

Not sure I'd call Plunkett, Griese, Roethlisberger, Aikman or even Bradshaw great. But I've always been one to say that you need to look beyond the stats with Bradshaw to appreciate his game and what he meant to the Steelers. Same with Griese and Aikman.

 

[Simkin]

Don't need a great Qb to win the Sb. Need a qb who makes plays when plays need to be made, gets 1st downs, leads the team and doesn't turn the ball over.

I am convinced of this.

Peyton Manning, the GOAT, the boy that pee Channel N 5 turn the ball over 9 times in his SB year. And still the MVP of this year. Its hilarious

 

[PATSYLICIOUS]

95% of the time, yes.

The other 5% of the time, the less than great QB still has to not only manage games well, but make plays that can turn games around (Dilfer 90 yard TD in 2000 against Oakland in a defensive struggle, Brad Johnson made some big plays in the 2002 NFCC @ Philly after Philly got up 7 early). QB is the most crucial position no matter how good your team is.

 

[MassPats38]

If your D is a world-beater that can score points, not as much. The 2006 Bears were a great example of a world-beater defense that could not offset the effect of Grossman and the inept offense. The 2000 Ravens offense was sufficiently competent that the D could win the games without much offense. As noted above, in the end championships are won by teams, not offenses, so it depends on whether offense, defense, and special teams combined produce a strong positive.

In the salary cap era, world-beater defenses are probably tough to come by, so I suspect a stronger QB is required to offset defensive performances closer to average.

 

[TarHeelPatsFan]

Consider the champs in the 2000's....

possibly 2008 Ben Roethlisberger (despite very pedestrian numbers).

Ben Roethlisberger a great quarterback, bleh .