| Deus Irae |
11-13-2008 11:58 AM |
Re: If someone says this about a QB..
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sicilian
(Post 1158950)
That's what makes players like Tom Brady and Peyton Manning so special. They have all the production of a gunslinger, but do it through hard work, intelligence, and discipline. All the production, half the risk.
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But that doesn't really make them special, in my eyes. They are both great players, but they came into the game during the game manager era, so they learned under that system. Almost every quarterback today plays the same way, and some of them can compete in the production department. A guy like Drew Brees is a perfect example, I'd argue.
However, as good as Brees is (he may be the best QB in the league right now, with Brady and Palmer out and Manning struggling), he's not in the same class as Favre has been for his career. What makes a player like Manning/Brady/Favre special is that they are a step above everyone else in their era, no matter what that era might be. That's why Favre will go to the Hall of Fame, and Bledsoe will have trouble getting in despite having Hall of Fame numbers. Bledsoe was among the very best in his time, but he never separated himself with either Super Bowl wins or other noted achievements.
Could Brees/Manning/Brady survive in the 1970's? I'd give that a 99.99% likelihood of the answer being "yes". Would they thrive the way they do today? We really have no idea, because the era changes tend to accompany significant rule changes. Manning's timing game would be destroyed by the bump-and-run coverages of the 1970's, for example, so he'd have to completely remake his game. On the other hand, I think guys Bledsoe and Favre would absolutely dominate in that era, with their ability to throw the ball a country mile and their willingness to hold the ball until they see a sliver of a chance to go deep.
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