Top 5 qbs of all time

[desi-patsfan]

This is a really hard one because there are 6 who should be there, but lets try to push it into 5. no particular order

montana
marino
manning
elway
brady

favre seems like he should be on there as much as anyone else, but i dont know who should be dropped. i dont think anyone is more or less deserving.

Favre shouldnt be anywhere near that list.

Steve Young is a better QB than Favre and he isnt even close to making the list.

 

[upstater1]

There is more to being a QB than passing the football. You can measure how good a passer is, with stats and passer rating, but ranking QBs is ranking intangibles, pretty hard to do and impossible to achieve concensus in a group of three or more.

Marino was a terrific passer, one of the best, but not an especially good field general or QB. Same with Bledsoe, Favre and Elway, though many will disagree with me, especially with Elway. But if Elway hadn't won the Superbowls, he'd be just another Marino, and Favre just another Bledsoe.

Manning took a huge leap in 2006, in my opinion. I don't know how he did it, but he vaulted up in my opinion, from a great Marino-like passer to a top QB.

I would definately put Montana, Manning and Brady in the top three, in no particular order. The gap to the next tier is so great, that these three belong in a group by themselves.

Unitas was another Marino/Elway IMO. When Bart Starr played, and other old-time greats, the game was very different, and it is difficult to compare.

I never said Marino was only a good passer.

Marino not a good field general? Really, other than Montana, I can't imagine another QB taking over a game the way Marino could. He wasn't about the stats only. Late in the game, when his team was down, he lead a lot of comebacks. The guy as incredibly dangerous. I never saw him panic the way Manning does. I used to watch that slow plodding Marino drop back very calmly, with defenders buzzing around him, and somehow he'd ALWAYS get the ball off (quickest release I've ever seen) a split second before the defender got to him. He had incredible pocket presence too. Knew just how to shift his feet. You think Brady and Bledsoe are slow? Marino is the most lead foot QB I've ever seen. I still think the guy was a much better QB than what I'm seeing of Manning, and that includes the leadership qualities.

The only knock on Marino is his sideline/huddle demeanor, which is remakably Manning like. He liked to place the blame and complain.

 

[upstater1]

Favre shouldnt be anywhere near that list.

Steve Young is a better QB than Favre and he isnt even close to making the list.

What are we ranking here? If Favre's mockery of a QB act the last 5 years disqualifies him, then OK, but before that he was clearly one of the top QBs of all time. If he had retired 5 years ago, everyone on this list would have agreed. He had a great strong arm, accurate, was clearly a leader, won a few games. Yeah, he stuck around too long and soiled his legacy by becoming Mr. Turnover. This is something that the likes of Staubach, Aikman or Bradshaw didn't do.

 

[upstater1]

I definitely think Manning is better than Marino. He has broke a few of Marino's records (and will continue to do so) and he also has a ring which should almost be a requirement to be on that top 5 list.

I'm trying not to jump to conclusions, but I'm just wondering, how old are you? I think this makes a big difference in discussing these two QBs.

 

[upstater1]

Please list all the quarterbacks who have won four conference chamionships in a row. That is, please list all the quarterbacks who led their teams to the Super Bowl four years in a row.

If we want to list only QB's who have won a SB, that's fine, and in the spirit of Red Sox fans.

BTW, it is extremely difficult to rate great QB's that played for relatively poor teams. Warren Moon and Archie Manning were great QB's.

Um, Jim Kelly? Is there any other team that went to 4 straight Super Bowls? Did I answer this correctly?

 

[PonyExpress]

IMO a reasonably objective way to rank "all-time" Qbs is by number of playoff victories. Here is another thread on the topic: http://www.patsfans.com/new-england....php?t=43028&highlight=playoff+victories+1970 The current top 10 are:
Montana 16
Elway 14
Bradshaw 14
Brady 12
Staubach 12
Aikman 11
Favre 11
Kelly 9
Marino 8
Young 8

I believe Manning currently stands at 7, so with several years left in his career he has every opportunity to reach elite status, for those outraged by his omission. Only playoff victories since the 1970 merger are counted. Comparing Unitas, Graham, Starr, Jurgenson, Baugh, Luckman with modern era QBs seems like a futile exercise.

 

[fair catch fryar]

IMO a reasonably objective way to rank "all-time" Qbs is by number of playoff victories. Here is another thread on the topic: http://www.patsfans.com/new-england....php?t=43028&highlight=playoff+victories+1970 The current top 10 are:
Montana 16
Elway 14
Bradshaw 14
Brady 12
Staubach 12
Aikman 11
Favre 11
Kelly 9
Marino 8
Young 8

I believe Manning currently stands at 7, so with several years left in his career he has every opportunity to reach elite status, for those outraged by his omission. Only playoff victories since the 1970 merger are counted. Comparing Unitas, Graham, Starr, Jurgenson, Baugh, Luckman with modern era QBs seems like a futile exercise.

Then you shouldn't compare QB's from the pre-salary cap era w/ QB's from the salary-cap era. Bradshaw, Montana, Marino...etc had the luxury of knowing who their teammates were going to be from year in to year out. If you had to call someone the greatest (which is ludicrous) then consider what talent they had around them. IMO - our very own #12!

 

[FarScapeR]

I agree with the opinion that Brady is the most battle-tested elite QB in the salary cap era. As far as QBs making the most of what they've got, he leads in that category.

 

[mgteich]

You answered correctly. I include Kelly in any list of top 10 QB's. We may wait a very long time before a QB performs this again.

BTW, I disagree with most on Unitas. Y'all need to watch some old film. Any QB in the NFL would be an All-pro if their WR's were as open as his were. I do agree with the inclusion of Otto Graham. Steve Young also deserves consideration.

In the end, it depends on criteria. Some want number of Super Bowl wins. Some want number of playoff wins. Some want number of conference wins. Some look at passing stats and winning records in the regular season.

I think that there is only one QB that would be on every list, and therefore the consensus best QB of all time: Joe Montana. For others, we can all use criteria that exclude those (Manning) that some don't want on their lists.

Um, Jim Kelly? Is there any other team that went to 4 straight Super Bowls? Did I answer this correctly?

 

[primetime]

I'll go top 10... too hard to just do a top 5:

1) Montana
2) Unitas
3) Marino
4) Manning
5) Brady
6) Elway
7) Graham
8) Plunkett
9) Kelly
10) Favre

 

[mgteich]

Are you one of Plunkett's family members?

I'll go top 10... too hard to just do a top 5:

1) Montana
2) Unitas
3) Marino
4) Manning
5) Brady
6) Elway
7) Graham
8) Plunkett
9) Kelly
10) Favre

 

[primetime]

Are you one of Plunkett's family members?

I thought about putting Staubach or Starr there. I really didn't want to put Bradshaw on this list. Nor did I want to put Steve Young, or even Brett Favre. There really weren't that many world-beating QBs, which makes me all the more happy about Brady.

 

[Pat_the_Patriot]

In the end, it depends on criteria. Some want number of Super Bowl wins. Some want number of playoff wins. Some want number of conference wins. Some look at passing stats and winning records in the regular season.

I think that there is only one QB that would be on every list, and therefore the consensus best QB of all time: Joe Montana. For others, we can all use criteria that exclude those (Manning) that some don't want on their lists.

:yeahthat: right on, man.... We've all had this debate at countless bars, and the ONLY dude that is on everyone's (well... 99% of folks... Bengals fans hate the man a little bit too much) list is Joe Montana. Which is why I usually rate him as the #1 overall... even though from my own vantage point I'd take Brady.... but that's just because I'm a homer, for sure!

 

[shakadave]

1. Montana
2. Brady (never scored 3 points in a playoff game)
3. Marino
4. Manning
5. Unitas
6. Elway (great, but has always been overrated)
7. Moon (most catchable ball in history?)
8. Young (was GREAT, but had great receivers, too. Best runner on this list.)
9. McNair (virtually flawless in his prime, anyway)
10. Staubach
11. Favre (more overrated than Elway due to "macho" personality)
12. Fouts
13. Bradshaw
14. Flutie
15. Stabler
16. Aikman (in the right place at the right time)

(Didn't see Graham, Starr, or even Unitas, really)

 

[Boston Jay]

Post Salary Cap:
1. Manning/Brady
2. Everyone else

It's hard to compare them to the great QBs of the past (Marino, Montana, etc) due to rule changes, salary caps, different eras, different team philosophies, etc. All I can tell you is without those QBs mentioned in the above posts, the teams they played on would be irrelevant today.

 

[ivanvamp]

In order

1 Unitas
2 Montana
3 Brady
4 Elway
5 Staubach
6 Bradshaw
7 Marino
8 Tarkington
9 Starr
10 Manning

I know it was 5 ,but too many to choose from ..

If Brady plays for the same number of seasons Marino did (a long shot, I know, but it's possible), and if you project out Brady's stats til then, then here's their statistical comparison over an equal number of seasons:

Marino: 4967-8357 (59.4%), 61361 yds, 420 td, 252 int
Brady: 5372-8681 (61.9%), 61098 yds, 416 td, 221 int

Pretty darn close, but then you have that little deal called "Super Bowl Rings", and Brady's already up 3-0...hopefully he ends his career with 5 or 6. We'll see.

John

 

[Holy Diver]

Marino?

Rediculous! he was a great QB, but he never won it all. You need to lead a team to titles to be in the top 5.

TITLES y'all!

 

[ayjackson]

In order

1 Unitas
2 Montana
3 Brady
4 Elway
5 Staubach

6 Bradshaw
7 Marino
8 Tarkington
9 Starr
10 Manning

I know it was 5 ,but too many to choose from ..

I agree with the players in the top 5 and the players in the next 5....I just might tinker with the order a bit (depending on what day it is).

 

[Danny Boy®]

What was Bledsoe's preparation like?

He'd toke and chuck.....now, he just tokes.

 

[Isaac]

I have to disagree about the preparation aspect regarding Marino. I have heard Scott Zolak compare Marino and Bledsoe many times as far as preparation. He says it's not even close. And this coming from a guy who was friends with Bledsoe.

My opinion about this was solidified after watching a lengthy documentary (forget the name) on NFL network on Marino--it actually made me have a greater appreciation for him in a lot of ways. However, both Marino and his coaches openly spoke about how Marino wasn't big into preparation. Apparently he had such incredible instincts that he really didn't need to prepare like most QBs do--his gifts of field vision were such that he could see the open man, his maddening pocket presence bought him time, and his release was so breathtakingly quick that he'd get it there, all without necessarily understanding the defense.

Unfortunately this broke down against some of the best defenses, particularly in the playoffs when defenses are often playing with great coordination, and to me explains why his play often diminished so much in these situations.

If he had had the dedication to preparation of a Brady or Manning (or many other QBs), he would have been a truly great QB, perhaps the best ever. But he didn't, and this puts him a notch below the true greats at the position.

P.S. Bledsoe never embraced the preparation side either.