BOSMA’S BREAKDOWN
This is part 2 of a 2-part series. Click here for part 1.
The REAL Greatest Quarterback of All Time
In part 1, I presented the top 14 quarterbacks of all time based on statistics and Super Bowl/NFL Championship success. The list has its flaws, including a few players I believe need to be in the top 10. No formula can perfectly predict who’s the best but here’s what I’m basing my list on:
- Super Bowl/NFL Championship success
- Who can I trust to win the game in the 4th quarter facing a deficit and one possession left?
- Regardless of the supporting cast, who would thrive?
1. Joe Montana – The statistics I pulled supported my No. 1 pick, but if you want a guy with the game on the line, Montana is your guy. He was 4-0 in Super Bowls and had a 16-7 playoff record. Montana won the most playoff games (16), threw the most touchdowns (45), and had a .695 playoff winning percentage (5th). In my statistics he ranked second in playoff games played (23), completions (460), attempts (734), and passing yards (5,772). There’s no question Joe Cool is the best of all time. He is No. 1 in all three of my categories above, and even though he had Jerry Rice, he would have done just fine with a B+ receiver and found equal success.
2. Tom Brady – Brady is still in his prime and has already won 3 Super Bowls. Brady gets big kudos on my rankings, especially for #3. His supporting casts in all three of his Super Bowl victories weren’t great and he somehow lost his only Super Bowl with his best team around him. Maybe that should be a flaw, but the fact that he did it three times prior with a lesser team scratches that out. Brady was No. 2 in win percentage (.777), playoff wins (14), and tied for second in conference championship wins (4). Add a 14-4 playoff record and you’ve got a gem of a quarterback.
3. John Elway – Elway didn’t fair so well in the statistics department of this list, but you can take that with a grain of salt in this instance. Elway is my top choice for selecting a quarterback to win me a game in the fourth quarter with one possession left. Throughout his career, he proved that no matter the odds, his team was never out of the game in the fourth quarter (see The Drive). Anytime a clutch moment get’s a title because of your heroics, you know you’re money when it counts. Yea, Elways lost a couple Super Bowls, but he willed those teams to success and was finally able to get over the hump when he got Shannon Sharpe and Terrell Davis – but he was still the reason the Broncos won back-to-back Super Bowls in the 90s.
4. Troy Aikman – Maybe I’m a little too close to Aikman to be ranking him on any list, but you can’t deny the fact that he raised his level of play in the postseason. In the playoffs, you want two things from your quarterback: accuracy and leadership. Aikman ranked second in completion percentage (63.7), was undefeated in Super Bowls, and had the fourth best QB Rating (88.3). All Aikman did was complete passes and win football games in the playoffs. Though his supporting cast was littered with Hall of Fame players, a B t0 B-minus quarterback wasn’t going to win the way Aikman did. Every quarterback on this list had a few great players around them, Aikman just made the most of it better than 90% of them. That’s worth something in my eyes. A lot, actually.
5. Terry Bradshaw – Tough and persistent, Bradshaw led the Steelers to four Super Bowl wins, and like Montana, never lost one. In the grand scheme of things, I would liked to have ranked Bradshaw higher, this was one case where statistics bumped him down a level or two. He is tired for second in playoffs wins (14), fourth in games played (19), tenth in completions (261), ninth in completion percentage (57.2), and thirteenth in interceptions (28). He threw for 30 touchdowns and despite a tendency to turn the ball over, won two Super Bowl MVPs. At the end of the day, Bradshaw was a winner, and that’s all that matters.
6. Roger Staubach – I’m going to have to explain this one to my dad. Dropping Staubach out of the top 5 would have gotten me grounded for a month back in the day. But here’s what we know about Staubach: statistically, he doesn’t rank up there very well with the rest of this group – 5th in games played (19), and tied for 5th in conference championship wins (4). Staubach was outside the top 5 in all other categories, but was a versatile player who helped coin the phrase “mobile quarterback.” Staubach was 12-7 in the playoffs, 2-2 in Super Bowls, and won a Super Bowl MVP. All in all, it’s a great resume. Plus, he served four years in the Navy before entering the NFL. If we can give him those years back, we may be looking at a top 3 player on my list, but unfortunately, we can’t.
7. Bart Starr - Researching Starr’s career was one of my favorite parts of this project. Here’s a guy who won 5 NFL championships before the Super Bowl era, then won the first two Super Bowls. Call it a cherry on top if you want to, but it just proves that Starr knew how to win on the biggest stage. With seven championships under his belt, and two Super Bowl MVP’s, it would be absurd to leave star out of any greatest of all time debate. Not to mention he was 17th round draft pick… can you imagine if the NFL had 17 rounds in a draft today? We’d have to devote an entire week to the draft and there’s no way Mel Kiper, Jr. or Todd McShay would have any chance of not killing each other.
8. Otto Graham – Go ahead and call Bernie Kosar the last good quarterback of the Browns, because they’ve only had one great one, and that was Otto Graham. He’s the only quarterback to win a championship in Cleveland (7), which deserves MAJOR credit, and he actually played tailback in college. Graham had such a unique career, it will never be duplicated. Imagine Toby Gerhart coming out of Stanford this year, switching to quarterback and having a Hall of Fame career. Next time you get a chance, google Otto Graham and take 10 minutes to read about him. You won’t be sorry. Peter King ranks him as his best QB of all time and since he knows more than I do, I made sure to keep Graham in the top 10. Did I mention he won championships in Cleveland??
9. Johnny Unitas – Johnny U is the exact reason we can’t take statistics as the end all be all for determining who was the best. Maybe you can do it in baseball, but when Unitas ends up at 14/14 based solely on stats, we have a flaw. He won two NFL Championships, one Super Bowl, was a 3x MVP and named to the All-NFL team 6 times. I’ll take Unitas quarterbacking my team in a big game any day, no matter what my statistics tell me.
10. Kurt Warner – You know the story, Warner was bagging groceries at a local super market and the next thing we know he’s winning the Super Bowl (twice), the Super Bowl MVP (once), and the NFL MVP (twice). He had the most yards in a playoff stretch (1,156) and even though we’re not counting the regular season, he turned around two terrible franchises (St. Louis and Arizona) and led both to Super Bowls. Warner is one Santonio Holmes tip-toe catch from cracking the top 5. Plus, you never had to worry about Warner turning the ball over when it mattered, he ranks 4th in playoff interceptions (14), first in completion percentage (66.5) and was always cool under pressure. He never lost a conference championship game, 4th in touchdowns (31), 2nd in QB rating (102.8), and first in yards-per-attempt (8.55). If you want to debate whether Warner is a Hall of Famer, go ahead, just know I think you’re an idiot and no nothing about the NFL if you do.
11. Peyton Manning – Putting Manning this low on the list was the hardest thing I had to do, besides explaining to my old man why his idol is only 6th on the list. Look, Manning is a great quarterback and will go down as the best statistical QB of all time when everything is said and done. He just doesn’t rate well in my criteria (yet). He’s 9-9 in the playoffs with one Super Bowl title and Super Bowl MVP. He’s a 4x NFL MVP and the smartest quarterback to ever play the game. However, he’s becoming known for shrinking in big game scenarios in both college and the NFL, so that has to be factored into the equation. I don’t want to say much about Manning here because I believe he’ll at least be in the Top 8 when his career is through. Until then, just enjoy his regular season success and we’ll see what happens.
12. Steve Young – Entries 6 and 11 were tough, but entry 12 was easy. I’ve always compared Young to Aikman and never understood how anyone could believe Young had a better career. Here’s how many statistical categories Young ranks better than Aikman in according to the stats used for this column: rushing attempts, rushing yards, rushing yards/attempt, rushing touchdowns, and interceptions. So let’s evaluate that… Young was a better rushing quarterback and worst quarterback in every passing statistical area than Aikman. He won less Super Bowls, conference championship games (Aikman 3-1 head-to-head), and playoff games than Aikman. Young was a revolutionary mobile quarterback who played on the edge of control and reckless abandon (though his recklessness usually just looked that way when he actually was in control of himself). He was a great quarterback, but under the criteria for this list, he can’t even touch the top 10. He threw to Jerry Rice and won 1 Super Bowl… Montana won 4. What else needs to be said?
13. Brett Favre – Here’s what we know about Favre; statistically, he was one of the best: 1st in games played (24), 5th in playoff wins (13), 1st in completions (481), 1st in attempts (791), 1st in passing yards (5855), 2nd in touchdowns (44), and thirteenth in interceptions (30). Favre knows how to win games, but he’s always capable (and likely) to throw that rip-your-heart-out pass that gets picked off and returned for 6. I wouldn’t want him to have the ball with on possession left (no matter how many times he’s won a game, the rip-your-heart-out pass/interception trumps it), he only won 1 Super Bowl (and squandered the chance for a few more because of the rip-your-heart-out pass/interception), and he’s been surrounded by great teams and failed to get it done. Those are the facts.
14. Dan Marino - Marino’s career was like Manning’s and Favre’s rolled into one, without any Super Bowl win. Marino could lead a team to the promised land, but could never get over-the-top. Now, if you put Marino in today’s game and give him a decent compliment of receivers (fine, give him the same ones he had), I think he wins a couple of rings because his receivers wouldn’t get killed off the line. However, I’m not even sure I truly believe that, I just think it. There isn’t much that could make me believe Marino had a killer’s mentality and could take over a big game at his will. He never showed it, so why should I think he ever could? In fact, I don’t. Enjoy the bottom of my list, Marino.
February 18th, 2010 at 1:14 am
[...] This is part 1 of a 2-part series. Click here for part 2. [...]
February 21st, 2010 at 1:34 pm
Bart Starr was without a doubt the best of all time. He played back in the day for a mere pitence of what the stars are payed today and was the most complete quarterback any team could ask for not to mention the humbling human being he was. I grew up in Green Bay and know this for a fact. I use to watch the packers practice all the time and Bart Starr was nothing like the prima donas of todays era!!!!!!!!!
March 30th, 2010 at 8:02 pm
Go Niners!