Greatest quarterback you have seen?

[Tabe]

For me, right now the best I've ever seen is Steve Young. Super-accurate, strong arm arm, and could run. Much more of a complete package than Montana or Marino.

After that, probably Brady/Montana (tie).

When it's all said and done, though, the best might be Aaron Rodgers. More of a complete package than Brady/Montana/Marino (since he can run) and already a long string of dazzling seasons.

[tedzan]

Besides being a HOF Quarterback (with many records), he was a defensive back, who would often play a dual role of throwing touchdown passes
while also pulling off interceptions in the same game. Plus he was a fine punter.

2nd best is Sonny Jurgensen.

My 3rd best is Johnny Unitas.


TED Z
.

[mrmantlecollector]

[Runscott]

Originally Posted by tedzan

Besides being a HOF Quarterback (with many records), he was a defensive back, who would often play a dual role of throwing touchdown passes
while also pulling off interceptions in the same game. Plus he was a fine punter.

2nd best is Sonny Jurgensen.

My 3rd best is Johnny Unitas.


TED Z
.

Never saw Baugh, but I loved watching Jurgensen throw long - straight overhead. I guess I remember him better than Unitas because he was in the same division as Dallas. Seemed like every time we played Baltimore they were down to Earl Morrall again.

[Orioles1954]

Best all-around quarterback? Steve Young.

[clydepepper]

Originally Posted by Orioles1954

Best all-around quarterback? Steve Young.

Young was great but I'll have to include Elway on the same level.

Most dominant in his time has to be Otto Graham.

1960s: Starr, Unitas, Jurgenson, Trakenton

Modern only-
Including post-season: Montana, Bradshaw, Brady, Aikman, Young, Elway, Flacco

Excluding post-season: Manning, Marino, Rogers, Brees, Moon, Farve, Fouts

The bigger discussion is which one had the best team behind him and which one improved his team consistently by his own contribution.

[the 'stache]

Originally Posted by clydepepper

Excluding post-season: Manning, Marino, Rogers, Brees, Moon, Farve, Fouts

Just curious why you would pick Rodgers in the regular season only. He may only be 6-5 as a starter, but in the 5 games he lost, his defense surrendered 184 points, or 37 points a game.

Rodgers numbers in the post season? 253-387 (65.37%), 2,983 yards, 23 TD, 7 INT. 101 QB rating. 35 carries, 192 yards, 3 TD.

The all-time post season QB ratings:

104.8 Bart Starr
102.8 Kurt Warner
101.0 Aaron Rodgers
100.7 Drew Brees

Those are the only four guys with 100 + QB ratings in post season history.

And in the last game against Seattle, the one he lost, where the defense blew a 12 point lead with 3:53 to play, when Seattle went ahead, and Green Bay got the ball at their own 22 with 1 time out and 1:19 left, Rodgers moved them 42 yards in 3 plays, and then set up Crosby with a 6 yard completion to Nelson for the game tying field goal.

Isn't that EXACTLY what Tom Brady did to win his first two Super Bowls? Take the ball, move his team into field goal range, and win it? Rodgers faced the same pressure, if not more. His team, which looked to be going to Arizona for the Super Bowl, had just watched his defense and special teams choke giving away a touchdown, and onside kick, another touchdown, and a 2 point conversion. What does he do then? 15 yard pass completion to Jordy Nelson. Next play, 15 yard pass completion to Randall Cobb. Next play, hurt, he runs for 12 yards. In 36 seconds, against the best defense in the NFL two years running, in Seattle, he moves the ball 42 yards with the crowd going nuts, and the defense playing on adrenaline.

If that's not clutch, and performing great with the game on the line, I don't know what is. The week before, against Dallas, Rodgers, playing hurt, completed all 10 of his passes in the 4th quarter.

The man threw for 423 yards and 4 TD passes, and ran another score in, in his first ever playoff start against Arizona. Is it his fault the defense gave up 51 points? Is it his fault the refs blew a roughing the passer call on the last play of the game when the Cardinal defender speared him under his freaking face mask, causing him to fumble to ball away?

When he won the Super Bowl in 2010, his team had been completely obliterated by injuries in the regular season. He lost Ryan Grant, his #1 running back who ran for 1,253 yards and 11 TD the season before, in week 1 for the season. He lost Jermichael Finley, his #1 tight end who had 676 yards and 5 TD the year before, in week 3 for the season. Mark Tauscher, his right tackle, missed the last 12 games of the season. Grant's backup, James Starks, missed all but three games in the regular season. And as bad as those losses were on offense, they were nothing compared to the MASH unit the Packers had on defense. It caused them to go 10-6 on the season. Buy they won on the road in Philadelphia, Atlanta and Chicago to get to the Super Bowl, then they beat the #1 defense in the NFL in Pittsburgh to win Super Bowl XLV.

Rodgers is a very, very good post season quarterback. He's only had two poor post season starts, the 2010 NFC Championship Game at Chicago where it was freezing cold (20 degrees, 20 mph wind gusts), and the game against Seattle where he was hurt. Both teams had incredible defenses. The Bears had the #4 scoring defense in the NFL, and Seattle was #1.

[the 'stache]

Originally Posted by Runscott

Never saw Baugh, but I loved watching Jurgensen throw long - straight overhead. I guess I remember him better than Unitas because he was in the same division as Dallas. Seemed like every time we played Baltimore they were down to Earl Morrall again.

I forgot about Sonny. Funny, as I just watched the Lombardi HBO documentary a few nights ago, and it talked about how happy he was to get Vince in Washington. They referred to him as Washington's own Bart Starr.

Hell, Sam Huff, who had retired, came out of retirement to coach the linebackers, and play it. He had 3 picks, including a TD. If Lombardi hadn't gotten sick, I wonder if the Steelers would have been the team of the 70s. Look what he did with the Redskins in one season. From 5-9 to 7-5-2, the same record (well, 7-5) he had in his first season in Green Bay.

The Steelers won it all in 1974 and 1975. Lombardi would have been, what, 60, or maybe 61 in 1974? With three more years to coach that team, with Jurgensen at 36 after the 1969 season, I wonder if Lombardi doesn't draft a young quarterback to succeed him. Remember, he was the Head Coach and GM. Might he have taken Terry Bradshaw in 1970?

[Runscott]

That's all interesting - the stats and all - but for me this was one of the simplest questions I've ever personally tried to answer, mainly because it didn't require looking at stats - just remembering what I saw with my own two eyes.

Looks like I need to start a separate thread asking who the greatest quarterback ever was. I think baseball card collectors have to answer everything based on stats - it goes with the territory.

What's your favorite color? Well, blue reflects x amount of light, while yellow...but green has historically been the most natural color, but purple has been the most successful this is tough. There are probably more brown things, but there is more blue space...I guess it's an impossible question.

[the 'stache]

It's not difficult because of the stats. It's difficult because the game that Joe Montana and Dan Marino played share only a passing resemblance to the game Drew Brees and Aaron Rodgers play now. And the game that Drew Brees plays now is the same game Johnny Unitas played in name only.

[Runscott]

Originally Posted by the 'stache

It's not difficult because of the stats. It's difficult because the game that Joe Montana and Dan Marino played share only a passing resemblance to the game Drew Brees and Aaron Rodgers play now. And the game that Drew Brees plays now is the same game Johnny Unitas played in name only.

Bill, I completely disagree with you. I can watch a quarterback playing football and tell if he's 'great', and compare him across eras to other quarterbacks, regardless of how the game has changed, and other people can as well - I know, because I've discussed it with other people in "real life". Some people get so hung up on things like stats, that they miss other parts of the picture - I meet such people all the time, both on the internet and in "real life". Perhaps it's right brain vs left brain usage.