joseephuss;2170992 said:
Aikman's QB rating goes up to 89.0 in 16 playoff games.
In the 7 biggest games of his career, the 4 NFC Championship games and 3 Superbowls he posted a stellar 106.1 QB rating.
The guys game rose to the occasion. If he was posting an 81 rating like he did for his career in the regular during the playoffs, then I would say he was a product of the system. Instead he got better as the competition got better. He made the big throws, stood tall in the pocket and came through when it really mattered.
Good post.
Aikman not the easiest player to evaluate.
His career numbers are skewed by some very poor years. He started on a terrible team and posted QB ratings of
55.7 and
66.6 in
89 and
90. And finished his career with a
64.3 rating on a terrible
2000 team while dealing with a ton of physical problems that ultimately sent him into retirement.
He averaged about an
89 rating during the
9 years sandwiched between those three.
I've always argued that the QB rating system over-weights TD passes and completely ignores team points. A system that focused more on team points with extra credit for actual TD passes would give a more clear picture on a QB's true performance.
There's no doubt in my mind, that a system like this would boost Aikman's rating relative to his peers.
But Aikman's greatness really transcends numbers. His accuracy, quick release and power was second to none. His ability to quickly launch lasers off his ear was often impossible to stop.
That's why his numbers improved with the competition. So much of what he did was indefensible, as long as his team wasn't over-matched. That was his key. The talent level had to be close. Aikman didn't create and couldn't succeed in an over-matched situation.
Aikman was as
bad/average/good and most importantly as
great as the talent he had to work with.
And that's not a knock. He was better than most any other QB's could be with his best teams.