Rank the Quarterbacks

[CowboyMike]

1) Montana- the most clutch QB in the history of the league
2) Elway- great arm, great athleticism, great player, 2x Super Bowl Champion
3) Unitas- before his time athlete- legend who is probably the best "passer" ever
4) Manning- most prepared player in history, laser rocket arm.
5) Young- the best of the mobile QB's. Accurate and cold blooded.
6) Marino- cannon arm and whip release became the standard of QB ability
7) Staubach- fearless, determined and classy: the definitive NFL hero of the 70's
8)Brady- clutch technician who relishes the moment, win or lose.
9) Aikman- A stone cold winner, big time arm and the most accur ate QB ever.
10) Tarkenton- gutsy scrambler with an arm that could beat you as well

Wouldn't that be Elway? You ranked him ahead of Young.

 

[CowboyMike]

I always thought Jim Kelly was underrated by most fans but he was a great QB. He was 26 when he came into the NFL because he had played in the USFL for a couple of years and was one of the best players in that league.

Here's a blurb on his USFL days:



Kelly was a tough guy and a lot of fun to watch.

That's incredible. I had no idea he had those kinds of numbers in the USFL.

I might get hung for this, but I always thought if we had Jim Kelly instead of Aikman we might, just might, have won that fourth Super Bowl. I don't know why, it's just a gut feeling I get.

 

[sonnyboy]

It's just too hard to make one list of QB's. I really think you need to go pre-1978 and post 1978.

The rules and the game are just so different in the modern era.

I have a hard time understanding how anyone over the age of 35 could not have Montana #1 on any list.

 

[mmohican29]

Wouldn't that be Elway? You ranked him ahead of Young.

Elway was a mobile QB, but Young was a scrambling QB.

Semantics, but I think of Elway as a more traditional QB than Young. For example, I'd classify Michael Vick in the Steve Young model of QB vs Elway, who had more of the classic arm.

 

[burmafrd]

Joe and Roger as 1 and 1A (guys the D's most feared in the playoffs)
Elway(won a lot with not much of a team for a long time)
Otto Graham (in an era when passing first started to be normal he was bullettproof- made the Championship game 8 times)
Unitas(sadly played too long and too many remember him after his arm went)
Aikman(most accurate passer of his time-only Anderson might have been better)
Brady(until recently he did not make mistakes in the playoffs)
Ken Anderson- like Manning the Elder sentenced to playing for a poor franchise; if he had been fortunate enough to go to a better one he has multiple rings.

 

[CF74]

Montana (Hate to admit this!)
Elway (Personal Favorite)
Staubach (Dad's Fave)

Don't care to much about the rest except maybe Aikman but he's Top 10 to Top 15 at best...

Edit: And I need another decade to hate Steve Young before I list his annoying ***...

 

[BubbleScreen]

1. Roger Staubach - you were never out of a game if you had this guy on your team
2. Joe Montana - the ultimate QB. Never took the punishment Roger the Dodger did, but every bit the competitor and winner
3. Peyton Manning - flawless, like Aikman on steroids, so to speak
4. Dan Marino - did everything well
5. Dan Fouts - if the Chargers had a better defense, this man would have lots of rings
6. Troy Aikman - could complete the 17 yard out to Irvin when the entire universe knew it was coming
7. John Elway - Prolific, gutsy, often clutch
8. Brett Favre - if not for the INTs, he could be #1
9. Steve Young - Still probably under appreciated, since he came after Joe
10. Terry Bradshaw - ol' knucklehead sure could chuck that ball. At his best when it meant the most.
11. Tom Brady - how do you argue against his numbers and rings?
12. Warren Moon - if not for Frank Reich, who knows what he could have done?
13. Drew Brees - heart and leadership are impressive
14. Kurt Warner - for a year or two, possibly the best of all time. Overall, he's still mighty good.
15. Donovan McNabb - at his peak, his ability to throw on the move was devastating
16. Jim Kelly - won a lot of games, but did he ever scare you?
17. Ken Anderson - a decent quarterback but I don't know why anyone would put him on this list
18. Boomer Esiason - a great guy and decent commentator, nothing that remarkable about his career

Guys who I didn't see much (or any) of... (when I was much younger I only watched the Cowboys):

24. Johnny Unitas
12. Sonny Jurgensen
19. Kenny Stabler
11. Bob Griese
6. Len Dawson
20. Bart Starr
22. Fran Tarkenton

 

[Tricericon]

First, a couple notes. As a rule, I favor peak over longevity when I make lists like this. Also, I'm not going to make any effort to separate the performance of QBs from their receivers unless noted otherwise. It may not be fair, but it's much easier.

First Tier

1. Roger Staubach
2. Steve Young
3. Peyton Manning

Of all the quarterbacks who started in the Super Bowl era, only three have been the league's top quarterback more than twice. All three rang that bell at least four times, and I consider them a pretty clear top 3. Manning is third because Staubach and Young add rushing value to their passing stats.

Staubach is ahead of Young because in my judgment Young played in an otherwise more talented offense, and more importantly because while neither won a starting job until about age 30, Staubach was held back by the Navy (saying nothing about his football ability) while Young was held back by losing the Tampa job to Vinny Testaverde (which is a knock against him). I guess you could throw the Heisman onto that pile as well.

I'm least confident in the placement of Manning, because he gets very efficient yardage; I've never seen anyone better at getting 7 yards on 3rd-and-6. Of course, what I've seen doesn't go back very far.

Second Tier

4. Johnny Unitas
5. Joe Montana
6. Dan Marino
7. Kurt Warner
8. Ken Anderson

These guys continue the list of dominant quarterbacks, with only a short drop off from the first tier. Unitas is closest to being on the first list, since I don't trust the numbers I have available from the early 60s as much as some of the more recent ones.

Montana's numbers are on par with the guys above him, but I rank him 5th because while he was usually A top quarterback he rarely THE top quarterback. Marino is a similar case, and gets relegated to 6th by Montana's superior postseason numbers.

Warner and Anderson get the last two spots because of their shorter careers (although I am impressed by Warner's ability to light up the world with two different teams. Anderson is the probably the guy I've ranked highest relative to the conventional wisdom of his era, based mostly on his statistics. Still, I'm concerned enough about that to drop him to the bottom of his tier.

Tier Three

9. John Elway
10. Fran Tarkenton
11. Brett Favre
12. Dan Fouts

These are guys who were the most valuable rather than the most dominant. However, inside the tier I'm ranking on my opinion of their peak. I was tempted to put Elway much higher, since I'm a big fan of his, but I'm trying to keep things unbiased.

The Rest

13. Len Dawson

Would be up with Anderson and Warner if I weren't concerned about the AFL talent level during his peak years.

14. Bart Starr

Threw so few passes that his sterling efficiency numbers are a bit inflated. Still a great quarterback.

15. Tom Brady

Would have ranked much lower before his magic 2007 season. As it is, his career looks like a hybrid of Troy Aikman & Bert Jones.

16. Troy Aikman

Was a peer of Marino, Elway, and Young from 1992-1995 but falls down here because of this much shorter peak.

17. Sonny Jurgensen

Old enough I don't know about him. Stuck him in about where his numbers warrant.

18. Jim Kelly

Just another quality quarterback. Longer peak than Bradshaw.

19. Terry Bradshaw

Number not amazing overall but had good peak years and a long career.

20. Bob Griese

I have the same concerns about Griese that I do about Starr.

21. Drew Brees

I don't like ranking players with most of their career still ahead of them. This is where I'd put him if he retired today.

22. Kenny Stabler

Just another good quarterback on a good team.

23. Warren Moon

One of history's great compilers. Threw a ton of passes but wasn't as effective with them as the guys ranked above him.

24. Boomer Esiason

Just another good quarterback.

25. Donovan McNabb

Just another good quarterback. Might be higher if he hadn't spent so much of his 2004-2006 peak injured.

 

[THUMPER]

First, a couple notes. As a rule, I favor peak over longevity when I make lists like this. Also, I'm not going to make any effort to separate the performance of QBs from their receivers unless noted otherwise. It may not be fair, but it's much easier.

First Tier

1. Roger Staubach
2. Steve Young
3. Peyton Manning

Of all the quarterbacks who started in the Super Bowl era, only three have been the league's top quarterback more than twice. All three rang that bell at least four times, and I consider them a pretty clear top 3. Manning is third because Staubach and Young add rushing value to their passing stats.

Staubach is ahead of Young because in my judgment Young played in an otherwise more talented offense, and more importantly because while neither won a starting job until about age 30, Staubach was held back by the Navy (saying nothing about his football ability) while Young was held back by losing the Tampa job to Vinny Testaverde (which is a knock against him). I guess you could throw the Heisman onto that pile as well.

I'm least confident in the placement of Manning, because he gets very efficient yardage; I've never seen anyone better at getting 7 yards on 3rd-and-6. Of course, what I've seen doesn't go back very far.

Second Tier

4. Johnny Unitas
5. Joe Montana
6. Dan Marino
7. Kurt Warner
8. Ken Anderson

These guys continue the list of dominant quarterbacks, with only a short drop off from the first tier. Unitas is closest to being on the first list, since I don't trust the numbers I have available from the early 60s as much as some of the more recent ones.

Montana's numbers are on par with the guys above him, but I rank him 5th because while he was usually A top quarterback he rarely THE top quarterback. Marino is a similar case, and gets relegated to 6th by Montana's superior postseason numbers.

Warner and Anderson get the last two spots because of their shorter careers (although I am impressed by Warner's ability to light up the world with two different teams. Anderson is the probably the guy I've ranked highest relative to the conventional wisdom of his era, based mostly on his statistics. Still, I'm concerned enough about that to drop him to the bottom of his tier.

Tier Three

9. John Elway
10. Fran Tarkenton
11. Brett Favre
12. Dan Fouts

These are guys who were the most valuable rather than the most dominant. However, inside the tier I'm ranking on my opinion of their peak. I was tempted to put Elway much higher, since I'm a big fan of his, but I'm trying to keep things unbiased.

The Rest

13. Len Dawson

Would be up with Anderson and Warner if I weren't concerned about the AFL talent level during his peak years.

14. Bart Starr

Threw so few passes that his sterling efficiency numbers are a bit inflated. Still a great quarterback.

15. Tom Brady

Would have ranked much lower before his magic 2007 season. As it is, his career looks like a hybrid of Troy Aikman & Bert Jones.

16. Troy Aikman

Was a peer of Marino, Elway, and Young from 1992-1995 but falls down here because of this much shorter peak.

17. Sonny Jurgensen

Old enough I don't know about him. Stuck him in about where his numbers warrant.

18. Jim Kelly

Just another quality quarterback. Longer peak than Bradshaw.

19. Terry Bradshaw

Number not amazing overall but had good peak years and a long career.

20. Bob Griese

I have the same concerns about Griese that I do about Starr.

21. Drew Brees

I don't like ranking players with most of their career still ahead of them. This is where I'd put him if he retired today.

22. Kenny Stabler

Just another good quarterback on a good team.

23. Warren Moon

One of history's great compilers. Threw a ton of passes but wasn't as effective with them as the guys ranked above him.

24. Boomer Esiason

Just another good quarterback.

25. Donovan McNabb

Just another good quarterback. Might be higher if he hadn't spent so much of his 2004-2006 peak injured.

Great list FT and is exactly what I am looking for, different ways people rank players. Going by their peak years is an interesting way to go about it and can be very defining at times. I like it!

Be prepared for a lot of flak from the other posters but I like what you did here.

 

[burmafrd]

Only us oldtimers who actually watched a lot of games with teams that we did not cheer for would realize how good Ken Anderson was. Stuck witha mediocre at best franchise (and it got worse not long after he retired- Boomers years were the last good ones they had and it was with a team that was built while anderson was finishing his days) his accuracy was the best around- and he was not throwing short passes. Someone called him a WC type but that was far from the truth. Most of his career was over before it was even invented. And anderson never really had top WRs either. In his one SB, he put his team ahead but lost because he was facing Montana who was deadly in playoff games coming from behind.

 

[lqmac1]

I've been wanting to do this for a while now and since it is slow I thought I would give it a shot.

I will do a different thread for each position and list 25 or so players who played most of their careers after 1960 (the first year of the Cowboys). The main reason why I am starting with 1960 is because most of us are too young to have seen guys prior to that play and would be going only by what we have heard about them.

I will list them alphabetically and ask you to rank them. I'd like to see some explanation as to why you ranked them the way you did.

This is based on YOUR OPINION so there are no wrong answers. My goal is to see what aspects people value in ranking players, not to come to a consensus of who was the best.

I'll start with the QBs (min of 20000 passing yards):

1. Troy Aikman
2. Ken Anderson
3. Terry Bradshaw
4. Tom Brady
5. Drew Brees
6. Len Dawson
7. John Elway
8. Boomer Esiason
9. Brett Favre
10. Dan Fouts
11. Bob Griese
12. Sonny Jurgensen
13. Jim Kelly
14. Peyton Manning
15. Dan Marino
16. Donovan McNabb
17. Joe Montana
18. Warren Moon
19. Kenny Stabler
20. Bart Starr
21. Roger Staubach
22. Fran Tarkenton
23. Kurt Warner
24. Johnny Unitas
25. Steve Young

For the younger fans, you can list only the guys you actually saw play if you like. As I said, I'm looking for WHY you ranked them the way you did.

1. Tony Romo
2. Tony Romo
3. Tony Romo
4. Tony Romo
5. Tony Romo

 

[jobberone]

I took the, “What if I wanted to start a team with a quarterback and what kind of quarterback would he be?” approach.

All-Around: quarterbacks who can succeed under any circumstance
1. John Elway
2. Roger Staubach
3. Joe Montana

Tactician: quarterbacks who can dissect any defense
4. Peyton Manning
5. Johnny Unitas
6. Troy Aikman
7. Tom Brady
8. Dan Fouts
9. Drew Brees

Director: quarterbacks who can manage a game for four quarters
10. Dan Marino
11. Bob Griese
12. Warren Moon
13. Len Dawson
14. Bart Starr
15. Sonny Jurgensen

Gambler: quarterbacks who push the envelope of success and failure during every drive
16. Fran Tarkenton
17. Brett Favre
18. Kenny Stabler
19. Terry Bradshaw
20. Boomer Esiason

Best of the Rest
21. Ken Anderson
22. Steve Young
23. Jim Kelly
24. Kurt Warner
25. Donovan McNabb

Otto Graham deserves to be near the top of that list somewhere. And Johnny U is the best QB to ever play the game. I'd put P Manning second. Staubach and Aikman are in the hunt.

 

[THUMPER]

Otto Graham deserves to be near the top of that list somewhere. And Johnny U is the best QB to ever play the game. I'd put P Manning second. Staubach and Aikman are in the hunt.

Graham is at the top of my list as the greatest QB of all time but this list was for QBs with careers mostly AFTER 1960.

 

[jobberone]

Graham is at the top of my list as the greatest QB of all time but this list was for QBs with careers mostly AFTER 1960.

My bad. Sorry. I read it and forgot it in my senility. 10 seasons of football and ten championship games. One season of NBA basketball and one championship. Seven football titles. An 810 winning percentage and a ridiculously high pass completion percentage for that day and age. The man was a winner.

I still think Unitas was a better QB but I saw Unitas play and I didn't see Otto. I was too young.

 

[THUMPER]

Only us oldtimers who actually watched a lot of games with teams that we did not cheer for would realize how good Ken Anderson was. Stuck witha mediocre at best franchise (and it got worse not long after he retired- Boomers years were the last good ones they had and it was with a team that was built while anderson was finishing his days) his accuracy was the best around- and he was not throwing short passes. Someone called him a WC type but that was far from the truth. Most of his career was over before it was even invented. And anderson never really had top WRs either. In his one SB, he put his team ahead but lost because he was facing Montana who was deadly in playoff games coming from behind.

Until Aikman came along, Ken Anderson was the most accurate passer I had ever seen. He came up under Paul Brown in his first 5 seasons, winning the starting QB job from Virgil Carter in his second year. He led the league in passing 4 times in his career, and his completion % of 70.6 in 1982 is still the highest of all time (he was tied this year by Drew Brees).

In today's passer-friendly league he would likely put up huge numbers. He only threw more than 400 passes in a year once, in 1981 (479) when they went to the SB. Compare that to Brees who threw well over 600 attempts each of the last two seasons. Unlike so many pass-happy teams today, the Bengals ran a pretty balanced offense for most of Anderson's career.

People look at his lack of SB wins and playoff success and think that he wasn't as good as his numbers would indicate but he was. He had good receivers but no one that would be considered great. Isaac Curtis was a 4-time Pro-Bowler but never caught more than 47 passes in a season. Chris Collinsworth was another good WR but was nowhere close to being a HoFer.

Most of those Bengals teams had solid, but not great, running games with Booby Clark and then Pete Johnson as their primary RB.

Part of the reason people don't think of Ken Anderson when they talk about the GOAT QB is because his teams were typically not big-play types. They ground out yardage and kept the ball moving (matriculating down the field). In the 1981 SB Anderson outplayed Montana but the Bengals couldn't get going in the first half and couldn't overcome the 20-0 deficit. It was the 49ERs defense that won that game for them but somehow Montana got all the credit.

Anderson belongs in the HoF. For my money, I would take Anderson over a number of guys that are in ahead of him.

 

[THUMPER]

My bad. Sorry. I read it and forgot it in my senility. 10 seasons of football and ten championship games. One season of NBA basketball and one championship. Seven football titles. An 810 winning percentage and a ridiculously high pass completion percentage for that day and age. The man was a winner.

I still think Unitas was a better QB but I saw Unitas play and I didn't see Otto. I was too young.

IMO there is no debate over who is the greatest QB in history and it is Otto Graham. It is the same debate over who the greatest basketball coach in NCAA history was. There is John Wooden and then everyone else is fighting for 2nd place. Graham is like that too. The ultimate winner and competitor.

Part of the reason I made the list from 1960 was to eliminate Graham from consideration because EVERY list that didn't have him at the top would be wrong. At least this way you can debate over the guys people have as their #1. You can make a case for just about any of the top contenders as the best SINCE 1960 but if you include Graham the debate is over.

 

[jobberone]

IMO there is no debate over who is the greatest QB in history and it is Otto Graham. It is the same debate over who the greatest basketball coach in NCAA history was. There is John Wooden and then everyone else is fighting for 2nd place. Graham is like that too. The ultimate winner and competitor.

Part of the reason I made the list from 1960 was to eliminate Graham from consideration because EVERY list that didn't have him at the top would be wrong. At least this way you can debate over the guys people have as their #1. You can make a case for just about any of the top contenders as the best SINCE 1960 but if you include Graham the debate is over.

Graham ran the original WCO. Unitas ran his own offense. Unitas didn't have Paul Brown running the offense. It's hard for me to argue with you because I didn't see Graham play. But Paul Brown had as much to do with his success as he did. You can't take away from his legacy but you have to give Brown his credit, too.

 

[THUMPER]

Graham ran the original WCO. Unitas ran his own offense. Unitas didn't have Paul Brown running the offense. It's hard for me to argue with you because I didn't see Graham play. But Paul Brown had as much to do with his success as he did. You can't take away from his legacy but you have to give Brown his credit, too.

That's one of the reasons why I list Paul Brown as the #1 HC of all time.

 

[Cowboy Brian]

1. Tony Romo
2. Tony Romo
3. Tony Romo
4. Tony Romo
5. Tony Romo

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