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http://www.sportingnews.com/yourturn/viewtopic.php?t=433154
July 10, 2008
Steve Greenberg
Last week, as he was preparing to retire from pro football, Trent Dilfer was kind enough to lob Sporting News magazine a question to use in an upcoming interview with his good friend Aaron Rodgers.
"You know how my career has gone," Dilfer wrote via e-mail. "Starter, backup, Super Bowl champion, cheered and booed. Knowing all this, would you trade careers with me right now?"
Even with Brett Favre mulling a comeback, Rodgers, who has yet to take a snap as the Packers' starter, probably would say no. At least not yet.
But Dilfer likely knew this even before he posed the question. Although he struggled with those boos early in his career, Dilfer -- perhaps best known as the worst starting quarterback to win a Super Bowl -- eventually came to embrace the good fortunes of a long career and a well-deserved reputation as a strong-minded mentor for up-and-coming passers.
And, of course, that Super Bowl ring.
Well, guess what: Trent Dilfer is not the worst quarterback to win a Super Bowl. First of all, there has yet to be a bad -- or even close to bad -- QB to win any of the 42 big games. More important, Dilfer always took more grief than he should have. He had three darn good seasons in Tampa, where he led the Bucs to the playoffs for the first time in 15 years. He came off the bench and won games during a playoff push in Seattle. He played mistake-free ball for the Ravens when that was exactly what they needed from him.
So who is the worst quarterback to win a Super Bowl? Wait, that's the wrong way to put it. Call it the List's top 10 least-best quarterbacks to win the biggest game of 'em all:
1. Jeff Hostetler, SB25. Giants fans will always have a warm place in their hearts for Hoss, who stepped in for an injured Phil Simms (more on him later) and gutted his way to the finish line in 1990. But all he proved as a starter over the next six seasons -- the last four with the Raiders -- was that he couldn't make his teams better. Only one of those teams, the 1993 Raiders, made the playoffs.
2. Trent Dilfer, SB35. Look, we didn't say he was Joe Montana. But had Dilfer played on a halfway decent team at the start of his career, he might have had a hell of a ride. He certainly had the arm.
3. Eli Manning, SB42. He was calm, cool and clutch. He also is one poor season -- 2008, perhaps? -- from being back nearly where he started, in terms of his reputation. Was 42 a launching point for Manning, or an aberration?
4. Doug Williams, SB22. Career completion percentage: 49.5. That pretty much stinks. Williams helped make the Buccaneers respectable from 1979-82, but he was only 8-9 as a Commanders starter, including the playoffs. Then again, did he really belong on the bench behind Jay Schroeder?
5. Brad Johnson, SB37. The two-time Pro Bowler was one of the more efficient passers of his era, but he loses points with The List for being scared (yeah, we said it) to go downfield more often. Not that he had the arm to do so without inviting disaster, but still.
6. Jim McMahon, SB20. He was a beer-chugger, a tocacco-spitter and an injury waiting to happen. The free-spirited Ditka antagonizer didn't stay healthy long enough to fulfill his potential with the Bears. Or maybe he did. Either way, when he was on the field, Jimmy Mac -- as much as Walter Payton, Mike Singletary or anybody else -- was the heart and soul of the Shufflin' Crew.
7. Mark Rypien, SB26. The Big Albertan had a couple of exquisite seasons -- and certainly accomplished more than was expected of a sixth-round draft pick -- but accuracy was an issue throughout most of his career. Hey, nobody's perfect.
8. Earl Morrall, SB5. Boy, it's tough to put a guy who was so well thought-of, as both a starter and a backup, on The List. Morrall rolled with the punches like few before him or since, but he never had that run of sustained excellence. Darn Unitas and Griese.
9. Jim Plunkett, SB15, SB18. The ever-overlooked Plunkett was a rookie of the year, a comeback player of the year, a two-time Super Bowl champ as a starter and the MVP of the Raiders' win over the Eagles. The main knock on him: way more interceptions thrown (198) than touchdowns (164).
10. Phil Simms, SB21. One of Bill Parcells' first moves as Giants coach was to replace Simms in the starting lineup with Scott Brunner. One of Ray Handley's first moves as Giants coach was to replace Simms in the starting lineup with the aforementioned Hoss. Such indignities tend not to be suffered by true all-time greats.
July 10, 2008
Steve Greenberg
Last week, as he was preparing to retire from pro football, Trent Dilfer was kind enough to lob Sporting News magazine a question to use in an upcoming interview with his good friend Aaron Rodgers.
"You know how my career has gone," Dilfer wrote via e-mail. "Starter, backup, Super Bowl champion, cheered and booed. Knowing all this, would you trade careers with me right now?"
Even with Brett Favre mulling a comeback, Rodgers, who has yet to take a snap as the Packers' starter, probably would say no. At least not yet.
But Dilfer likely knew this even before he posed the question. Although he struggled with those boos early in his career, Dilfer -- perhaps best known as the worst starting quarterback to win a Super Bowl -- eventually came to embrace the good fortunes of a long career and a well-deserved reputation as a strong-minded mentor for up-and-coming passers.
And, of course, that Super Bowl ring.
Well, guess what: Trent Dilfer is not the worst quarterback to win a Super Bowl. First of all, there has yet to be a bad -- or even close to bad -- QB to win any of the 42 big games. More important, Dilfer always took more grief than he should have. He had three darn good seasons in Tampa, where he led the Bucs to the playoffs for the first time in 15 years. He came off the bench and won games during a playoff push in Seattle. He played mistake-free ball for the Ravens when that was exactly what they needed from him.
So who is the worst quarterback to win a Super Bowl? Wait, that's the wrong way to put it. Call it the List's top 10 least-best quarterbacks to win the biggest game of 'em all:
1. Jeff Hostetler, SB25. Giants fans will always have a warm place in their hearts for Hoss, who stepped in for an injured Phil Simms (more on him later) and gutted his way to the finish line in 1990. But all he proved as a starter over the next six seasons -- the last four with the Raiders -- was that he couldn't make his teams better. Only one of those teams, the 1993 Raiders, made the playoffs.
2. Trent Dilfer, SB35. Look, we didn't say he was Joe Montana. But had Dilfer played on a halfway decent team at the start of his career, he might have had a hell of a ride. He certainly had the arm.
3. Eli Manning, SB42. He was calm, cool and clutch. He also is one poor season -- 2008, perhaps? -- from being back nearly where he started, in terms of his reputation. Was 42 a launching point for Manning, or an aberration?
4. Doug Williams, SB22. Career completion percentage: 49.5. That pretty much stinks. Williams helped make the Buccaneers respectable from 1979-82, but he was only 8-9 as a Commanders starter, including the playoffs. Then again, did he really belong on the bench behind Jay Schroeder?
5. Brad Johnson, SB37. The two-time Pro Bowler was one of the more efficient passers of his era, but he loses points with The List for being scared (yeah, we said it) to go downfield more often. Not that he had the arm to do so without inviting disaster, but still.
6. Jim McMahon, SB20. He was a beer-chugger, a tocacco-spitter and an injury waiting to happen. The free-spirited Ditka antagonizer didn't stay healthy long enough to fulfill his potential with the Bears. Or maybe he did. Either way, when he was on the field, Jimmy Mac -- as much as Walter Payton, Mike Singletary or anybody else -- was the heart and soul of the Shufflin' Crew.
7. Mark Rypien, SB26. The Big Albertan had a couple of exquisite seasons -- and certainly accomplished more than was expected of a sixth-round draft pick -- but accuracy was an issue throughout most of his career. Hey, nobody's perfect.
8. Earl Morrall, SB5. Boy, it's tough to put a guy who was so well thought-of, as both a starter and a backup, on The List. Morrall rolled with the punches like few before him or since, but he never had that run of sustained excellence. Darn Unitas and Griese.
9. Jim Plunkett, SB15, SB18. The ever-overlooked Plunkett was a rookie of the year, a comeback player of the year, a two-time Super Bowl champ as a starter and the MVP of the Raiders' win over the Eagles. The main knock on him: way more interceptions thrown (198) than touchdowns (164).
10. Phil Simms, SB21. One of Bill Parcells' first moves as Giants coach was to replace Simms in the starting lineup with Scott Brunner. One of Ray Handley's first moves as Giants coach was to replace Simms in the starting lineup with the aforementioned Hoss. Such indignities tend not to be suffered by true all-time greats.
