Who is the better... Brady or Aikman?

[stealth]

aikman in his prime was a good as a qb can get.
he declined so hard so fast and we were so used to winning it tarnished alot of good memories.
aikman at his best was top 5 all time qbs but maybe he only had 5 great years in him. Aikman took one heck of a beating even with our "amazing" front line.

 

[jay cee]

Didn't Brady throw for 4,110 yards last year with no running game and an injury-ridled offensive line? Yeah, all he has is the tuck rule to thank for his success. I think the 90s Cowboys would easily beat this latest version of the Patriots but I think that because their team was loaded. When the Cowboys started to crumble, so did Aikman. He was a good leader but he could never carry a team all by himself. Brady proved he could do that last year, as well as win Super Bowl titles. The only place this vote would even be close is on this board. I love Aikman but I answer questions as a football fan and this isn't even very close in my opinion. I think Brady wins easy and I believe I represent the non-Cowboy fan majority on this one.

I know that I am in total agreement with you. I don't even see how it is all that close.
I'm going to have to look up the top 20 all time qb's.

Off hand, I think Aikman would fall in the 15-20 range. I see Brady ending his career in the top 5-10.

 

[mperfection]

I think he already said this about your argument.



Yawn. But he had solid players at those positions. No player wins a SB without a solid team. And no QB wins three of them without being great.

Please...move along.

 

[tyke1doe]

This is debatable because it's not even a high percentage pass anyways, so who gives a flying crap? Aikman was deadly accurate everywhere else.

kartr stop emphasizing your stupidity. Everyone here already knows about it.

I guess I have to join the stupid brigade.

One of the knocks on Aikman was that he threw a weak (or maybe inaccurate is the right word) deep ball. It was a common knock.

Of course, that was probably inconsequential because the Cowboys didn't throw many deep passes, given their ball-control offense.

I can't really compare Aikman to Brady. Aikman was a very efficient quarterback, much like Brady. I think Brady's deep balls are better than Aikmans, but it's hard to judge Aikman because of the amount of talent that surrounded him.

If Brady leads the Pats to another Super Bowl, then I'll rank him hire than Aikman. Until then, I'll rate them as even.

 

[Chuck 54]

I'd take Brady at this point. If he becomes as worthless and statuesque and dour as Aikman in his last years, then I'll go back to it being a draw.

NO one could have been any bigger fan of Aikman than I was...I'd been a fan since back in the 60's with Dandy Don...I was starved for winning and a decent QB for a decade after Staubach.

I loved Aikman, and I still appreciate all that he did, and I still call him the most accurate QB in NFL history (or if someone was more accurate, I don't know who it was), however, there haven't been many of the great QB's who had the OL, the TE, the RB, and the WR's he had during his heyday.

That said, I've never been as disgusted with a QB as I was Aikman in his last 3 years...the man was just hanging on, and I don't mean talentwise...he showed he had no leadership ability and had lost his mental toughness. He should have retired one or two years after Irvin.

IN his final years, Aikman always had a whipped, I quit, I'm disgusted, these guys around me suck, attitude, and it showed on his face on the sideline and after every inc. 3rd down pass or sack. I can honestly say that I hated having the cameras on his face in those last years...he was a crybaby whiner of the greatest proportions and he did nothing to build confidence in his teammates.

Now, if anyone wants to say that isn't true, I dare you to watch tapes of his final 3 seasons...he could still throw the ball, but "loser" and "quitter" were all over his face. He did not adapt to having a weaker supporting cast, and he showed 0 ability to lead a subpar team. That's why I cannot put him among the greatest QB's ever, unless we just want to talk about the winning years with Irvin and Smith. Brady has done more as his team as weakened than I ever saw from Aikman, but there's still time for him to develop that sour, disgusted look on gameday.

 

[jay cee]

I'd take Brady at this point. If he becomes as worthless and statuesque and dour as Aikman in his last years, then I'll go back to it being a draw.

NO one could have been any bigger fan of Aikman than I was...I'd been a fan since back in the 60's with Dandy Don...I was starved for winning and a decent QB for a decade after Staubach.

I loved Aikman, and I still appreciate all that he did, and I still call him the most accurate QB in NFL history (or if someone was more accurate, I don't know who it was), however, there haven't been many of the great QB's who had the OL, the TE, the RB, and the WR's he had during his heyday.

That said, I've never been as disgusted with a QB as I was Aikman in his last 3 years...the man was just hanging on, and I don't mean talentwise...he showed he had no leadership ability and had lost his mental toughness. He should have retired one or two years after Irvin.

IN his final years, Aikman always had a whipped, I quit, I'm disgusted, these guys around me suck, attitude, and it showed on his face on the sideline and after every inc. 3rd down pass or sack. I can honestly say that I hated having the cameras on his face in those last years...he was a crybaby whiner of the greatest proportions and he did nothing to build confidence in his teammates.

Now, if anyone wants to say that isn't true, I dare you to watch tapes of his final 3 seasons...he could still throw the ball, but "loser" and "quitter" were all over his face. He did not adapt to having a weaker supporting cast, and he showed 0 ability to lead a subpar team. That's why I cannot put him among the greatest QB's ever, unless we just want to talk about the winning years with Irvin and Smith. Brady has done more as his team as weakened than I ever saw from Aikman, but there's still time for him to develop that sour, disgusted look on gameday.

I was pretty down on him during the last few years of his career also. But not near as down on him as you were it seems.

Probably because, he played during those years, just as I expected him it play. I already knew that Aikman was not the type of player that could mentally take on the role of carrying his team weekly.

That's why I wanted them to trade him after they lost to the Panthers in the playoffs after the '96 season. With his salary eating up so much of the cap, he needed to play at a high level, and I knew he was not able to do that.

 

[LittleBoyBlue]

.

That's why I wanted them to trade him after they lost to the Panthers in the playoffs after the '96 season. With his salary eating up so much of the cap, he needed to play at a high level, and I knew he was not able to do that.

That was not reality then and probably still not now.
Thats why Jerry went out and got Galloway. He knew what he needed for Aikman and tried(it cost us but he did try). If we would have canned Aikman the Dallas world would have been upside down and this board would then and now be talking about how we should have tried to get Aikman help.

 

[LittleBoyBlue]

aikman in his prime was a good as a qb can get.
he declined so hard so fast and we were so used to winning it tarnished alot of good memories.
aikman at his best was top 5 all time qbs but maybe he only had 5 great years in him. Aikman took one heck of a beating even with our "amazing" front line.

Wow this one baffles me the most? He won most games for a QB in a decade (10 years - 90 wins)

and besides... some GREAT QB's only have great regular seasons and NO blinkies... so....

 

[jay cee]

That was not reality then and probably still not now.
Thats why Jerry went out and got Galloway. He knew what he needed for Aikman and tried(it cost us but he did try). If we would have canned Aikman the Dallas world would have been upside down and this board would then and now be talking about how we should have tried to get Aikman help.

You can't deny that from '97 to 2000, Aikman did not produce at the level of his salary. That was reality.

I for one, did not expect him to play any where near the level to warrant that salary. IMO, he was not that type of player.

But I was not for canning him, I wanted them to trade either Aikman, Smith or Irvin to retool the defense.

IMO Smith had very little value as an aging but still solid RB. Irvin had more value than Smith, but Aikman had proven to me by that time that he had trouble adjusting to different receivers, so who would replace Irvin that he would be comfortable with.

As a superbowl winning qb, Aikman was IMO, the best candidate because he had the most value. I think he could have brought value like the Walker trade.

I knew the team would never make a move like that, just like I knew they would never win another championship during that era.

 

[The Duke]

I swear people on this board are hilarious. Trade Aikman after '96. Are you crazy.

Yes, please usher in the Quincy Carter, Chad Hutchinson, etc...era sooner.

Who and how would you have found a quarterback to replace Aikman? Through the draft? Ha, at the height of the Jerry Jones debacle of drafting?

Aikman's last three years, the talent on the team was real low after Shante Carver, and Kavika Pittman drafts. Yet Aikman still led us to the playoffs 2 out of his last 3 years. I guess that is just not good enough for the perfection standard oh yea that he set.

A QB with a disgusted, mad look on his face is called a quitter by one person and another person looking at the SAME thing says oh look at his toughness, competitiveness, drive to win all the time and never quits.

Some of ya'll are clearly doing some revisionist history looking back on Troy's second half of his career.

Here's my prophecy: Brady will experience much of the same thing. With today's parity the Patriots will start to lose major contributors to the Super Bowls one by one (McGinnest) and the magical drafting of the Patriots will not continue every year. Cowboys lost to the Panthers in '96 playoffs the year after a Super Bowl and now Patriots lost to Denver in the playoffs a year after the Super Bowl. Pattern is repeating. I guess the Pats will be 6-10. The real test for Brady has just begun. Oh and if Brady doesn't have a smile on his face when he gets tackled and losing by 21 points then he is definetly a sore loser and not a leader.

 

[rcaldw]

I swear people on this board are hilarious. Trade Aikman after '96. Are you crazy.

Yes, please usher in the Quincy Carter, Chad Hutchinson, etc...era sooner.

Who and how would you have found a quarterback to replace Aikman? Through the draft? Ha, at the height of the Jerry Jones debacle of drafting?

Aikman's last three years, the talent on the team was real low after Shante Carver, and Kavika Pittman drafts. Yet Aikman still led us to the playoffs 2 out of his last 3 years. I guess that is just not good enough for the perfection standard oh yea that he set.

A QB with a disgusted, mad look on his face is called a quitter by one person and another person looking at the SAME thing says oh look at his toughness, competitiveness, drive to win all the time and never quits.

Some of ya'll are clearly doing some revisionist history looking back on Troy's second half of his career.

Here's my prophecy: Brady will experience much of the same thing. With today's parity the Patriots will start to lose major contributors to the Super Bowls one by one (McGinnest) and the magical drafting of the Patriots will not continue every year. Cowboys lost to the Panthers in '96 playoffs the year after a Super Bowl and now Patriots lost to Denver in the playoffs a year after the Super Bowl. Pattern is repeating. I guess the Pats will be 6-10. The real test for Brady has just begun. Oh and if Brady doesn't have a smile on his face when he gets tackled and losing by 21 points then he is definetly a sore loser and not a leader.

Duke, I'm with you 100%. Some of the commentary on here is unbelievable and ridiculous. Tune in at the Hall of Fame ceremony, that guy who couldn't throw the deep ball will be giving a speech as a first ballot inductee.

 

[ringmaster]

Duke, I'm with you 100%. Some of the commentary on here is unbelievable and ridiculous. Tune in at the Hall of Fame ceremony, that guy who couldn't throw the deep ball will be giving a speech as a first ballot inductee.

If that was the case with Aikman's deep ball do most of those brain dead "fans" honestly think that Aikman, would've been the #1 overall pick of the 89 Draft.

Because the last time I checked being number 1 overall as a QB, you got to have all of the qualities especailly throwing the deep ball.

That's why Ryan Leaf, was chosen over Manning, as the better QB, due to the deep ball he threw in college in 1998.

We all know how that turned out Leaf, is unemployed and Manning, is one of the NFL's hottest QBs.

 

[ringmaster]

I'd take Brady at this point. If he becomes as worthless and statuesque and dour as Aikman in his last years, then I'll go back to it being a draw.

NO one could have been any bigger fan of Aikman than I was...I'd been a fan since back in the 60's with Dandy Don...I was starved for winning and a decent QB for a decade after Staubach.

I loved Aikman, and I still appreciate all that he did, and I still call him the most accurate QB in NFL history (or if someone was more accurate, I don't know who it was), however, there haven't been many of the great QB's who had the OL, the TE, the RB, and the WR's he had during his heyday.

That said, I've never been as disgusted with a QB as I was Aikman in his last 3 years...the man was just hanging on, and I don't mean talentwise...he showed he had no leadership ability and had lost his mental toughness. He should have retired one or two years after Irvin.

IN his final years, Aikman always had a whipped, I quit, I'm disgusted, these guys around me suck, attitude, and it showed on his face on the sideline and after every inc. 3rd down pass or sack. I can honestly say that I hated having the cameras on his face in those last years...he was a crybaby whiner of the greatest proportions and he did nothing to build confidence in his teammates.

Now, if anyone wants to say that isn't true, I dare you to watch tapes of his final 3 seasons...he could still throw the ball, but "loser" and "quitter" were all over his face. He did not adapt to having a weaker supporting cast, and he showed 0 ability to lead a subpar team. That's why I cannot put him among the greatest QB's ever, unless we just want to talk about the winning years with Irvin and Smith. Brady has done more as his team as weakened than I ever saw from Aikman, but there's still time for him to develop that sour, disgusted look on gameday.

And yet ignorant, it doesn't really matter if you been a Cowboys fan for 1 billion years.

 

[ringmaster]

I guess I have to join the stupid brigade.

One of the knocks on Aikman was that he threw a weak (or maybe inaccurate is the right word) deep ball. It was a common knock.

Of course, that was probably inconsequential because the Cowboys didn't throw many deep passes, given their ball-control offense.

I can't really compare Aikman to Brady. Aikman was a very efficient quarterback, much like Brady. I think Brady's deep balls are better than Aikmans, but it's hard to judge Aikman because of the amount of talent that surrounded him.

If Brady leads the Pats to another Super Bowl, then I'll rank him hire than Aikman. Until then, I'll rate them as even.

Thank's for sharing that info "Mr. KnowitAll"

 

[CoCo]

I'd take Brady at this point. If he becomes as worthless and statuesque and dour as Aikman in his last years, then I'll go back to it being a draw.

NO one could have been any bigger fan of Aikman than I was...I'd been a fan since back in the 60's with Dandy Don...I was starved for winning and a decent QB for a decade after Staubach.

I loved Aikman, and I still appreciate all that he did, and I still call him the most accurate QB in NFL history (or if someone was more accurate, I don't know who it was), however, there haven't been many of the great QB's who had the OL, the TE, the RB, and the WR's he had during his heyday.

That said, I've never been as disgusted with a QB as I was Aikman in his last 3 years...the man was just hanging on, and I don't mean talentwise...he showed he had no leadership ability and had lost his mental toughness. He should have retired one or two years after Irvin.

IN his final years, Aikman always had a whipped, I quit, I'm disgusted, these guys around me suck, attitude, and it showed on his face on the sideline and after every inc. 3rd down pass or sack. I can honestly say that I hated having the cameras on his face in those last years...he was a crybaby whiner of the greatest proportions and he did nothing to build confidence in his teammates.

Now, if anyone wants to say that isn't true, I dare you to watch tapes of his final 3 seasons...he could still throw the ball, but "loser" and "quitter" were all over his face. He did not adapt to having a weaker supporting cast, and he showed 0 ability to lead a subpar team. That's why I cannot put him among the greatest QB's ever, unless we just want to talk about the winning years with Irvin and Smith. Brady has done more as his team as weakened than I ever saw from Aikman, but there's still time for him to develop that sour, disgusted look on gameday.

Prefer Brady if you will. Its a reasonable debate.

And I understand your point of the latter day Aikman being an apparent sourpuss on the field. You can question whether a different approach, an outwardly visible positive encouraging approach might have yielded better results. But there is no evidence to support that.

I would counter that there are many different styles of leadership and that what we see through our TV on Sunday may or may not accurately portray that individuals leadership. I would suggest that much of Aikman's and any QB's leadership happens between Monday and Saturday lest we forget. Parcells & Vermeil are a nice illustrative contrast of leadership styles from the coaching world.

If you want the effervescent, always smiling sort, I'd give you Brett Favre in 2005. He often times still had lots of fun despite throwing bushels of INT's and helping his team garner a very high draft pick. Favre's 2005 season is testimony that much as we want to believe there are those QB's who simply carry their team despite what collection of overmatched teammates he has, its probably more fantasy than reality.

And you no doubt have heard the circular logic that dismisses the greatness of all the players from those 90's Cowboys teams because "they had such a strong supporting cast" so they really weren't that great individually. That's pretty thin ice.

Aikman wasn't perfect. He wasn't necessarily the greatest of all time. But he is a 1st ballot HOF'er. And if you thoughtfully consider all that Aikman gave and endured during his time in Dallas you just flat out cannot call him a loser or a quitter be it during his early years when he got the stuffing kicked out of him and came back for more or the latter years when the exact same thing happened and he STILL came back for more concussions and more back pain that obviously was robbing him of some of his physical talents. But he never chose to get rid of the ball to save his own body. When Arrington knocked him into retirement he did so with Aikman trying to make a play rather than stay out of harms way. Quitters and losers don't do that.

You may have wanted him to smile more. But frankly I don't blame the guy for being just a bit frustrated from helping the Cowboys scale the NFL heights through discipline and hardwork only to have much of it frittered away by player, coaching and GM/ownership shenanigans. Perfectionists don't take kindly to that kind of behavior, intentional or not. But Aikman hung in when I suspect it was killing him emotionally and physically. Again, he wasn't perfect. He just tried to be. And he tried to get others to do the same. When its all said and done I think that was WAY more constructive than destructive.

If Aikman's on the field kick in the pants to those he thought needed it was a significantly destructive force I am at a loss as to the players of that era who went on to greater things once they escaped the negative force of the HOF QB.

Sorry Wayne, but I think your critique was just a bit too harsh and the labels you attached to Aikman as a result are just not accurate.

Lastly, Brady hasn't lost any talent from his team compared to what Troy endured and probably more importantly lets see how Tom thrives when Belichek is replaced by Switzer. My point though isn't to pick on Brady. I wish him well. You're just being unfair to Aikman IMO.

 

[jay cee]

I swear people on this board are hilarious. Trade Aikman after '96. Are you crazy.

Yes, please usher in the Quincy Carter, Chad Hutchinson, etc...era sooner.

Who and how would you have found a quarterback to replace Aikman? Through the draft? Ha, at the height of the Jerry Jones debacle of drafting?

Aikman's last three years, the talent on the team was real low after Shante Carver, and Kavika Pittman drafts. Yet Aikman still led us to the playoffs 2 out of his last 3 years. I guess that is just not good enough for the perfection standard oh yea that he set.

A QB with a disgusted, mad look on his face is called a quitter by one person and another person looking at the SAME thing says oh look at his toughness, competitiveness, drive to win all the time and never quits.

Some of ya'll are clearly doing some revisionist history looking back on Troy's second half of his career.

Here's my prophecy: Brady will experience much of the same thing. With today's parity the Patriots will start to lose major contributors to the Super Bowls one by one (McGinnest) and the magical drafting of the Patriots will not continue every year. Cowboys lost to the Panthers in '96 playoffs the year after a Super Bowl and now Patriots lost to Denver in the playoffs a year after the Super Bowl. Pattern is repeating. I guess the Pats will be 6-10. The real test for Brady has just begun. Oh and if Brady doesn't have a smile on his face when he gets tackled and losing by 21 points then he is definetly a sore loser and not a leader.

The team did what I thought they would do after '96. The level of play steadily went down. With one of the highest paid players in the league at qb putting up mediocre numbers.

What's crazy about wanting the team to make a bold move to reverse that trend.

It's not like keeping Aikman, Irvin and Smith around helped the team win another championship. I was for moving the one that I thought could help them get back on top.

IMO, Aikman was their best bet. He was not worth what he was being paid, and he could bring the most back in a trade.

Of course I did not understand how the salary cap worked at the time, and they probably could not have done it, even if they had considered it.

 

[tunazboyz]

yes i am bored,i was thinking that IMO its a draw,and they are very similiar.

I probably could give Brady a bit of an edge only because he hasn't had the talent around him that Aikman had but it's hard :bang2: . I gotta stick with Troy~