Top 10 Quarterbacks In NFL History So Far

[display name]

Here are my top 10 QBs in NFL history:

10) Bart Starr
9) Roger Staubach
8) Brett Favre
7) Tom Brady
6) Dan Marino
5) John Elway
4) Peyton Manning
3) Joe Montana
2) Johnny Unitas
1) Steve Young
Give me all the 'you know what' you want about Young, but look at his stats, how long he played, and that Super Bowl he got the 49ers to. He is #1. He and Joe Montana both had Jerry Rice to throw to, so you can't argue there.

[FlaccoFlicker]

Not a bad list. Would have Favre higher. Please forget the drama at the end and remember the career lol

[YYZ66]

Tough call! I'd like to see what Unitas could do with today's rules. It was definitely a "running" league when he played, what he did was amazing. With all the rules geared to helping the passing game, Johnny U would be something to see!!!

Not sure about Bradshaw though. Yes, 4 super bowls, but he had more career interceptions than TD's. ouch....

[Pino]

I think it's awesome that whenever lists like this come out, Johnny U is usually #1. Everyone respects so much what he did. However, having been born long after his retirement, I've never seen him play. Of course I've seen "all" the highlights and read all the stories, but I've never seen a whole game played. When will we have access to all that film?!

[gabefergy]

1) Montana
2) Unitas
3) Brady
4) Elway
5) Peyton
6) Young
7) Favre
8) Marino
9) Staubach
10) Brees

[display name]

[quote name='YYZ66' timestamp='1341686743' post='1096028']
Tough call! I'd like to see what Unitas could do with today's rules. It was definitely a "running" league when he played, what he did was amazing. With all the rules geared to helping the passing game, Johnny U would be something to see!!!

[b]Not sure about Bradshaw though. Yes, 4 super bowls, but he had more career interceptions than TD's. ouch....[/b]
[/quote]
Bradshaw threw 212 touchdowns and 210 interceptions. I see what you mean, but a lot of those picks were from some bad seasons in the beginning. But heck did he get it together.

[display name]

[quote name='gabefergy' timestamp='1341692675' post='1096048']
1) Montana
2) Unitas
3) Brady
4) Elway
5) Peyton
6) Young
7) Favre
8) Marino
9) Staubach
10) Brees
[/quote]
The Drew Brees thing is interesting. I'd have him right outside the top 10, at like 11 or 12. The bounty overshadows that Super Bowl, but no one can deny how awesome Brees is.

[display name]

OK you guys convinced me. I deleted Bradshaw, bumped Staubach up a notch and added Brees. Sorry, Troy Aikman.

[Gordo52]

1. ---- "Waterboys killing em! Best tackler I've seen since Joe Montana!"
"Joe Montana was a quarter back you idiot."
"I said Joe montania!!"
2. Unitas
3. Young
4. P Manning (Best passer ever.)
5. Brady (The reason he is this low is because he hasn't won another since spygate)
6. Elway
7. Favre
8. Warner
9. Marino
10.Starr
Honorable mentions: Moon, Staubach, Aikman, Brees, Eli Manning! Rodgers....

[mhead66]

[quote name='display name' timestamp='1341683708' post='1096014']
Here are my top 10 QBs in NFL history:

10) Drew Brees
9) Roger Staubach
8) Brett Favre
7) Tom Brady
6) Dan Marino
5) John Elway
4) Peyton Manning
3) Joe Montana
2) Johnny Unitas
1) Steve Young
Give me all the 'you know what' you want about [b]Young[/b], but look at his stats, how long he played, and that Super Bowl he got the 49ers to. [b]He is #1.[/b] He and Joe Montana both had Jerry Rice to throw to, so you can't argue there.
[/quote]

Young was top-notch, no doubt. However... his first 2 seasons, in Tampa, he completed 53% of his passes, had 11 TDs and 21 INTs. He was replaced by (rookie) Vinny Testaverde in '87, and went on to San Francisco... and the rest was history.

The reason I point this out is because it DOES matter who's around you - your OLine, and receivers. He played for a bad team in Tampa and an excellent team in San Fran - a team that already had HOF Joe Montana. Young didn't take over a full-time starter until '92, after 5 seasons backing up Montana.

Personally, my list is (off the top of my head):

1. Peyton Manning
2. Dan Marino
3. Joe Montana
4. Brett Favre
5. Johnny Unitas
6. Tom Brady ******************************************** (ya, he deserves asterisks )
7. Sammy Baugh
8. Warren Moon
9. Otto Graham
10. Bart Starr

[arnie_uk]

[quote name='Ravens<3' timestamp='1341700648' post='1096071']
1. ---- "Waterboys killing em! Best tackler I've seen since Joe Montana!"
"Joe Montana was a quarter back you idiot."
"I said Joe montania!!"
2. Unitas
3. Young
4. P Manning (Best passer ever.)
5. Brady (The reason he is this low is because he hasn't won another since spygate)
6. Elway
7. Favre
8. Warner
9. Marino
10.Starr
Honorable mentions: Moon, Staubach, Aikman, Brees, Eli Manning! Rodgers....
[/quote]i dont understand how you can possibly put unitas on that list, as well as some others, your still a teenager right? how can you rank people you have only, at best, seen clips off?

[The Raven]

[quote name='arnie_uk' timestamp='1341716055' post='1096103']
i dont understand how you can possibly put unitas on that list, as well as some others, your still a teenager right? how can you rank people you have only, at best, seen clips off?
[/quote]

I dunno, maybe reputation? Stats? Championships? Shoot, some people haven't even seen Steve Young and Joe Montana play, I guess they can't go on the list either.

Not being able to see someone play doesn't mean they can't be ranked on a Top 10 list. Thats just stupid.

[Gordo52]

[quote name='arnie_uk' timestamp='1341716055' post='1096103']
i dont understand how you can possibly put unitas on that list, as well as some others, your still a teenager right? how can you rank people you have only, at best, seen clips off?
[/quote]
Just because all of my life growing up my father, uncle & grandfather told me all about him. Non stop whenever we talked about football. About how Unitas could make any throw, any time. So I guess I'm bias towards it.
And because Ive seen clips of them, read their stats, seen their accolades aand added everything up. Just my opinion.

[Malkavian Raven]

[i][font=trebuchet ms,helvetica,sans-serif]10.) Steve Young
09.) Drew Brees
08.) Drew Bledsoe
07.) Joe Montana
06.) Johnny Unitas
05.) Tom Brady
04.) John Elway
03.) Peyton Manning
02.) Dan Marino
01.) Brett Favre[/font][/i]

[i][font=trebuchet ms,helvetica,sans-serif]~ Malkavian Raven[/font][/i]

[The King]

Otto Graham is the best QB in history. He made 10 straight championships and won 7, won over 80% of his games throughout his career, and still holds the record for highest career YPA. QBs are judged an awful lot based on how much they win, and no one did it better than Graham. Any argument that his numbers aren't valid because he played in the AAFC ignores the fact that the numbers got no worse when he switched to the NFL. It's difficult to compare QBs of different eras, but there's no need for comparison when you have a winner like that.

For those interested, he also won the National Basketball League Championship in 1946. The guy was incredibly athletic and a great passer.

Otto Graham
Johnny Unitas
Joe Montana
Tom Brady
John Elway
Sammy Baugh
Bart Starr
Roger Staubach
Terry Bradshaw
Peyton Manning

I valued winning, especially in the postseason, pretty highly in forming my rankings. Peyton Manning is the only guy on the list without multiple championship wins, and he'd be higher if he had a record better than 9-10 in the playoffs. I tried to give equal consideration to guys who played in earlier years of league history rather than getting caught up in the flashy volumes of QBs playing since the '78 rule changes and subsequent ones that have inflated passing numbers.

[display name]

[quote name='Malkavian Raven' timestamp='1341722326' post='1096116']
[i][font=trebuchet ms,helvetica,sans-serif]10.) Steve Young
09.) Drew Brees
08.) Drew Bledsoe
07.) Joe Montana
06.) Johnny Unitas
05.) Tom Brady
04.) John Elway
03.) Peyton Manning
02.) Dan Marino
01.) Brett Favre[/font][/i]

[i][font=trebuchet ms,helvetica,sans-serif]~ Malkavian Raven[/font][/i]
[/quote]
I would delete Bledsoe and bump guys like Montana, Young, and Unitas up. That's not a fair list.

[Hjulmann]

Well, Trent Dilfer won the super bowl for us

[arnie_uk]

[quote name='The Raven' timestamp='1341717500' post='1096107']
I dunno, maybe reputation? Stats? Championships? Shoot, some people haven't even seen Steve Young and Joe Montana play, I guess they can't go on the list either.

Not being able to see someone play doesn't mean they can't be ranked on a Top 10 list. Thats just stupid.
[/quote]how is it? thats like people saying they dont like a certain food without ever tasting it? Ive never seen unitas play, ive heard hes great, one of the best, but how can i rank him above peyton? or Brady? Im basing my opinion of what other people have said, so its not really my top 10 is it?

[The Raven]

[quote name='arnie_uk' timestamp='1341760752' post='1096161']
how is it? thats like people saying they dont like a certain food without ever tasting it? Ive never seen unitas play, ive heard hes great, one of the best, but how can i rank him above peyton? or Brady? Im basing my opinion of what other people have said, so its not really my top 10 is it?
[/quote]

Because of records, stats, championships, and reputation. DUH! It's simple! He still holds the record for most consecutive starts with a touchdown pass, 50 years later. Manning still hasn't beaten it. Neither has Brady. Brees is coming close, and just may break it, but what Unitas did in the time period he did it in proves to me that he is the best quarterback, player, and leader in NFL history. Period. No. Questions. Asked.

[arnie_uk]

[quote name='The Raven' timestamp='1341768236' post='1096182']
Because of records, stats, championships, and reputation. DUH! It's simple! He still holds the record for most consecutive starts with a touchdown pass, 50 years later. Manning still hasn't beaten it. Neither has Brady. Brees is coming close, and just may break it, but what Unitas did in the time period he did it in proves to me that he is the best quarterback, player, and leader in NFL history. Period. No. Questions. Asked.
[/quote]well i for one cant say that because i never seen him play. People downplay stats all the time when chatting about flacco, yet they live and die by them with unitas? Very contradicting...

Just my personal opinion, i havent seen alot of these guy play, so i cant "rate" or "rank" them, otherwise im just going on hearsay, which i, and many others detest when it comes to every other aspect. I form my own opinions, like im sure all of you do, so to say this guy is number 1 or whatever without actually ever seeing him play, i just find odd...

[arnie_uk]

[quote name='Ravens<3' timestamp='1341718273' post='1096110']
Just because all of my life growing up my father, uncle & grandfather told me all about him. Non stop whenever we talked about football. About how Unitas could make any throw, any time. So I guess I'm bias towards it.
And because Ive seen clips of them, read their stats, seen their accolades aand added everything up. Just my opinion.
[/quote]but its not your opinion. Its the opinion of your "father, uncle & grandfather"

[arnie_uk]

i like the way im getting 4 negs, but only 2 people have the ability to form a reasonable argument against what im saying, what is the other two peoples argument?

[The Raven]

[quote name='arnie_uk' timestamp='1341768619' post='1096185']
well i for one cant say that because i never seen him play. People downplay stats all the time when chatting about flacco, yet they live and die by them with unitas? Very contradicting...

Just my personal opinion, i havent seen alot of these guy play, so i cant "rate" or "rank" them, otherwise im just going on hearsay, which i, and many others detest when it comes to every other aspect. I form my own opinions, like im sure all of you do, so to say this guy is number 1 or whatever without actually ever seeing him play, i just find odd...
[/quote]

What do you not understand about his records, championships, and reputation? He still holds the record for most consecutive games with a touchdown pass. He played in the 50's and 60's. For him to STILL have that record is insane. And even when Brees breaks it, it won't be as impressive as Unitas having it.

[The Raven]

As far as my top ten list goes,

1. Johnny Unitas
2. Joe Montana
3. Steve Young
4. Tom Brady
5. Peyton Manning
6. Brett Favre
7. John Elway
8. Troy Aikman
9. Drew Brees
10. Dan Marino

[arnie_uk]

[quote name='The Raven' timestamp='1341768798' post='1096188']
What do you not understand about his records, championships, and reputation? He still holds the record for most consecutive games with a touchdown pass. He played in the 50's and 60's. For him to STILL have that record is insane. And even when Brees breaks it, it won't be as impressive as Unitas having it.
[/quote]i understand them perfectly, but to me, that doesnt mean i can crown him the best ever with out actually seeing him play.. Same in soccer, people say pele is the best ever, compare messi to him, etc etc.. i cant comment, i didnt see pele...

Can i say unitas is better than marino based purely on "records, championships, and reputation"? no i didnt see either play, im sure people that was alive and seen them both, could make a strong case either way, some would say marino, some unitas, some would even say other people, i just dont think i can, or other people can say guy x is better than guy y, without ever seeing them.

Its the same prior to the draft, how can people say they want this player over than player, when they have only seen one of them play?

[berad]

[quote name='arnie_uk' timestamp='1341769188' post='1096190']
i understand them perfectly, but to me, that doesnt mean i can crown him the best ever with out actually seeing him play.. Same in soccer, people say pele is the best ever, compare messi to him, etc etc.. i cant comment, i didnt see pele...

Can i say unitas is better than marino based purely on "records, championships, and reputation"? no i didnt see either play, im sure people that was alive and seen them both, could make a strong case either way, some would say marino, some unitas, some would even say other people, i just dont think i can, or other people can say guy x is better than guy y, without ever seeing them.

Its the same prior to the draft, how can people say they want this player over than player, when they have only seen one of them play?
[/quote]

Fair points but there are ways to formulate valid opinions on guys without actually seeing them during their careers - massive amount of highlights, statistics, etc.

Even though you've probably never seen Ryan Leaf nor Marino play, who would you say is better? Don't pull my leg and say you don't know, Arnie haha

[arnie_uk]

[quote name='berad' timestamp='1341770005' post='1096194']
Fair points but there are ways to formulate valid opinions on guys without actually seeing them during their careers - massive amount of highlights, statistics, etc.

Even though you've probably never seen Ryan Leaf nor Marino play, who would you say is better? Don't pull my leg and say you don't know, Arnie haha
[/quote]i actually havent seen either, was leafs decline his play or his attitude or both? i havent looked at stats, but was he that awful to be out of the league so quick or was it off the field issues like hes going through now?

[berad]

[quote name='arnie_uk' timestamp='1341771246' post='1096200']
i actually havent seen either, was leafs decline his play or his attitude or both? i havent looked at stats, but was he that awful to be out of the league so quick or was it off the field issues like hes going through now?
[/quote]

Both, he was an awful quarterback and probably a worse teammate and employee. In two [playing] years with SD, he threw 33 picks and fumbled 20 times in 21 games; contrast that with only 13 TDs and 4 wins in that span. He bounced around a few other teams, actually playing with the Cowboys, but his career was pretty much over after San Diego.

That's just on the field, his [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryan_Leaf"]wiki page[/url] documents his off-field stuff pretty well. Routinely yelling at coaches/players/staff, poor work ethic, legal and team fines, and fights with the media (who, in turn, bashed him even harder). Unlike now, he never got into any legal trouble during his playing days but he was just an extremely selfish, arrogant, and lazy person - something he admits to.

He is the quintessential bust. Perhaps rivaled only by JaMarcus Russell, who probably had a better career.

[display name]

[quote name='arnie_uk' timestamp='1341768794' post='1096187']
i like the way im getting 4 negs, but only 2 people have the ability to form a reasonable argument against what im saying, what is the other two peoples argument?
[/quote]
If this is what you say, than you can't include anyone you haven't seen play. I haven't seen Montana, Young, or Marino play except on highlights. So they're off the list?

[Ravens Lover]

Ol Johnny U all the way, he's the father of the position, and still holds plenty of passing records even in todays pass happy league, and he called all his own plays, no "great" Qb's do that anymore