Trent Dilfer knocks today's quarterbacks

doubledragon

Trent Dilfer, the quarterback of the 2000 Baltimore Ravens, had this to say.

perkdog

Lol is all I can muster

doubledragon

Yeah, here's the article about it.

Trent Dilfer Makes Insane Statement About Tom Brady And Aaron Rodgers

Former NFL QB Trent Dilfer made a ridiculous statement about recently-retired QB Tom Brady and Green Bay Packers star Aaron Rodgers.

Dilfer spoke about the future Hall of Famers during a segment filmed for ESPN’s “Bullies of Baltimore” 30 for 30 documentary about the Baltimore Ravens team that won Super Bowl XXXV which first aired on Sunday.

“The modern-day game does not impress me. It’s super easy when you don’t get hit as a quarterback and when you can’t reroute receivers and when you can’t hit guys across the middle.

“I love Tom Brady. I love Aaron Rodgers. I love these guys. It’s not impressive. What’s impressive is what (old-school QBs) did.”

it’s absolutely ridiculous for a mediocre QB like Dilfer to say Brady and Rodgers are “not impressive.”

Tom Brady has seven Super Bowl rings and is considered by many to be greatest QB of all time. Dilfer has one Super Bowl ring, in a game where he threw for 153 yards and completed less than 50 percent of his passes. Aaron Rodgers has won MVP four times, throwing for over 59,000 yards. Dilfer never threw for over 3,000 yards in a season.

To me, Dilfer looks jealous and salty. He goes after two all time greats for no reason.

grote15

This guy was the walking embodiment of the "just don't mess things up," game managing QB. He ought to stay in his lane.

1951WheatiesPremium

He’s the wrong guy to deliver the right message. A significant alteration of the rules of the NFL changed the sport from a running league to a passing league. It’s pretty indisputable. If you watch a game of football played 35-40 years ago, it’s almost unrecognizable compared to now in terms of the amount of contact allowed between defensive players and wide receivers on a passing play. Pass interference calls were incredibly rare and viscous hits were delivered to every involved offensive player on the field on almost every play. Teams passed less because it was less effective and important to survival.

I’m guessing Trent Dilfer is referring to statistics such as completion percentage, TD passes and passing yards, as an example, when he says he finds it unimpressive. Winning is still winning, whatever the rules.

craig44

I think Dilfer is forgetting that Tommy played in the league under the same rules as him for a number of years as a young player.

Good grief. Trent Dilfer...

thisistheshow

@craig44 said:
I think Dilfer is forgetting that Tommy played in the league under the same rules as him for a number of years as a young player.

Good grief. Trent Dilfer...

.....
Thank you Craig. I was withholding comment until someone said this. Brady excelled under those rules. Peyton Manning, the number one pick golden child, did not. The rules were changed then so that Manning could get his hat into the ring. Nonetheless, Brady continued to dominate much more than him and much more consistently even after the rules were changed. This is all true and common knowledge, not me being a Brady worshiper.

If anyone here wants to challenge the fact that Brady played under older, harder rules and in fact could have still been elite in any era... let's talk.

ETA: After the SB @doubledragon we might have to start that thread... Something like "Could Tom Brady have become the GOAT if he played in an older era?

Darin

@thisistheshow said:

@craig44 said:
I think Dilfer is forgetting that Tommy played in the league under the same rules as him for a number of years as a young player.

Good grief. Trent Dilfer...

.....
Thank you Craig. I was withholding comment until someone said this. Brady excelled under those rules. Peyton Manning, the number one pick golden child, did not. The rules were changed then so that Manning could get his hat into the ring. Nonetheless, Brady continued to dominate much more than him and much more consistently even after the rules were changed. This is all true and common knowledge, not me being a Brady worshiper.

If anyone here wants to challenge the fact that Brady played under older, harder rules and in fact could have still been elite in any era... let's talk.

ETA: After the SB @doubledragon we might have to start that thread... Something like "Could Tom Brady have become the GOAT if he played in an older era?

The numbers don’t seem to back up what you said about Manning. In his second year he was runner up for MVP and third year was fifth in MVP voting. A pretty good start.
Manning finished with more MVP’s than Brady correct?

perkdog

Tom Brady literally had 2 HOF careers into 1 career

Darin

I’m not saying Brady isn’t the goat, just saying showman is wrong about what he wrote about Peyton manning

doubledragon

@thisistheshow said:

@craig44 said:
I think Dilfer is forgetting that Tommy played in the league under the same rules as him for a number of years as a young player.

Good grief. Trent Dilfer...

.....
Thank you Craig. I was withholding comment until someone said this. Brady excelled under those rules. Peyton Manning, the number one pick golden child, did not. The rules were changed then so that Manning could get his hat into the ring. Nonetheless, Brady continued to dominate much more than him and much more consistently even after the rules were changed. This is all true and common knowledge, not me being a Brady worshiper.

If anyone here wants to challenge the fact that Brady played under older, harder rules and in fact could have still been elite in any era... let's talk.

ETA: After the SB @doubledragon we might have to start that thread... Something like "Could Tom Brady have become the GOAT if he played in an older era?

That all depends, what era did you have in mind?

thisistheshow

@Darin said:
I’m not saying Brady isn’t the goat, just saying showman is wrong about what he wrote about Peyton manning

...
I should have been more clear, sorry. I was saying that Manning was playing well, and could win games and throw TDs, etc but when it really mattered (the playoffs) he couldn't crack his way through to win or even be in the big game during those years. So they changed the defensive rules. It was done for this reason.

1951WheatiesPremium

@thisistheshow said:

@Darin said:
I’m not saying Brady isn’t the goat, just saying showman is wrong about what he wrote about Peyton manning

...
I should have been more clear, sorry. I was saying that Manning was playing well, and could win games and throw TDs, etc but when it really mattered (the playoffs) he couldn't crack his way through to win or even be in the big game during those years. So they changed the defensive rules. It was done for this reason.

The league existed before the year 2000. After Joe Montana was nearly killed by Leonard Marshall the league started to adjust rules to keeps quarterback safer.

https://youtu.be/cyV5eqBx7ws

No flag. Helmet intto back full speed at 300 LBs.

You’re ejected for that hit now.

So, here’s two really big ones they passed in the aftermath. This isn’t a knock on anyone who didn’t play under these rules but please recognize they were MAJOR LEAPS FORWARD for QB safety.

1993: It is not intentional grounding when a passer, while out of the pocket and facing an imminent loss of yardage, throws a pass that lands beyond the line of scrimmage, even if no offensive player has a realistic chance to catch the ball (including if the ball lands out of bounds over the sideline or end line).

“Take something like the ability to throw the football away. You’re outside the tackle box and all you need to do is get the ball to the line of scrimmage. Obviously that creates a protection for the quarterback.” (Beyond the safety standpoint, this also spares QBs a lot of interceptions, since they can lob the ball where no defender could possibly make a play.)

1995: When tackling a passer during or just after throwing a pass, a defensive player is prohibited from unnecessarily and violently throwing him down and landing on top of him with all or most of the defender’s weight.

“Quarterbacks, when they’re in the pocket… they’ve never been taught to look around at who’s coming to hit them. They’ve been taught to look downfield: you’re looking at the coverage and you’re trying to find who’s open. So when you get hit, you usually don’t know where it’s coming from. I think the league has realized that’s a very defenseless position.”

thisistheshow

@thisistheshow said:

@Darin said:
I’m not saying Brady isn’t the goat, just saying showman is wrong about what he wrote about Peyton manning

...
I should have been more clear, sorry. I was saying that Manning was playing well, and could win games and throw TDs, etc but when it really mattered (the playoffs) he couldn't crack his way through to win or even be in the big game during those years. So they changed the defensive rules. It was done for this reason.

What do you find so funny about my comment, @Maywood?

thisistheshow

@1951WheatiesPremium said:

@thisistheshow said:

@Darin said:
I’m not saying Brady isn’t the goat, just saying showman is wrong about what he wrote about Peyton manning

...
I should have been more clear, sorry. I was saying that Manning was playing well, and could win games and throw TDs, etc but when it really mattered (the playoffs) he couldn't crack his way through to win or even be in the big game during those years. So they changed the defensive rules. It was done for this reason.

The league existed before the year 2000. After Joe Montana was nearly killed by Leonard Marshall the league started to adjust rules to keeps quarterback safer.

https://youtu.be/cyV5eqBx7ws

No flag. Helmet intto back full speed at 300 LBs.

You’re ejected for that hit now.

So, here’s two really big ones they passed in the aftermath. This isn’t a knock on anyone who didn’t play under these rules but please recognize they were MAJOR LEAPS FORWARD for QB safety.

1993: It is not intentional grounding when a passer, while out of the pocket and facing an imminent loss of yardage, throws a pass that lands beyond the line of scrimmage, even if no offensive player has a realistic chance to catch the ball (including if the ball lands out of bounds over the sideline or end line).

“Take something like the ability to throw the football away. You’re outside the tackle box and all you need to do is get the ball to the line of scrimmage. Obviously that creates a protection for the quarterback.” (Beyond the safety standpoint, this also spares QBs a lot of interceptions, since they can lob the ball where no defender could possibly make a play.)

1995: When tackling a passer during or just after throwing a pass, a defensive player is prohibited from unnecessarily and violently throwing him down and landing on top of him with all or most of the defender’s weight.

“Quarterbacks, when they’re in the pocket… they’ve never been taught to look around at who’s coming to hit them. They’ve been taught to look downfield: you’re looking at the coverage and you’re trying to find who’s open. So when you get hit, you usually don’t know where it’s coming from. I think the league has realized that’s a very defenseless position.”

...
Let me just clear the air and/or set the record straight.

I know that the league existed before the year 2000.

I also know that rule changes that benefited QBs and receivers were implemented before the ones I referred to.

However, what I said is true. I am aware that Brady did not play during what are known as the toughest eras. But he did play from 2001 on as a starter and he was part of 3 SB winning teams in a four year period at a time when Manning was in the league. So yes, Brady missed out on most of the madness, but did play at the tail end of what was left of it, in my opinion.

What I am saying about rules being changed so as to get Manning through the playoffs is often discussed and widely accepted as being true. Can anyone else here agree with me? I will have to do some digging tomorrow and get some links.

But yes, I know that rules were changed before Brady came about. I have no problem with anyone who wants to call Montana the GOAT, or Unitas for that matter.

1951WheatiesPremium

(Continued)

By the way, there was real concerns about Joe Montana living. The surgery he underwent to fix his spine was nowhere near routine at the time. Check Sports Illustrated archives or sports news articles of the timeframe.

There was an incredible amount of rule changes after these two HUGE AND IMPACTFUL ONES which are also easy to document. Rules were passed to further protect the QB physically and specifically, rules about contact between DBs and WR, defenseless player rules, targeting rules. These changes were also made to significantly improve scoring and offensive production and protect the leagues biggest star of each team, the quarterbacks, regardless of how good they were because it was good for everyone involved except defensive players. More scoring, arguably, is more fun and this is sports entertainment. Gambling, fantasy, the fan watching - they all want more points.

So, the NFL stacked the deck for offenses. Big time. There is more incentive to throw the ball than there has ever been.

thisistheshow

@1951WheatiesPremium it loks like I was responding while you were typing. I responded to your first comment, but give me a bit and I'll be back. (you be Beethoven)

thisistheshow

https://www.nbcsports.com/boston/patriots/they-called-it-ty-law-rule-and-was-ok-him

This article references what I'm talking about.

1951WheatiesPremium

@thisistheshow

What I am saying about rules being changed so as to get Manning through the playoffs is often discussed and widely accepted as being true.

I think you are either confusing or blending fact and fiction and the author of your article may as well have thrown a few ‘nanny-nanny-poo-poos’ in, so clear is it that he’s writing a pro Patriot article. Enforcing existing rules is not the same a passing new ones. The Patriots, as they often did, operated in the gray area and did much more pulling, chucking, rerouting and holding than any team in the league. It was literally coached in - how and when to illegally hold and grab receivers and get away with it. And it correlated directly to winning.

So, it may be widely accepted among Patriots fans as true but in reality it is just the excuse Patriots fans use as to why the Colts won and Patriots didn’t in 2006. I can assure you that it had much more to do with Antoine Bethea being added before that season than it did any rule changes implemented after 2004, a full two seasons and Steelers Super Bowl championship removed. And the Patriots surely were not held back by any changes in 2007.

It’s been almost twenty years, we know Tom’s better than Peyton, they’re both done playing and so I think it’s ok to finally let it go. In 2006, the Colts were just better. 😉

1951WheatiesPremium

@thisistheshow

I’m not calling you out, I just like talking football. None of this discussion diminishes what Tom Brady and the Patriots accomplished. At all. Thirty two teams line up to play a season of football each September and one team is crowned champion. The record speaks for itself. It’s the statistics that now need to be contextualized, that’s all. It is considerably easier to complete a pass and throwing the ball has been incredibly incentivized. The whole “cornerback must turn his head or it’s pass interference” rule that results in 30 yard gains every Sunday once in every game used to just be great defense. Mel Blount was referenced in your article; he’s probably the greatest corner to ever play. Half the time, he’d arm bar at the guy at the chest so he couldn’t get his hands above his pads for the high catch. Totally legal. Or pin a guy at the line so he never got to run his route. Again, legal. You operate to get away with what is allowed to win but when it starts to border on illegal, the league intervenes.

That said, and to quote the great John Mason (or is it James Bond?) in The Rock:

“Losers talk about their best, winners go home and poptart the Prom Queen.”

craig44

let us not forget, it took Drew Bledsoe, almost dying at the stadium after a hit, that launched Tommys career. The violence in the league in 2001 was very different than it is now.

thisistheshow

@craig44 said:
let us not forget, it took Drew Bledsoe, almost dying at the stadium after a hit, that launched Tommys career. The violence in the league in 2001 was very different than it is now.

....
That is a good point, and one I know we are both well aware of. Have you ever read the accounts of how that went down behind the scenes? There are good write ups somewhere on what happened with Bledsoe coming back into the game, etc. And also great quotes from his brother. That really played a big role. If I remember correctly, Bledsoe's brother didn't want Drew to appear before the media after the game because it might cause a QB controversy. He's thinking that he's going to play either the next week or soon. His brother had plans to sneak him home. I think the team doctor came in and said he had made a call to an area hospital and he wanted to send Drew for followup. Then we know what happened in the ambulance.

thisistheshow

@1951WheatiesPremium said:
@thisistheshow

I’m not calling you out, I just like talking football. None of this discussion diminishes what Tom Brady and the Patriots accomplished. At all. Thirty two teams line up to play a season of football each September and one team is crowned champion. The record speaks for itself. It’s the statistics that now need to be contextualized, that’s all. It is considerably easier to complete a pass and throwing the ball has been incredibly incentivized. The whole “cornerback must turn his head or it’s pass interference” rule that results in 30 yard gains every Sunday once in every game used to just be great defense. Mel Blount was referenced in your article; he’s probably the greatest corner to ever play. Half the time, he’d arm bar at the guy at the chest so he couldn’t get his hands above his pads for the high catch. Totally legal. Or pin a guy at the line so he never got to run his route. Again, legal. You operate to get away with what is allowed to win but when it starts to border on illegal, the league intervenes.

That said, and to quote the great John Mason (or is it James Bond?) in The Rock:

“Losers talk about their best, winners go home and poptart the Prom Queen.”

...
I know you're not calling me out. I love this kind of talk.

Players can't choose their eras. The juxtaposition of Brady and Manning pre 2005 or whatever is telling, imo.

craig44

@thisistheshow said:

@craig44 said:
let us not forget, it took Drew Bledsoe, almost dying at the stadium after a hit, that launched Tommys career. The violence in the league in 2001 was very different than it is now.

....
That is a good point, and one I know we are both well aware of. Have you ever read the accounts of how that went down behind the scenes? There are good write ups somewhere on what happened with Bledsoe coming back into the game, etc. And also great quotes from his brother. That really played a big role. If I remember correctly, Bledsoe's brother didn't want Drew to appear before the media after the game because it might cause a QB controversy. He's thinking that he's going to play either the next week or soon. His brother had plans to sneak him home. I think the team doctor came in and said he had made a call to an area hospital and he wanted to send Drew for followup. Then we know what happened in the ambulance.

I remember it well. a VERY scary situation. had he stayed in the stadium for another 20 minutes, he wouldnt have made it. that trainer literally saved his life.

thisistheshow

@craig44 said:

@thisistheshow said:

@craig44 said:
let us not forget, it took Drew Bledsoe, almost dying at the stadium after a hit, that launched Tommys career. The violence in the league in 2001 was very different than it is now.

....
That is a good point, and one I know we are both well aware of. Have you ever read the accounts of how that went down behind the scenes? There are good write ups somewhere on what happened with Bledsoe coming back into the game, etc. And also great quotes from his brother. That really played a big role. If I remember correctly, Bledsoe's brother didn't want Drew to appear before the media after the game because it might cause a QB controversy. He's thinking that he's going to play either the next week or soon. His brother had plans to sneak him home. I think the team doctor came in and said he had made a call to an area hospital and he wanted to send Drew for followup. Then we know what happened in the ambulance.

I remember it well. a VERY scary situation. had he stayed in the stadium for another 20 minutes, he wouldnt have made it. that trainer literally saved his life.

...
I wrote what I did asif I remember it well, but I need to go back and freshen up. You reminded me about the trainer. There was the trainer, and I think the team doctor. All playing some different roles. Crazy.

Maywood

Anyone who watched Joe Theisman get injured, either on TV or in person, should be able to appreciate how much the rules have changed.

perkdog

@Maywood said:
Anyone who watched Joe Theisman get injured, either on TV or in person, should be able to appreciate how much the rules have changed.

What did the rules have to with that play?

The Rules had nothing to do with it, I saw the play happen, his leg got caught under a tackling body, that exact play could gave happened in any era