TOP QB's of all time

lurkingnomore · January 19, 2014 10:41PM

The AFC Championship got me thinking about my personal list of top 5 QB's of all time - here's my list...would be curious to see other's lists

1 Elway - retired too early, still my favorite
2 Montana - REAL close to Elway probably more #1a in my book than #2
3 Manning - if he wins in two weeks may go down as best ever, revolutionized line of scrimmage audibles, yardage, etc
4 Brady
5 Favre

I also considered Aikman (painful as it was being an Eagles fan), Bradshaw (lots of rings but his TEAM was so strong so he doesn't make my top 5), Marino, Starr, Moon, Kelly, Unitas, Young

I have to admit to not knowing a lot of the older qbs so that prejudices my list some

Al

eagles33 · January 19, 2014 11:15PM

I love this debate. First of all I can't really give a fair opinion on the qbs pre 1980 because I never got to see them play. Of those qbs I think I would have to include Unitas in the top 5 simply because he revolutionized the position. I'm also an eagle fan.. For years anytime the eagles needed a game winning drive I was 100% sure Mcnabe would choke.. Or just puke. The way I view the top 5 is who are the top 5 qbs I have the most faith in completing a last minute game winning drive

Montana - "look there is John Candy sitting in the stands"
Brady - belichick is the greatest coach but the worst GM. Nobody won more with less
Elway - thank Terrell Davis for this. It's amazing how my perception changes after a Super Bowl win
Staubach- if only his TE could catch
Unitas - just because everyone says he belongs here

jordangretzkyfan · January 19, 2014 11:35PM

Great debate...I love threads like this. Here would be my top five:

1) Joe Montana - 4 for 4 on Super Bowl wins and no one was more clutch as a signal caller
2) Johnny Unitas - he revolutionized the position and delivered in the biggest games
3) Tom Brady - 3 for 5 in the Super Bowl, second best season performance of all-time and no one did more with less (no HOF RB or WR)
4) Peyton Manning - will hold all major passing records when he is done, best single season ever and will likely have 2 rings
5) Brett Favre - slew of MVP awards, Super Bowl ring, iron man streak and holds every major passing record. Simply put, Brett is top 5

Just missed:

6) John Elway - captain comeback, 2 for 5 in Super Bowls and all around class leader...if he didn't lose first 3 Super Bowls he would be top 5.
7) Bart Starr - won first two Super Bowls...enough said
8) Terry Bradshaw
9) Dan Marino
10) Roger Staubach

hammered · January 19, 2014 11:41PM

1. Montana
2. Unitas
3. Manning
4. Brady
5. Elway

Unitas should be top three at very least. He changed the QB position and helped put pro football on the map.

tennesseebanker · January 19, 2014 11:51PM

I think I am going to have to break this down by who I saw play, and who I didn't. The top 5 QB's I have seen in my lifetime are

1. Montana/Most reliable and level headed QB ever. Growing up a Giants fan I didn't cheer for him, but now I probably respect him more than any other.
2. Staubach/Ditto the Montana sentiments here. The master of the 2 minute offense before it became a buzzword.
3. P. Manning/Being a Tennessee Vols fan I have seen him grow up. The most "cerebral" QB ever, when it's all said and done he may own the record books.
4. Elway/Strongest arm of the bunch, best athlete of the group. The prototypical QB.
5. T. Brady/ Like someone else said, no-one has done more with less. He just wins.

Honorable Mention: Bradshaw, Fouts, Favre, Marino,

Top five I never saw play

1. Johnny Unitas/ Some say he was the best ever, and from what I know of him, I can't argue.
2. Otto Graham/ if quarterbacks are measured by winning, few could match Graham, Graham led the Browns to 10 title games in 10 years, winning seven championships.
3.Sammy Baugh/ The father of the modern passing game
4. Bart Starr/ Great Leader, another QB who won in the big game, very accurate and efficient.
5. Fran Tarkenton/ Ok, I did get to see a little of him at the end of his career. If he had won a Super Bowl he would probably be in everyone's top ten.

3BoyzTrading · January 20, 2014 12:27AM

Only who I saw play:

Joe Montana
John Elway
Brett Favre
Peyton Manning
Drew Brees

I'd add Tom Brady but I prefer Drew Brees based on how he came back from a serious injury and restored hope in the city of New Orleans

wrestlingcardking · January 20, 2014 12:34AM

Only ones I have seen play.........

1. Montana
2. not sure on two and three yet.....Manning and Brady though, their careers are not done yet. Probably Brady until Manning gets a second SB win.
3. Manning or Brady
4. Elway
5. Favre
6. Marino

Dodgerfanjohn · January 20, 2014 12:40AM

FYI, I'm mostly not touching this one, but a couple comments about Elway in the late 80's:

1. Those broncos teams literally had no running game. The offensive line was crap and Sammy Winder was their RB
2. Their defense was atrocious.
3. That crap offensive line....a pocket qb would have totally failed on that team. It's only due to Elways skill at throwing perfect passes while being chased that the Broncos in the late 80's even made the playoffs, let alone the Super Bowl. The guy was chased out of the pocket literally every play.

firstbase23 · January 20, 2014 1:47AM

My 2 cents;

1. Joe Montana
2. John Elway
3. Johnny Unitas
4. Peyton Manning
5. Tom Brady
6. Dan Marino

Matt

MrVintage · January 20, 2014 1:57AM

1. Peyton Manning
2. Joe Montana
3. Tom Brady
4. John Elway
5. Dan Marino

VitoCo1972 · January 20, 2014 2:23AM

Brady is 105 games over .500 in the regular season (best ever)
He is 18-8 in the playoffs (best ever)

Isn't winning what matters?

Oh right, and throw in a couple MVPs, an undefeated regular season, 3 rings, 8 championship game apps and five SB apps - all in the free agency/parody era. I'll listen to arguments about Montana and Otto Graham but nobody else.

grote15 · January 20, 2014 2:27AM

An interesting party to this discussion is that if you look at Brady's career in reverse, he'd have been the guy with all the questions about getting it done in the postseason, as the Pats have not won a championship now in eight straight seasons during which he was the QB (not counting the season he was injured). Just goes to show you how fickle QB legacies can be based on happenstance (or videography, lol)..

For the record, my top 5:

1. Montana
2. Manning
3. Elway
4. Brady
5, Unitas

Mickey71 · January 20, 2014 2:38AM

Folks, think of the rule changes and put the stats into context with the eras. Marino was an absolute machine. I think with all the video game numbers.....he gets forgotten.

1. Manning/simply the best
2. Marino
3. Montana
4. Brady
5. Unitas
Honorable Mentions...Favre and Brees/Young

FavreFan1971 · January 20, 2014 3:15AM

1. Peyton Manning
2. Joe Montana
3. Otto Graham
4. Tom Brady
5. Dan Marino

Dougnddeb · January 20, 2014 3:37AM

1. Montana
2. Brady
3. Manning
4. Marino
5. Brees

Cakes · January 20, 2014 4:00AM

It's hard to compare any of the modern QB's that had salary caps to the older QB's like Montana who didn't. The 70's and 80's had some stacked teams.

elsnorto · January 20, 2014 4:08AM

1. Peyton Manning - a confluence of physical gifts, a high football IQ, and legendary work ethic makes him the best I have ever seen.
2. Slingin' Sammy Baugh - the father of the modern passing game, a charter member of Canton, and a regular on NFL Anniversary All-Time teams.
3. Joe Montana - No lead was safe from Joe Cool and no star brighter in the 1980's.
4. Johnny Unitas - the Peyton Manning of his day compared to his peers.
5. Otto Graham - perhaps one of the most underappreciated, if not outright forgotten by modern fans, QBs. His Browns were absolute beasts in the AAFC & NFL alike.

Honorable mention: Bart Starr & Tom Brady.

Snorto~

tennesseebanker · January 20, 2014 4:12AM

<< It's hard to compare any of the modern QB's that had salary caps to the older QB's like Montana who didn't. The 70's and 80's had some stacked teams. >>

It is also hard to compare Modern QB's to the older guys simply because the philosophy of the game has changed from a run first to pass first mentality. I think there were a few coaches back in the day who revolutionized the game in that they passed to set-up the run. Bill Walsh and Don "Air" Coryell come to mind.

vols1 · January 20, 2014 5:24AM

These are your big game winners
1. montana- he's won 4 SB plus a National Championship in college
2.brady-Won 3 SB and came close to two more

the rest
3.brees-won a SB and he's had better stats than manning since joing the leage
4.manning-won a SB and great regular season stats
5.young-3rd highest rated passer all time plus a SB winner

Cakes · January 20, 2014 5:28AM

<< These are your big game winners
1. montana- he's won 4 SB plus a National Championship in college
2.brady-Won 3 SB and came close to two more

the rest
3.brees-won a SB and he's had better stats than manning since joing the leage
4.manning-won a SB and great regular season stats
5.young-3rd highest rated passer all time plus a SB winner >>

If you based it all on winning then Terry Bradshaw 4- 0 would have to be listed.

olb31 · January 20, 2014 6:05AM

1. Joe Montana
2. John Elway
3. Peyton Manning
4. Dan Marino
5. John Unitas
6. Tom Brady
7. Roger Staubach
8. Brett Favre
9. Sammy Baugh
10 Joe Namath
11. Dan Fouts
12. Terry Bradshaw
13. Steve Young
14. Drew Brees
15. Bart Starr
16. Troy Aikman

soundgard · January 20, 2014 6:33AM

Elway
Unitas
Starr
Montana
Bradshaw

Tabe · January 20, 2014 6:37AM

Post-1980 as I'm too young to remember anybody before that:

1) Steve Young - could do everything Montana could do but with a stronger arm and better running
2) Tom Brady - just win, baby
3) Peyton Manning - an incredible passer
4) Joe Montana - Mr. Clutch. Benefited from playing on some incredibly loaded teams
5) John Elway - Great player whose greatness I think has been overstated a bit
6) Dan Marino - An amazing passer coupled with incredibly bad technique in the running game thanks to bad footwork and overall lack of agility. Why'd they never have a running game? Their QB handicapped them.

After that, I'd say there's a pretty big dropoff.

bbuckner22 · January 20, 2014 7:25AM

I'm not sure about QB's, but my all time, my all time list of cornerbacks is:

1 Richard Sherman
2 all the rest

Oh wait, or is that my all time D bag list instead?

grote15 · January 20, 2014 7:28AM

<< I'm not sure about QB's, but my all time, my all time list of cornerbacks is:

1 Richard Sherman
2 all the rest

Oh wait, or is that my all time D bag list instead? >>

parkerj · January 20, 2014 7:39AM

1. Montana
2. Elway
3. Brady
4. Manning
5. Unitas

Tabe · January 20, 2014 8:28AM

<< I'm not sure about QB's, but my all time, my all time list of cornerbacks is:

1 Richard Sherman
2 all the rest

Oh wait, or is that my all time D bag list instead? >>

Yeah, clearly he should rank ahead of Aaron Hernandez, Rae Carruth, Ray Lewis, Marvin Harrison, Mark Chmura, Nate Newton, Warren Moon, Lawrence Phillips, Donte Stallworth or Josh Brent on the all-time d-bag list.

vols1 · January 20, 2014 9:42AM

<< 

<< These are your big game winners
1. montana- he's won 4 SB plus a National Championship in college
2.brady-Won 3 SB and came close to two more

the rest
3.brees-won a SB and he's had better stats than manning since joing the leage
4.manning-won a SB and great regular season stats
5.young-3rd highest rated passer all time plus a SB winner >>

If you based it all on winning then Terry Bradshaw 4- 0 would have to be listed. >>

If I based it all on winning percentage then I would have listed Daryle Lamonica

TOP QB's of all time

Comments