Top 5 quarterbacks all time

[Clayton]

Talent-wise he's one of the best ever. Like Peyton he's suffered from a lack of surrounding talent and organizational stability.

Rivers got to grow into a great team and then it crumbled around him. Gates and Tomlinson were some of the scariest players in the league at one point. The book on Rivers isn't done yet

 

[HammerDown]

Big deal. Trent Dilfer could have won with that team.

Circular arguments on here...

But he didn't.

I know what you're trying to do and it won't work because Brady, despite what everyone likes to pretend, doesn't have the rings to back up the hype.

 

[MrMoJoRisin63]

Got it. That's why in 1960 teams averaged a whopping 170/yds per game passing. Can you imagine if teams were able to be that successful throwing the ball in today's game?

Wow, thanks for making the point for me. The fact that it was a run heavy league fully supports what I was saying. Defensive were built to stop the run and the run was still the priority. When teams started targeting faster / quicker WRs it opened up the passing game targeting guys was easy no one could run with them. It was still a run first league then but the transition to faster / quicker players started on offense to exploit lumbering defenses. Teams still ran quite a bit but passing then was indeed easier.

 

[Wazmankg]

I know exactly what I am talking about and I do not agree with your assesment. Offensive players were more gifted athletes back in the day, colleges were interested in scoring lots of points and targeted faster athletic guys to play offense to accomdate that. Defenses didn't really catch up until the late 70s or so. Becauase WRs were faster and more athletic coaches exploited slower defenses. I know I watched it.

Yeah, so did I, since around '64. Now you made me let everyone know how old I am. Coaches sought the skill set required for the position. The rules dictated what those skill sets were. A Randy Moss type would have had trouble getting off the LOS back then. If it was easier to pass back then, they would have done so and the stats would reflect that. They don't. It was because of the rules in place at the time. Why do you think they changed them ? I think you're way off base here. I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree.

 

[Money]

Wow, thanks for making the point for me. The fact that it was a run heavy league fully supports what I was saying. Defensive were built to stop the run and the run was still the priority. When teams started targeting faster / quicker WRs it opened up the passing game targeting guys was easy no one could run with them. It was still a run first league then but the transition to faster / quicker players started on offense to exploit lumbering defenses. Teams still ran quite a bit but passing then was indeed easier.

All the rules back then favored the defense in the passing game, but somehow it was easier to pass? Of course nobody did it, but it was easier. I guess your point is that coaches were idiots back then. It was much easier to pass, but they just blindly chose to keep running the ball...

 

[sooner4life130]

1: Manning
2: Montana
3: Marino
4: Brady
5: Aikman- If Aikman was in an offense like Marino in the 90's then he would have beaten just as many records.

 

[PackMaster]

Montana
Brady
Elway
Manning
Favre

 

[The Derski]

Elway was good, but not top 5 good. IMO Elway is overrated. He never once threw more than 27 TDs in a season and had double digit INT's every season of his career. Definitely not top 5.

 

[Wazmankg]

1: Manning
2: Montana
3: Marino
4: Brady
5: Aikman- If Aikman was in an offense like Marino in the 90's then he would have beaten just as many records.

You must be kidding. This is like one of those "which one doesn't belong" questions I used to see on tests in school... a very easy one.

 

[MrMoJoRisin63]

All the rules back then favored the defense in the passing game, but somehow it was easier to pass? Of course nobody did it, but it was easier. I guess your point is that coaches were idiots back then. It was much easier to pass, but they just blindly chose to keep running the ball...

It was blindly the league was in transition it was still a run heavy league. Look I am not going to keep arguing it. Believe what you want matters little to me.

 

[sooner4life130]

Elway was good, but not top 5 good. IMO Elway is overrated. He never once threw more than 27 TDs in a season and had double digit INT's every season of his career. Definitely not top 5.

Elway never really had great wr's either. From my memory his best from his career was Rod Smith and Ed McCaffrey. The offense wasn't like the Dolphins of his time where Marino is running a passing offense and having someone in single coverage every play. Elway was very good and probably would have had better success statistically if he were in a better scheme. That's why I find it funny when people compare qb's today to 90's qb's and say they're better now. The game has changed and the spread offense is widely used now which inflates stats.

 

[sooner4life130]

You must be kidding. This is like one of those "which one doesn't belong" questions I used to see on tests in school... a very easy one.

I'm guessing you're young. Troy Aikman was a great QB and clearly you didn't watch him play.

No Aikman, no 90's Cowboys dynasty.

 

[Clayton]

I'm guessing you're young. Troy Aikman was a great QB and clearly you didn't watch him play.

No Aikman, no 90's Cowboys dynasty.

He was good but he had a top 5 running back of all time, the best offensive line of all time and one of the better WRs at the time. There are at least 10 QBs playing right now that could lead that Cowboys team to a dynasty

 

[blstoker]

Otto Graham
Joe Montana
Sammy Baugh
Tom Brady
Roger Staubach

 

[sooner4life130]

He was good but he had a top 5 running back of all time, the best offensive line of all time and one of the better WRs at the time. There are at least 10 QBs playing right now that could lead that Cowboys team to a dynasty

I understand what you're saying but that doesnt change the fact that he was one of the greats. You could put Aikman on the Rams/Jaguars/Browns and they're contending for a super bowl.

Also, again the game was diferent. Aikmans stats would be like just Manning's and Brees's if he were on their team right now.

 

[blstoker]

I understand what you're saying but that doesnt change the fact that he was one of the greats. You could put Aikman on the Rams/Jaguars/Browns and they're contending for a super bowl.

Also, again the game was diferent. Aikmans stats would be like just Manning's and Brees's if he were on their team right now.

That's incorrect. Even adjusting for era, Aikman's stats are barely top 40 all time. That doesn't mean he's a bad QB, just that the Cowboys didn't rely as heavily on the pass as other teams of the time.

 

[Wazmankg]

I'm guessing you're young. Troy Aikman was a great QB and clearly you didn't watch him play.

No Aikman, no 90's Cowboys dynasty.

I'm probably older than you are and I saw plenty of their games. Those Boys teams had one of the greatest collections of talent on both sides of the ball in the history of the game. Several of his peers could have won it all with that group. Aikman was decent but he's not even close to top 5 all-time. I don't know if he's top 5 amongst his peers. Young, Elway, Favre, Marino, Kelly, Moon ... nope he doesn't even crack that top 5.

 

[packerzrule]

in my lifetime and in no particular order

Unitas
Montana
Favre
Marino
Moon

 

[sooner4life130]

That's incorrect. Even adjusting for era, Aikman's stats are barely top 40 all time. That doesn't mean he's a bad QB, just that the Cowboys didn't rely as heavily on the pass as other teams of the time.

That's exactly my point. Aikman from my memory he played mostly out of running formations. You're right, his stats aren't going to look stellar but that's because like you said, they didn't rely heavily on the passing game. When you have Emmit Smith you don't have to throw it 40 times. I think i saw once he averaged about 25 or less a game. Again, I personally think Aikman if in a spread offense today would have stats like Brady, Manning and Brees.

 

[cwood]

Elway wasn't top 3 in any decade he played in. I always wonder why he gets ranked so highly.