Who are the top five QBs of all time?

[Chandler#81]

Bart Starr -flawless

Johnny U- fearless and a 47 straight game passing TD WAY before modern era

Slingin' Sammy Baugh- revolutionized the game

Len Dawson- master of a forward thinking game

Dan Fouts- unstoppable

Manning- the Student

Marino- sterling

Namath- forced the merger

 

<grumble grumble..> Brady

[SRQ_BillsFan]

No even I cant put him in top 5 but I will fight tooth and nail against anyone saying not top 10. He started the no huddle everyone today wants to run and no QB will EVER turn around a city, team like he did and lead his team to 4 straight superbowls.

 

 

Live near Tampa and was surprised when this conversation came up on local radio yesterday both hosts said they thought Kelly was better than Marino and Elway.

 

 

[papazoid]

#1- Montana

#2- Brady

#3- Manning

#4- Otto Graham

#5- Elway

[mrags]

Brady

Montana

Manning

Elway

 

Probably in that order.

 

Farve ruined his legacy IMO by his retirement games every year.

 

Bradshaw could be up there. He has won 4. But it was a different time and a different game.

 

Marino could be up there but the man was far from clutch at the most important times. On a more balanced team he probably wins 1-3.

[Pete]

IMO Johnny U and Peyton are the two greatest.

 

I put Archie in the top 5 too. Pretty remarkable what he did with no oline, no RBs, no WR. He was tough, mobile, smart, and had a cannon arm

[Gugny]

 

And to be fair, Tom Brady has not had much success throwing to the likes of Edleman and Dobson.....Brady has had a pretty average season this year. Their running game has simply kicked into a different gear.

61%. 25TD. 11 INT. 4300 yards.

 

That defines success. And well above pretty average.

[EasternOHBillsFan]

In this order:

 

Johnny Unitas

Peyton Manning

John Elway

Joe Montana

Dan Marino

Edited January 15, 2014 by BmoreBills

[KOKBILLS]

Montana

Elway

Manning

Brady

 

By the time it's all said and done I think Brees will be next...

[Gugny]

 

61%. 25TD. 11 INT. 4300 yards.

 

That defines success. And well above pretty average.

Not to mention, Edelman has over 1000 rec yards and Dobson, over 500. Oh. And they are in the AFC Championship.

[Dean Cain]

Generation 1: Sammy Baugh invented the forward pass

Generation 2: Otto Graham dominated his era

Generation 3: Johnny Unitas reinvented the forward pass

Generation 4: Joe Montana dominated his era

Generation 5: Peyton Manning reinvented the forward pass

[DC Tom]

Generation 1: Sammy Baugh invented the forward pass

Generation 2: Otto Graham dominated his era

Generation 3: Johnny Unitas reinvented the forward pass

Generation 4: Joe Montana dominated his era

Generation 5: Peyton Manning reinvented the forward pass

 

Peyton Manning didn't reinvent the forward pass. But he did invent reinvent the audible.

 

"OMAHA!" [/Chargers jump offsides]

[EasternOHBillsFan]

I was shocked to see how Steve Young and Kurt Warner were so similar in career stats average! Young had 44 more games on Warner.

 

http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/Y/YounSt00.htm

 

http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/W/WarnKu00.htm

[Formerly Allan in MD]

I don't think u can put otto or johhny u on this list.. best qbs of their era yes but of all time? no way.. put either of them on the broncos rite now and they're probably not even in the playoffs. also if aaron rodgers was on those browns teams they probably would have won all 10

You have got to be kidding about Johnny U. or you never or rarely saw him play. I'd take him over any of the others. And Graham was brilliant in his own way.

 

Brady

Montana

Manning

Elway

 

Probably in that order.

 

Farve ruined his legacy IMO by his retirement games every year.

 

Bradshaw could be up there. He has won 4. But it was a different time and a different game.

 

Marino could be up there but the man was far from clutch at the most important times. On a more balanced team he probably wins 1-3.

You obviously never saw Unitas play, game after game.

[Dibs]

I remeber the same conversation about 20 years ago(not on the internet of course), and there was just as much debate back then as there is now. I think a top 10 list would be more appropriate for today.

[bbb]

I remeber the same conversation about 20 years ago(not on the internet of course), and there was just as much debate back then as there is now. I think a top 10 list would be more appropriate for today.

 

The reason I asked for 5 is that I'm wondering how historic Sunday's matchup is. Two top five all time QBs facing each other for the rubber match of AFC Championships.

[Utah John]

In 10 years time, the top three QBs of all time will all have been Colts, and the question will be what order do you put Unitas, Manning, and Luck on your list. By then, Manning will have won at least one more SB with the Broncos, and Luck will have won three.

 

It ain't fair, I tell ya.

 

My list of top non-Colt QBs is

-- Marino

-- Montana

-- Brady

-- Brees

-- Favre (I don't care if he kept playing too long, he was amazing for a long time)

-- Elway

 

I don't put Warner on the list because he wasn't amazing for very long. I might put Kelly on the list but I have a hard time evaluating him against the others because I saw him play much more and make more mistakes. Also the Bills offense was really stacked, as was the 49ers offense when Montana played.

 

Steve Young didn't start long enough in the NFL.

Bradshaw? To quote Hollywood Henderson, Bradshaw is so dumb he couldn't spell cat if you spotted him the c and the a.

Fouts? I wouldn't object but won't advocate for him. Didn't see him enough.

Y.A. Tittle was great for his day too but I don't know if he'd make it now. Same with Sammy Baugh.

 

NOT: Staubach, Aikman, Bledsoe, Starr, Stabler, Lamonica, Tarkenton, though you can probably find advocates for all of them.

Edited January 15, 2014 by Utah John

[GunnerBill]

I can only really talk about the last 10-12 years with any authority.... but I love watching the America's Game shows and the Football Life shows and learning more about the history of the game... and learning about guys like Unitas, Starr, Staubach etc...

 

For what it's worth (not much) but just so I don't feel left out.... If I had to rank the top 5 from my time watching the NFL it would be:

 

1. Brady

2. P. Manning

3. Warner

4. Brees

5. Rodgers

 

Brady and Manning are almost certainly first ballot HoF'ers... I think Warner will make the HoF, I think Rodgers and Brees will also... another Superbowl appearance wouldn't hurt either of their chances, especially with those NFC defenses they'd have to beat nowadays to get there.

Edited January 15, 2014 by GunnerBill

[xsoldier54]

How about Joe Willie Namath. He dominated his era and so far I haven't even seen a mention. He could flat out sling it. And his win in the SB gave the AFC the credibility that led to the merger.

[Dorkington]

I can't possibly do a top 5 all time. I never had a chance to watch some of the older greats, and highlight packages tend to paint things with rose colored glasses.

 

So for *my* history, in no particular order, I'm going with:

 

Manning

Brady

Montana

Marino

Young

 

Honorable mentions: Kelly, Moon, Favre, Brees, Rodgers... and I know I'm forgetting a couple...

Edited January 15, 2014 by Dorkington

[RyanC883]

You suck up!

 

j/k

 

I actually do think Kelly belongs in the top 10 conversation for the exact reason you state. I tend to downgrade him on account of homerism though...

 

I would say Kelly gets unfairly downgraded here because of fears that we are "homers," and elsewhere because he never won a Super Bowl. But because he started the "hurry up" offense that is used by everyone now, I think he belongs in the conversation. Also, any other QB get to 4 straight Super Bowls. NOPE. Winning a conference is very hard to do, I think that gets overlooked when discussing Kelly.

 

Here is my list: (no particular order).

 

Manning: okay, he would actually be my top QB. A QB that has been great on two different teams. There are not a lot of QB's that can claim to have accomplished that. Also suffered a terrible neck injury, and came back even better.

 

Montana: a great QB, but also played on a great team when he put up seller numbers. Was not the same QB on KC. That aside, most "great QB's" did all their damage on one team and had great players around them.

 

Johnny U: Put up numbers in his day that would be competitive today. Enough said.

 

Rodgers: A bit premature at this time, perhaps, but when all is said and done he will be a top 5 QB. So I jumped the gun and put him in here now. Look at Green Bay with and without him. And he didn't have Eddy Lacy or any top RB his first few years of dominance. He could challenge Manning's records with a healthy Lacy and a top WR.

 

Kelly: Inventor of the hurry-up offense. Great under pressure. Perhaps the toughest QB to ever play the game. He often blocked for the RB's. And clutch at the end of the game.

 

Notable omissions/close

 

Brady: Could be in the top 5, but I still think he is a "system" QB. Put him on the Bills, or Steelers and I don't think he performs at a top 10 level. There is no way to really know. That said, I don't think anyone could execute the Pats system with the efficiency he does, with the exception of the next QB:

 

Marino: Great QB, never had a great RB. Perhaps unfairly discounted because he never won a SB like Rodgers. Had he had a power running game, and not had the Bills in the way, he could jump to top 5.

 

Farve: A great all time QB, who was great on multiple teams. However, way too many INT's, and way too many of them came at inopportune times in games.

Edited January 15, 2014 by RyanC883