Best Quarterbacks of All Time

The greatest of all time is always a fun debate to have in any sport. The problem is that the discussion surrounding the "best ever" in hockey, basketball, and baseball can feel pointless. There is no argument needed for hockey (regardless of whatever nonsense Dave Dameshek spits about Mario Lemeiux) or basketball. Baseball is impossible to dissect simply because the game has been around for so long and has seen so many different competitive eras (13 of the top 15 single season WARs are from the 1880's). Football has the only real competitive race for the G.O.A.T. but we have to discuss it based on position. Why? Well answer this question for me. Who was better, Jim Brown or Dick Butkus?

Before we get into it, let's go over the rating criteria I use for quarterbacks. Overall stats can paint a nice picture but they don't get into the nitty gritty that defines quarterbacks. When assessing a quarterback's career I look at their playoff record, how many game winning drives they engineered in those playoff games, and their peak value (meaning that if two quarterbacks are equal, whomever had the best 3-5 year stretch gets the edge over the other). Our music selection today comes from Jurassic Five as I share their responsibility of "quality control" in this post. Vamos!

10. Warren Moon
Playoff record: 3-7 (2 game-winning drives)
Best 4 year run (average year): 62% Completion, 3,883 yds, 24 TD 15 Int
Warren Moon was a wildly under-appreciated quarterback during his time. He was efficient and always gave his team a chance to win. I don't know why he was never properly given his due, perhaps it is a mix of his lack of Super Bowl appearances and the fact that America was still figuring out what "reasonable force" meant when police are dealing with African Americans. America was not ready for a superstar black quarterback in 1991.

9. Dan Fouts
Playoff record: 3-4 (3 game winning drives)
Best 4 year run: 60.4 % Completion, 4,120 yds, 26 TD 19 Int
Fouts eeks out a spot ahead of Moon because all of his playoff wins occurred when Fouts drove the Chargers down for the winning score. I feel sorry for Dan Fouts. He and June Jones must watch today's NFL and weep since they undoubtedly think that Fouts could pass for 6,000 yards in today's game.

8. Brett Favre
Playoff record: 13-11 (2 game winning drives)
Best 4 year run: 61.3 % Completion, 4,098 yds, 36 TD 16 Int
Given the public's opinion on Brett Favre, you're probably outraged at this rating. Either he isn't high enough or you can't believe that overrated, dick-texting asshole who won't get off my television even though he's retired 7,000 times is anywhere near the top ten. Needless to say, Favre is polarizing. His consecutive games played streak is very impressive, but the people who celebrate Favre tend to pay attention to the first half of his career and not the second which is devoid of Super Bowls and MVPs. It also must be pointed out that Favre's "winner" tag takes a bit of a hit when you remember that Brad Johnson has as many rings and a better record (1-0) in Super Bowls than Favre (1-1).

7. Johnny Unitas
Playoff Record: 6-2 (2 game winning drives)
Best 4 year run: 52.8 % Completion, 2,639 yds, 25 TD 15 Int
If you just want to compare quarterbacks by looking at stats, Unitas probably doesn't sniff your list. The problem is that not all stats are equal and context is important. While these numbers may not seem so impressive in today's NFL, Unitas' peak occurred in the late 50's when NFL offenses made Georgia Tech and Navy look like pass happy outfits. While old greats like Y.A. Tittle introduced the downfield pass to the NFL, Unitas did something much more important: he made it a mainstay. Introduction is nice, but I don't think people are celebrating Tony Sparano for introducing the wildcat to the NFL in the same way. A lot of people will say Unitas is too low but he gets penalized for his anemic Super Bowl performances (110 yards in Super Bowl III and 88 yards in Super Bowl V with 75 yards coming on one TD pass).


6. Steve Young
Playoff Record: 8-6 (1 game winning drive)
Best 4 year run: 68% Completion, 3,664 yds, 27 TD 11 Int. 372 yds rushing, 5.7 YPC, 4 TD
Here's another guy who I feel never fully got his due. Following Joe Montana certainly did not help to put his career in its proper context but Young was easily one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time. 68% completion??? That's insane. He also was the greatest running quarterback of all time until Michael Vick stepped on to the scene.

5. Peyton Manning
Playoff Record: 9-10 (1 game winning drive)
Best 4 year run: 66.7% Completion, 4,242 yards, 34 TD 10 Int
Is Peyton Manning a playoff choker? Not necessarily. Does he lack a lot of playoff moments where he stepped up and carried his team to victory? Absolutely. Peyton is the Wilt Chamberlain of the NFL. If he recovers from this neck injury and returns to the field he will likely end up with most major passing records. While I try not to penalize too much for lack of Super Bowl rings (because while you pretty much need an elite quarterback to win the Super Bowl these days, winning Super Bowls is not the only benchmark for elite quarterbacks); Peyton cannot hang with the guys ahead of him simply because while his regular season stats are quite possibly the best of all time, his playoff performances are underwhelming.

4. Dan Marino
Playoff Record: 8-10 (4 game winning drives)
Best 4 year run: 60.9 % Completion, 4,303 yards, 37 TD 18 Int
If Peyton Manning is Wilt Chamberlain then Dan Marino is Pete Maravich: someone who put up some incredible numbers and who you absolutely wanted to have the ball at the most important point in the season but for some reason could never reach the mountaintop. Some of my earliest memories as a child are being absolutely terrified of this guy watching him answer John Elway touchdown for touchdown in big games. If Marino had the same bling as Steve Young he might be the greatest ever.

3. Tom Brady
Playoff Record: 16-6 (6 game winning drives)
Best 4 year run: 65.6 % Completion, 4,159 yards, 35 TD 9 Int
I started writing this post before the 2012 playoffs and had Brady ranked second. I began his section by writing

The only reason he's #2 here is because he's still playing. Give him one or two more years (maybe another ring) and it will be very difficult to argue against Tom Brady being the greatest quarterback of all time.

Brady's legacy took a bit of a hit in this last Super Bowl, but it also forced me to look back at his total resume and there are many more warts than I initially thought. Since winning his last Super Bowl eight years ago, Brady has posted a QB rating of 90 or higher in only four of twelve playoff games and has a 21-17 touchdown to interception ratio (taking out the massacre against Denver this year). Brady's invincibility took a hit but that does not mean he still is not one of the all time greats. In the past four seasons (discounting the one season where he played 8 minutes before Bernard Pollard blew up his knee) Brady has posted two of the greatest seasons in NFL history (50 TD and 8 Int in 2007-2008 and 36 TD and 4 Int in 2010-2011). He has played with five diferrent #1 receivers and three different offensive coordinators over his career. He has had a lot of turnover on offense throughout his career but he just keeps chugging along. It should be interesting to see where he lands once his career is finished.

2. Joe Montana
Playoff Record: 16-7 (5 game winning drives)
Best 4 year run: 65.6 % Completion, 3,185 yards, 25 TD 10 Int
I know what you're thinking. You idiot, Montana has four Super Bowl rings and one of the most epic game winning drives in NFL history. He's #1. He's everyone's #1. Well he's not mine and here's why. Montana was coached by the father of modern offense (Bill Walsh) and played with the greatest receiver of all time. Football is a team sport and Montana played on some of the greatest teams of all time. Drew Bledsoe could have won multiple Super Bowls with those 49er teams. This is not to discount Montana's greatness; he (along with #4, #3, and #1 on this list) is in a separate tier from every other quarterback. Montana was a great quarterback, but he had more help than any great quarterback ever. The next guy didn't.

1. John Elway
Playoff Record: 14-7 (6 game winning drives)
Best 4 year run: 61.3 % Completion, 3,704 yards, 23 TD 12 Int. 279 rush yards, 4.8 YPC, 4 TD
Before you call me an unabashed homer (which I do not deny), let me make my case. During Elway's time in Denver he had less help than everyone else in the top six. He didn't play with a Pro Bowl receiver for the first eight years of his career until Shannon Sharpe made it in 1992. Over the course of his fifteen year career, he only played with twelve pro bowlers on offense (to put this in context, the Saints and Patriots each had five this year). His two Super Bowl winning teams combined for only nine total pro bowlers. Elway also played under Dan Reeves for most of his career, a guy who subscribed to the Marty Schottenheimer school of sissy pants play-callying. In spite of all of this, Elway retired with more wins (148, an average of ten per season), fourth quarter comebacks (47, an average of three per season), and Super Bowl appearances (5) than any quarterback ever. No one, and I mean no one, did more with less over the course of his career than John Elway. That's why he is number one all time in my book.