sports Who Is The Greatest Nfl Quarterback Of All Time?

W_L · January 23, 2017

This topic can get heated and vitriolic as a topic from the Pit, but for diehard fans of the sport of American Football, it's a long debate.

Personally being a Bostonian, I would vote Tom Brady No surprise there

He has just got his 7th AFC title today, 7 appearance in Super Bowl (winning 4, hopeful this is his 5th and he will beat the others), and finally he's surpassed touchdown records to the nearest contender, late Joe Montana, by double digits.

Yeah, I know many people hate my home team, because we keep winning and you blame us for everything from an electrical problem to a taped recording (uh don't all players and coaches watch those anyway nowadays) to the air within a football but honestly even when you put a million limitations and even suspend Brady for 4 games, we sill made it to the Super Bowl.

Let's have a fun sports debate, I am more than willing to throw down with other people on QB's from Rodgers to Manning (either brother) and we can have fun duels on their abilities and stats.

Here's my top 5 rankings:

1. Tom Brady

2. Joe Montana

3. John Elway

4. Brett Favre

5. Peyton Manning

I know I am missing Terry Bradshaw, but I never saw him play.

Graeme · January 23, 2017

You don't think that Deflategate hurts Tom Brady's status?

For me, unfortunately most quarterbacks I've read about didn't make it to the NFL (though a lot of them got their guy by the time I finished reading ).

W_L · January 24, 2017

You don't think that Deflategate hurts Tom Brady's status?

For me, unfortunately most quarterbacks I've read about didn't make it to the NFL (though a lot of them got their guy by the time I finished reading ).

That reminds me of a scene from a locker room....

Deflategate is overblown mess, like spygate, and all the other stuff people have been blaming us for over the last 10 years.

This season, we got handicapped and still made it to the Super Bowl, what does that say about Brady's abilities?

It's time people respect greatness, but as a famous TV show would say:

Greatness is never appreciated in youth, called pride in midlife, dismissed in old age and reconsidered in death. Because we cannot tolerate greatness in our midst we do all that we can to destroy it.

The resident Shadow kitty knows what I mean

JamesSavik · January 24, 2017

Brady is great but I saw Montana play.

I vote for Joe Cool. He didn't go as often as Brady but he didn't have the team and system around him that Belichick built.

W_L · January 24, 2017

I know I've heard about "the Catch":

https://youtu.be/14CKs0rY0jE

Daddydavek · January 24, 2017

There have been many great quarter backs I've had the pleasure to watch over the past sixty years. I think the best QB of their eras is a better way of thinking about it.

Johnny Unitas was perhaps the first greatest QB

Fran Tarkenton set the standard for being the first truly mobile QB

Dan Marino was the greatest pure passer

Steve Young set the table for:

Joe Montana who eventually won four super bowls

Brett Favre was a god in Green Bay

Peyton Manning was great in Indy and then again in Denver

John Elway was and remains a legend in Denver.

Tom Brady will cement his credentials as the greatest of the current era if he wins the Superbowl this year.

And yes I left off Terry Bradshaw. He was an important part of a great franchise for several years, but it was always a team win and perhaps that says more about what the sport has become than anything....

W_L · January 25, 2017

There have been many great quarter backs I've had the pleasure to watch over the past sixty years. I think the best QB of their eras is a better way of thinking about it.

Johnny Unitas was perhaps the first greatest QB

Fran Tarkenton set the standard for being the first truly mobile QB

Dan Marino was the greatest pure passer

Steve Young set the table for:

Joe Montana who eventually won four super bowls

Brett Favre was a god in Green Bay

Peyton Manning was great in Indy and then again in Denver

John Elway was and remains a legend in Denver.

Tom Brady will cement his credentials as the greatest of the current era if he wins the Superbowl this year.

And yes I left off Terry Bradshaw. He was an important part of a great franchise for several years, but it was always a team win and perhaps that says more about what the sport has become than anything....

Well, Bradshaw doesn't seem to have much of a fan base

If you think running back ball sharing in the modern league is nuts (Falcons got Tevin Coleman and Devonte Freeman, both good RBs but it's hard to share screen time), try quarterback ball sharing:

Steve Young and Joe Montana were bitter rivals and best friends:

Edited January 25, 2017 by W_L

Daddydavek · February 6, 2017

The greatest comeback in postseason history cements Brady as the greatest quarterback of all time with FIVE superbowl wins.

While I can't say I was rooting for him, I cannot deny his talent.

W_L · February 6, 2017

The greatest comeback in postseason history cements Brady as the greatest quarterback of all time with FIVE superbowl wins.

While I can't say I was rooting for him, I cannot deny his talent.

Thank you, now I need to convert the rest of you guys to accept Brady's Dominance

JamesSavik · February 6, 2017

Brady just put himself in the top 5.

Montana was a joy to watch in his prime but he never had the teams around him that Belichick has built.

W_L · February 6, 2017

Brady just put himself in the top 5.

Montana was a joy to watch in his prime but he never had the teams around him that Belichick has built.

Well, you might have seen Brady at one of those games, the little kid staring at you in warpaint

Tom Brady was a 49ers fan as a kid too, Joe cool would be proud that he inspired his successor

Personaly though, I want Mattie Ice to come to Boston, he's too good of a QB to be stuck in Atlanta

Edited February 6, 2017 by W_L

JamesSavik · February 6, 2017

Atlanta is going to be a farce to be reckoned with if they can keep their roster from falling apart in free agency.

We (New Orleans) play them twice a year in a grudge match so we know them well.

That rep for choking in big games goes back a long way.

W_L · February 7, 2017

So, are you ready to call Tom Brady the G.O.A.T

https://youtu.be/NytrhQ1W2Cc

Was Super Bowl 51, Brady's Michael Jordan Moment?

BabyXander1990 · June 23, 2018

On 1/22/2017 at 11:57 PM, W_L said:

This topic can get heated and vitriolic as a topic from the Pit, but for diehard fans of the sport of American Football, it's a long debate.

Personally being a Bostonian, I would vote Tom Brady No surprise there

He has just got his 7th AFC title today, 7 appearance in Super Bowl (winning 4, hopeful this is his 5th and he will beat the others), and finally he's surpassed touchdown records to the nearest contender, late Joe Montana, by double digits.

Yeah, I know many people hate my home team, because we keep winning and you blame us for everything from an electrical problem to a taped recording (uh don't all players and coaches watch those anyway nowadays) to the air within a football but honestly even when you put a million limitations and even suspend Brady for 4 games, we sill made it to the Super Bowl.

Let's have a fun sports debate, I am more than willing to throw down with other people on QB's from Rodgers to Manning (either brother) and we can have fun duels on their abilities and stats.

Here's my top 5 rankings:

1. Tom Brady

2. Joe Montana

3. John Elway

4. Brett Favre

5. Peyton Manning

I know I am missing Terry Bradshaw, but I never saw him play.

Really you can't compare some of the old QBs to today's QBs. ad told me the Sid Lujack (who played in the 40s), Bart Starr (60s), Joe Namath (60s), John Unitas(60s) were great players and if you took Brady or Rodgers and put them in the 40s...they might not be as good...

W_L · June 23, 2018

11 hours ago, BabyXander1990 said:

Really you can't compare some of the old QBs to today's QBs. ad told me the Sid Lujack (who played in the 40s), Bart Starr (60s), Joe Namath (60s), John Unitas(60s) were great players and if you took Brady or Rodgers and put them in the 40s...they might not be as good...

We could break it into two eras:

Pre-Super Bowl Era and Post-Super Bowl era as the benchmark.

I named them based on guys I've seen in action, even though Elway was getting passed his prime when I was watching football, he did play well by the 90's standards.

The older players like Bradshaw and Starr played with different rules, the lateral pass rules were different in their era along with overall strategy, i.e. West Coast Offense

Of course we can all agree on one thing, Dallas Cowboys are probably the worst managed team in the modern era (Browns and Lions may give them competition, but beyond the brand, they can take gold and turn it into dirt in a season).

TetRefine · June 30, 2018

Anybody who doesn't say Tom Brady isn't being objective. He is the GOAT.

methodwriter85 · July 4, 2018

On 6/30/2018 at 5:29 PM, TetRefine said:

Anybody who doesn't say Tom Brady isn't being objective. He is the GOAT.

True, but he doesn't always bring his A-game to every Super Bowl, and thank god he didn't bring it to the most recent one.

And Napoleon Dynamite may only ever be second string, but this moment is always going to make me smile:

TetRefine · July 4, 2018

15 hours ago, methodwriter85 said:

True, but he doesn't always bring his A-game to every Super Bowl, and thank god he didn't bring it to the most recent one.

Jeremy, he had 5 Super Bowl rings already, and is playing as well at 39 as he was at 29. What happened this year is a moot point. He is, undisputedly, the Greatest Of All Time.

Edited July 4, 2018 by TetRefine

methodwriter85 · July 6, 2018

I didn't dispute him being GOAT. I'm just glad he didn't pull off a win in this year's Super Bowl.

Edited July 6, 2018 by methodwriter85

Enoch · August 12, 2018

Roger Staubach was a pretty good qb in his time, but Manning was probably the best considering the talent he had around him every year. However, if it's based on Superbowl wins, of course Brady is the man.

Rakuten06 · August 27, 2018

On 6/22/2018 at 10:50 PM, BabyXander1990 said:

Really you can't compare some of the old QBs to today's QBs. ad told me the Sid Lujack (who played in the 40s), Bart Starr (60s), Joe Namath (60s), John Unitas(60s) were great players and if you took Brady or Rodgers and put them in the 40s...they might not be as good...

I actually agree with Xander, it's too difficult to say who is the greatest QB of all time. And I'm a stats guy, so I don't want to delve into stats just to say "ah! ____ is the greatest QB of all time". For example, Brett Favre's "Ironman streak" is still yet to be broken (297 consecutive starts) made him one of the all-time greats at the position (I didn't say Top 5 ) in a similar vein as Cal Ripken Jr's in MLB.

If you want to count SB rings, then Brady is that guy to be the greatest NFL QB of all time (5 SB rings) but if you want to include pre-Super Bowl periods, did you know he actually tied Bart Starr for the most NFL championships (Starr won 3 NFL championships then 2 Super Bowl titles) in the history of American football.

So like I said, it's difficult to see and say "ah! we have the greatest QB of all time" but it's easier to say that there would be one for each era as it comes.

Jdonley75 · September 4, 2018

*sigh*

Never changes that someone starts this topic and immediately goes right to Brady without really looking at the stats. Career Average passer rating is 97.6. Not bad.

Aaron Rodgers is 103.8

Peyton Manning is 96.5

Drew Brees is 96.7

All of those are pretty good, Brady is about in the middle of some prime 21st century quarterbacks.

Here's the thing, though. It's not just him doing it. It's the coaching and the other players making him look great. You can argue he's made some impressive passes in the past. I can also point out a few horrible moments of his like when he got a safety in the opening of Super Bowl XLVI and they lost that one and the Super Bowl before that XLII both times to the Giants. If not for a stupid call by Seattle in Super Bowl XLIX, he would be sitting at .500 on Super Bowl Wins. And that's taking into account New England going through receivers at a seemingly faster rate than most serious playoff contenders in the last two decades.

I'm not saying Brady is good at what he does. He is, there's no doubt. But it's the New England system that makes him look good, not the other way around. In 2008 when he tore his ACL on the first game of the season, Matt Cassel took over under center and he ended the season 11-5 and a passer rating of 89.4 which if you take into account his dad dying that December, is pretty good overall.

Put all of that together and add in all the shady business going in with the Patriots and Gillette Stadium (even someone as universally respected as Tony Dungy said he never had team meetings in the locker room because he knew they were bugged at New England) and it diminishes Brady overall to maybe top 5 or top 10 but he should never be number 1.

There's my $0.02.

Now, if we're gonna ask who's the best coach in the NFL, then absolutely, Bill Belichick wins, hands down.

And this is coming from an Indy fan.

W_L · December 31, 2018

On 9/3/2018 at 10:17 PM, Jdonley75 said:

*sigh*

Never changes that someone starts this topic and immediately goes right to Brady without really looking at the stats. Career Average passer rating is 97.6. Not bad.

Aaron Rodgers is 103.8

Peyton Manning is 96.5

Drew Brees is 96.7

All of those are pretty good, Brady is about in the middle of some prime 21st century quarterbacks.

Here's the thing, though. It's not just him doing it. It's the coaching and the other players making him look great. You can argue he's made some impressive passes in the past. I can also point out a few horrible moments of his like when he got a safety in the opening of Super Bowl XLVI and they lost that one and the Super Bowl before that XLII both times to the Giants. If not for a stupid call by Seattle in Super Bowl XLIX, he would be sitting at .500 on Super Bowl Wins. And that's taking into account New England going through receivers at a seemingly faster rate than most serious playoff contenders in the last two decades.

I'm not saying Brady is good at what he does. He is, there's no doubt. But it's the New England system that makes him look good, not the other way around. In 2008 when he tore his ACL on the first game of the season, Matt Cassel took over under center and he ended the season 11-5 and a passer rating of 89.4 which if you take into account his dad dying that December, is pretty good overall.

Put all of that together and add in all the shady business going in with the Patriots and Gillette Stadium (even someone as universally respected as Tony Dungy said he never had team meetings in the locker room because he knew they were bugged at New England) and it diminishes Brady overall to maybe top 5 or top 10 but he should never be number 1.

There's my $0.02.

Now, if we're gonna ask who's the best coach in the NFL, then absolutely, Bill Belichick wins, hands down.

And this is coming from an Indy fan.

Congrats by the way on making the playoffs this year with a healthy Andrew Luck

In football, stats make up part of the equation, passer rating is great for normal career reviews if we're talking about efficiency. Efficiency is a fine traditional measure, but there's more to QB than passing

However, if you are talking about win rate, Tom Brady is the top QB of all time with 205 wins in regular season, 27 wins in playoffs, in total 232 wins versus Mannings 205 prior to retirement with both Colts and Broncos combined.

Also both Drew Brees (Also really big of and hopes Saints win the NFC) and Tom Brady are getting really close to beating Peyton Manning's Touchdown record. After another season, they should both be able to overtake Manning.

Beyond statistics, there's the intangible quality of Tom Brady as the "comeback kid", he is able to trail against strong opposing defenses, then rise to the occasion and rally not only himself, but his entire team. Super Bowl 51 was not the 1st time the Patriots trailed badly only to win in the end.

W_L · January 21, 2019

@Jdonley75

Well, Patriots are now in 9 Super Bowls under Tom Brady

It wasn't a perfect AFC championship game, 1st half was played efficiently, but 2nd half was haphazard with Brady getting a few turnovers against him

Krista · January 26, 2019

I do think Tom Brady is the best modern quarterback surrounded by a lot of top talent money could buy.

As for the best NFL Quarterback - ever, I wouldn't go that far, but still you cannot leave him out of that conversation regardless of anything surrounding his career. I am too young and too... not in the loop with the NFL. I personally think Peyton was a purer quarterback, so I would lean towards him - maybe because out of all the quarterbacks I've watched in my limited experience with watching the league I've saw him play the most.

Aaron Rogers gets my vote for best looking though.

Sign In

sports Who Is The Greatest Nfl Quarterback Of All Time?

Recommended Posts

Create an account or sign in to comment

Create an account

Sign in

Similar Content