Well hi everybody! Aaron Pew (aka Pewtie Pie) is back with his top QB’s list. He has split this in to two parts, the second part will be next week, look out for that. After that I may have a guest columnist or two compare. As usual, my thoughts will be in bold AND italics…I’m such a show off! Enjoy!
A Different Point of Pew: Quarterback Challenge
Happy Valentines Day everybody! While today is a day spent showing appreciation to the one you love, some will spend it with the other love of their life…sports. For me, I’m hammering out this blog real quick while I let my wife get some much needed sleep. I would like to thank Ryan Dineen (best bartender ever) for the super strong mixed drinks last night that allow me to write this now.
Last week we looked at each era of quarterback and the premise for an argument of “Top Quarterback of All…TIME”. This week I’m going to be ranking my list from 15 to 1.
Part of my rankings will be on personal feeling and other parts will be based on statistics/awards/accomplishments. I compared the 15 quarterbacks in 14 categories and ranked them in each category. This is the bulk of the criteria I used. After this, I tainted the numbers (haha taint) with personal opinion just to make things difficult. I don’t know what else to say, so, lets just get into it, shall we? (That’s what she said! Yes, I just set myself up for a “That’s What She Said moment”).
(That was Pew on the that’s what she said…I swear!)
Also if you missed my first blog last week, here it is in all it’s glory:
Honorable Mention: Jim Kelly
Why he should be on this list: Jim Kelly was an elite quarterback during his time with the otherwise hapless bills. Kelly started as a rookie and played for 10 elite seasons. He led the Bills to 4 consecutive Super Bowls, which is a major accomplishment. When I compared Kelly’s stats to the rest of this list, he came out to the 11th best quarterback in the bunch.
Why he didn’t make the list: Jim Kelly never won a Super Bowl, he didn’t win an MVP award, he never led the league in passing. Jim Kelly was a great quarterback, but was never the best at his position. I suppose that if he were put against Staubach, Starr, or Unitas, he would win passing drills, but he was never able to separate himself from the rest of the league. Sorry, Riggs. (Also sorry Riggs)
15. Troy Aikman
Why he is on this list: HOW ‘BOUT THEM COWBOYS! This starts and ends with a dynasty that Aikman helped to build in Dallas…a dynasty that played a big part in keeping Jim Kelly off this list.
1991 to 1996 was as dominant of a stretch of any team in history. Aikman was very efficient with the ball, as his 61% completion percentage and just 141 interceptions both rank him in the top 10 of the listed quarterbacks. To simplify it, Aikman did what he was asked to do…for the team, and he was a leader.
Why he isn’t number 1: While Aikman led a dynasty, he was never the focal point on his own team. In a generation of elite quarterbacks, I had to struggle to put him on this list ahead of Jim Kelly. Ultimately, the Super Bowls put him on this list, but he just didn’t do enough to be THE reason his teams were winning games. He threw for 165 touchdowns in his career and only topped 20 touchdowns in a season once. To put that in perspective, Peyton Manning has never thrown less than 20 touchdowns in a season and has thrown for 164 touchdowns in his last four seasons. As I referenced last week, Aikman is the best game manager of all time (take that Alex Smith). It’s just not enough to be the best quarterback of all time.
14. Roger Staubach
Why he is on this list: Staubach is the greatest Cowboy quarterback to play the game. Staubach’s heroics are remembered by any Cowboys fan that was alive to see them. He won at a 74% clip in Dallas and brought home two Lombardi trophy’s. In fact, Tom Brady is the only quarterback listed here to have a higher winning percentage. Staubach led 27 game winning drives and became known as “Captain Comeback”. Heck, he even coined the phrase Hail Mary…right after he crushed the Vikings with a last second heave to win in the playoffs.
Why he isn’t number 1: Did I mention that he crushed the Vikings in the playoffs? I wouldn’t list Gary Anderson as a number 1 kicker, either. This was worse, however. Fran Tarkenton’s dad died of a heart attack during that game. That makes Staubach a murderer (not literally people that are reading this…legal purposes and whatnot! But…)
In all seriousness, though, Staubach had a knack for last second heroics, but having that distinction was often self inflicted. He only threw for 173 yards per game and totaled just 153 Touchdowns in his career. Had he done more throughout the rest of the game, he likely wouldn’t have needed to be the hero. He’s one of seven people on this list that posted a completion percentage under 60% and his 57% ranks below all but 4 people on this list. Now, some would say that his lackluster stats are because he hasn’t played for as long as some of the other quarterbacks, but that’s part of the game…longevity.
13. Bart Starr
Why he is on this list: When you think of Bart Starr, you likely think of winning. Then again, the same thing comes to mind when somebody says Charlie Sheen (winning!).
Starr led his team to 3 NFL Championships and the 1st two Super Bowls after the merger. He was also the MVP of both. Starr was such a great leader, he is often spoken of in folklore and myth. He’s a favorite of Chris Berman and you can often hear Berman speak of Starr’s heroics in the Ice Bowl on the frozen tundra…in between the phlegm, anyways.
Why he isn’t number 1: Everybody pause in silence for a moment. Can you hear that? Yeah, that’s the sound of enraged Packer fans everywhere. “RAWR RAWR RAWR How Can Bart Starr Be Ranked So Low RAWR RAWR RAWR”? “You’re Just A Biased Vikings Fan RAWR RAWR.” In fact, I’m pretty sure Kyle Jensen just quit reading this. But let’s look at some things, shall we? Starr’s yards, yards per game, and touchdowns all rank last or second to last on this list. And to rebuttal all Packer fans, stating that stats are skewed because he played in the 50s and 60s, his winning percentage was only 61.2% in his career. Starr played with 11 Hall of Fame Players, not including himself, during the 1960’s. The Packers success during this time period was largely due to the great team, and it seems that without Lombardi, Starr didn’t have nearly the success we remember.
12. Terry Bradshaw
Why he is on this list: If there is a common theme among the QB’s listed so far, its that they all won multiple Super Bowls. Bradshaw led the best team of the 70’s and likely the most dominant team of all time. He has the most Super Bowls of all quarterbacks with a perfect 4-0 record in the big game. That was Bradshaw’s thing. He came up clutch in games that mattered the most (also baldest quarterback, by far…god I hate Bradshaw). His 14 playoff wins rank 3rd, and two of his best games came in the Super Bowl. He topped 300 yards twice in his 4 Super Bowl wins and averaged 57% completion and 233 yards in the big game.
Why he isn’t number 1: Pretty much everything else that wasn’t listed in the paragraph above. The only stats that he excelled at involved winning. Why did he win, you ask? Probably because of the steel curtain. Bradshaw completed 51% of his passes and threw more interceptions than touchdowns. Lets give this perspective. Trent Dilfer completed 55% of his passes and also threw more interceptions than touchdowns (Trent Dilfer reference!). Ouch. Winning counts for something, and that’s why Bradshaw is on this list, but he was probably the product of great teams around him rather than individual greatness.
11. Fran Tarkenton
Why he is on this list: He’s a Viking, duh. RAWR RAWR RAWR How can you list Tarkenton above Starr RAWR RAWR RAWR You’re a Homer RAWR RAWR RAWR Tarkenton’s a choker RAWR RAWR. (Just giving Packer fans a voice). Tarkenton the most unique Quarterback of his generation. He basically invented scrambling…and the waffle iron (I need a fact checker guy? What is this? Did he!?! If so Tarkenton moves up…what’s that? He DIDN’T invent the waffle iron? Damn it Pew!)
Tarkenton retired with records in Touchdowns and Yards and still holds top 10 marks all time in both categories. His 124 wins also rank 6th on the overall list and he won more than any other quarterback in his era. Tarkenton was one of the most fascinating players to watch because of the unpredictable manner in which he played the game. (I’m not really certain that he invented the waffle iron).
(Now he admits it, god I love waffles…)
Why he isn’t number 1: He’s a Viking, duh. Because he is a Viking, that means he is cursed. Tarkenton never won the big game. Had he won just 1 Super Bowl, he would have been much higher, but the big game was always too big for Tarkenton. To compare, Tarkenton’s completion percentage dropped to 51% (57% career) in the playoffs, he threw 11 TD’s to a whopping 17 interceptions, and his quarterback rating dropped from 81 (career) to 51 in the playoffs. Tarkenton also has the 5th most interceptions thrown all time…did I mention he’s a Viking? (homer)
10. Steve Young
Why he is on this list: Steve Young was the first quarterback to retire with a quarterback rating above 95. His efficiency on the field was unreal. He won two MVP’s, posted a 64.5% completion percentage and threw the least amount of interceptions of anybody on this list (also, his percentage of interceptions thrown is 2nd on this list). Steve Young was so good that he made people forget all about Joe Mantegna. (Who could forget his classic work in Baby’s Day Out!?!)
Why he isn’t number 1: Injuries prematurely ended his career and hampered his overall legacy. Young started all 16 games in a season just 3 times, and he was only a starter for 8 years. If you want to get nit-picky, Young could only muster one Super Bowl on a team that had become accustomed to winning them constantly. But yeah, that’s pretty much it. Thanks a lot, Lawrence Phillips. (God I hate Lawrence Phillips…death match between him and Bradshaw!?)
9. Big Ben Roethlisberger
Why he is on this list: Big Ben is probably the most controversial quarterback on this list, as I think a lot wouldn’t have thought of him as a top all time QB, but lets look at his resume: He has 2 Super Bowls, throws for 245 Yards per Game, has a near 2:1 ratio of touchdowns to Interceptions, and has a higher completion percentage than Favre, Montana, Brady, and 8 other quarterbacks on this list. His interception percentage is exactly the same as Steve Young, and 93.9 QB Rating ranks 5th on the list of the top 15. He threw a game winning dart to beat the Cardinals in the Super Bowl, and has a tendency to show up pretty big in the big games.
(I gotta point this out, but holy shit did Pew do some research on this or what?!)
Why he isn’t number 1: Legacy. Who really thinks best QB of all time and thinks of Roethlisberger? Not me. Big Ben has been more documented for his off the field conduct than his on the field heroics. Roethlisberger is generally thought of as a douche, and its hard to blame that thought process
On the field, however, Big Ben is often criticized for holding on the football too long and missing opportunities on the field. He hasn’t won an MVP in his career, and he put up the worst performance of a winning Super Bowl quarterback in history with a 22.6 QBR. (Again, damn good research. Now if he could’ve helped the legal team on that rape charge…)
8. Johnny Unitas
Why he is on this list: Unitas was known as the “Golden Arm” for a reason. He was a 3 time MVP and 3 time Champion. He played from 1956-1973 and was the only quarterback of his time to throw for 40,000 yards. He held the NFL record for passing yards and touchdowns when he retired and held the record for most consecutive games with a touchdown until 2012, when Drew Brees (DREW BREES!!!) broke the record. Johnny U embodies football for much of America while he played and was well respected as a leader as well as a football player.
Why he is not number 1: ummmmmmm….uhhhhh……..I don’t know? This is definitely where this list gets hard. But as good as Unitas was, he had some flaws. The biggest reason he was held out of the number one spot is interceptions. Like Tarkenton, his volume of passing came along with a lot of interceptions. Unitas threw to the other team an astounding 253 times which was about once every 20 passes. That is simply to high. His yards per game is under 200 for his career, which was brought down by some lackluster years at the end of his career. The margin isn’t much, but this is what makes the difference. (And he seems so BORING! No Papa John’s commercials or anything!)
So there you have it, folks…15 through 8. I will be ranking 7 to 1 later in the week and then we will have some others debate me. The difference between the next 7 Quarterbacks is minuscule, so be sure to tune in next time….
Aaron Pew
And as always, thanks for reading. As I said, part 2 of this is coming up later this week. Also look for guest columnists this week AND my next post which will be quite…interesting. Thanks everybody!
the kleeman report 
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