Who would you pick?

**WebHead** · October 25th, 2004, 05:55 PM

Obviously there were/are many great quarterbacks throughout the history of the NFL,.. but imo, the two top 1337 quarterbacks of all time were Joe Montana and Brett Favre. So my question is,.. in the superbowl, it's 4th and 1, you got 2 seconds left on the clock, you're at the 13 yard line and the clock is stopped. The score is 17-12 and they've got the lead. You HAVE to connect for a touchdown in order to win the game. So who would you rather have at the helm for this critical last play? Montana? Or Favre?

**Cobra X** · October 25th, 2004, 06:33 PM

Dan Marino & Johnny U are better than those two any day of the week. Though Montana is right behind them at 3 and Elway is 4th. Favre is good, one of the best of this era, but I don't think he's top 5.

**Major Kong** · October 25th, 2004, 07:00 PM

Of the two you gave a choice for I would have to say Montana.

In my life time the best I've seen would be Unitas followed closely by Elway. Another QB that is overlooked, but was heller good was Warren Moon. The biggest talent that was short-circuited early Bert Jones. Farve is the best of this current crop and I would say Brady "may" be his "air" apparent (followed closely by McNabb & Culpepper), but I tell ya both Leftwich and Big Ben are going to good 'uns.
As a Hokie it pains me to say that for all the talent of Mike Vick I still think he has a couple of years to go before he reaches that actual upper level. I'll also say that Aaron Brooks is way underrated and Carr at Houston has mega potential.

**Cobra X** · October 25th, 2004, 07:06 PM

I don't think I could put Brady among the best QBs of all time. I mean, he's good at winning games, but he doesn't really have all the physical tools, and he rarely puts up big numbers. I'd equate him to a modern Terry Bradshaw - never has big stats, but will get you to the big game and win it. And even though I love Terry, he's not even in the top 10 best QBs of all time.

But when it's all said and done, it's about winning the Lombardi, and Terry's done that more than anyone.

**Cleetus** · October 25th, 2004, 08:31 PM

Aikman?

Moon was a wife beater, so he dropped some because of that in my books

And Marino is hosting the Alexander the Great commercials for the history channel, he has too be up there

**geeksRus** · October 25th, 2004, 09:08 PM

since Marino isnt on the poll i have to say Montana...

**TripleRLtd** · October 25th, 2004, 09:48 PM

Good q, wrbby. Jonny U was great, as was Joe Montana. As were Bart Starr, Joe Namath, et al. But, lest we forget, they ALL played for superior teams. And that helps in football. One great rarely mentioned amongst the new followers is Sonny Jurgenson. Check out his stats. Didn't play for dominant teams either.
So, with just that choice: Joe all the way. Brett is too erratic. But, how good would Joe have been on a mediocre team?

**WebHead** · October 26th, 2004, 01:15 AM

Well,.. Like I said, there were/are a lot of great quarterbacks. In order to be a great quarterback (a legendary quarterback),.. you have to have "it". "It" is very very very rare thing to have and only comes along once or twice per generation of players. "It" is something, that when combined with natural skill and ability, gives you a winning edge. So I picked these two because I felt they are the best of the current and previous generation of QB's. Montana the best of the 80's and Favre the best of the 90's - present. Of the 80's Marino and Elway were superior quarterbacks. Statistically, Marino was the best. However, numbers don't win superbowls -- "it" wins superbowls. Having that ability to be a winner when it counts, is what matters. Elway finally (at the very end) proved he had "it". Of the current crop of players, Aikman would be up there with Favre as would many others, but Favre is the better quarterback and clearly stands out above the rest. So far, I do see Tom Brady possessing "it'. We will not know for sure though until he gains more experience and withstands the test of time.

**imaeditedbysowulo** · October 26th, 2004, 01:40 AM

I think Elway did the most with the least support around him. Favre's play in the last few years has made me think a lot less of him as a QB. His random chucking of the ball at the end of last year's playoff game was horrible.

Montana isn't the greatest ever, but I'd definitely take him over Favre.

**Cobra X** · October 26th, 2004, 05:42 AM

Favre's problem is he lacks a lot of fundamentals at playing QB - ie, making good reads. When he was younger, and had a canon for an arm, it didn't matter, he could get away with forcing a ball, especially with receivers that could break away from their man most of the time. But now, the arm isn't as strong, and he just can't get the ball downfield as well as he used to.

Whenever people bring up the fact that Marino didn't win a Super Bowl, I say look at the team around him. He had NO running game. A great passing game will win games, but you need to be able to run if you want to win in the post season. Look at Elway - he got the Broncos there a couple of times, but he didn't finally win one until Terrell Davis came along. But Elway certainly did his part in those two Super Bowls as well.

**amyb** · October 26th, 2004, 08:30 AM

How can you just list two quarterbacks? Sonny Jergenson, Jim Plunkett, McNabb, Cunningham..The poll is flawed.

**Camaro80z** · October 26th, 2004, 09:38 AM

Brett Farve (the only way it could be spelled to be pronounced the way the dolt does) is wayy overrated and should not be anywhere close to the great such as Baugh, Graham, Unitas, Tarkington, Namath, Marino, Elway, Montana. I do not think he is any better than a Dave Kreig, except he is a media darling. If he played in Atlanta, he would not have ever been compared to the greats. He is only raised up there due to the insanity of Packer fans.

**Cleetus** · October 26th, 2004, 09:46 AM

So none of you have anything to say about Aikman?

**amyb** · October 26th, 2004, 09:57 AM

Originally Posted by Cleetus

So none of you have anything to say about Aikman?

He was the cutest

**Tekboy** · October 26th, 2004, 10:16 AM

Definitely Montana. I have never seen anyone read the field better. I don't remember how many times I saw him march his team down the field with less than two minutes to play, and needing a TD to win. Uncanny how they would pull it off with Montana.

I really do not recall seeing much of this out of Favre. He has lots of guts, and he is quite tough, obviously, but not in the same league as Montana was.