When it comes to talking elite quarterbacks, there are
numerous opinions, many of them very strong. Some people want to go with a
hometown hero; others look at a full body of work. Often, arguing quarterbacks
can be like arguing religion. The two different sides may never admit they are
wrong. Unlike religion though, we don’t have to rely on centuries old
information. The proof is there over the last few decades.
Now comes the most controversial question regarding
quarterbacks: Who is the best of all time? I think this is a pretty unfair
question because of the different eras. But for the sake of argument lets take
a look at this issue in a little more depth.
As a disclaimer, I have prefaced that I am a Tom Brady fan.
But for this argument, whether you believe it or not, I will try and be as
unbiased as possible.
Let me start off by giving my top 5 quarterbacks as I see
it. I think right now the best ever is Joe Montana. Second best, Tom Brady.
Third best, Peyton Manning. Fourth best, Brett Favre. And Fifth, Dan Marino.
Now lets break it down.
I think Joe Montana is the greatest of all time right now.
Why? He is 4-0 on the big stage. But more than that he revolutionized the
position. Yes, Terry Bradshaw is 4-0 also but being top 5 is not all about
rings. Notice Manning and Favre only have one each while Marino does not even
have one yet they make my list over the likes of John Elway(two), Aikman (3),
and Bradshaw (4). Joe Montana had the most playoff wins ever by any quarterback
up until Tom Brady surpassed him last year. That is very important because in
the playoffs is where you play games that matter. Let me break down why I
believe stats to be overrated.
Why does a quarterback want to throw for a lot of yardage in
a game? That’s right, to help the team win the game. Why does he want to win
the game? To get closer to clinching the division as well as trying to secure
the highest seed possible. Why? To get home field advantage in the playoffs.
Why? To have an easier path to the Super Bowl. Why? To win the big game because
that is where legacies are cemented.
Are wins enough? Absolutely not. Trent Dilfer having a ring
does not make him better than Marino. But is winning a key cog? Of course
because that is the ultimate measuring stick for NFL quarterbacks. Now, you
have people that say “Winning is a team thing.” Yes, it most definitely is but
he is most responsible for that? Yes, that’s right, that would be the guy who
touches the ball every single play. So Joe Montana, while racking up wins after
wins, also had a nice stat sheet. And he widely is considered the best to ever
play. Now Brady and Manning, that gets a bit crazy. Lets dive into it!
Tom Brady came into the league in 2000 as an unheralded 6th
round pick while Manning came into thee NFL slinging it as the top overall pick
in the 1998 draft. Brady did not see his first start until Week 3 of the 2001
season so this gives Manning an extra 3 years as of now to rack up stats, and
rings, over Brady. Now lets break this
down per game for both of these passers: Manning averages 16 yards more per
game than Brady while posting a 65.5 percent completion percentage vs Brady’s
64.2 percent. Manning throws for 1.99 touchdowns per game to Brady’s 1.87. Manning has .91 Interceptions per game while
Brady has a .69 ratio. Tom Brady’s career rating is 96.3 while Manning is 96.6.
What these stats show is that these two quarterbacks are
virtually the same when it comes to per game statistics. Now lets take in count
the circumstances. Peyton Manning has been surrounded by better weapons
throughout his career than Tom Brady, playing with Marvin Harrison, Reggie
Wayne, Edgerrin James, Dallas Clark, etc. Tom Brady was winning in his early
years with the likes of David Patten, David Givens, Troy Brown, Christian
Fauria, and Antwan Smith. Is that Manning’s fault the front office better
equipped him? No, just something to consider. Another thing, Peyton has played
in a dome his entire career (prior to Denver), which is a controlled climate
and much easier to throw in. Brady plays in the outdoor weather of Boston, in
which there was a huge snow game in October of 2009 vs the Titans. A little
harder to throw the ball there. Another thing, Brady in his early years had a
much better defense than Manning so there were a lot less shootouts and more
grinding out the clock. We saw Post-Bruschi era in New England when the defense
was dreadful, Tom Brady was able to elevate the offense to the top in the
league scoring over 34 points a game. So taking all of these things into
account, it shows why using purely the numbers can be a little misleading.
And now we come to the number one thing that puts Brady just a
little bit over Manning: Postseason success. Peyton Manning has 9 playoff wins
and 11 losses while Brady has 17 playoff wins, an all time NFL record with just
7 losses, 2 all the way in the Super Bowl. Of Manning’s eleven losses in the
playoffs, eight have been 1 and done, meaning he didn’t even win a single game
in the playoffs. Brady on the other hand has only been 1 and done 2 times out
of his 7 losses. Brady has been in the AFC Championship game an eye popping
seven times. Simply put, Brady has had the signature wins.
Now we come to the legacy maker: Super Bowls. Tom Brady is
3-2 while Manning is 1-1. The difference? In Peyton’s super bowl victory, the
opposing offense was lead by Rex Grossman and didn’t pose much of a threat and
in his loss, he basically threw the Super Bowl away with a pick six. Now for
Tom Brady, he has 2 game winning drives in the Super Bowls, and almost made
that 3 in his 4th appearance had it not have been for God answering
Eli Manning’s prayer in the form of David Tyree’s helmet. In Brady’s fifth
super bowl, he almost closed the deal before his primary receiver dropped a key
pass in Giants territory. This again shows although Brady is not perfect, he
has not made the killer mistake Manning has made on the biggest stage in
sports. Above it all, Tom brady is the winningest quarterback in NFL history with the highest winning percentage with a crazy .779, even higher than Montana. Manning on the other hand has a total of 3 more wins than Brady but THIRTY more losses.
Now to round out the top 5, there is Favre who presently
owns every passing record for a career, including touchdowns and interception
but also has 3 NFL MVP’s as well as the elusive Super Bowl ring. Marino, for
what he did in his era when the passing game was not in the spotlight, deserves
recognition and because he was arguably the quarterback with the most talented
arm of all time, just was not equipped with a very good team.
Elway, Aikman, and Bradshaw do make cases for that 4th
and 5th spot but Elway couldn’t win before Terrell Davis arrived and
Aikman had probably some of the most talent loaded rosters in NFL history,
which sometimes worked against him because he couldn’t throw much due to having
the all-time leading rusher behind him. Bradshaw was solid but the Steel
Curtain really carried those teams.
In conclusion, that number 2 and 3 spot in by no means set
in stone. If Brady wins a fourth ring and has been to six, then I think he
jumps Montana. If Manning wins his 2nd ring and adds more to his
regular season resume, he could jump to number 2. People could say Montana had
Jerry Rice and Bill Walsh constructed the West Coast offense for him or that he
wasn’t in the free agency era, but at the end of the day his stat sheet was
nice and “Joe Cool” was a winner.
Let’s see over the next 5 years what Brady
and Manning have to say about that
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