Greatest quarterback of the Superbowl era?

[rb1088]

In your opinion who is the greatest quarterback in Superbowl history? This means from 67 - 07

*I know there is going to be someone that says Otto Graham cause he won an insane amount of NFL titles but no he cannot be on this list*

So I'll start off by saying this...

JOE MONTANA! Greatest superbowl quarterback ever.

4-0, no picks in any of them, clutch plays against the "Bungles", blowout against Denver, stomping the Dolphins and their "Greatest of all-time" Dan Marion, I could go on.

Tom Brady used to be right with him and Terry Bradshaw but you can't be the GREATEST when you lose to the Giants and Eli Manning!

[sprinter]

Joe Montana of course. I say even though I dislike the 49ers.

[rb1088]

Yeah I don't really see anyone coming up with a good argument to dismiss this claim of mine lol.

[Toad Licker]

Yep, Joe Montana is still the yardstick by which all quarterbacks are measured.

[Prodigal Son]

Most of those games were not competitive at all and aside from the Bengals game I think you could put in a share number of quarterbacks on that team and they could have put up good numbers and win the games. It is a team sport and I can't stress that enough, but especially with QB's as they get the majority of the glory or criticism.

System quarterbacks who have great supplemental defenses and playmakers throughout their team historically do well come playoff time. Bill Walsh's west coast control the ball, short passing game scheme - on top of all the receivers, entire pro bowl bound OL, was just too much for most teams to handle. Also, having one of the greatest secondaries of all time certainly doesn't hurt, with great pass-rushers.

See similarities with Brady and what a modified short passing scheme can do if implemented correctly. Although Brady did a lot more with less at times and I think the game is much quicker now.

A one-dimensional team (offensive based) or a QB who is more of a gunslinger and doesn't rely on a set system and must rely on a raw drive and improvised skills historically does worse come playoff time. Generally the superior defense wins though and seems to be the dominant variable.

I think a lot of it is about pressure and perceived pressure. The teams who heavily rely on their offense passing the ball and continue scoring points because their defense isn't up to par or inconsistent will likely struggle. Throwing the ball away vs. taking a shot into close coverage. Favre and Marino developed this style for a reason, they knew they must score. Peyton's first attempts in the playoffs were disasters, he was trying to do too much and knew he had too (he was becoming a modern day Marino)- not until the defense stepped up did he get his ring.

[rb1088]

How do you explain Joe Montanna going to Kansas City which at the time were horriable and bringing them if I am not mistaken to the AFC championship game?

I agree their are "system quarterbacks" but not in the NFL, only in college. You have to have some kind of talent to play in the NFL or you don't last very long ie Couch, Leaf, Harrington.

To say Brady and Montanna were system quarterbacks! Montanna won a superbowl with nobody's in 81, and Brady did it in 01 against the "greatest show on turf"

[Prodigal Son]

Being a system QB is not necessarily a bad thing, you even need a level of talent to make it at the D1 level. Montana at KC, I don't think he looked amazing there, just my opinion they made it to the AFC Championship game to get blown out by the Bills. He was injury prone for his 5 years in KC so tough to tell, but I don't think a prime healthy Montana would have taken KC to a SB win, no.

[brimontz]

I refuse to answer the question because it's stupid not to include the entire history of the NFL in the discussion. Granted your question is exactly the way the NFL likes to present itself, as if it didn't exist prior to the first AFL-NFL Championship Game.

Brian

[rb1088]

You're a homer! lol

I knew it would be you to agrue about Otto Graham.

I'm not excliding him he just didn't play in a superbowl and sorry to say in his time the competition was bad.

[daaaaave]

Stan Humphries

[PGVan]

For me, greatness is about winning before anything else. Also, with championships, while I don't think you can get lucky and win one (say what you want about Eli Manning, he was awesome last season), I don't think winning one puts you among the greats. Repeating your championship performance is always harder than winning the first, so I put the following QBs ahead of the rest...

Joe Montana (4)
Terry Bradshaw (4)
Tom Brady (3)
Troy Aikman (3)
John Elway (2)
Roger Staubach (2)
Bob Griese (2)
Bart Starr (2)
Jim Plunkett (2)

[brimontz]

Originally Posted by rb1088

You're a homer! lol

I knew it would be you to agrue about Otto Graham.

I'm not excliding him he just didn't play in a superbowl and sorry to say in his time the competition was bad.

Did I utter the words "Otto Graham?" Umm, no. I don't necessarily think he's the best QB ever. I think Paul Brown was the best coach ever, and I believe Jim Brown was the best running back ever, but I don't necessarily think Graham was the best QB ever. He was very good and deservedly in the HOF, though. To say that every player on those Browns teams were the best ever would be being a homer, but I've never done that.

My point has nothing to do with homerism. It has everything to do with ignoring the past in favor of the future. The NFL does this themselves all of the time, and it's wrong. Not just for the Browns of their glory days, but for anyone who played the game prior to what became known as the first Super Bowl. I have a general dislike for any "best ever" list that excludes a big chunk of history.

To answer your flawed question, I'd go with Montana with a slight edge over Bradshaw, due to Montana's drive against the Bengals.

Brian

[brimontz]

Your question encourages people to not look at all of history. It's like saying "who's the best President since WWI?" Or Baby Boomers who actually think rock 'n roll didn't start until the Beatles formed. This society wants to ignore the past.

Brian

[Disintegrate]

I would pick Dan Marino, even though he never won a Super Bowl.