vcczar Posted September 14, 2022 Author Share Posted September 14, 2022 #50: Frankie Albert Primary team: San Francisco 49ers Born in Chicago, Illinois College: Stanford 10th overall pick in 1942 1x MVP 3x top three in TD%, leading the league all three times. 2x top three in Comp %, once leading the league. 2x top three in QB Rating, once leading the league 1x led league in TDs One of the best left-handed QBs. Drafted by the Bears during WWII, even though Albert was serving in the US Navy. When he returned from the war, he joined the Pacific Coast Football League, a short-lived minor league. In 1946, he signed with the 49ers, who were one of the many future NFL teams in the AAFC, a rival league to the NFL (AAFC stats count as NFL stats). He spent his entire 7-year career with the 49ers. His first four seasons were great and included seasons with 29 TDs and 27 TDs, numbers which were exceedingly rare for the 1940s. Starting in 1950, he declined as a player. After three mediocre to poor seasons, he joined the Canadian Football League for one season in 1953. In his prime, Albert was also a mobile QB, as shown by his 8 rushing TD season in 1948 in a 14 game season. He also led the league in punting average one year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vcczar Posted September 14, 2022 Author Share Posted September 14, 2022 #49: Steve McNair Primary team: Tennessee Titans Born in Mississippi College: Alcorn St 3rd overall pick in 1995 1x MVP 2x top three in Low INT% 2x top three in AYA, once leading the league Once led the league in QB rating Took the Titans to the SB (lost) Originally drafted while the Titans were still called the Houston Oilers. There was a lot of hype regarding him as a draft pick, so much so that I feel like he didn't live up to expectations, despite his success. He didn't start playing regularly until his 3rd season and wasn't an efficient passer until year 7, although he did take his team to the SB in year 5. Early in his career, however, he established himself as one of the most mobile QBs, which included leading the league in yards per carry during a season in which he ran for almost 700 yards and for 8 TDs. His MVP season (had to share the award with Peyton Manning) was in 2003 and he was in the MVP running the season before. He was never the same again after his MVP performance. He spent the last two seasons on Ravens, once getting them 13 wins despite putting up mediocre numbers. He retired after 2007 after 13 seasons in the league. I remember being kind of surprised he retired. McNair had a good 91-62 career record, although he seemed to fumble a lot more than other QBs (once led the league). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vcczar Posted September 14, 2022 Author Share Posted September 14, 2022 #48: Matt Ryan Primary team: Atlanta Falcons Born in Pennsylvania College: Boston College 3rd overall pick in 2008 1x MVP 1x 1st Team All-Pro Led Falcons to the Super Bowl (lost) 2x in top 3 in Comp%, including leading the league once. 1x led in TD% 1x led in AYA 1x led in QB Rating, with an impressive 117.1 QB Rating Matt Ryan was one of the most consistently good QBs for his first 10 years of the Falcons, routinely making them among the top teams. Twice, he led them to 13 wins, but it was during a 11-win season in 2015 that he took the Falcons to a SB appearance and won the MVP for the season. Following 2017, Ryan still put up numbers, but his team couldn't win games. Ryan is now in his first season with the Colts, when in the first regular season game, Ryan saw his first tie game. Ryan has been overshadowed in his career by much flashier players, but he has one of the lengthiest conistent streaks of good playing in NFL history. He might not be a 1st ballot Hall of Famer, but he should be able to get in at some point, even if only as a senior nominee. Ryan is likely the greatest Falcons QB in history. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vcczar Posted September 14, 2022 Author Share Posted September 14, 2022 #47: Bert Jones Primary team: Baltimore Colts Born in Louisiana College: LSU 2nd overall pick in 1973 1x MVP 1x First Team All-Pro 3x top three in Low INT%, including leading the league once. 2x top three in Comp% 2x top three in QB rating 1x led the league in yards Drafted to replace the aging legend, Johnny Unitas, at QB. He didn't see regular starts until his 3rd season, which began a three-season string of 10+ win seasons, despite the retirement of the great Unitas. His 102+ QB Rating performance in 1976 was a rare 100+ QB rating performance during a time when good QBs excelled with a 75ish QB rating. In 1978, he was on pace for a 114 QB rating but was injured after three games. After this, he was oft-injured and the Colts declined as one of the great teams in the league. He retired in 1982 at age 31 after one season with the Rams because of a neck injury. In 1990, he took part in a passing competition and was so good that an analyst seriously thought he should come out of retirement. The great coach Bill Belichick called Jones the greatest pure passer he'd ever seen. Another analyst believed Jones could have been the greatest QB ever had his circumstanced been better. By this, I imagine he won with subpar teams. Jones shares the record for being sacked the most times in a game with 12. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vcczar Posted September 14, 2022 Author Share Posted September 14, 2022 #46: Craig Morton Primary team: Dallas Cowboys & Denver Broncos Born in Michigan College: California 5th overall pick in 1965 x2 led teams to Super Bowl appearances (lost both), although he won a SB as a backup QB. First QB to start a SB for two different franchises (Cowboys and Broncos) x2 in top 3 for season in comp% x2 top 3 for season in TD%, once leading the league x4 top 3 for season in AYA, thrice leading the league x2 top 3 for season in QB Rating I never saw him play, but I remember my dad telling me that Craig Morton was frustrating to him because he frequently threw the ball behind the line of scrimmage for a loss. He must have made up for that elsewhere, considering having led the league in AYA three times. He spent his first 4 seasons backing up Cowboys starter Don Meredith. In 1969, he became the starter for the Cowboys, beating out the great Roger Staubach. The following year he led the Cowboys to the SB, but he lost the game. Coach Tom Landry realized he had two good QBs, so in 1971, he experimented with Morton and Staubach alternating plays at QB. Ultimately, he realized Staubach had Hall of Fame potential, while Morton was struggling during the experiment. Staubach won the SB that year, while Morton was the backup in the SB. He played most of 1972 for the Cowboys because of an injury to Staubach, earning 10 wins but losing in the NFC Conference game. In 1974, he was traded to the NY Giants, but he flopped there and was traded to the Broncos in 1977. He led the Broncos to a 12-win season and to the SB, but he lost to Staubach and the Cowboys, in part, by throwing 4 interceptions. In 1981, at age 38, he had one of his best season at QB, scoring a 90.5 QB Rating, which is equivalent to maybe a 110 QB rating today, although he led the league in getting sacked. He retired after the 1982 season, and the Broncos drafted John Elway the next year, who would take Morton's #7 jersey (he wore #14 with Dallas). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vcczar Posted September 15, 2022 Author Share Posted September 15, 2022 #45: Bobby Layne Primary team: Detroit Lions Born in Texas College: Texas 3rd overall in 1948 3x Champion 2x First Team All-Pro 2x Led the league in yards 1x led in Comp% 1x led in TDs 3x led in AYA Both he and Matthew Stafford are two QBs on this list that went to my high school. Layne's teammate, Doak Walker, also went to my high school. Layne was drafted by the Steelers but refused to play for them because they were using an outdated offensive system. He was traded to the Bears, but was 3rd string to a future Hall of Famer (Sid Luckman) and another QB geared up to pay once Luckman retired. Layne again forced another trade, which sent him to the now non-existent New York Bulldogs. After a poor performance with the Bulldogs, he was traded to the Lions, where he became a legend. For 9 years with the Detroit Lions, he was among the most dominating QBs in the league, capable of scoring via passing, running, and kicking. The greatest seasons in Lions history were with Layne as QB as he won 3 championships. In 1958, the Lions traded Layne to the Steelers, the team that had drafted him over a decade previously. Layne still performed well, but he never made the playoffs again. Despite Layne's success, he was extremely error-prone. He led in INTs twice and had four 20+ INT seasons overall. He had 9 seasons in which he threw under 50% completion. Overall, he had 243 INTs to only 196 TDs. He also twice led the league in fumbles. Layne should get some recognition for having 25 rushing TDs, which would have been near the top for QB in history at the time of his retirement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vcczar Posted September 15, 2022 Author Share Posted September 15, 2022 #44: Tobin Rote Primary team: San Diego Chargers, Detroit Lions & Green Bay Packers Born in San Antonio, Texas College: Rice 2nd round pick in 1950 1x MVP 1x First Team All-Pro 2x Champion 2x led the league in TDs 1x led the league in yards 2x led the league in QB Rating Gets three primary teams because he won a championship with 2 teams he didn't have a long tenure with, while serving most of his career on the Packers. Statistically his best seasons were on the Packers, where he put up most of his passing accolades. In addition to this, he frequently ran the ball, becoming over of only a few QBs at the time to rush for over 500 yards in a season. He would lead all QBs in rushing six times and would retire with what was then the record for rushing yards by a QB (3,128). He also had 37 rushing TDs for his career. He rarely won games on the Packers, however, and it wasn't until he was traded to the Lions that he got to see regular victories. In his first year with the Lions, he split time at QB with legend Bobby Layne. Layne was injured for the playoffs, and Rote won a landslide victory in the Championship, which convinced the Lions to trade Layne and keep Rote in 1958. Rote failed as the Lions QB in 1958 and 1959. In the latter, he threw only 5 TDs to 19 INTs for an embarrasing 26 QB Rating. It was bad enough that he was out of the NFL. However, he joined the Canadian Football League where he became a star, passing for 38 TDs in one of his three seasons and breaking a few other CFL records. His success in Canada led to a contract with the Chargers. The now 35 year-old QB won 11 games in his first season back in America and won the Championship. His next season was not as great, and he retired after 1964. After one year of retirement, the 38-year-old Rote played one final season with the Broncos as a backup QB. Rote was probably one of the most fun QBs to watch considering his rushing ability and proclivity to put up high numbers -- whether positively or negatively. He once led in INTs and twice in fumbles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vcczar Posted September 15, 2022 Author Share Posted September 15, 2022 #43: Roman Gabriel Primary team: Los Angeles Rams Born in North Carolina College: NC State 2nd overall in 1962 Draft 1st Filipino-American QB 1x MVP 1x First Team All Pro 5x top 3 in Low INT%, leading the league 3 times. 2x led league in TDs 1x led league in yards Something of a stat producer who could never win the big game despite winning games. He went 86-64-7 for his career, but he played in only 2 playoff games, losing both. He led one of the best Rams teams from 1967-1969, which were the three years that they wer SB calibre. Following 1969, he had three seasons of mediocrity, partially due to recurring injuries. He was traded to the Eagles before the start of the 1972 season and had one of his greatest seasons, which helped earn him Comeback Player of the Year, as he led the league in yards and TDs. After this season, he played four more seasons, but he was a mediocre-to-below average QB during these seasons. For three of his Rams seasons, Gabriel was arguably the best QB in the league. It should also be noted that he ran for 30 rushing TDs in his career, despite not being a rushing QB, which shows some mastery of short yardage goalline running. His TD to INT ratio 201-149 is more in line with contemporary QBs than those of his time, who generally threw as many INTs as TDs, if not more. Gabriel did have an issue with being sacked. He was sacked about 350 times and led the league in being sacked twice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vcczar Posted September 15, 2022 Author Share Posted September 15, 2022 #42: Sonny Jurgensen Primary team: Washington Redskins Born in North Carolina College: Duke 4th round pick in 1957 1x 1st Team All-Pro 5x Led League in Yardage 4x top three in Comp% 3x top three in Low INT% 2x Led League in TDs 2x Led League in QB Rating 1x Champion for the Eagles, but he was a 3rd string QB 1x SB appearance as a backup QB Drafted as a 3rd string QB on the Eagles and rarely played for his 1st four years as the Eagles had future Hall of Famer Norm Van Brocklin at QB. It was as a backup that Jurgensen won his only championship. In 1961, he became the Eagles starting QB and came in 2nd in the MVP race. He was traded to the Redskins after 1963 because the team believed he was too injury-prone, having missed 8 games that season. For the next seven years, he was the primary starter for the Redskins and put up a bunch of monster stats, including a 3,747 yard passing season, which was then the record. In three seasons with the Redskins as starter he was in the running for the MVP, but he never made the playoffs. In 1971, he lost the starting job to Billy Kilmer because Redskins fans were tired of losing and were wishing for a change. After Kilmer took the Redskins to the playoffs in that season, Jurgensen was solidified as the backup. The next year Jurgensen went 4-0 during the regular season when filling in for an injured Kilmer, but it was Kilmer who led the Redskins to the SB, although they lost. In Jurgensen's final season, 1974, the 40-year-old QB was splitting starting duties with Kilmer and statistically out-performed him. Jurgensen is regarded by many analysts as the greatest pure passer in the NFL, but he was generally on terrible teams. The legendary coach Vince Lombardi said if Jurgensen were his QB, he'd never lose a game. Jurgensen retired with the highest career QB rating at the time of his retirement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vcczar Posted September 15, 2022 Author Share Posted September 15, 2022 #41: George Blanda Primary team: Houston Oilers Born in Pennsylvania College: Kentucky 12th round pick in 1949 1x MVP 1x 1st Team All-Pro 2x Champion and the MVP for both games. SB appearance (lost), but as a backup QB and starting kicker. 2x led the league in yards 1x led the league in TDs Also one of the greatest kickers in NFL history. Led in at least one major kicking category in 10 seasons. Oldest NFL player at age 48 Today, Blanda is better known for playing until he was 48 years old. As a rookie for the Chicago Bears, he played QB, LB, K, and P, but by the next year he focused his duties on QB and K. He didn't become the Bears starting QB until 1953, but by 1955, inconsistent play and injuries reverted him back to a backup QB/starting K role. Tired of being exclusively a kicker, Blanda retired after the 1958 season. In 1960, the AFL formed as a rival to the NFL, allowing 33-year-old Blanda an opportunity to play QB, so he joined the league as QB for the Houston Oilers (AFL stats count as NFL stats). As QB he won the first two AFL Championships in history (1960-1961). He continued to lead the Oilers until 1966, who were only comfortable with his propensity to throw interceptions so long as he won Championships. After 4 losing seasons, he was cut. In 1967, the Oakland Raiders signed the 40-year-old Blanda primarily as a kicker. With a great Raiders teams, Blanda would get to the SB once (they'd lose) and to the AFC Championship Game several times. He spent 9 seasons on the Raiders, but he started only 1 game at QB, but during this time he was one of the dominant kickers in the league. While he was a backup QB, often 3rd string, with the exception of 1 season, he threw the ball every year on the Raiders, including his final season when he was 48-years-old. Blanda intended to play another season in 1976, but despite being capable of kicking 40-yard field goals, the Raiders released him. Blanda is an AFL legend but a lot of the reason he's in the Hall of Fame is for his kicking. Despite that, for a time he was a dominant QB. However, he was prone to mistakes. He holds the record for 42 interceptions in a season and led the league in this category for 4-straight years. Blanda retired with what was the most INTs in NFL history with 277 (to 236 TDs), a record since broken by Brett Favre. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vcczar Posted September 15, 2022 Author Share Posted September 15, 2022 #40: Dayrle Lamonica Primary team: Oakland Raiders Born in California College: Notre Dame 24th pick in the 1963 draft 1x MVP 2x 1st Team All-Pro 1x led team to SB (but lost) 2x Champion, but as a backup. 3x top 3 in TD% 2x led the league in TDs 1x led the league in yards 2nd highest winning % in NFL History: 66-16-6 Record I've often wondered why Lamonica isn't in the Hall of Fame, even as a senior nominee. That winning % alone should be enough to get in. Plus, he has the MVP, All-Pros, and a SB appearances. He did more than Warren Moon who is in the HoF, for instance. Lamonica was drafted by the Bills where he served as a backup QB for 4 years, and never really playing well. He was traded to the Raiders in 1967 and played there through 1974. In is first season, he prompty took them to the SB (lost) and led the league in several passing categories. He would lead the Raiders to the playoffs in five of his six seasons with the Raiders as their primary starter. During this seasons, he would lose only 1 or 2 games during a regular season on four occasions. Starting in 1973, future HoFer Ken Stabler took over starting duties. After two season as a backup, Lamonica left the NFL for one season with the independent World Football League in 1975. Should Lamonica make the HoF some day, they might be the first team with three HoF QBs on the roster at once for multiple seasons, since from 1968-1974 they had Lamonica, Stabler, and George Blanda on the roster. Lamonica was called the "Mad Bomber" because he frequently threw deep passes. And although he wasn't much of a rusher, he somehow led the league in rushing TDs once year with 6! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vcczar Posted September 15, 2022 Author Share Posted September 15, 2022 #39: Boomer Esiason Primary team: Cincinnati Bengals Born in New York College: Maryland 2nd round pick in 1984 1x MVP 1x 1st Team All-Pro 4x top three in TD%, once leading the league. 3x top three in AYA, once leading the league. 2x top three in QB Rating, one leading the league. 1x SB Appearance (lost) Esiason's SB appearance against the 49ers is the first SB I remember, although I must have seen parts of earlier SBs. Esiason in the late 80's and early 90's seemed like one of the top QBs in the league--HoF calibre at the time. I'm not sure how much of me was influence more by him having a cool name and wearing a cool uniform. He was drafted in the 2nd round by the Bengals, despite having been predicted to be a 1st round pick. By his 2nd season in 1985, he was the primary starter, and except for an off-year in 1987, he put up top-calibre numbers into the 1990s. However, he was mediocre or worse in 1991 and 1992, and except for two season (including the SB year), his team was not winning games, and he was traded to the Jets. After three okay seasons on the Jets, he signed with the Cardinals, which was a team that seemed to hoard old QBs that were well-passed their prime. Esiason, like with the others, floundered with the Cardinals. Esiason almost retired until the Bengals brought him back, where he went 4-1 and threw 13 TDs to only 2 INTs. He retired on a high note, and his last career pass was a 79-yard TD. For a six-year span, Esiason was a true franchise QB, somewhat mobile and capable of generating TD passes at an impressive rate. However, he was also capable of throwing a lot of ints (led the league once with 22) and his record, 80-93, is unimpressive and probably the reason he isn't in the Hall of Fame at the moment. He's definitely worth considering as a senior nominee. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilentLiberty Posted September 15, 2022 Share Posted September 15, 2022 On 9/14/2022 at 4:03 PM, vcczar said: #48: Matt Ryan Primary team: Atlanta Falcons Born in Pennsylvania College: Boston College 3rd overall pick in 2008 1x MVP 1x 1st Team All-Pro Led Falcons to the Super Bowl (lost) 2x in top 3 in Comp%, including leading the league once. 1x led in TD% 1x led in AYA 1x led in QB Rating, with an impressive 117.1 QB Rating Matt Ryan was one of the most consistently good QBs for his first 10 years of the Falcons, routinely making them among the top teams. Twice, he led them to 13 wins, but it was during a 11-win season in 2015 that he took the Falcons to a SB appearance and won the MVP for the season. Following 2017, Ryan still put up numbers, but his team couldn't win games. Ryan is now in his first season with the Colts, when in the first regular season game, Ryan saw his first tie game. Ryan has been overshadowed in his career by much flashier players, but he has one of the lengthiest conistent streaks of good playing in NFL history. He might not be a 1st ballot Hall of Famer, but he should be able to get in at some point, even if only as a senior nominee. Ryan is likely the greatest Falcons QB in history. There is an NFL Head Coaching game and it had the 2008 draft class. I'd always always always try to trade up to pick Matt Ryan and make him my franchise QB. Fun fact haha. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vcczar Posted September 15, 2022 Author Share Posted September 15, 2022 27 minutes ago, SilentLiberty said: There is an NFL Head Coaching game and it had the 2008 draft class. I'd always always always try to trade up to pick Matt Ryan and make him my franchise QB. Fun fact haha. My best draft class story was in one of the Maddens, I drafted Giovanni Carmazzi, a QB who in real life never threw a pass even though he was like a 2nd round pick. I drafted him, never played him, but I kept him on my roster for like 6 years. This Madden had this weird issue that if you didn't play players they were going to erode quickly as if you put them in a dungeon and didn't feed them. By year 6, he had like 12 strength and 18 throwing powers. My OLmen could throw harder. He retired against my will rather than serve a 7th year without being fed. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
10centjimmy Posted September 15, 2022 Share Posted September 15, 2022 28 minutes ago, vcczar said: My best draft class story was in one of the Maddens, I drafted Giovanni Carmazzi, a QB who in real life never threw a pass even though he was like a 2nd round pick. I drafted him, never played him, but I kept him on my roster for like 6 years. This Madden had this weird issue that if you didn't play players they were going to erode quickly as if you put them in a dungeon and didn't feed them. By year 6, he had like 12 strength and 18 throwing powers. My OLmen could throw harder. He retired against my will rather than serve a 7th year without being fed. "Please coach, let me throw...I can throw!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vcczar Posted September 15, 2022 Author Share Posted September 15, 2022 #38: Rich Gannon Primary team: Oakland Raiders Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania College: Delaware 4th round pick in 1987 1x MVP 2x 1st Team All-Pro 1x led team to the SB (lost) 4x top 3 in Low INT%, including once leading the league. 2x top 3 in Comp% 2x top 3 in QB Rating 1x led the league in yards He was almost invisible until he was over 30 and then he was suddenly Steve Young-esque. I first remember Gannon as a mediocre starting QB for the Vikings, which was the team that drafted him in 1987. He didn't really play until he was suddenly the starter in 1990. He started for three years but showed no potential as a franchise QB, and was traded before the 1993 seasons to the Redskins, where he was an awful backup. He missed the 1994 season because of a shoulder injury. It's almost as if the injury improved him. He signed with the Chiefs in 1995, and while he was a backup for 4 years, he showed potential to be a starter again. In 1999, at age 34, Gannon accomplished every feat that put him on this list, including three straight 10+ win seasons, a SB appearance, and an MVP. He was arguably the best QB in the league during these three seasons, although he threw a record 5 INTs in the SB of which 3 were returned for TDs. Serious injuries in 2003 and 2004 caused him to miss most of his last two seasons and he retired following a neck injury. Gannon was a highly mobile QB for his time, once running for over 500 yards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vcczar Posted September 16, 2022 Author Share Posted September 16, 2022 #37: Joe Theismann Primary team: Washington Redskins Born in New Jersey College: Notre Dame 4th round pick in 1971 1x MVP 1x 1st Team All-Pro 2x SB Appearances (1 win and 1 loss) 3x top three in QB rating 2x top three in AYA My memory of him is as a sports analyst/announcer, and he came off as kind of irksomely annoying. Interesting career though. Drafted to be a backup for the Dolphins, but he opted to play in the Canadian Football League, where he stayed for three years. While he made it to a Grey Cup (lost), he threw more INTs than TDs in the league. In 1974, he was picked up by the Redskins as, surprisingly, a KR and a backup QB. He didn't become a regular starter until 1978, and with the exception of a 20-TD, 10-win season in 1979, wasn't any good until 1982. For three seasons, 1982-1984, he was one of the best QBs in the league, leading the Redskins to two straight SB appearances (1 win), while earning the MVP one time and almost another MVP trophy. His final season, 1985, saw a huge decline as the 36-year-old QB was throwing about twice as many interceptions than TDs. Towards the end of the year, future Hall of Famers, Lawrence Taylor and Harry Carson, sacked Theismann, shattering his leg. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vcczar Posted September 16, 2022 Author Share Posted September 16, 2022 #36: Dan Fouts Primary team: San Diego Chargers Born in San Francisco, California College: Oregon 3rd round pick in 1973 2x First Team All-Pro 5x top three in AYA, once leading the league 4x top three in QB rating 4x led the league in yards 2x led the league in TDs 1x led the league in TD% I never saw him play, but I heard enough about him to realize he was kind of the Dan Marino before Dan Marino. Routinely led in yards and never won a SB. Despite being a 3rd round pick, he pretty much started his first season and kept the job throughout his 15-year career. At retirement, he held seven passing records. However, it took him awhie to get going. From 1973-1977 he was rarely winning and throwing more INTs than TDs. From 1978-1982, he was one of the most successfull QBs in the league, and the bulk of his accomplishments come from this period. For the rest of his career, up until his retirement in 1987, he still put quasi-Foutsian numbers, but he failed to win games. He became a really likable and insightful analyst. In grad school I had a roommate who was about 25 years older than me (a professional pool player) who told me that he thought Fouts was the best QB in history. Others would agree with him. He's often considered the greatest QB to never make it to the SB in the SB-era. He might be the earliest bearded QB now that I think about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vcczar Posted September 16, 2022 Author Share Posted September 16, 2022 #35: Bob Waterfield Primary team: Los Angeles Rams Born in New York College: UCLA 5th round pick in 1944 1x MVP 3x First Team All-Pro 2x Champion and MVP in both games. 2x in top three in TD%, once leading the league 2x led the league in TDs 1x led league in Comp% 1x led league in QB Rating WWII vet How does someone play in only 8 seasons, make the Hall of Fame and get to #35 on our list? This is how. He was drafted by the Rams in 1944, but he was serving in WWII during his rookie year. In 1945, his first season playing, he won the Championship. He took them to the Championship again in 1949, but he lost. He also kicked, punted, and played defense. Starting in 1950, he had to share starting duties with another future hall of famer, Norm Van Brocklin, and the duo took the Rams to another Championship, but they lost again. His 1950 performance convinced the Rams to give him full starting duties again, and in 1951, he won another Championship. Despite this, he was forced to share the starting job with Van Brocklin again as he declined considerably after winning that last championship. He retired at age 32. Despite this, he won two championships, an MVP, and was the all-time leading kicker in XPs and FGs. Waterfield did have some flaws however, which may be a reason Van Brocklin kept nudging his self into the his playing time. Waterfield twice led the league in INTs and appears to have been considerably immobile. In 75 rushing attempts, he ran for 21 yards, but he got 13 TDs out of these runs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vcczar Posted September 16, 2022 Author Share Posted September 16, 2022 #34: Russell Wilson Primary team: Seattle Seahawks Born in Cincinnati, Ohio College: Wisconsin 3rd round pick in 2012 2x Super Bowl appearances (1 win, 1 loss) 3x won 75% of the team's games 2x top three in QB Rating, once leading the league 2x top three in AYA 1x led league in TDs Wilson has been one of the most consistently good QBs in NFL history. In 10 seasons, he's had a QB rating under 100 only three times. He's won 10 games 8 out of 10 seasons. He's been to the SB twice, winning once. His only losing season was his last season with Seattle. It's to be decided if he carries on these characteristics with the Broncos or not. He clearly leaves the Seahawks as their greatest QB and one of the greatest of the 21st century. He's a certain HoFer. Wilson is also mobile. He should have about 5,000 yards rushing when he retires (ran for over 800 yards one seasons) and he once led the league in yards per carry. He only has 23 rushing TDs, which is kind of low for the amount of yards he's run for. Wilson's weakest area is avoiding sacks. He's been sacked 429 times, leading the leage in getting sacked once and yards lost to sacks in another season. For an undersized QB drafted in the 3rd round, he's exceeded expectations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vcczar Posted September 16, 2022 Author Share Posted September 16, 2022 #33: Jim Kelly Primary team: Buffalo Bills Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania College: Miami (FL) 14th overall pick in 1983 1x First Team All-Pro 4x Super Bowl Appearances (lost all of them) 4x won 75% of the team's games 3x top three in TD%, leading the league twice. 2x top three in QB Rating, once leading the league 1x led the league in Comp% 1x led league in TDs Jim Kelly was one of the most successful QBs during the time that I started watching football, but he wasn't as flashy as Montana, Elway, Marino, Esiason, Moon, etc. Kelly was part of the celebrated 1983 draft class, which included Elway, Marino, O'Brien, Eason, and Blackledge -- all 1st round QBs with Kelly. Kelly was drafted by the Bills, but he listed three cold-weather teams--including the Bills--as teams he would not play for, so he opted to play for a hot-weather team in the new upstart league, the USFL instead. He didn't play any football in 1983, but in his first USFL season in 1984, he was named MVP after throwing for 5,219 yards and 44 TDs (18 game seasons). The next season he threw for 39 TDs. He expected to play 1986 in the USFL but the league folded. The Bill still retained his rights, so he accepted the starting role on that team, cold weather and all. He held the starting job for the Bills for the entirety of his NFL career. He went to four Super Bowls from 1990-1993 as he led the famous "no huddle offense." His final three seasons were not as successful, but his team remained competitive. His final season, in 1996, was statistically his worst as he battled injuried, threw 19 INTs to only 14 TDs, and so he retired. He strongly considered joining the Ravens in 1998 to play another but opted against it. Kelly is clearly the greatest Bills QB, although Josh Allen has potential to surpass him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vcczar Posted September 16, 2022 Author Share Posted September 16, 2022 #32: Earl Morrall Primary team: Baltimore Colts & Miami Dolphins Born in Michigan College: Michigan St 2nd overall pick in 1956 1x MVP 2x First Team All-Pro 4x SB Appearances (1 win, 1 loss, and 2 as a backup) 2x top three in AYA 1x led the league in TDs 1x led league in TD% 1x led league in Low INT% 1x led league in QB Rating Considered the greatest backup QB in NFL history, primarily for going 9-0 during the Dolphins perfect season while Bob Griese was injured. Morrall was drafted by the 49ers in 1956, but he sort of flopped at QB and P, so he was traded to the Steelers in 1957, where he was serviceable as a starter. Following that year in 1958, he was traded again to the Lions, where he was a backup until 1964. That season he threw for 24 yards and seemed ready to continue this hot streak in 1965 until his season was cut short because of a major shoulder injury. In 1965, he was traded yet again, this time to the Giants, where he started and produced some solid numbers but led the team to a mediocre 7-7 record. He broke his wrist in 1966 and returned as a backup. His career went on a different trajectory in 1968, when at age 34, he was traded to the Colts to backup the oft-injured future Hall of Famer, Johnny Unitas. Morrall started every regular season game that year as Unitas was injured and held out for most of the season once he finally healed, mainly because of how well Morrall was playing. In this season, Morrall went 13-1 and won the MVP and led the Colts to the SB. However, as Unitas was the team's star, they handed the start job back to Unitas when Morrall struggled late in the game against the Jets, who would go on and win. In 1970, Unitas and Morrall went to another Super Bowl after Morrall had an impressive 9-TD season for a backup. In this Super Bowl, Unitas was knocked out of the game about half-way through and Morrall orchestrated the come-from-behind victory against the Cowboys. In 1971, Morrall went 7-2 filling in for the injured Unitas. In 1972, at age 38, he was traded to the Miami Dolphins, where as a backup he went 9-0 after Griese fell to injury (Griese went 5-0). On top of this, Morrall won the two playoff games needed to make it to the Super Bowl; however, in this game Griese started and won the game, while Morrall never threw a pass. He got another SB ring in 1973 as a backup with the Dolphins but a healthy Griese limited his playing time. From 1973-1976, he rarely played. He retired at age 42. Morrall went 63-36-3 in the regular season and 4-1 in the playoffs. his career might be one of the most unorthodox. Most of his starts were due to injured Hall of Fame starters going down, and he seemed to out-perform them when he got to play. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vcczar Posted September 16, 2022 Author Share Posted September 16, 2022 #31: Joe Namath Primary team: New York Jets Born in Pennsylvania College: Alabama 1st overall pick in 1965 1x SB victory and got the MVP 2x MVP 3x led league in yards 1x led league in TDs Namath is mainly in the Hall of Fame for scoring arguably the greatest upset in a SB as the "lucky" Jets defeated the dominant Colts. He won some accolades too that seemed to have more to do with his hollywood-like persona than for his playing ability. Namath started for the Jets from 1965-1976 and ended his career with one season on the Rams in 1977 as a backup. During his career, he routinely threw for a ton of yards, but he had only one efficient season, when he threw 19 TDs to 17 INTs. On four occasions he led the league in INTs, including two seasons with 28 INTs. He had five total seasons with over 20 INTs to two seasons with 20+TDs. Additionally, while he racked up victories in 1967-1969, he ended his career with a losing record--62 wins to 63 losses. His greatest trait was his showmanship, such as wearing a fur coat on the sidelines and his willingness to throw often, thrice leading the league in passing yards. Also led the league in 4th quarter comebacks on three occasions. It's also notable that he only fumbled on 33 occasions, which is impressivly low for a QB. Namath was not mobile because he had frequent knee injuries, including in college, which may have limited his ability overall. Because of his popularity among fans, the independent World Football League attempted to, but failed, to build their league around Namath being their star player in 1975. His final season with the Rams was marred by injuries and a 4-INT performance. Namath's greatest trait is as a diplomat for the NFL and bringing a level of entertainment to the NFL that more resembles star athletes of the 21st century than of the 20th. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vcczar Posted September 16, 2022 Author Share Posted September 16, 2022 #30: Patrick Mahomes Primary team: Kansas City Chiefs Born in Texas College: Texas Tech 10th overall pick in 2017 1x MVP 1x First Team All-Pro 2x SB appearances (1 win, 1 loss) and 1 SB MVP 3x won 75% of team's games 2x top three in Low INT% 1x led league in TDs Mahomes is probably the best QB under 30 and he's soaring up this list with no signs of a decline. He reminds me of Aaron Rodgers in the sense that both can move around a flick a perfect pass, seemingly at will. However, Mahomes seems to put up more points and wins. Mahomes was a back up to Alex Smith during his rookie season, and I remember a Chiefs fan who told me that he felt Mahomes was unneccessary since the team already had Alex Smith. The next year, Smith was traded and Mahomes tossed 50 TDs in his first season as the starter and the rest is history. So far, Mahomes is yet to win fewer than 11 games in a season as the team's opening day starter. After two weeks in the 2022 season, he is 2-0 and has 7 TDs. He's not slowing down. At only 26 years of age, we could see another decade of elite performance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vcczar Posted September 16, 2022 Author Share Posted September 16, 2022 #29: Ed Danowski Primary team: New York Giants Born in New York College: Fordham pre-draft rookie in 1934 1x MVP 1x First Team All-Pro 1x Champion and was the MVP for that game. Also won a 2nd Championship earlier, but he was a backup. 3x top three in comp%, leading the league twice. 3x top three in QB Rating, leading the league twice. 3x top three in TD% 2x top three in Low INT%, leading the league once. 2x top three in AYA 1x led league in TDs 1x led league in Yards Hey, a guy no one has ever heard of. This Polish-American. He was the primary starter for the Giants from 1935-1939 and took them to four championship games, in which the won only one. He was clearly one of the best passers for three of these five seasons. Like many passers in the 1930s, he was technically a tailback, which frequently threw more passes than the QB at the time. While he was certainly mobile, he rarely ran for TDs. He has the awesome distinction of being the first primary passer to throw more TDs than INTs in a season, when in 1935 he threw 10 TDs to 9 INTs. He replicated this feat in 1937 as well. He sat out in 1940, despite being only 29, but came back in 1941 to be a backup for one season. Danowski's career was short, but he was one of the best in the league. He ultimately was in 4 Championship games, winning two (one as a back up) and losing two. That is, he was in the Championship game during his career more often than he was not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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