NationStates Jolt Archive

I have collected a list of some of the outstanding QB's from the NFL. Who do you think is the biggest gun in the arsenal of football?

Even thought the guy was on the losing Superbowl team I would still pick Tom Brady as my QB out of that group for fantasy football.

The Deadliest Quarterback in the NFL?
The deadliest? Joey Harrington, he's killed the hopes of every NFL team he's played for to date (3 so far).

Who do you think is the biggest gun in the arsenal of football?
Josh McCown won last years quarterback challenge (the one that was cancelled from being televised because Michael Vick was shown in it and he was in trouble before it aired so the show was cancelled).

At the moment? Peyton Manning, without a doubt... Though Eli's catching up quickly.

Of all time? John Elway. Nobody could win like he could, especially considering how bad his teams usually were.

At the moment? Peyton Manning, without a doubt... Though Eli's catching up quickly.

Of all time? John Elway. Nobody could win like he could, especially considering how bad his teams usually were.

Terry Bradshaw could throw it 90 yards in the snow and actually WIN more superbowls than lose...

Terry Bradshaw could throw it 90 yards in the snow and actually WIN more superbowls than lose...

Terry Bradshaw had the 1970s Steelers without a salary cap and with an excellent coaching staff.

John Elway could throw it 91 yards --- I don't ever recall Terry throwing the ball more than 74 yards in the air, although that's still a hell of an accomplishment. Oh, and John could run. Fast. And Kick. And punt. And receive.

Roger Staubach was John Elway before there was a John Elway.

I necessarily have to go with my hometown team and vote for Carson Palmer.

Why?

Palmer has a nice trick. Most quarterbacks lose accuracy the further out they throw the ball. Palmer's accuracy actually INCREASES with range, allowing him to deliver really devastating downfield strikes at any given moment. The single throw he had in the playoffs (prior to his knee injury) was a deep strike worth about sixty yards. That's one hell of a weapon on offense.

lol, Brian Anderson doesn't belong on the same list as Tom Brady. And Peyton Manning is a redneck hick system quarterback. Brady's been to 4x the number of Superbowls with half the supporting cast. To me there's Tom Brady, and everyone else.

had to choose my home town guy who came back and brought the underdogs through out the playoffs all the way to the super bowl and won...

ELI MANNING!!!!:p

oo and too you patriots guys see ya again next year and this time dont cheat with your games!!!

and why is Macnabb even up there he has been shit for the last couple seasons.

and why is Macnabb even up there he has been shit for the last couple seasons.

no, he has been hurt. He has been good when he has played.

no, he has been hurt. He has been good when he has played.

um not what i've seen.. everytime i've watched him his always in a funk...so I should watch him more often haha

I have no idea about any of them, but I chose Ben Roethlisberger because it's a great name. :)

You're telling me that no one's made the Michael Vick joke yet?

You're telling me that no one's made the Michael Vick joke yet?

Nobody wants to beat a dead dog, er, horse.

I choose Manning over Brady. The rest are second-tier.

And, as a Browns fan, I concur with the sentiment of the earlier poster who said that Derek Anderson doesn't belong in this group. I like DA, but he doesn't belong in the same sentence (or poll) as a Brady or Manning.

The best QB I've ever seen play is John Elway. It pains me to say that, but the horse-faced, buck-toothed, bastard-demon-spawn-som'bitch is the greatest. Joe Montana, too.

Peyton Manning is the most dangerous active QB in pure personal talent in the NFL right now. Brady may have more success, but he's got such a team around him that I would bet half the QBs in the NFL could put up similar numbers with that squad. Manning pulls off what he does from more of his own effort, and if you watch the two playing, it shows.

Sexy Rexy. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNMvwAAk2UE)

Clearly, he is the only choice.

I necessarily have to go with my hometown team and vote for Carson Palmer.

Why?

Palmer has a nice trick. Most quarterbacks lose accuracy the further out they throw the ball. Palmer's accuracy actually INCREASES with range, allowing him to deliver really devastating downfield strikes at any given moment. The single throw he had in the playoffs (prior to his knee injury) was a deep strike worth about sixty yards. That's one hell of a weapon on offense.

I don't think there's any question that Palmer has the best deep ball in the NFL, and I remember watching that particular throw. When I saw he was injured, I immediately thought, "The Bengals are going to lose this game... but they'd kill the Steelers if Palmer could stay in." He's very good, no doubt.

Overall, I'd rank him ahead of Brady, behind Manning. Manning doesn't have the huge arm, but he's better over the entire field. The thing about Brady... any quarterback gets worse in the face of a hard pass rush, but Brady's dropoff is steeper than most. Hit him a couple times early and he goes from Joe Cool to spoiled child.

A healthy McNabb (a rarity, to be sure!) and Drew Brees would round out my top five.

I don't think there's any question that Palmer has the best deep ball in the NFL, and I remember watching that particular throw. When I saw he was injured, I immediately thought, "The Bengals are going to lose this game... but they'd kill the Steelers if Palmer could stay in." He's very good, no doubt.

Overall, I'd rank him ahead of Brady, behind Manning. Manning doesn't have the huge arm, but he's better over the entire field. The thing about Brady... any quarterback gets worse in the face of a hard pass rush, but Brady's dropoff is steeper than most. Hit him a couple times early and he goes from Joe Cool to spoiled child.

A healthy McNabb (a rarity, to be sure!) and Drew Brees would round out my top five.

McNabb has this run-and-gun style that is impressive when it works and catastrophic when it doesn't. He can move when he needs to. Roethlisberger is also very good at scrambling when he needs to, and he seems to have that spark of magic that allows him to make things happen even in bad situations. Most of the top guys like Manning and Brady aren't movers by nature...they're stationary in the pocket. Carson Palmer is also a stationary target. The Bengals rise and fall based on his level of protection...if they can shield him for long enough, he can dismantle the secondary. If he's rushed, he gets hit or makes mistakes sometimes.

had to choose my home town guy who came back and brought the underdogs through out the playoffs all the way to the super bowl and won...

ELI MANNING!!!!:p

oo and too you patriots guys see ya again next year and this time dont cheat with your games!!!

and why is Macnabb even up there he has been shit for the last couple seasons.

First of all, there is no way in hell he should have won SB MVP. He did not win that game, the defense did. That D-line that rocked the shit out of the Eagles actually managed to shut down Brady and co. That's why the Giants won, not Eli. Secondly, he has been a scared little bitch in the pocket. He approaches Kerry Collins in Giants lore of being rocked after a hit or a sack. He couldn't even lead the team until they got rid of the leaders (Shockey and Barber) and now TE Dumbass is coming back.

Eagles-favoring rant aside :p, Eli is not a bad QB. He has certainly improved since his rookie season, and he will probably be a great QB for a long time. But, not MVP worthy. He still looks scared occasionally, which is unconscionable.

McNabb? That is a real shame. Really. Great QB, almost made the transition from running to passing QB, and he gets hurt and his team essentially packs his bags. He did well in Philly, I only wish we had beaten NE in SB39.

I have no idea about any of them, but I chose Ben Roethlisberger because it's a great name. :)

This is the only reason for a person to vote for Big Ben? :sad:

What do you mean by "biggest gun"? Are we talking purely about range or accuracy at range? If the former, I'd say Favre has the longest arm, but Palmer is by far more accurate. All time, Bradshaw was legendary for his arm (offhand, I'd say only Favre compares), but as far as accuracy goes, I'd say Elway or Unitas if he's throwing to Raymond Berry. That tandem was lethal no matter what the pattern was because they ran routes so precisely.

I don't think there's any question that Palmer has the best deep ball in the NFL, and I remember watching that particular throw. When I saw he was injured, I immediately thought, "The Bengals are going to lose this game... but they'd kill the Steelers if Palmer could stay in." He's very good, no doubt.

Overall, I'd rank him ahead of Brady, behind Manning. Manning doesn't have the huge arm, but he's better over the entire field. The thing about Brady... any quarterback gets worse in the face of a hard pass rush, but Brady's dropoff is steeper than most. Hit him a couple times early and he goes from Joe Cool to spoiled child.

A healthy McNabb (a rarity, to be sure!) and Drew Brees would round out my top five.

I have a problem with this poll. We should be ranking the best pass-blocking offensive lines in the NFL, b/c that's more important than the quarterback, imho. Superbowl, anyone? Brady gets hit a couple times and suddenly becomes very human. His O-line has a bad day against a good d-line and they lose. Give any quarterback seven seconds to throw and they'll find a receiver.

That said, I put Manning, Brady (can't argue with the rings), Palmer, a healthy McNabb (ha!), and Big Ben in my top five. Although, after the top two, there's a HUGE dropoff in talent.

This is the only reason for a person to vote for Big Ben? :sad:

How about being second in the league last year in quarterback efficiency?

And this from an Eagles fan...

I will shoot myself now.:(:mp5:

First of all, there is no way in hell he should have won SB MVP. He did not win that game, the defense did. That D-line that rocked the shit out of the Eagles actually managed to shut down Brady and co. That's why the Giants won, not Eli. Secondly, he has been a scared little bitch in the pocket. He approaches Kerry Collins in Giants lore of being rocked after a hit or a sack. He couldn't even lead the team until they got rid of the leaders (Shockey and Barber) and now TE Dumbass is coming back.

Eagles-favoring rant aside :p, Eli is not a bad QB. He has certainly improved since his rookie season, and he will probably be a great QB for a long time. But, not MVP worthy. He still looks scared occasionally, which is unconscionable.

McNabb? That is a real shame. Really. Great QB, almost made the transition from running to passing QB, and he gets hurt and his team essentially packs his bags. He did well in Philly, I only wish we had beaten NE in SB39.

Who else do you give it to? You can't give the MVP to an entire D-line, you can't give it to Tyree for "The Helmet Catch", so who else is there? Manning got it by default. And Manning is a terrible QB. They won despite him, not because of him. Plug any other quarterback in the league in there, and they do just as well. He's a placeholder at best.

I agree about McNabb. When he gets hurt this year (and he will), I'll be interested to see what Kolb does. I'm not sold on him being the future.

It's nice to see another Eagles fan on here. Masochists are usually harder to find.

None of the above.

Jason Campbell and Todd Collins FTW.

If we're talking big guns and bringing up former players, I'm surprised nobody's mentioned Marino. The guy could throw a 40 yard pass so hard it'd break hands, which is more than most QBs can do to receivers at 10 yards. Don't think he ever had to do it, but I'm sure if he had to he could throw it the length of the field.

How about being second in the league last year in quarterback efficiency?

And this from an Eagles fan...

I will shoot myself now.:(:mp5:

Aww, its okay. :fluffle:

If we're talking big guns and bringing up former players, I'm surprised nobody's mentioned Marino. The guy could throw a 40 yard pass so hard it'd break hands, which is more than most QBs can do to receivers at 10 yards. Don't think he ever had to do it, but I'm sure if he had to he could throw it the length of the field.

Greatest quarterback to never get a ring.

If we're not limited to contemporary QBs I'd like to nominate OJ.

If we're not limited to contemporary QBs I'd like to nominate OJ.

OJ? OJ simpson? He wasn't a QB, was he? I thought maybe a RB?

OJ? OJ simpson? He wasn't a QB, was he? I thought maybe a RB?

One of the best running backs ever. He'd still be remembered for that, except for that whole double murder thing.

First of all, there is no way in hell he should have won SB MVP. He did not win that game, the defense did. That D-line that rocked the shit out of the Eagles actually managed to shut down Brady and co. That's why the Giants won, not Eli. Secondly, he has been a scared little bitch in the pocket. He approaches Kerry Collins in Giants lore of being rocked after a hit or a sack. He couldn't even lead the team until they got rid of the leaders (Shockey and Barber) and now TE Dumbass is coming back.

Eagles-favoring rant aside :p, Eli is not a bad QB. He has certainly improved since his rookie season, and he will probably be a great QB for a long time. But, not MVP worthy. He still looks scared occasionally, which is unconscionable.

McNabb? That is a real shame. Really. Great QB, almost made the transition from running to passing QB, and he gets hurt and his team essentially packs his bags. He did well in Philly, I only wish we had beaten NE in SB39.


hey i have to agree the D-line deserves it but this is a qb thread not d-fence so.........

and i dont no about being to scared in the pocket yea maybe in the beggining but now i think he's confident enough to bring them back to the sb again....

and maybe its just because im a giants fan i just don't see Mcnabb as any good....rivalaries tend to make us blind i quess :p

*snip* I have a problem with this poll. We should be ranking the best pass-blocking offensive lines in the NFL, b/c that's more important than the quarterback, imho.

The O-Line is huge. I was soooooo stoked when the Browns took Joe Thomas @ #3 last year. Adrian Peterson would have been nice, but without the hogs to run behind it's pointless. Joe Thomas was as big a factor in the Browns success last year as DA - if not bigger.



*snip* and maybe its just because im a giants fan i just don't see Mcnabb as any good....rivalaries tend to make us blind i quess :p

McNabb is good, he's just injury prone, getting old, and not surrounded by much.

Rivalries can make it tough. It's tough for me to say Big Ben is a top-5 QB, but he is. It's made a little easier by the fact that he's an Ohio guy...yet another stud from the Buckeye State. But he's no Bernie Kosar. ;)

Rivalries can make it tough. It's tough for me to say Big Ben is a top-5 QB, but he is. It's made a little easier by the fact that he's an Ohio guy...yet another stud from the Buckeye State. But he's no Bernie Kosar. ;)

Big Ben is certainly NOT a top-5 QB, and I'm from the Pittsburgh area. The Steelers won the Super Bowl that year in spite of Ben, not because of him. He has the worst stats of any Super Bowl winning QB in the Super Bowl itself.

Who else do you give it to? You can't give the MVP to an entire D-line, you can't give it to Tyree for "The Helmet Catch", so who else is there? Manning got it by default. And Manning is a terrible QB. They won despite him, not because of him. Plug any other quarterback in the league in there, and they do just as well. He's a placeholder at best.

I agree about McNabb. When he gets hurt this year (and he will), I'll be interested to see what Kolb does. I'm not sold on him being the future.

It's nice to see another Eagles fan on here. Masochists are usually harder to find.

That's why they should make it possible to give the MVP to more than one person. As for being a masochist, I'm a Phils, Flyers, and Birds fan going to college in Connecticut next year: all those NYC and Boston people. :D

hey i have to agree the D-line deserves it but this is a qb thread not d-fence so.........

and i dont no about being to scared in the pocket yea maybe in the beggining but now i think he's confident enough to bring them back to the sb again....

and maybe its just because im a giants fan i just don't see Mcnabb as any good....rivalaries tend to make us blind i quess :p

If you hit him enough, he gets the deer in the headlights, Daddy what do I do now look. And like I said, he's not a bad QB, just above marginal at best. That is difficult for me to admit. I still hate him for being a prick about San Diego.

Big Ben is certainly NOT a top-5 QB, and I'm from the Pittsburgh area. The Steelers won the Super Bowl that year in spite of Ben, not because of him. He has the worst stats of any Super Bowl winning QB in the Super Bowl itself.

I'm not talking about that year, though...I'm talking about now. And I think that Ben fits in after Peyton, Brady, Brees and Palmer.

McNabb has this run-and-gun style that is impressive when it works and catastrophic when it doesn't. He can move when he needs to. Roethlisberger is also very good at scrambling when he needs to, and he seems to have that spark of magic that allows him to make things happen even in bad situations. Most of the top guys like Manning and Brady aren't movers by nature...they're stationary in the pocket. Carson Palmer is also a stationary target. The Bengals rise and fall based on his level of protection...if they can shield him for long enough, he can dismantle the secondary. If he's rushed, he gets hit or makes mistakes sometimes.

IIRC, Palmer had more than decent athleticism before his injury. I've seen his combine 40-yard dash time listed anywhere from 4.6 to 4.8, which is quite good for his position. John Elway timed similarly in his day, but he also had the short-area quickness to make good use of his raw speed -- I think that's the one attribute that most separates Palmer from Elway.

McNabb can scramble with the best of them, but he's also developed far beyond scramblers like Roethlisberger, Garcia, and Plummer when it comes to throwing from the pocket. He can light a secondary up whether he's scrambling or stationary, and that makes him a potential MVP candidate every year if he can just manage to stay on the field.

I thought about including Roethlisberger in my top five over Brees, but ultimately decided against it. Throughout his career, he's often been the weak link on an offense that's included a star-studded offensive line, some fine backs, an outstanding tight end (vital to any Steelers offense), and arguably the league's best possession receiver. Don't get me wrong, he's good, but he doesn't always live up to the talent that surrounds him.

If we're talking big guns and bringing up former players, I'm surprised nobody's mentioned Marino. The guy could throw a 40 yard pass so hard it'd break hands, which is more than most QBs can do to receivers at 10 yards. Don't think he ever had to do it, but I'm sure if he had to he could throw it the length of the field.

Marino's a deserving Hall of Famer and one of the best quarterbacks ever to play the game, but when you talk about the strongest arms he's quite a ways down the list. In modern-day terms, his arm is more comparable to Manning's than to Palmer's.

I have a problem with this poll. We should be ranking the best pass-blocking offensive lines in the NFL, b/c that's more important than the quarterback, imho. Superbowl, anyone? Brady gets hit a couple times and suddenly becomes very human. His O-line has a bad day against a good d-line and they lose. Give any quarterback seven seconds to throw and they'll find a receiver.

That said, I put Manning, Brady (can't argue with the rings), Palmer, a healthy McNabb (ha!), and Big Ben in my top five. Although, after the top two, there's a HUGE dropoff in talent.

Throughout the last season, Brady had the best pass protection money could buy; of course, it helped that no one seemed willing to call his linemen for holding. That he faced the kind of pressure he did in the Super Bowl is a testament to the immense talent of the New York defensive line, not necessarily an indictment of the New England offensive line. I'm not sure if they'd have been the best if the rules had been applied equally all year, but their results were definitely the best up until the end.

Who else do you give it to? You can't give the MVP to an entire D-line, you can't give it to Tyree for "The Helmet Catch", so who else is there? Manning got it by default. And Manning is a terrible QB. They won despite him, not because of him. Plug any other quarterback in the league in there, and they do just as well. He's a placeholder at best.

I agree about McNabb. When he gets hurt this year (and he will), I'll be interested to see what Kolb does. I'm not sold on him being the future.

It's nice to see another Eagles fan on here. Masochists are usually harder to find.

I said after the game (and I still believe it) that Osi Umenyiora was the man most deserving of that award. No sacks, but he was constantly pressuring Brady and knocking him on his ass.

I'm with you on not awarding the MVP to an entire defensive line, or offensive line for that matter. That's one of the things that most irritates me when I see a commentator doing it for any game. If you don't know football well enough to pick out a specific offensive or defensive lineman for the impact he had on the game, you've no business trying to look smart by selecting "the O-line" or "the D-line" as the MVP.

Given that Brett Favre has retired, I'd have to go with Derek Anderson, or Eli Manning, if only because of the way he came from behind and put Tom Brady's face in the mud at the Super Bowl.

Currently: Peyton Manning.

Of all time: Brett Favre


Here is a list of Brett Favres records:

Most TD passes: 442

Most passing yards: 61,655

Most passing attempts: 8,758

Most wins by a starting QB: 160

Most consecutive starts, quarterback: 253 (275 including playoffs)

Most 3,000-yard passing seasons: 16

Most consecutive 3,000-yard passing seasons: 16

Most pass completions: 5,377

Most seasons with 30-plus TD passes: 8

Most consecutive games with a TD pass, postseason: 18

Most NFL MVP awards: 3

Jon Kitna woooo!

Roger Staubach was John Elway before there was a John Elway.

Not even close. If anything, the line should look like this.


Sammy Baugh --- Fran Tarkenton --- John Elway --- ?


The question mark is there because there simply isn't yet a totally complete Quarterback in the NFL who can continue in the same vein as those guys. Arm strength, accuracy, speed, and elusiveness... There's not one Quarterback that's active at this point in time that has such an exceptionally balanced combination of those traits.

Michael Vick? Hardly. He had to rely on his legs because he was such a poor passer. And he's probably out of the NFL for the rest of his life, so mentioning him is moot anyway.

Marino's a deserving Hall of Famer and one of the best quarterbacks ever to play the game, but when you talk about the strongest arms he's quite a ways down the list. In modern-day terms, his arm is more comparable to Manning's than to Palmer's.

Not quite... Marino had a better arm than Palmer in his pre-1995 days. It's really quite easy to see, especially from footage of games he played back in the 80s (1984 comes to mind). He still holds the record for the quickest release of all-time (John Elway had something like 0.337 seconds, whereas Dan Marino had it around 0.244).

Elway could easily throw the ball harder and farther, and I don't doubt his *somewhat* slower release time was more an issue of throwing motion than pure arm strength (though Dan was quite a lot larger than John, especially in the arm muscle department). But John could throw the ball higher than a punter could kick it, and as long as the field. He could throw so unbelievably well that the Broncos used him in punt return practice instead of the punter.

Again, just look at video footage. Even Brett Favre can't compare to Elway's holy grail of an arm. I'd say Favre is just behind Marino in arm strength... In their prime, mind.

Kellen Clemens, anyone?

No?

>.>

Kellen Clemens, anyone?

No?

>.>

You must die.

*thwarts*

Kellen Clemens, anyone?

No?

>.>

Dear God, I think they'd be better off bringing Testaverde back.

Now that's saying something. :D

Michael Vick. At least if you're talking dogs. "Deadly" is subjective.

Not quite... Marino had a better arm than Palmer in his pre-1995 days. It's really quite easy to see, especially from footage of games he played back in the 80s (1984 comes to mind). He still holds the record for the quickest release of all-time (John Elway had something like 0.337 seconds, whereas Dan Marino had it around 0.244).

I'll defer to you on this one, as I have to admit I don't remember the young Dan Marino particularly well. I do remember the quick release, though -- he could really fire the ball out of there.

Elway could easily throw the ball harder and farther, and I don't doubt his *somewhat* slower release time was more an issue of throwing motion than pure arm strength (though Dan was quite a lot larger than John, especially in the arm muscle department). But John could throw the ball higher than a punter could kick it, and as long as the field. He could throw so unbelievably well that the Broncos used him in punt return practice instead of the punter.

Again, just look at video footage. Even Brett Favre can't compare to Elway's holy grail of an arm. I'd say Favre is just behind Marino in arm strength... In their prime, mind.

As a Broncos fan, this I do remember. Unbelievable arm.

I'll defer to you on this one, as I have to admit I don't remember the young Dan Marino particularly well. I do remember the quick release, though -- he could really fire the ball out of there.

There's a video on YouTube of the Pitt Panthers playing the Georgia Bulldogs in the 1981 season's Sugar Bowl. It's 4th and 4, and Marino backpedals (nobody could backpedal like him, period), sets up, and just fires a laser way down the field for a touchdown to win the game in the final seconds.

And it was like it was effortless, as if he was throwing it ten yards. And it was so fast and accurate, not floaty like Carson Palmer's passes.

There's a video on YouTube of the Pitt Panthers playing the Georgia Bulldogs in the 1981 season's Sugar Bowl. It's 4th and 4, and Marino backpedals (nobody could backpedal like him, period), sets up, and just fires a laser way down the field for a touchdown to win the game in the final seconds.

And it was like it was effortless, as if he was throwing it ten yards. And it was so fast and accurate, not floaty like Carson Palmer's passes.

I started watching football when I was three and the first game I remember was a Fins vs Seahawks game. The play that sticks out in my mind from that game was a last second bomb to one of the Marks Brothers. It wasn't caught, but the pass was so deep and it was thrown so casually, as if throwing a ball 60 yards through the air was a game of simple pitch and catch. I know of one incident where he broke a receiver's hands during training camp while throwing a 40 yard pass, he was pissed at the receiver because he dropped a beauty of a lob and decided he'd teach the idiot a lesson. I guess there were two lessons there, really:

1) A football in the hands of a pissed-off Dan Marino makes him as deadly as Chuck Norris.

2) Don't drop Dan Marino's passes if you like your football career.

I am always amazed at how much power some guys can impart to the ball WITHOUT setting up. Favre, Marino, Elway all have that ability to just arm teh living hell out of a football.

You must die.

*thwarts*
:(
Dear God, I think they'd be better off bringing Testaverde back.

Now that's saying something. :D

Pfft. Just wait until Clemens makes like Clemens and bulks up on steroids. You'll see!

Current best QB=Peyton, all time=I have no freaking idea.