The quarterback finalists for the NFL 100 All-Time Team were released earlier this week. There are 22 finalists. 10 will make the team. Those 10 greats will be revealed tomorrow night during the NFL 100 All-Time Team finale on NFL Network. Here are the 22 finalists.
Troy Aikman
Sammy Baugh
Terry Bradshaw
Tom Brady
Drew Brees
John Elway
Brett Favre
Dan Fouts
Otto Graham
Bobby Layne
Sid Luckman
Peyton Manning
Dan Marino
Joe Montana
Joe Namath
Aaron Rodgers
Bart Starr
Roger Staubach
Fran Tarkenton
Johnny Unitas
Norm Van Brocklin
Steve Young
That's a fine list. The one quarterback that comes to mind that I'd like to see on the list is Y.A. Tittle. But which quarterback is removed? Norm Van Brocklin? A Hall of Famer for a Hall of Famer? Van Brocklin won two titles. Tittle won none. He did lead the New York Giants to three straight title games and nearly led the San Francisco 49ers to one. I don't see either Van Brocklin or Tittle making the exclusive final 10 so I suppose the debate means little. It'd be easier to make it 23 finalists.
So, which 10 quarterbacks do make the NFL 100 All-Time Team? Let's piece it together:
I would think that the following are on every voter's list. At least they should be.
Joe Montana
Tom Brady
Johnny Unitas
Peyton Manning
In my opinion, the following "old-timers" are as deserving to be among the 10 as the above four.
Sammy Baugh
Otto Graham
From there, the following should find a spot.
Drew Brees
Dan Marino
Aaron Rodgers
One spot remains. An argument can be made for Fran Tarkenton as he held all of the career passing records longer than any other quarterback. He held the records for nearly 20 years before Marino started breaking them. Baugh held them for a while but it fell well short of 20. Marino's time at the top was just over a decade before Brett Favre knocked him off of it. Tarkenton's long, strong run as the most prolific passer in the league's history was impressive. All but two of his 18 seasons were during the pre-Mel Blount Rule days. It was tough to pass during his time. It's gotten a whole lot easier every year since. Putting up 4,000 yards in an NFL season is routine now. It was a real challenge to hit 2,500 in the 1960s. Tarkenton's long run was helped by the fact that no youngish quarterbacks were close to his numbers at his retirement. Dan Fouts, Terry Bradshaw, Bob Griese, and Ken Anderson are quarterbacks that come to mind that were youngish in 1978 but they couldn't touch Tarkenton's numbers. He was ahead of his time. Despite all of that and my passion for Vikings football, I can't include Tarkenton in the final 10. I wouldn't be surprised if Favre gets the nod but I wouldn't go that way. Favre was one of most fun quarterbacks to watch play football. And that's coming from a Vikings fan. He also kept at least as many teams out of the Super Bowl with mind-numbing throws as he led to the big game. In my opinion, the final spot comes down to Bobby Layne, Roger Staubach, and Bart Starr. Terry Bradshaw and Sid Luckman are in the conversation but ultimately end up outside of it. Layne and Staubach are two of the greatest on-field leaders and two of the most resourceful quarterbacks to ever play. In the end, I have to go with Bart Starr. I probably wouldn't have gone that way if it weren't for the manner in which the talking heads currently go after Kirk Cousins for his 0-9 Monday Night Football record. If Cousins is solely responsible for his team losing nine Monday Night Football games, then Starr is solely responsible for his team winning five championships. Only Graham and Brady have won more titles and they're automatics for this team.
So, that gives us an All-Time team led by the following ten quarterbacks.
Joe Montana
Tom Brady
Johnny Unitas
Peyton Manning
Sammy Baugh
Otto Graham
Drew Brees
Dan Marino
Aaron Rodgers
Bart Starr
We'll see who actually makes this prestigious team tomorrow night.
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