The final reveal of the NFL 100 All-Time Team took place last night on NFL Network. Earlier in the series the reveal of 26 players (14 defensive linemen and 12 linebackers) was jammed into one hour-long episode. NFL Network set aside two hours last night for 10 quarterbacks. The defensive linemen and the linebackers deserved their own reveals but that's for another time. This is about the quarterbacks. Everyone loves the quarterbacks. Last night's reveal was the biggie. The ten quarterbacks that will lead the NFL 100 All-Time Team were revealed. Rich Eisen had teased going in that the 10 chosen would cause a great deal of debate. These lists always do. Here are the quarterbacks of the NFL 100 All-Time Team:
1. Tom Brady
2. Brett Favre
3. Peyton Manning
4. Joe Montana
5. Sammy Baugh
6. Otto Graham
7. Johnny Unitas
8. Roger Staubach
9. John Elway
10. Dan Marino
I can understand the selection of each. In my opinion, if you're tackling the issue of the 10 greatest quarterbacks of all-time, there are seven that must be among the 10.
Joe Montana
Tom Brady
Johnny Unitas
Peyton Manning
Sammy Baugh
Otto Graham
Dan Marino
Adding the final three is wide open for debate. There were 22 finalists for the final 10. I can truly see reasons for any of the 22 making it to the final 10. The three that did make it were Brett Favre, Roger Staubach, and John Elway. Those are three of the most entertaining quarterbacks of my lifetime. As a Minnesota Vikings fan, Staubach drove me nuts in the 1970s He would've driven me nuts even if that ridiculous Hail Mary pass had been ruled correctly. No lead was ever safe when he was on the field. Brett Favre? He may have been the single most entertaining quarterback to ever play. The good and the bad. On the field and off. John Elway? He was a bigger, stronger, faster Staubach. I like this quarterback group. I like it even if it isn't the 10 that I would've selected.
My guess at the 10 going into the reveal:
Joe Montana
Tom Brady
Johnny Unitas
Peyton Manning
Sammy Baugh
Otto Graham
Drew Brees
Dan Marino
Aaron Rodgers
Bart Starr
Perhaps it's my Cal-bias as an alum, I really think that Aaron Rodgers is one of the 10 greatest quarterbacks to ever play. He's one of the 4-5 greatest quarterbacks of my lifetime. Unfortunately for him, and Drew Brees, when it comes to making exclusive teams/lists such as this is that he's still scripting his legacy. How a quarterback ends their career is often what gets them on lists and teams such as this one. I don't think that Elway makes this team if he hadn't ended his career with two Super Bowl titles.
Favre and Brady were on the set with Eisen, Bill Belichick, and Cris Collinsworth. That was fun. I will never tire of listening to Favre tell football stories. These conversations between players and Belichick and Collinsworth were the highlight of the entire series. And the Ed Reed-Belcihick conversation was the highlight of those highlights. Followed closely by Favre and Lawrence Taylor tales. The only complaint that I have with this series is jamming the linebackers and defensive linemen into one episode. It was so rushed, especially at the end of the episode, and didn't give proper respect to all members of the team. It would've been best if each of the episodes were two hours long. I could've gone without the hour-long "reaction" shows that followed each position reveal. That complaint aside, I thoroughly enjoyed the NFL 100 All-Time Team series. I love that the voters gave pre-Super Bowl era players the respect that they deserved. Even if it might've kept Adrian Peterson off of the team. Belichick was a star. It was awesome to see him just talk football. Most people have pigeon-holed him as a curmudgeon. I've always seen him as a fantastic football coach that has great respect for the history of the game. His enthusiasm and love for the game was obvious and it was so great to see.
Congratulations to the 100 players and 10 coaches that made the NFL 100 All-Time Team. The series is complete and I miss it already.
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