Top 50 Quarterbacks of All-Time

Lists like this are always going to be cause for debate, so I will limit my comments on that. Kudos for Graham and Unitas being in the top 6. I understand that Elway's career numbers are better, but I still think Bradshaw (with 4 Super Bowl wins and two SB MVPs) should be higher than Elway. And I'm a little surprised that Manning is so high on this list. Again, must be the overall numbers.

Question: I am guessing that there is no added weight given for numbers/accomplishments achieved in postseason play? I'd think that these numbers could shake things up a bit.

Superbowl MVPs are something my friends and I have argued whether or not I should include. My argument was that it has such a weak resume of winners that I felt that it had not backing for an argument. Other arguments for it would be that when a QB wins it has more meaning. But when Peyton won his, Dominic Rhodes really had the better game.

I like this article a bit better... ;P

I love McNabb, but there's no way he's higher than Simms, Moon and Brees.

Wait, Hasselbeck, Bulger, AND Garcia are in it?

You didn't count Garcia's stats from the CFL, did you?

I think it seems fair though to give Joe Montana the top spot. Pretty decent li......Kerry Collins?

Cunninghame > Bulger, Hasselback, Collins, and a bunch of others you have above him :)

I believe Cunningham is a great quarterback. Players like Bulger and Hasselback will slowly decline as their years go on because their numbers will go down. Cunningham was hurt by the fact that he was a backup for part of his career and was injury prone. Same with Warren Moon. I'm assuming that the true greats never really were backups. Yes some spent time on the bench like Young and Warner. But in the big picture their numbers are able to overcome the years that they weren't in the starting lineup. There are some names on my top fifty that I'm not very happy with, but that is what my outcome came out to be. I didn't adjust the formula because of my own personal unhappiness. If you look at my top 18, everyone is in the Hall of Fame excluding the active players.

What about the older QBs? Most are rated too low and some not even included. What about Sammy Baugh? Bobby Layne? Bob Waterfield? etc. They certainly are in the top 50.....

Any All Time Greatest list with both Jake Delhomme and Jake Plummer on it is crazy wacked. And putting Dan Fouts BEHIND Boomer Esiason, Rich Gannon, and Steve McNair is just nuts.

Where is David Carr?

Your formula is ok, but I agree with 1/2 of the people on that list. To start Montana at the top. Then Tom Brady 3 super bowl wins 4 appearances, and the best single season with 50 touch down passes. 52 td's overall, he had 2 rushing in 2007. Then 3rd Terry Bradshaw. 4th Dan Marino even though he never one super bowl. 5th Payton Manning. I'll make a better list and people will like mine more.

randall cunningham at #50 hes way better than half those prople on the list. he revolutionized the qb position as one of the first running qb. he in the top 25 at least probably one the more atheletic qbs to play the game.

Bobby Layne was recently named as the 32nd best football player (all positions included) of all time. He won 3 NFL Champinships during the 1950s before there was a Super Bowl. Where is Bobby Layne?

In the year 2000 50 sports writers rated Sammy Baugh as the 5th best quarterback ever. Baugh was considered the best quarterback from the late 1930s through the early 1950s with Sid Luckman being him only competion.

In the older days of football quarterbacks threw down field more often and also threw more low percentage passes. The game was a lower scoring one. It was highly unusual to gain a 1000 yards rushing and to pass for over 2500 yards. Statistics should not be used against the older quarterbacks.

I am not an old foogy but do appreciate and admire the great players in football who played in other eras. I do like your list and the fact that you developed a criteria for assessment.

You need to re-work the formula to make it meaningful. Taking career stats and dividing by years of service really skews things badly. Some guys played in 12 game season, some 14 and some 16. Some years were strike years. Young spent 4.5 seasons being Montanas backup, but you are counting that against him statistically.

I'd suggest either yards, tds and ints per game as the measure for those stats or yards per game, int% and td%.

Even then you are sort of screwed because of the passing rules changes in 78 (db-receiver contact and OL being allowed open hands and straightened arms)

Anyway, dividing by years of service makes those particular categories meaningless.

ok whoever did this list is clearly retarded. you put matt hasselback in there and not big ben..big ben set multible rookie records including youngest quarter back to win a super bow. he has been in the league for 5 years and already has 2 and hasselback is not even close to that..you deffinetly need ot refine your list

There's no Jurgensen on this list, which makes it pretty bad.

How do you have any list without Elway 1 or 2? Take a look at numbers, people around him (took them 3 times to Super Bowl with only one 1000 yard rusher...and lost, but still). 5 total Super Bowls! Montana had a ton more talent around him (Craig, Rice, Lott, great defense). I give Montana credit for making the passes and winning, but he had a great all start cast around him...that helped a bunch. Look at Elway and his cast for the 3 Super Bowls that he lost...you cannot find many other QBs that took a team single-handed to the Super Bowl, let alone 3 times. I like Cunningham...he was a fun QB to watch!

You formula must be flawed because I don't see Sonny Jurgenson on this list.

Whenever you do a straight up comparison of guys from today versus guys from before the 1980's your results are always going to be skewed.

Also you have way too much weight attached to Super Bowl wins, shown by having Jim Plunkett at 35, while Warren Moon is only at 33.

You can't tell me that Warren Moon was only marginally better then Jim Plunkett, simply because Plunkett happened to play on a great team.

where is sammy baugh you jackass. you dont know shit about football if ur putting jake plummer, kurt warner and jeff garcia is the top 50. ur a fuckin hillbilly go bang ur mom since u dont kow dick about being a good qb

Donovan McNabb over Warren Moon??????? WOW!!! I am a Carolina Panthers fan and would not put Jake Delhomme in the top 500............U R Crazy man!

Press on "Jim Kelly" and you get some baseball player born in 1888!

i personally think this list has no validity. it does not take into account the fact that certain quarterbacks had better defences which allow QBs like Brady to win suberbowls that he otherwise would not have won. it also does not take into account the fact that QBs such as Manning have pure raw talent as well as being smart QBs. Brady could never call plays at the line like Manning or make average recievers look like pro bowl recievers like he can. Winning superbowls takes a team e ffort and thats the only reason why Brady or Aikman have any. The proof is in the fact that Cassel, who hasnt played since high school lead the team to an 11-5 record (which should have been a playoff birth) and now is one of the worst QBs in the league. They won because they had a supporting cast. If you look at the actual statistics and how the quarterback manages a game Manning is the best hands down. He can win without a run game or a run defense (proof is in the monday night football game against miami).

this list sucks, why the heck is delome and collins on but no rothlisburger

This list works at the top, but as you go down, you get some guys that don't really deserve to be there.