Top 10 Quarterbacks of All Time Football Players (American)
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Top 10 Quarterbacks of All Time

mathayus mathayus 64,514 views 10 items
It's the most glamorous position in all of American sports, and possibly the most debated. Here are my choices for 10 best quarterbacks to ever grace the gridiron.
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  1. 1

    Otto Graham

    When I point out to people that Graham's accomplishments surpass every other quarterback in history, they inevitably respond that things were different back then, and you've got to normalize the accomplishments a bit to really have a fair comparison. They're right, but they're wrong. You do have normalize Graham's accomplishments, but they're so far ahead of everyone else, that they only way he loses is if you insist on throwing them out. For example, while Joe Montana had 3 All-League years, Graham 9 in a career shortened by WWII.

    Add in also: Pretty much everyone agrees that Jim Brown stacks up favorably to running backs that have come since. But Brown joined the same team Graham had left just a year before, and while he had a positive impact, it was clearly not in the same league as Graham.
  2. 2

    Joe Montana

    Aside from the off-the-charts career of Graham, I can't put anyone else ahead of Montana. Aside from his stellar regular season career, his playoff performances, and how they clearly improved on his regular play makes him the standard by which I judge modern quarterbacks.
  3. 3

    Johnny Unitas

    Unitas is the pre-80s quarterback most often works his way into these type of discussions, and for good reason, he accomplishments clearly surpass his peers, and later quarterbacks including Montana. When you do the era normalization though, and consider just how amazingly good Montana was in the playoffs, he slides in at #3.
  4. 4

    Brett Favre

    Sigh. It's frustrating watching the end of Favre's career. What can't be denied: His recklessness causes problems that the other great quarterbacks don't have, but the dude is 40 and his been at or near MVP caliber performance his whole career. The way the Vikings came alive when he joined the team says it all.
  5. 5

    Peyton Manning

    It seems inevitable to me that Manning will at least spend some time at #2 on my list. He just won MVP #4, surpassing everyone but Graham (who had 6). If he ends up having longevity like Favre, playing at the level he does, it will be hard to keep him from being #1. Nobody's smarter, and nobody works harder.

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  1. Rochel Hnat
    Top 10 Quarterbacks of All Time at 10/07/2012 5:30 AM
    this page is a good info place for top ten quarterbacks of all time (yes, info place)
  2. Francene Thoen
    Top 10 Quarterbacks of All Time at 9/04/2012 8:30 AM
    this is an alright resource for top 10 qbs of all time
  3. Carey Dimaria
    Top 10 Quarterbacks of All Time at 8/06/2012 6:30 AM
    yeah, this is a good place if you're looking for top 10 quarterbacks of all time
  4. Bryon Metelus
    Top 10 Quarterbacks of All Time at 8/05/2012 3:30 PM
    ah, i guess i'll refer people to this best quarterbacks of all time page
  5. allen
    Top 10 Quarterbacks of All Time at 5/09/2012 7:48 PM
    Are you kidding me? Dan marino is at least 3 and brady mich better than manning or farve!
  6. Pallknowing1
    Top 10 Quarterbacks of All Time at 12/09/2011 10:45 PM
    Yes Elway was the best QB to ever step onto the field followed by Manning, Marino, Young, Moon. All of which had more talent knowledge, and execution than the "Winner" qb's such as Montana, Brady, Aikman, Unitas, Bradshaw, Namath, etc.
  7. hillen22
    Brett Favre at 6/19/2011 11:04 PM
    I completely agree......I wish he would have gone out like Elway and the whole text bull would not have happened because he would arguably be 2-3 all time. #4 for #4 is appropriate as I never watched Graham, however Montana was awesome same with Johnny U.
  8. KoloradoKaos
    John Elway at 3/31/2011 8:52 AM
    No QB did more with less than John Elway did. He carried three mediocre teams to the Superbowl, something that Peyton Manning, Bret Favre, Steve Young, Dan Marino and countless other couldn't do once. If he would have had TD, Sharpe, Smith, Eddie Mac and Shannahan for his entire career like Montana had Craig, Rice, JT and Walsh, there would be no comparison and no need for this tired discussion. John Elway succeeded and won games despite the ball and chain that was Dan Reeves and a poor supporting cast of team mates. Dan Reeves was so against John Elway that he had the nerve to draft Tommy Maddox in the first round instead of an OL, WR or RB even though the offensive line was so bad that John Elway is to this day the most sacked QB of all time. Unlike Jim Kelley, Bret Favre, and Dan Marion, none of Elway's skill position players from the Reeves era will ever be in the HoF. John Elway is Joe Montana, Steve Young, Dan Marino and Bret Favre all rolled into the greatest QB that ever was or ever will be. John Elway had it all and did it all.
    1. paymon
      Top 10 Quarterbacks of All Time at 2/07/2012 3:57 AM
      Joe Montana did not have Jerry Rice for his first two Superbowl wins. Rice had his rookie season in 1985, the year after Montana won his second Superbowl MVP with the 49ers against the Dolphins. His first was in 1982 against the Bengals. He would go on to win two more Superbowls and one more MVP, this time with Rice, against the 1989 & 90 against the Bengals (again) and Broncos.

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