Joe Montana is the best QB who has ever played

[Wicked Jester]

Montana was great, but not the greatest.

I'll take John Elway as probably the greatest pure quarterback. He never had the likes of a Jerry Rice or John Taylor to throw too, and the dude was as tough as they come.

 

[rightwinger]

Montana was great, but not the greatest.

I'll take John Elway as probably the greatest pure quarterback. He never had the likes of a Jerry Rice or John Taylor to throw too, and the dude was as tough as they come.

Head to head against Joe Montana

Joe Montana 55
John Elway 10

 

[Wicked Jester]

Montana was great, but not the greatest.

I'll take John Elway as probably the greatest pure quarterback. He never had the likes of a Jerry Rice or John Taylor to throw too, and the dude was as tough as they come.

Head to head against Joe Montana

Joe Montana 55
John Elway 10

John Elway never had two of the greatest receivers to ever play the game to throw too.

Like I said, Montana was great, but not the greatest.

As far as a pure quarterback goes, it's Elway all the way.

Hell. I'd throw in Unitas, Fouts, Staubach, Marino, Starr over Montana based on pure talent.

 

[rightwinger]

Montana was great, but not the greatest.

I'll take John Elway as probably the greatest pure quarterback. He never had the likes of a Jerry Rice or John Taylor to throw too, and the dude was as tough as they come.

Head to head against Joe Montana

Joe Montana 55
John Elway 10

John Elway never had two of the greatest receivers to ever play the game to throw too.

Like I said, Montana was great, but not the greatest.

As far as a pure quarterback goes, it's Elway all the way.

Hell. I'd throw in Unitas, Fouts, Staubach, Marino, Starr over Montana based on pure talent.

Talent? Probably 20 or more QBs with more talent than Montana

Heart and coolness under pressure.....nobody close

 

[Montrovant]

Montana was great, but not the greatest.

I'll take John Elway as probably the greatest pure quarterback. He never had the likes of a Jerry Rice or John Taylor to throw too, and the dude was as tough as they come.

Head to head against Joe Montana

Joe Montana 55
John Elway 10

John Elway never had two of the greatest receivers to ever play the game to throw too.

Like I said, Montana was great, but not the greatest.

As far as a pure quarterback goes, it's Elway all the way.

Hell. I'd throw in Unitas, Fouts, Staubach, Marino, Starr over Montana based on pure talent.

Ignoring the argument of Elway as the greatest (I disagree strongly), John Taylor is not one of the greatest receivers to ever play. That's laughable. I am a Niner fan, I was a Niner fan when Rice and Taylor were playing, I watched Taylor score two 90+ yard TDs in a single game, and I still say it's laughable. He was a good #2 receiver. Perhaps the best #2 of his time. That's a far cry from one of the best ever.

I agree that Montana was blessed with some great receivers during his 49er career. He was still superior to Elway IMO.

 

[Wicked Jester]

Head to head against Joe Montana

Joe Montana 55
John Elway 10

John Elway never had two of the greatest receivers to ever play the game to throw too.

Like I said, Montana was great, but not the greatest.

As far as a pure quarterback goes, it's Elway all the way.

Hell. I'd throw in Unitas, Fouts, Staubach, Marino, Starr over Montana based on pure talent.

Ignoring the argument of Elway as the greatest (I disagree strongly), John Taylor is not one of the greatest receivers to ever play. That's laughable. I am a Niner fan, I was a Niner fan when Rice and Taylor were playing, I watched Taylor score two 90+ yard TDs in a single game, and I still say it's laughable. He was a good #2 receiver. Perhaps the best #2 of his time. That's a far cry from one of the best ever.

I agree that Montana was blessed with some great receivers during his 49er career. He was still superior to Elway IMO.

Put Elway on that team, and you get just as many wins and super bowls, if not more.....Elway never had a back like Roger Craig, who was one of the best catching the ball out of the backfield. Elway had Terrel Davis, a great back, but not the all around that Craig was. Elway also didn't have Bill Walsh. The MAIN reason for Montana's success. Walsh masterfully crafted a brilliant offense to make up for Montana's talent lacks....Montana was great, but certainly not the best ever.

 

[Truthseeker420]

Terry Bradshaw or Joe Namath.
When I was uh murkin I used to follow such idiocy.

Terry Bradshaw?

 

[candycorn]

Head to head against Joe Montana

Joe Montana 55
John Elway 10

John Elway never had two of the greatest receivers to ever play the game to throw too.

Like I said, Montana was great, but not the greatest.

As far as a pure quarterback goes, it's Elway all the way.

Hell. I'd throw in Unitas, Fouts, Staubach, Marino, Starr over Montana based on pure talent.

Ignoring the argument of Elway as the greatest (I disagree strongly), John Taylor is not one of the greatest receivers to ever play. That's laughable. I am a Niner fan, I was a Niner fan when Rice and Taylor were playing, I watched Taylor score two 90+ yard TDs in a single game, and I still say it's laughable. He was a good #2 receiver. Perhaps the best #2 of his time. That's a far cry from one of the best ever.

I agree that Montana was blessed with some great receivers during his 49er career. He was still superior to Elway IMO.

Just while we're on the topic; remember Freddie Solomon?

I have Elway and Marino on my Mt. Rushmore of QBs along with Montana and Brady...and about a dozen or so with chisels trying to put Manning's mug on there somewhere so I'm not too offended by the discussion about Elway.

I will say this though; if you're going to say Elway is the GOAT (Greatest of All Time), what do you base that on? Marino had 10,000 more yards in the career, 120 MORE TD passes than Elway, completed 800 more passes and had receivers who were also largely nobodies and no running game at all. Elway did have Shannon Sharpe which is more than you can say about Marino.

Elway, to me, satisfies a great number of desires I have for a quarterback to be great; he was a hell of a competitor. I remember they were playing the Chiefs one time. It was at Mile High and it was something like 10 degrees. It was December and the Broncos are trying to keep their unbeaten season alive against the hapless Chiefs who were probably just happy to leave KC. Anyway, the Broncos were down by 21 in the first half and came back to tie it. Then later on in the 2nd half, they were down by 10. And came back to win. Elway had 400 yards, 2 TD's and a pick; TD had 3 scores. But the glare he gave his team mates on that day--these guys were ready to call it a day early--brought them through. Absolutely magnificent leadership from one of the game's all time greats. A well deserved hall of famer and he could start for my team any day...any day that Montana doesn't.

 

[Toome]

Sorry, but I'm old school. When I look at the best QB that ever played, I have to go to the time BEFORE coaches called the plays and BEFORE QBs had the technical advantage of coordinators in the booth reviewing live camera footage and calling down what they saw. I define a true quarterback as one who has to read the defense himself and come up with the call himself. That eliminates most, if not all, of today's quarterbacks. It whittles the list down to the following:

Ken "the Snake" Stabler: have to start off with him because he should NOT be as good as he was. He had bad knees from lots of injuries and couldn't stay in the pocket to save his life no matter how good the line was blocking. But if you were behind late in the fourth quarter, you KNEW Stabler was going to win it for you. He had this uncanny ability to find receivers and find some way to win the game, even if it meant intentionally fumbling the ball with his infamous "fumble pass" against the Chargers. Hence, the NFL fumble rule.

Honorable mentions to Fran Tarkenton, Roger Staubach and Johnny Unitas. However, it doesn't mean a thing if you can't win the Big Game. And these are my Big Game picks:

Joe Montana, Terry Bradshaw and Otto Graham. Great QBs with impressive numbers during the regular season and post season who won championship games. But as great as they were, there are two, in my book, who stand out as the best of all time; they are the ones who intimidated defenses because if they weren't stopped, then it was going to be a long day for the defense. Defensive linemen pulled out all the stops and hit 'em as hard as they could under the Old Rules and then shit their pants if theses QBs got back up because they knew it was now their turn to pull out a play from the Dirty Tricks Book.

Sammy Baugh and Bart Starr. Can't decide which one was better, but they won Championship Games. Period. They delivered pain to the defense. Period. They played by the Old Rules and not with today's pampered rules which guarantee good quarterback performances. Their numbers were earned the hard way. Their receivers had to fight to get in the open. Their linemen really had to block. And when all else failed, these QBs punched back when they were in the bottom of the pile. They were tough, gutsy and, more importantly, they delivered.

Today's pansies simply don't compare.

 

[Wicked Jester]

Sorry, but I'm old school. When I look at the best QB that ever played, I have to go to the time BEFORE coaches called the plays and BEFORE QBs had the technical advantage of coordinators in the booth reviewing live camera footage and calling down what they saw. I define a true quarterback as one who has to read the defense himself and come up with the call himself. That eliminates most, if not all, of today's quarterbacks. It whittles the list down to the following:

Ken "the Snake" Stabler: have to start off with him because he should NOT be as good as he was. He had bad knees from lots of injuries and couldn't stay in the pocket to save his life no matter how good the line was blocking. But if you were behind late in the fourth quarter, you KNEW Stabler was going to win it for you. He had this uncanny ability to find receivers and find some way to win the game, even if it meant intentionally fumbling the ball with his infamous "fumble pass" against the Chargers. Hence, the NFL fumble rule.

Honorable mentions to Fran Tarkenton, Roger Staubach and Johnny Unitas. However, it doesn't mean a thing if you can't win the Big Game. And these are my Big Game picks:

Joe Montana, Terry Bradshaw and Otto Graham. Great QBs with impressive numbers during the regular season and post season who won championship games. But as great as they were, there are two, in my book, who stand out as the best of all time; they are the ones who intimidated defenses because if they weren't stopped, then it was going to be a long day for the defense. Defensive linemen pulled out all the stops and hit 'em as hard as they could under the Old Rules and then shit their pants if theses QBs got back up because they knew it was now their turn to pull out a play from the Dirty Tricks Book.

Sammy Baugh and Bart Starr. Can't decide which one was better, but they won Championship Games. Period. They delivered pain to the defense. Period. They played by the Old Rules and not with today's pampered rules which guarantee good quarterback performances. Their numbers were earned the hard way. Their receivers had to fight to get in the open. Their linemen really had to block. And when all else failed, these QBs punched back when they were in the bottom of the pile. They were tough, gutsy and, more importantly, they delivered.

Today's pansies simply don't compare.

Stabler was definitely great. Not only was he tough, he could come out and deliver while suffering from a severe hangover and still half drunk. (His own admission, btw)

And you're right about the old schoolers. They were a different breed. And that's why I put Elway at the top of the modern breed. The dude was tough as nails. The dude could make things happen when nothing else was happening. He used to drive Dan Reevesn nuts when the game plan formulated by the coaches wasn't working, Elway said screw it, and masterfully improvised his own on the fly......As Reeves said in the NFL network special on Elway...."Of course he pissed me off, right up until the whistle sounded in the fourth quarter and John engineered another win. He's up with their best of 'em, if not at the top of the list. There has been very few quarterbacks with the football savvy of John Elway."

 

[percysunshine]

Elway wins because I grew up in Denver, Colorado.

Don't even try to talk me out of my opinion.

 

[BolshevikHunter]

Montana was great, but not the greatest.

I'll take John Elway as probably the greatest pure quarterback. He never had the likes of a Jerry Rice or John Taylor to throw too, and the dude was as tough as they come.

Head to head against Joe Montana

Joe Montana 55
John Elway 10

That response was priceless rw! LMAO! I love it, because it's true.

Anyway, I think the top 3 modern era QB's ever will be this after Manning and Brady retire.......

1# - Peyton Manning

2# - Joe Montana

3# - Tom Brady

4# - John Elway

5# - Brett Favre (Sorry, Leads the league in Interceptions)

This comes from a die hard NFL fan who grew up a Niner fan. Forget Marino, You gotta have atleast one Superbowl win to even be considered, and then you add that to their career stats. ~BH

 

[BolshevikHunter]

Elway wins because I grew up in Denver, Colorado.

Don't even try to talk me out of my opinion.

Again, Like rw already pointed out...............................

Head to head against Joe Montana:

Joe Montana 55
John Elway 10

I rest our case! Buttttttttttttttttt, I really liked, and like John Elway alot. I think he was a great QB, and a great person as well. ~BH

 

[JimH52]

1# - Peyton Manning

2# - Joe Montana

3# - Terry Bradshaw

4# - Tom Brady

5# - John Elway

 

[Wicked Jester]

1) John Elway

2) Johnny Unitas

3) Joe Montana

4) Dan Marino

5) Tom Brady

 

[Wicked Jester]

We can only imagine what Staubach's record could have looked like had he not missed his first 4 year navy commitment.......He could very well have been the best ever.

 

[JimH52]

1) John Elway

2) Johnny Unitas

3) Joe Montana

4) Dan Marino

5) Tom Brady

You cannot leave P Manning off that list. Marino....He was great but no SB. That knocks him out of the top 5, IMHO.

 

[Wicked Jester]

1) John Elway

2) Johnny Unitas

3) Joe Montana

4) Dan Marino

5) Tom Brady

You cannot leave P Manning off that list. Marino....He was great but no SB. That knocks him out of the top 5, IMHO.

Manning's great, but I can't put him in the top 5, YET.

Gotta go with Marino's passing numbers. They stand on their own. If I was basing it soleley on SB's, Either winning them or simply getting their team there, than I would have to put Rothlesberger, Kelly, Simms, Aikman, Young, Etc. above Marino and Manning also, eh?

 

[LA RAM FAN]

Peyton Manning before Joe Montana or Tom Brady is a joke.Manning was almost as bad as Marino was in the big games.Always stunk up the joint in the playoffs the majority of the time when it counted.The only reason he won the superbowl before was he was playing against a team that did not belong there in the chicago bears.The Bears defense and speacil teams is what carried them that far to the superbowl that year.Rex Grossman showed his true colors that he did have the mentality of a starting quarterback and is now a bench warmer.Once Manning had to face a REAL team in the superbowl who had a good quarterback and offense to play against,he was a joke.Manning cant carry Montana jockstrap.

 

[LA RAM FAN]

1) John Elway

2) Johnny Unitas

3) Joe Montana

4) Dan Marino

5) Tom Brady

You cannot leave P Manning off that list. Marino....He was great but no SB. That knocks him out of the top 5, IMHO.

Manning's great, but I can't put him in the top 5, YET.

Gotta go with Marino's passing numbers. They stand on their own. If I was basing it soleley on SB's, Either winning them or simply getting their team there, than I would have to put Rothlesberger, Kelly, Simms, Aikman, Young, Etc. above Marino and Manning also, eh?

aman to that.Like i said,Manning couldnt carry the jockstrap of any of those quarterbacks you just mentioned except for Marino maybe since Manning DID win a superbowl.with the expected NFL strike season,I would say its pretty safe to say mannings best years are behind him now.He isnt getting any younger. he will be 35 next year and thats OLD for a quarterback.38 is the average age the greats retire.Marino,Elway,Montana.Favre was the exception.

btw Jester,when the Rams moved away from LA,did you do like I did and turn to the chargers since they were the only california team left there who had the same colors of the rams?