On sports talk radio they were discussing the top 5 QBs off all time now that Manning has retired. Then callers were able to give their top 5 and explain why they picked who the selected.
A common phrase you hear is that it's hard to compare QBs from different eras. Rule were different, players ability were different, yada, yada.
So take Terry Bradshaw. He played from 1970 to 1983. 2 time Super Bowl MVP. Won 4 Super Bowls. He has lots of things to back up his play. When he came into the league there were only 26 teams.
John Unitas played even earlier beginning his career in 1956 and was a relevant QB until 1970, when he started 13 games. 26 teams in 2 leagues.
Joe Montana was a few decades ahead of the people retiring now. He won a bunch of Super Bowls & has 3 SB MVPs. His career began back when there were 28 teams. His last season was 1994.
Now here's the rub. In 1995 the league expanded to 30 teams. 2 more teams were added in 2002 and that is how many teams there are now. Teams are allowed 53 players. Most teams carry the same amount of players at each position. Back ups play on special teams often. So since Joe Montana left 4 teams have been added. On any given Sunday in 2016 there are 212 guy playing that 2 decades ago would not have been good enough to make a roster. The quality of play has to suffer. No wonder teams have trouble finding a franchise QB as there aren't 20 of those let alone 32.
Modern QBs get to pass against defenses that arguably have 8 crappy cornerbacks that shouldn't be in the league. They are only here due to expansion. Toss in the fact that the league has tweaked the rules to make it a pass happy league and now you get the bloated QB numbers that you see today.
When the leagues merged in 1970 the top passing team averaged 209 yards per game for 14 games. The bottom team averaged 113 yards a game. Today teams get 113 yards passing in a quarter and a half. The 1970 league average for completions was 51%.
Getting back to the radio show the consensus was that #1 is Tom Brady followed by Montana then Manning. Then the arguments start in earnest. Elway, Young, Staubach, Bradshaw, Unitas, Favre, Marino, Brees etc. Nobody mentioned RG3.
Warren Moon could be in the conversation if he wasn't banished to Canada for 6 years during his prime. Who's on your top 5 list?
A common phrase you hear is that it's hard to compare QBs from different eras. Rule were different, players ability were different, yada, yada.
So take Terry Bradshaw. He played from 1970 to 1983. 2 time Super Bowl MVP. Won 4 Super Bowls. He has lots of things to back up his play. When he came into the league there were only 26 teams.
John Unitas played even earlier beginning his career in 1956 and was a relevant QB until 1970, when he started 13 games. 26 teams in 2 leagues.
Joe Montana was a few decades ahead of the people retiring now. He won a bunch of Super Bowls & has 3 SB MVPs. His career began back when there were 28 teams. His last season was 1994.
Now here's the rub. In 1995 the league expanded to 30 teams. 2 more teams were added in 2002 and that is how many teams there are now. Teams are allowed 53 players. Most teams carry the same amount of players at each position. Back ups play on special teams often. So since Joe Montana left 4 teams have been added. On any given Sunday in 2016 there are 212 guy playing that 2 decades ago would not have been good enough to make a roster. The quality of play has to suffer. No wonder teams have trouble finding a franchise QB as there aren't 20 of those let alone 32.
Modern QBs get to pass against defenses that arguably have 8 crappy cornerbacks that shouldn't be in the league. They are only here due to expansion. Toss in the fact that the league has tweaked the rules to make it a pass happy league and now you get the bloated QB numbers that you see today.
When the leagues merged in 1970 the top passing team averaged 209 yards per game for 14 games. The bottom team averaged 113 yards a game. Today teams get 113 yards passing in a quarter and a half. The 1970 league average for completions was 51%.
Getting back to the radio show the consensus was that #1 is Tom Brady followed by Montana then Manning. Then the arguments start in earnest. Elway, Young, Staubach, Bradshaw, Unitas, Favre, Marino, Brees etc. Nobody mentioned RG3.
Warren Moon could be in the conversation if he wasn't banished to Canada for 6 years during his prime. Who's on your top 5 list?
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