Bleacher Report -- Most overrated QBs

[andicap]

i get this daily -- don't really agree with it much, but it can be fun, like today's 50 most overrated QBs. (Best were 10 best SI swimsuit models and the 10 top NFL teams for cheerleaders.)


http://bleacherreport.com/articles/524778-the-50-most-overrated-qbs-in-nfl-history

I'm incensed Eli Manning is on the list -- he led them to a Super Bowl fer chrissake! And I'd hardly call Trent Dilfer "overrated." I guess you get pretty desperate when u get that far down the list. Should have stuck to top 20. Plus at times he confuses "Overrated" with "Hyped."

But some picks are interesting. Bob Griese at 12th. He did win a couple of SBs. However he has a point that Griese was often named to the Pro Bowl on rep not performance. I love Favre being 11th -- all the picks he's thrown in key situations. Johnny Unitas 9th? Never mind. This shows the guy's a complete moron. Johnny U basically invented the position for modern times and won the most famous NFL championship game in history.

I won't ruin the suspense on the rest.

Your reaction?

[cj's dad]

As approached #1 and McNabb had not yet appeared my guess that he would at least be in the top 5 (if not #1)was looking good. Hell this bum didn't make the list and Unitas did. What is this guy on ? Crack ?

[andicap]

I agree with you 100% on McNabb. On an NFL Network segment, they explained why Shanahan benched McNabb in that game. They showed several clips in which McNabb made terrible decisions - didn't see wide open receivers, didn't make the progressions you would think a veteran QB would do in his sleep, etc. Granted, Rex Grossman was not the answer but I could understand Shanahan's frustration.

And McNabb came up craps in his Super Bowl appearance. Lot of talent wasted there.

Some interesting choices in the top 10 but Unitas' inclusion ruined the whole thing. I am guessing he was taking the QBs entire body of work and downgrading Johnny U for some of his later years. That's idiotic.

I remember one game later in Unitas' career where he went head to head with Namath throwing TD passes. The teams combined for about 100 points or so.

[BillW]

The dude surely relies on QB rating a lot (at least when it's convenient). Back when quarterbacks called their own plays, weren't treated like china dolls and a wide receiver was fair game to be hit as long as the ball wasn't in the air the ratings were definitely down and the interceptions were up. And BTW who in hell over rates Cordell Stewart? :eek:

[cj's dad]

I remember one game later in Unitas' career where he went head to head with Namath throwing TD passes. The teams combined for about 100 points or so.

I was there- still a season ticket at the time; it was quite a shootout.

New York Jets 44 at Baltimore Colts 34

Sunday, September 24, 1972

Stadium: Memorial Stadium, Start Time: 1:00, Surface: Surface: grass,
Weather: 63 degrees, relative humidity 74%, wind 8 mph




This game was pretty much JU's swan song :(






Jets

Comp- Att Yd TD INT

15 28 496 6 1



Colts

Comp- Att Yd TD INT

26 45 376 2 0

[BillW]

I was there- still a season ticket at the time; it was quite a shootout.

New York Jets 44 at Baltimore Colts 34

Sunday, September 24, 1972

Stadium: Memorial Stadium, Start Time: 1:00, Surface: Surface: grass,
Weather: 63 degrees, relative humidity 74%, wind 8 mph




This game was pretty much JU's swan song :(






Jets

Comp- Att Yd TD INT

15 28 496 6 1



Colts

Comp- Att Yd TD INT

26 45 376 2 0

An epic battle of 2 Pittsburgh boys! (Sorry Dennis, I just had to add that :lol: )

[cj's dad]

An epic battle of 2 Pittsburgh boys! (Sorry Dennis, I just had to add that :lol: )

Thanks for sharing !

BTW, I seem to remember that ol JU was playing right in your backyard and no one from the Steelers orginization was smart enough to sign him. (Sorry Bill, I just had to add that:lol:)

[BillW]

Thanks for sharing !

BTW, I seem to remember that ol JU was playing right in your backyard and no one from the Steelers orginization was smart enough to sign him. (Sorry Bill, I just had to add that:lol:)

He was a late bloomer :D

[sandpit]

He was a late bloomer :D

Must have been considering he signed with the University of Louisville because nobody else wanted him.

[Relwob Owner]

I agree with you 100% on McNabb. On an NFL Network segment, they explained why Shanahan benched McNabb in that game. They showed several clips in which McNabb made terrible decisions - didn't see wide open receivers, didn't make the progressions you would think a veteran QB would do in his sleep, etc. Granted, Rex Grossman was not the answer but I could understand Shanahan's frustration.

And McNabb came up craps in his Super Bowl appearance. Lot of talent wasted there.

Some interesting choices in the top 10 but Unitas' inclusion ruined the whole thing. I am guessing he was taking the QBs entire body of work and downgrading Johnny U for some of his later years. That's idiotic.

I remember one game later in Unitas' career where he went head to head with Namath throwing TD passes. The teams combined for about 100 points or so.


Couldnt agree more about McNabb....I have seen him play many games and have never once seen him seem to genuinely care about the result of a game he is playing in......

[sandpit]

Jets

Comp- Att Yd TD INT

15 28 496 6 1


496 yards on just 15 completions??? that's ridiculous; I bet nobody has averaged 33 yards per completion in a game ever; at least not with that many attempts.

[cj's dad]

496 yards on just 15 completions??? that's ridiculous; I bet nobody has averaged 33 yards per completion in a game ever; at least not with that many attempts.

To say this game was wide open would be an understatement

[Valuist]

I agree with you 100% on McNabb. On an NFL Network segment, they explained why Shanahan benched McNabb in that game. They showed several clips in which McNabb made terrible decisions - didn't see wide open receivers, didn't make the progressions you would think a veteran QB would do in his sleep, etc. Granted, Rex Grossman was not the answer but I could understand Shanahan's frustration.

And McNabb came up craps in his Super Bowl appearance. Lot of talent wasted there.

Some interesting choices in the top 10 but Unitas' inclusion ruined the whole thing. I am guessing he was taking the QBs entire body of work and downgrading Johnny U for some of his later years. That's idiotic.

I remember one game later in Unitas' career where he went head to head with Namath throwing TD passes. The teams combined for about 100 points or so.

Whether McNabb is no good now, or been overrated over the course of his career are completely different topics. Yes, he has not played well this season with the Redskins. But the guy took some very average supporting casts to 4 NFC championship games. When you consider that other than 2009 and the year TO was there, his top receivers were often guys like James Thrash, Todd Pinkston and Reggie Brown. Those are NOT good wide receivers by any measuring stick. He accomplished a lot with little help.

[Valuist]

496 yards on just 15 completions??? that's ridiculous; I bet nobody has averaged 33 yards per completion in a game ever; at least not with that many attempts.

I will take Vick's game against Washington over that:
20 of 28 passing for 333 yards, 4 TDs zero interceptions; QB rating over 150
8 carries 80 yards, 2 touchdowns

Here I am defending McNabb and Vick in the same thread and I'm not even an Eagles fan.

[pandy]

Just like speed figures, numbers cannot be the only measure of talent. This guy attempts to rate quarterbacks on stats like completion percentage, touchdowns vs interceptions, etc. On paper it seems to make sense, only it doesn't. Look at Namath, for instance. He threw a lot of interceptions and his completion percentage wasn't that great. But anyone who ever saw him play can tell you that he was one of the greatest passers ever. So how can that be? Simple, since he had a cannon he threw long often (the didn't have the so-called west coast offense in those days). Namath not only completed a lot of bombs but he also completed a lot of passes in the 20 to 30 yard range, moving his team down the field quickly. And the reason for the interceptions is because deep passes are risky and all deep passing quarterbacks get their share of interceptions, just like most home run hitters strike out a lot. The same holds true for John Elway, who had a cannon and threw long passes.

With strong arm accurate passers like Marino, Elway, Namath, a team is never out of the game because these guys can bring a team back from a deep deficit. According to stats at pro-football reference.com, here are the guys with the most 4th quarter comebacks. Actual is using his methodology, reported is the NFL's.


QB Reported Actual
John Elway 47 34
Brett Favre 42 27
Dan Marino 37 36
Peyton Manning 37 28
Drew Bledsoe 32 24
Joe Montana 31 31
Johnny Unitas 31 34
Tom Brady 28 20
Joe Namath 16 16
Roger Staubach 23 15
Ben Roethlisberger 19 15

[Valuist]

I finally looked at the full list. What I find odd is between 40 and 50 you see quite a few current or recently retired QBs.....QBs that nobody ever said was great. Kordell Stewart? Kerry Collins? Trent Dilfer? I don't think I've ever heard anyone say those guys were highly rated.

That said, I fully expected Namath to be near the top. Even back as a kid I remember wondering why he was considered so much better than his peers; he did have one great year and he did win a Super Bowl but the rest of his career was mediocre at best.

I will say this; it is difficult to compare the old timers completion percentages to current, and same with QB ratings. The rule changes have all favored the offense, so current QBs SHOULD have higher ratings than their predecessors.

[rastajenk]

I just flipped through them all, and found it pretty silly. Mark Sanchez? "He has had plenty of time to prove he's the next great thing..." or something like that. Really? The only one of the fifty I truly agreed with is Tony Romo.

I guess I'd need to see who the 50 most underrated QB's to get a feel for his sense of justice. Maybe he thinks Bob Waterfield or Bobby Douglas have gotten short shrift from NFL historians. I, for one, don't ever recall anyone thinking Ron Jaworski was so great, so what is it that makes him overrated?

[pandy]

Namath is in the Hall of Fame and had quite a few passing records in his time, you're the first person I ever heard call him mediocre. He was the first player to ever throw for over 4,000 years and did it in a 14 game season, was Rookie of the Year, and a 5 time all star. In 1999, he was ranked number 96 on The Sporting News' list of the 100 Greatest Football Players.

Another factor that is also overlooked by this guys stats, years ago the quarterbacks got rocked. They were not protected by the penalty rules as they are now. I remember when the Jets beat the Raiders to advance to the Super Bowl, Namath was hammered by a ferocious pass rush all game but with his quick release was able to get the ball away just before being hit and threw 3 touchdown passes including one in the final seconds for the win.

[pandy]

That's true what a couple of you pointed out, most of these guys he listed weren't over rated in the first place. But one thing is for certain, it's much easier to achieve a high passer rating now than it was years ago. The quarterbacks are protected by the rules, there are much more pass interference calls, the receivers are more protected by the rules than they used to be, and a lot of teams use the short pass (west coast offense). Chad Pennington has the highest passing percentage in the history of the NFL, another case of misleading stats.

[sandpit]

Chad Pennington has the highest passing percentage in the history of the NFL, another case of misleading stats.

He isn't even the best qb named Chad on his team...

[Valuist]

Best QB on Miami? From what I've seen, it isn't Henne.

Pandy-

I don't doubt that Namath did have one phenomenal season but other than that, he was not better than other QBs who played in that era, like Unitas, Jurgenson or Starr. I do agree with your point that it is difficult to compare QB ratings from different eras, however, due to the rule changes that have hurt the defense and benefit offense.

I also saw they had Jim Kelly on their list. The guy took the Bills to Super Bowls in FOUR CONSECUTIVE SEASONS. Yes, they lost all four (but realistically should've only won one). As a society, we are so "end result focused" that a guy like Kelly is unfairly criticized.

[pandy]

I agree about Jim Kelly, who I personally feel was a great player. But Namath was a great player too, as was Unitas and Sonny Jorgenson. Bart Starr was a leader but did not have the physical talents of Namath and some of the other guys, but he was blessed with playing for a dynasty and a great coach. The team a QB plays on has a lot to do with his success.

Namath's career stats are hurt by several years of playing for a poor Jets team, and then the last couple of years in the league, including his last with the Rams, he lost his arm strength and he was unwilling to resort to the sort passes.

Of course, I'm a Jets fan and to us Broadway Joe is the Jets and aways will be. I'm amazed when I go to the games how many people, including teenagers have Number 12 on.

Generally speaking, quarterbacks get too much credit when they win and too much blame when they lose. Super Bowls are won by good or great teams with the right balance of offense and defense, not by quarterbacks or any one player. The two biggest sport bets I've ever made in my life were on the Skins in the Super Bowl, with Doug Williams at QB, and on Tampa Bay in the Super Bowl with Brad Johnson at QB, proof that you don't need a great QB to be a Super Bowl winner.

[skate]

tough call

my top ten;
Hournung
Blanda
Cunungham
Moon
Tarkenton
Fouts
Bradshaw
Montana
Young
McNabb


my bottom ten;
AikmanTroy=10