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THE BROWNS BOARD

The Greatest QB in History. You Decide


The Gipper

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Tom Brady...or...Donovan McNabb



Joe Montana...or...Randall Cunningham



John Elway...or...Boomer Esiason



Otto Graham...or...Kerry Collins



Peyton Manning...or...Joe Theisman



Terry Bradshaw...or...Phil Simms



Bart Starr...or...Bob Griese



Brett Favre...or...Ken Stabler



Sid Luckman...or...Kurt Warner



Sammy Baugh...or...Ben Roethlisberger



Dan Marino...or...Fran Tarkenton



Troy Aikman...or...Eli Manning



Steve Young...or...Aaron Rodgers



Jim Kelly...or...Len Dawson



John Unitas...or...Norm Van Brocklin



Roger Staubach...or Y.A. Tittle



Kelly/Dawson and Starr/Griese were the tough choices.


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This link 'Cold Hard Football Facts' is to an old (2008) article titled "The definitive list: Top 10 NFL quarterbacks".

 

I was recently on the Cold Hard Football Facts site looking for a comprehensive article for explaining the need for balance in football teams as opposed to thinking 'defenses wins games', so I thought I would check to see what those guys had to say. The above link is what I found.

 

Whereas the GOAT NFL QB is somewhat subjective (in the eyes of the beholder) the CHFF guys put numbers to the QBs to came up with their view.

 

I don't necessarily agree with them because I have strong biases against some in the list but I think you guys will like what's said about their their #4 GOAT.

 

Article excerpt:

 

4. OTTO GRAHAM (Cleveland 1946-55)

 

Best NFL season (1953): 167 for 258 (64.7%), 2,722 yards, 10.6 YPA, 11 TD, 9 INT, 99.7 passer rating

 

Career (includes AAFC career): 1,464 for 2,626 (55.8%), 23,584 yards, 9.0 YPA, 174 TD, 135 INT, 86.6 passer rating

 

Championships: AAFC 1946-49; NFL 1950, 1954, 1955

 

Overview: Otto Graham was Tom Brady before Tom Brady, putting up gaudy numbers for his time while winning games and championships at an unprecedented rate. He led the Browns to a championship in all four years of the AAFC's existence (1946-49). But he and the Browns proved they belonged in the big leagues by capturing the NFL title in their first year in the league.

 

In fact, they'd go on to set a record that still stands, appearing in six straight NFL championship games from 1950 to 1955, winning three of them. Bottom line: Graham played in a pro football championship game every single season of his 10-year career, winning seven of them in two different leagues.

 

He also set passing marks that stood for decades. His 86.6 passer rating, for example, is the top mark of the pre-Live Ball Era. And his career 9.0 YPA is No. 1 by a sizable margin.

 

So why, then, isn't Graham higher on the list?

 

His four years in the AAFC make for some awkward comparisons. There's every reason to believe the Browns would have been a dominant NFL team over those four years, but little reason to believe they would have won four straight championships. Graham's numbers also declined pretty noticeably when he went to the NFL, from simply unbelievable to merely spectacular. His career 9.0 YPA average, for example, drops to 8.63 if we look only at his NFL numbers. Of course, that 8.63 YPA mark is the best in NFL history, too.

 

The full measure of Graham's impact is this: the organization has never recovered from his departure at the end of the 1955 season. Sure, they remained competitive through the Jim Brown years (1957-65), winning a championship in 1964.

 

But that's the only championship the organization won since Graham last took a snap for the Browns.

Wonderful. Where are your votes? You can talk about him all you want...and that is all good talk, but he won't advance in this contest unless you vote for him.

Edit: I also think the same situation can be said for any number of other franchises...one great star brought them titles.

Look at New England. Had a couple of shots at the apple but no one ever matched Brady for what that team did.

Same with the Broncos and Elway. The Vikings haven't made it since Tarkenton. Dawson and the Chiefs. Where have the Jets been since Namath.

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Tom Brady...or...Donovan McNabb

Joe Montana...or...Randall Cunningham

John Elway...or...Boomer Esiason

Otto Graham...or...Kerry Collins

Peyton Manning...or...Joe Theisman

Terry Bradshaw...or...Phil Simms

Bart Starr...or...Bob Griese

Brett Favre...or...Ken Stabler

Sid Luckman...or...Kurt Warner

Sammy Baugh...or...Ben Roethlisberger

Dan Marino...or...Fran Tarkenton

Troy Aikman...or...Eli Manning

Steve Young...or...Aaron Rodgers

Jim Kelly...or...Len Dawson

John Unitas...or...Norm Van Brocklin

Roger Staubach...or Y.A. Tittle

Kelly/Dawson and Starr/Griese were the tough choices.

 

I think they will get tougher from here on out.

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Here we go with the Round of 32 matchups. Cast your vote for the better QB from these pairings:

 

My choices:

 

Tom Brady...or...Donovan McNabb

 

Joe Montana...or...Randall Cunningham

 

John Elway...or...Boomer Esiason

 

Otto Graham...or...Kerry Collins

 

Peyton Manning...or...Joe Theisman

 

Terry Bradshaw...or...Phil Simms

 

Bart Starr...or...Bob Griese

 

Brett Favre...or...Ken Stabler

 

Sid Luckman...or...Kurt Warner

 

Sammy Baugh...or...Ben Roethlisberger

 

Dan Marino...or...Fran Tarkenton

 

Troy Aikman...or...Eli Manning

 

Steve Young...or...Aaron Rodgers

 

Jim Kelly...or...Len Dawson

 

John Unitas...or...Norm Van Brocklin

 

Roger Staubach...or Y.A. Tittle

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Tom Brady...or...Donovan McNabb

 

Joe Montana...or...Randall Cunningham

 

John Elway...or...Boomer Esiason

 

Otto Graham...or...Kerry Collins

 

Peyton Manning...or...Joe Theisman

 

Terry Bradshaw...or...Phil Simms

 

Bart Starr...or...Bob Griese

 

Brett Favre...or...Ken Stabler

 

Sid Luckman...or...Kurt Warner

 

Sammy Baugh...or...Ben Roethlisberger

 

Dan Marino...or...Fran Tarkenton

 

Troy Aikman...or...Eli Manning

 

Steve Young...or...Aaron Rodgers

 

Jim Kelly...or...Len Dawson

John Unitas...or...Norm Van Brocklin

 

Roger Staubach...or Y.A. Tittle

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Here we go with the Round of 32 matchups. Cast your vote for the better QB from these pairings:

 

Tom Brady◀...or...Donovan McNabb

 

Joe Montana◀...or...Randall Cunningham

 

John Elway◀...or...Boomer Esiason

 

Otto Graham◀...or...Kerry Collins

 

Peyton Manning◀...or...Joe Theisman

 

Terry Bradshaw◀...or...Phil Simms

 

Bart Starr◀...or...Bob Griese

 

Brett Favre◀...or...Ken Stabler

 

Sid Luckman◀...or...Kurt Warner

 

Sammy Baugh◀...or...Ben Roethlisberger

 

Dan Marino◀...or...Fran Tarkenton

 

Troy Aikman◀...or...Eli Manning

 

Steve Young◀...or...Aaron Rodgers

 

Jim Kelly...or...Len Dawson◀

 

John Unitas◀...or...Norm Van Brocklin

 

Roger Staubach◀...or Y.A. Tittle

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Here we go with the Round of 32 matchups. Cast your vote for the better QB from these pairings:

 

Winners in this round:

 

Tom Brady...or...Donovan McNabb

 

Joe Montana...or...Randall Cunningham

 

John Elway...or...Boomer Esiason

 

Otto Graham...or...Kerry Collins

 

Peyton Manning...or...Joe Theisman

 

Terry Bradshaw...or...Phil Simms

 

Bart Starr...or...Bob Griese

 

Brett Favre...or...Ken Stabler

 

Sid Luckman...or...Kurt Warner

 

Sammy Baugh...or...Ben Roethlisberger

 

Dan Marino...or...Fran Tarkenton

 

Troy Aikman...or...Eli Manning

 

Steve Young...or...Aaron Rodgers

 

Jim Kelly...or...Len Dawson

 

John Unitas...or...Norm Van Brocklin

 

Roger Staubach...or Y.A. Tittle

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And here are the Matchups for the Round of 16:

 

Tom Brady...or...Len Dawson

 

Joe Montana...or...Steve Young

 

John Elway...or...Troy Aikman

 

Otto Graham...or...Roger Staubach

 

John Unitas...or...Terry Bradshaw

 

Peyton Manning...or...Dan Marino

 

Bart Starr...or...Brett Favre

 

Sid Luckman...or...Sammy Baugh

 

Cast Your Vote.

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1. Joe Montana

 

and that ends the discussion for me

 

No one is even close.

 

If I had to pick a guy just on talent alone I'd pick Marino, but he wasn't a winner

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And here are the Matchups for the Round of 16:

 

Tom Brady. W...or...Len Dawson

 

Joe Montana w...or...Steve Young

 

John Elway...or... W Troy Aikman

 

Otto Graham. W..or...Roger Staubach

 

John Unitas w...or...Terry Bradshaw

 

Peyton Manning w...or...Dan Marino

 

Bart Starr...or... W Brett Favre

 

Sid Luckman w...or...Sammy Baugh

 

Cast Your Vote.

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And here are the Matchups for the Round of 16:

 

Tom Brady...or...Len Dawson

 

Joe Montana...or...Steve Young

 

John Elway...or...Troy Aikman

 

Otto Graham...or...Roger Staubach

 

John Unitas...or...Terry Bradshaw

 

Peyton Manning...or...Dan Marino

 

Bart Starr...or...Brett Favre

 

Sid Luckman...or...Sammy Baugh

 

Cast Your Vote.

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And here are the Matchups for the Round of 16:

 

Tom Brady◀...or...Len Dawson

 

Joe Montana◀...or...Steve Young

 

John Elway◀...or...Troy Aikman

 

Otto Graham◀...or...Roger Staubach

 

John Unitas◀...or...Terry Bradshaw

 

Peyton Manning◀...or...Dan Marino

 

Bart Starr...or...Brett Favre◀

 

Sid Luckman◀...or...Sammy Baugh

 

Cast Your Vote.

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And here are the Matchups for the Round of 16:

 

Tom Brady...or...Len Dawson

 

Joe Montana...or...Steve Young

 

John Elway...or...Troy Aikman

 

Otto Graham...or...Roger Staubach

 

John Unitas...or...Terry Bradshaw

 

Peyton Manning...or...Dan Marino

 

Bart Starr...or...Brett Favre

 

Sid Luckman...or...Sammy Baugh

 

Cast Your Vote.

 

Had to rely on Wikipedia for Sid Luckman--Sammy Baugh. I ain't THAT fucking old.

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Tom Brady...or...Len Dawson



Joe Montana...or...Steve Young



John Elway...or...Troy Aikman



Otto Graham...or...Roger Staubach



John Unitas...or...Terry Bradshaw



Peyton Manning...or...Dan Marino



Bart Starr...or...Brett Favre



Sid Luckman...or...Sammy Baugh


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And here are the Matchups for the Round of 16:

 

MY votes

 

Tom Brady...or...Len Dawson

 

Joe Montana...or...Steve Young

 

John Elway...or...Troy Aikman

 

Otto Graham...or...Roger Staubach

 

John Unitas...or...Terry Bradshaw

 

Peyton Manning...or...Dan Marino

 

Bart Starr...or...Brett Favre

 

Sid Luckman...or...Sammy Baugh

 

Cast Your Vote.

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And here are the Matchups for the Round of 16:

 

Here are the winners in this round:

 

Tom Brady...or...Len Dawson

 

Joe Montana...or...Steve Young

 

John Elway...or...Troy Aikman

 

Otto Graham...or...Roger Staubach

 

John Unitas...or...Terry Bradshaw

 

Peyton Manning...or...Dan Marino

 

Bart Starr...or...Brett Favre

 

Sid Luckman...or...Sammy Baugh

 

Cast Your Vote.

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Tom Brady...or...Len Dawson

 

Joe Montana...or...Steve Young

 

John Elway...or...Troy Aikman

 

Otto Graham...or...Roger Staubach

 

John Unitas...or...Terry Bradshaw

 

Peyton Manning...or...Dan Marino

 

Bart Starr...or...Brett Favre

 

Sid Luckman...or...Sammy Baugh

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