Jim Hart was an undrafted rookie out of Southern Illinois in 1966, and joined the St. Louis Cardinals, where he would be a mainstay at the quarterback position until 1983 before playing one final season with the Washington Redskins in 1984. 1. That task fell to Marc Bulger. However, the fact that a guy hasn't won a Super Bowl doesn't mean he wasn't one of the best to ever play the position. He was known for running the no-huddle "K-Gun" offense- often calling two or three formations in the huddle and then immediately getting back into an offensive formation to keep the defense from making substitutions. He appeared in two Pro Bowls: the first with the Los Angeles Rams, who drafted him with the "bonus" draft pick that no longer exists in today's NFL draft, and the latter during his title season with the Bears. Forget stats, Terry Bradshaw was a winner as he won four Super Bowls as quarterback of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Tarkenton at his retirement owned pretty much every meaningful passing record. Eli Manning somehow escaped a sack before heaving the ball deep down the field for David Tyree, who made the famous "helmet catch," and we all know what happened next. From that logic, I figure I'm within my rights to bump the league's most polarizing player into the top 80. 3. Like in their first trip, however, the Bengals were defeated by Joe Montana and the San Francisco 49ers when Montana threw the winning touchdown pass to John Taylor with 34 seconds left in the game. NFL footage NFL Productions LLC. The "Blonde Bomber" didn't have eye-popping statistics, but he quarterbacked one of the great dynasties in NFL history: the 1970s Pittsburgh Steelers, who won four Super Bowl titles. Culpepper has never been the same since leaving Minnesota, but he had more than just one really good season. Unitas deserves every accolade he gets and then some as one of the league's all-time great quarterbacks. Griese was the quarterback at the helm during the height of the Miami Dolphins' dynasty in the early 1970s, and he experienced a career revival when he started wearing glasses during the 1977 season, revealing that he had very subpar vision in his right eye. His best years were 1974-1977, when he went to four straight Pro Bowls and his Cardinals made the playoffs twice. He did win a Super Bowl ring, but it came while he was backing up Staubach in Super Bowl XII. Prior to last season, there is no way that Brees would rank this highly in the top 100. He didnt retire until the age of 38. The perfect example of a quarterback that teams wouldn't use as their franchise guy because he didn't look like an NFL quarterback. These quarterbacks have started at least one game for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League, formerly known as the Boston Braves (1932), Boston Redskins (19331936), Washington Redskins (19372019), and Washington Football Team (20202021). This guy has one of the best winning percentages when he was with Den Ken Anderson was selected to four Pro Bowls and was named the league's Most Valuable Player in 1981 as well as being honored as the Comeback Player of the Year. Surprisingly, in terms of generations, the 18-25 age bracket takes the lions share for retirement planning, with 29%. But then the unthinkable happenedthe Patriots lost. Norm Van Brocklin played the first nine years of his twelve year career with the Los Angeles Rams and then finished his career with the Philadelphia Eagles. Brady's greatest legacy is still the three Super Bowl wins in the early 2000s. Some people feel that record is living on borrowed time, and yet, even the most prolific passers like Dan Marino and Peyton Manning have yet to take it down. If you talk to Troy Aikman, he'll tell you that he thinks he should be much higher; that because of the system he played in which was run-based he never got the chance to show what he could do. Trent Green was supposed to be the guy running the "Greatest Show on Turf" that eventually brought home a Super Bowl to St. Louis. Manning isn't typically thought of as a "clutch" quarterback, and despite his gaudy numbers, I'd rather have guys who just don't seem to feel pressure. Was shot and killed after a vehicle accident. It was at that point that things got surreal. However, in 1958, the Lions traded Layne to the Pittsburgh Steelers what happened then is the subject of much debate. 7 spot. Quarterback Drew Brees. Career Stats: 20,809 passing yards, 161 touchdowns and a 74.1 quarterback rating. Drew Brees is a Super Bowl champion and is one of the league's greatest passers in the game today; there's no reason why he should not be in Canton at the end of his career. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. Joe Montana is the greatest quarterback from the last five decades. most career TD passes) he also owns a couple of bad ones (i.e. Notable Stats Use without license or authorization is expressly prohibited. Theismann was notable for wearing only a single-bar face mask that would not obstruct his vision throughout his career, and is perhaps most remembered for how his career ended: Hall of Fame LB Lawrence Taylor snapped Theismann's leg in half on a Monday Night Football game in November of 1985 while sacking the Redskins' QB. Of course, going by purely numbers was never something that Cunningham did. Favre's iron man streak of 292 consecutive starts (and counting) is maybe his most recognizable number, and while he owns a number of great records (i.e. Career Stats: 19,154 passing yards, 164 touchdowns and a 72.9 quarterback rating. Even without his CFL career numbers added on, Moon's statistics are still impressive; until Brett Favre broke Moon's major passing records in 2007, Moon held the NFL record for passing touchdowns and passing completions. Besides, anybody who has appeared on the cover of Madden had to be pretty good at some point! As I mentioned on the introductory slide if your guy was the greatest in history, why didn't he win? To be fair, Marino's only appearance in the Super Bowl came against Joe Montana's 49ers, and the 49ers probably had a better supporting cast around Montana. Exactly how high Rivers can climb is yet to be seen, but I'd guess he'll land in the top 25 so long as he adds an NFL title somewhere along the way. Arguably the biggest reason for the success of the Saints organization for the last few years had been the play of quarterback Drew Brees, who vaulted himself into the discussion of "greatest QB in the NFL" with the big win and removed himself from the Dan Marino-led list of men who played the position and did it well but never won an NFL title. In September, Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa suffered his second concussion in four days. Career Stats: 29,444 passing yards, 201 touchdowns and a 74.3 quarterback rating. 66.1 percent completion percentage (best all-time), Early in his career, Jeff Hostetler backed up Phil Simms for the New York Giants and became an NFL starter only after Simms was injured in a game in December 1990. Career Stats: 16,998 passing yards, 100 touchdowns and 69.4 quarterback rating. 26.1 career yards/game rushing average, 4th all time for QB. Elway was a winner and could perform outstanding in the clutch. Montana's Niners won one Super Bowl without Jerry Rice and two without Roger Craig; he also won at different times in his career. I have ranked the top 100 quarterbacks in NFL history, and because I'm writing the article, I get the privilege of unilaterally deciding who was better than who. Cork Gaines and Tyler Lauletta. Boomer Esiason was named to four Pro Bowls and was the league's Most Valuable Player in 1988 as a member of the Cincinnati Bengals. He has the talent to move up, but bottom line: It's way too early for him to be any higher, despite a great season. Not that his statistics don't back it up, though- they do. WhenDaryle Lamoncia played, the game was completely different but he still managed to put up impressive numbers as a passer as he was named to two All-AFL teams and two Pro Bowls, as well as being a three-time AFL Champion. During his 13-year career, Milt Plum played for the Cleveland Browns, Detroit Lions, Los Angeles Rams and New York Giants. McMahon spent the most significant years of his career with the Bears, but he also played for San Diego, Philadelphia, Minnesota, Arizona and Green Bay before he hung up his cleats. Retired after sustaining a spinal injury in 2013, Retired due to the leg injuries he sustained, Signed a 1-day contract with Colts to retire; Was hired for IND's marketing and community relations department, Oldest active NFL player prior to retirement, Signed a 1-day contract with Saints to retire, Signed a 1-day contract with Packers to retire, Signed a 1-day contract with Panthers to retire, Signed a 1-day contract with Cowboys to retire, Was placed on reserved/retired list by Ravens; Was involved in legal troubles, Retired due to microfracture knee surgery and a mosaicplasty procedure late in the 2010 season; Not, Retired due to consistent knee swellings; placed on reserve/retired list; made a comeback with Jets in October, Retired due to his charges of intoxicated manslaughter; later returned in 2014, Retired due to concussions; was placed on reserve/retired list, Signed a 1-day contract with Giants to retire, Signed a 1-day contract with Raiders to retire. I'm not averse to putting "young guns" on the list, but I won't jump Joe Flacco to No. Esiason had a somewhat unique style compared to most other quarterbacks, stemming primarily from the fact that he was left-handed; he is one of the most successful southpaw quarterbacks of all time. Brunell next moved to the Washington Redskins, where he played solid but unspectacular football as the starter, before being benched in favor of first round draft choice Jason Campbell. The states retired public servants havent had a pension increase in about 20 years. Of all the good Cowboys quarterbacks, Don Meredith is probably the one who is most frequently forgotten. Esiason played nine seasons of his career with the Bengals, from 1984-92 and then a final season in 1997. After about 15 or 20 minutes of questions and checking of vitals by the nurse, she stepped out briefly and came back in with a beefy-looking male, whom I assumed was another nurse. 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